First There Was You

Chapter 43: Greyson

August 5

Palgrave, Ontario

Covered in sweat and dust, under the scorching heat, I watch Elle warm up with Kuna for the third time, lost in the swarm of horses and riders surrounding the competition rings.

Apparently she's been bumped in the order again due to delays, and it's thirty-six degrees under the sun that's busy baking down on us. On her. In her navy blue wool blazer, black velvet helmet, long pants, her tall black leather boots, and long-sleeved blouse, she must be roasting.

The general chaos of helping Elle prepare for today was the perfect tool to keep my mind off everything going on. Until last night, I had no idea how physical this sport was. From getting Kuna ready, packing boxes, lifting trunks followed by our brutal wake-up call at four-thirty this morning have kept all the thoughts rolling in my head at bay. As long as I keep my focus on the now, on her, I can keep my mind quiet. At this point, I welcome all distractions. I turn my mind off, focusing on Elle completely.

I lean against the fence at the edge of the warm-up ring as she'd called it. She pops over a few jumps, looping around to do the same from the other direction, following the instructions her sassy, spunky coach Chels shouts out. After ten minutes or so, they call it quits and I offer Kuna a drink from a bucket.

I watch as she strokes her hand through Kuna's soft mane. She smiles at me, "Thanks, not too much, save a bit for after too, please."

I laugh when Kuna blows bubbles in the water, then sloshes around, spraying my chest and arms with the cool water. Cautiously, because this is one big horse and I've seen his teeth, I reach up and stroke Kuna's cheek, neck, shoulder before I look up at Elle and hand her a bottle of water.

"You doing okay? You're as red as a lobster." I squeeze her thigh and Chels raises an eyebrow at me, then averts her gaze, grinning.

She nods, "Don't worry, Greyson. I'll only be going in for a few minutes, then I'll be able to strip down."

I frown slightly, uncertain of her short, direct responses with me today. She's been on edge around me, jittery, frazzled. I've been wracking my mind to see what I could have done.

I know I've been distant these past days, but no matter how distant or moody I've been in the past, she's never been like this before with me.

"Jackets were excused hours ago, kid. You can peel it off now. I'm sure your mum will be more upset if you keel over from heat stroke than if you ride without a jacket." Chels slaps my boot companionably with the back of her hand.

"You'd certainly think that, but I promise when she goes in to buy the pictures later and forgets how hot the day was, she'll have something to say about it. And every time she sees that picture, she'll bring it up for eternity."

When Chels only shrugs, I look around the horse show grounds and all the commotion, I think my eyes are probably as wide as saucers. "It's a lot bigger than I thought, it's a lot of work for just a few minutes in the ring."

She smiles absently down at me, handing the bottle of water back as Chels steers us towards the chute. "It's about so much more than these few minutes for me, but they certainly are fun."

With a last tight smile in my direction, she springs forward into a slow canter. Despite the strange mood between us, I can't help but notice how confident she is here, so sure of herself. This Elle is a little different from the girl we all know and love. Something about the way she is here, speaking with the other riders, the way she focuses, the hard work she does to prepare, a confidence just seeps out of her in this environment. So does grit.