Chapter 19

Appleton had clinched the victory.

It all came down to Cellie missing the handoff in the very first race, the simplest one: pole bending. She should have anticipated Mushroom hesitating at Chariot's high speed, so when she extended her arm with the baton for Susie to grab, she failed to account for the swing of the other horse's hindquarters and the growing distance between them.

She had to circle back around to give Susie the baton. They lost valuable time and, ultimately, that race.

Had the handoff been smooth, Cellie was certain they would have won. Star was much faster than Andrew's "regally bred" Arabian, and there were no other mistakes. However, both teams ended up winning five races each. Since Appleton had won six races the previous day, they emerged victorious with 31 points compared to Stargate Equestrian's 29. If they had won pole bending, both teams would have faced off in a tie-breaker: the sock race, their strongest event.

The only comfort was that few spectators were present the next day. The Hunt Team likely didn't witness their blunder, as Miss Meridies kept them busy far longer than usual with schooling lessons. Cellie occasionally glanced over to see the three riders maneuvering in a figure-eight and tirelessly practicing gridwork without stirrups. It made her cringe—no stirrups were routine for her now, but she didn't worry about leg positioning anymore. Her legs could run parallel with Chariot's spine without any issue as long as she stayed atop her horse.

She was definitely not envious of them.

"Saw you chatting with Hitchens last night," Amanda said as they led their ponies back to the barn. Appleton was already loading their own ponies into a massive freight van for the trip home. "She wasn't giving you any trouble?"

"No, not at all," Cellie replied. Diana had been genuinely pleasant—Cellie might have even let her buy a second beer, which she still felt as she sipped water desperately trying to rehydrate. "We were just talking horses." The warm day caused condensation on her cold bottle; she wiped it across her dirty breeches. "She seems nice."

Amanda shrugged. "She's never really been unpleasant," she replied while guiding Star into a wash stall. Chariot took a moment to look at him but then resumed following Cellie, occasionally nudging her thigh with curiosity in search of peppermints. "She's just… Diana."

Cellie took Chariot's halter off its hook and held it out. Chariot obediently lowered her head in, allowing Cellie to tug it up and fuss over her ears and forelock before fastening it. She led Chariot into the wash stall next to Amanda and hooked her onto the cross-ties—only because Miss Meridien would throw a fit if she saw an untied horse—and started hosing her off.

"Your lineup wasn't bad," Amanda called out over the hiss of two hoses spraying off the sweaty ponies. "Could use a few tweaks, I think, but you wouldn't have known that without seeing how we did today."

Cellie grunted in response, kneeling to hit Chariot's belly and the insides of her legs with water. She didn't even notice the clop of horseshoes down the aisle until the three riders were right in front of them.

"Hey, Cellie."

Cellie blinked up from where she was kneeling on a black mat streaked with wet manure and dirt freshly dug from someone else's shod horse (why was it so hard for people to clean up after themselves?) to see Diana standing in front of her. Diana and Beatrix looked utterly exhausted. Diana's sleeves were rolled halfway up her biceps, sweat patches blotched her chest and stomach, and her helmet was tucked under her arm. Loose strands of blonde hair had escaped from her French braid, sticking to her sweaty temples. There was a shadow over her bright blue eyes—probably from the drinks the night before. Beatrix's head hung low, nostrils still flaring, sweat-darkened patches of hair dotting her loosened girth.

The other two members of the Hunt Team kept walking, but Cellie noticed the strange look Hannah shot at Amanda.

"Hey," Cellie replied, switching off the hose with a quick press of her thumb on the nozzle and straightening up. Suddenly aware of how dirty and sweaty she looked, she passed a hand over her loose ponytail.

Chariot glanced back at her, releasing a soft snort from her nostrils.

"I didn't get a chance to watch," Diana said, scratching at her nose and leaving a black smear across the side from her wet gloves. "How did you do?"

"Lost," Amanda called from the adjacent stall. "By one damn race."

Diana nodded awkwardly, shifting beside her mare. Beatrix gnawed at her bit and eyed Chariot curiously, rear hoof cocking with sudden relaxation. "Sorry I missed it. But I'm sure you rode great."

She was looking at Cellie when she said it, though Cellie was sure she meant Amanda too.

"Amanda did." She glanced at her wet pony, straightening her hand to swipe down Chariot's soaked neck and flicking off excess water. "I missed a hand-off and cost us a race."

"Oh, you don't know that, Cellie!" Amanda yelled, turning off her own hose as the sound of running water ceased. "Something else would have happened—Murphy's law."

Cellie didn't really know what that meant but replied anyway, "Yeah, I guess," continuing to skim water off Chariot's gleaming copper coat. Chariot stomped a hoof and snorted again, content but bored as her wet tail flicked across Cellie's arm.

"Well, I'll be sure to catch the next one." Diana clucked to Beatrix who perked up instantly. She started down the aisle but Cellie straightened up and said—

"Next one's in Glasgow."

Diana turned back with one eyebrow raised. "I'll consider trying to make it," she responded with a dismissive wave before settling her hand on Beatrix's wet shoulder and walking off.

In a flash, Amanda had slid around the stone wall, green eyes darting between the two riders.

"What?" Cellie asked, squinting at Amanda.

Amanda grinned, shook her head, and said, "Nothing, Cellie," before disappearing back into her own wash stall.