Born In The Saddle - Quicksilver Stud - Book 1 (#wattys2016)

Chapter 6

'Cool? He was a pig.'

'He was probably just worried about Fox. He obviously didn't know who you were.'

'Well he was down right rude. Why does your dad employ someone like that? He must be bad for business.'

'Yeah right.' Amber replied wryly.

'What?'

'Well, between my dad and Connor it's hard to keep women out of the yard.' I raised my eyebrows in mock disbelief. 'I swear half the girls who come for lessons are only brought so that they can drool over Connor while their mother's spend their time drooling over my dad.' She stuck her tongue out making a silly sick face.

'Says the girl who spends her days drooling over someone called Harry.' I teased.

'Shut up.' Amber grabbed my pillow and playfully smacked me in the face. 'Anyway are you telling me the delightful Connor Blake didn't make your heart race? He does for every other girl he flashes that smile at.'

I pulled my lips tightly together and prayed that my blushes weren't betraying me.

'He's ok.' I lied. Connor Blake was without doubt the hottest guy I'd ever seen in real life. Never mind the hottest guy I'd ever seen in jodhpurs.

'Uh-huh.' Mocked Amber. I just rolled my eyes in response.

'So does he flash that smile at a lot of girls?' I asked while trying to not sound too keen for an answer.

'Nah. He used to go out with a girl who worked at the feed place but I think that ended a while ago. He doesn't really seem to take notice of anyone else. All the Pony Club girls bat their eyelashes at him but he's always more interested in Hunter.'

'Hunter?'

'That's Connor's horse. He's mad on eventing. He did his first three star at Bramham this year and came second in the Under 25s, even though it was his first one. Anywho, I better get going.' She announced from nowhere. 'I've got loads to do. Somehow a horse got into the feed room last night so dad wants me to clean it up.'

'Oh?' I said innocently, sliding out of bed to avoid her eyes.

'Yeah, it's a right mess. Nobody was out of their stables though so I don't really get it.'

'Hmmm, weird.'

'Anyway, I've got hay nets to fill and stuff so..... Wanna help?' She asked biting her lip, more hopeful than expectant.

'Er, no. Sorry.'

'Ok. Well, you know where I am if you change your mind. Laters.'

Maggie hovered over me while I ate breakfast but then disappeared when the pony club lot turned up for lessons with Clay. I wandered the house trying to find something to do but nothing appealed. I nearly caved and sent Sophie a message to see if she wanted to meet up, but I had a feeling that would lead to another trip round the mall, looking at the same clothes we looked at yesterday.

I was so desperate for something to do I ended up flicking through a magazine called Fishing Weekly, clearly one from Joe's collection. I'd rummaged through every cupboard and drawer that I could find and, apart from a couple of dusty old board games and the dullest looking jigsaw I''d ever seen in my life, there was nothing.

At one point I thought I'd hit the jackpot when I found some shelves lined full of DVDs. Only it turned out they weren't films. Gramps had what must have been the biggest collection of eventing DVDs known to man. They were neatly lined up, firstly in alphabetical order and then by the year. Which meant Badminton came first. My eyes ran along the string of colourful cases until they ran over a point where there was a year missing. Five years ago.

I continued to look along the shelves in hope that there might be more than just horse videos. But there weren't. Badminton turned into Burghley, which then moved onto the Euros, then the Olympics and finally the World Equestrian Games. I wondered how many of these had my dad on them but I wasn't prepared to put any of them on to find out.

Amber had been right, the weather outside was gorgeous so after lunch I headed out. And, despite my best efforts, the draw of the stables was just too difficult to fight. But I didn't want to speak to anyone so I warily made my way down. I kept my eyes peeled for anyone who might want to come and talk to me, and ducked like a coward when I spotted a six foot, blonde God in tight black jodhpurs sauntering out of the feed room. From the top of the yard I could see Clay in the arena giving a group lesson. A gaggle of mothers were stood by the fence chattering loudly and, as Amber put it, drooling over my uncle.

I crouched down inside the boundary wall and watched. My dark clothes camouflaging me pretty well.

Clay held court in the middle of the arena like a Circus ringmaster. The kids plodding around the arena all looked rather serious, concentrating hard and trying not to fall off. They were riding without stirrups and, for one girl in particular who was on the back of a little grey connemara with an impossibly bouncy trot, finding it hard to stay in the saddle.

I smiled at the memory of my dad trying to get me to do that. I always hated it. Just the thought used to fill me with dread. Until one day it was as if someone had flicked a switch inside me and my confidence soared. The key was to sit deep in the saddle, almost like you're sitting in a big comfy armchair. My natural instinct when I was nervous was to tense up, which always made me lean forward and I'd end up bouncing off. Clearly this was the problem some of the kids in the arena were having right now.

After a while my focus moved from the occupants of the sandy arena to the gathering of mothers. There was only one group of people in the world who gossiped more than teenage girls. And that was pony club mothers. They had that typical superior air to them, and were plastered in such thick makeup they looked like clones. It also appeared that they'd gone to the same shop and got a discount for bulk buying tweed coats and Dubarry boots.

They were all talking away easily enough, but you could just tell as soon as they were back in the horsebox with their own offspring they would be relaying every conversation and bitching about what one of the other mothers had said.

As I watched them I slowly became aware that I'd been spotted. A tall, lean woman blinked and stared. My stomach twisted as soon as our eyes met. She looked away sharply but I realised the damage had already been done. As soon as that one lady had clocked me the word seemed to spread like wild fire. Within a couple of minutes every single one of them had flicked their eyes across at me, huddled by the wall in the distance. It was obvious they knew who I was, Amber had mentioned people had been talking about me turning up.

Once they all started talking about me they became less concerned about trying to hide the fact I was the topic of their nattering. After five minutes it became unbearable so I left my hiding spot and decided to go in search of Amber.