Touching ground defining.., p.5
Touching Ground (Defining Gravity Series Book 5), page 5
“You just don’t understand him,” she’d told me. “People don’t realize how sensitive and artistic he is. He’s a really beautiful person, Astrid.”
I could definitely not agree with that last part but she was right about the art thing. He was a bit of a genius when it came to art class and there were a few of his paintings hanging in the hallway near the office. If he’d been a halfway decent human being, I would have loved to have introduced him to Oona. As it was, I’d secretly talked to Nori’s mom, Annie, about him, but it wasn’t like she could refuse to let them hang out at school or anything.
Lately, I’d been so caught up in organizing my own life and worrying about Marion’s baby that I hadn’t been spending much time with Nori at all, and I probably hadn’t been keeping as close an eye on her as I should have been.
“Nori, seriously, what’s going on?”
“Nothing,” she said, her lower lip suddenly trembling. “As if you care anyway. I guess we’re not even real friends or you would have invited me to go with you. You’re just like everyone else.”
“Of course we’re friends…” I started but she’d already turned on her heel and stormed out again, slamming the tack room door behind her. Twice.
“Wow, I hope we weren’t that dramatic at fourteen,” Hilary said, rolling her eyes. “She should seriously consider doing some amateur theater this summer if she’s looking for something to do. She can turn on those tears at the drop of a hat.”
“I don’t think she’s faking it,” I said with a sigh. “Nori feels everything hard. I hate that Jackson kid, though. She could do so much better. I’d better not find out he’s done anything to her.”
“Well, it sounds like him breaking up with her wouldn’t be such a bad thing.”
“Yeah, except I heard he has a habit of punishing people who he decides he doesn’t like anymore. Good thing summer is coming and she can take a break from him for a while. Maybe you could keep an eye on her while I’m gone.”
“Oh, heck no. She’s your pet, not mine. I can’t imagine you dragging her up to the ranch, though. She’d be a nightmare.”
“She’s not that bad, really. The kids at archery class love her. Earl was talking about having her help with some camps this summer. I’d better talk to Annie and see what’s going on.”
I waited until Nori was safely out on the trails with Maverick before I found her mom practicing in the outdoor ring. Annie’s horse, Norman, was trotting around happily, his ears flopping as he obediently leg-yielded down the long side and then did a ten metre circle in the corner before doing a few steps of shoulder-in down the short side.
“Oh, hey Astrid,” Annie called, bringing the big warmblood down to a walk and giving him an enthusiastic pat on the neck. “How perfect does this boy look to you?”
“Fantastic. And happy.”
“He’s always a happy guy but his lessons with Oona agree with him. I’m excited to try some shows with him this season. But you’ve probably come to talk to me about Nori, right?”
“Yeah, she seemed really upset when she found out I was going away. I wanted to ask you if you knew what was going on with her.”
“Ah, well,” Annie gave Norman another pat, nosed her feet free of the stirrups, and swung her legs gently back and forth to stretch them out. “She honestly doesn’t tell me much of anything, Astrid. She’s always been very stubborn and independent. Over the years I’ve learned to sort of wait for her to confide in me. If I push her then she’ll just withdraw completely. I’m sure it has to do with Jackson, though. They had a fight on the phone last week. Nori was very upset afterward.”
“That figures,” I said darkly. “Do you know what it was about?”
“She won’t tell me.” Annie made a face. “But I know something happened at school as well. She did tell me that he didn’t hurt her, at least physically anyway. Unfortunately, that’s all I know. I was hoping she’d confide in you.”
“We haven’t spent as much time together lately. She told me she wants to come with us to the ranch for a month, though.”
“Oh, would you take her with you, Astrid?” Annie looked at me hopefully. “I would pay for her clinic of course, and for her room and board, and something extra for you to keep an eye on her. Whatever you need. I think she could really use some time away.”
Well, now I’ve done it, I thought ruefully, there’s no turning back now.
“You don’t have to pay me to look after her,” I said quickly. It wasn’t that I didn’t need the money, but it didn’t feel quite right to take it. And I knew Nori would be furious if she found out that I’d been paid just to hang out with her and be her friend. “But I’ll ask Aunt Lillian when I call her tonight. I think she could use some extra help around the farm too, so maybe if Nori pitched in that would cover the room and board and you’d just have to pay for the clinic. I’ll check with her anyway.”
“Astrid, you are a miracle-worker. I think this would be just what she needs right now. Thank you so much. I owe you big time.”
“No you don’t,” I said, flushing. Annie had already done a lot for me. She’d driven me many times to the range even when Nori wasn’t scheduled to be there. She also owned a chain of fitness centers on the Island and had gotten me and Rob free gym memberships for Christmas and set us up with personal trainers and everything. We didn’t have a ton of extra time but we made sure to go at least once a week for cardio and strength training. It had nearly killed me in the beginning, but gradually I’d learned to love it. Especially when my archery scores started to improve and I could feel my core activating automatically during my rides.
That night Aunt Lillian was enthusiastic when I told her about Rob and Nori wanting to come.
“Oh, yes, the more the merrier, Astrid. There is a lot of work to do and I want you to be happy here so bring whoever you like. I’ll e-mail you the registration forms and waivers for the clinic tomorrow morning. You all need to sign them and get them back to me to reserve your spots. Payment is by credit card. Except for you, of course.”
“Thanks again,” I said, “you really don’t have to pay for me.” Although, in reality, I didn’t actually have any money to pay for the clinic on my own.
“Oh, it’s the least I can do,” she said brusquely. “I’ll let you know as soon as I’ve organized your transportation.”
I waited until the next day to approach Nori with my plan.
I’d already printed off her paperwork and had it ready in my hand when I caught up with her brushing Maverick in his stall. She didn’t see me at first and I took a second to take in how sad and withdrawn she looked. There were dark circles around her eyes and her cheeks were blotchy as if she’d been recently crying.
“Hey, Nori,” I said softly, not wanting to startle her.
She jerked a little and Maverick threw up his head and flattened his ears at me, which was his typical expression when he was dealing with anyone but Nori. He was the crankiest horse in existence and he only cared about one person besides himself.
“Hello,” she said stiffly, not looking at me.
“Look, I asked my aunt last night if there was still space in the archery clinic for you. She said there’s room for you if you like, and that you could come to the ranch and stay with us there.”
Nori’s brush stilled against Maverick’s coat for a second and then continued on again as if she hadn’t heard me.
“That’s nice,” she said finally. “No thanks.”
“Come on, Nori,” I said, already prepared for this reaction. “You know you’ll love it. And Aunt Lillian really needs our help to get the horses ready. You’re a good rider and a good archer. If you help us out for the month that will cover your room and board. Your mom will just have to pay for the clinic. You could bring Maverick, too.”
“Really?” She couldn’t help the interested expression that flickered across her face. “Are you sure I won’t be getting in your way? I don’t want to be some third wheel on your and Rob’s vacation. I don’t want you to think you’d have to babysit me the whole time or anything. I just need … I need to get out of here for a while.”
“No, of course you won’t be in the way,” I said quickly. “There will be lots to do there. And there are miles of trails to explore, too. You can try riding Maverick western if you like.”
“You mean with a cowboy hat and boots?” she said distastefully. “No thank you.”
“Don’t knock it until you try it.”
“Don’t try and change me, Astrid,” Nori said dramatically. “I’m a wild spirit that can’t be contained.”
She shot me a grin to show that she was at least partially kidding.
“Here’s your paperwork,” I said, praying that I was not making a mistake by planning to spend a whole month with this moody weirdo.
“Thanks, Astrid. I mean it. Seriously, you won’t regret this.”
“You are totally going to regret that,” Hilary said later that night. She laughed and took another spoonful of ice cream from the tub we were finishing off together. It was nearly eleven and I had school the next day, but I couldn’t sleep with all the exciting things that were happening lately. “She is such a brat.”
“Oh, she’s all right. Just stubborn and dramatic. She’ll probably grow up to be a lawyer or a politician or something.”
“Yeah, or a criminal.”
We grinned at each other.
“Seriously though, I am going to miss you, Astrid. Make sure Lillian doesn’t convince you to stay there forever. I need you back.”
“Of course I’ll be back. Otherwise, you’re going to make my dog gain twenty pounds in ice cream alone.”
Caprice sat on Hilary’s lap with her chin resting on the table. The lid to the ice cream tub sat in front of her like a little plate and every so often Hilary would drop a chunk of vanilla there for her to work on.
“What? She likes it,” Hilary said, patting the little dog’s head. “Don’t listen to her, Caprice, I’m going to be a great babysitter. You just wait and see.”
Chapter 5
After that, things began to move at breakneck speed. I still had archery practice, lessons and a couple of local tournaments to shoot at. At every tournament, I did my own rounds and then hurried to help the younger kids get ready for theirs. I hated to admit it but I’d been shooting for so many years now that the lustre of competing had worn off a little. I had competed at these local venues dozens, if not hundreds, of times. It was old news for me. But to see the excitement of the little kids who were maybe competing for their first time brought back a lot of old memories. Some of the best years of my life had been spent doing this. So why didn’t it complete me the way it had in the past?
The weeks flew by and, before I knew it, my exams were written and my school year was finally behind me. The summer holidays had officially started.
Our departure time was on us and suddenly, I felt like I had a million loose ends to wrap up and only a short time to do it in. And that’s when the panic set in again.
“You’re absolutely, one hundred percent sure this is really okay?” I asked for the millionth time, looking down anxiously at the open suitcase on my bed. Despite my best efforts, it was only half-packed and the rest of my clothes sat in unorganized heaps on both the bed and the floor. I had exactly one day left to pack and right now it seemed impossible. Red’s stuff was all organized, of course, but then he didn’t need a different outfit for every single day of the week like I did.
“Yes, stop worrying.” Hillary didn’t look up from her dressage magazine. She’d sprawled herself across the top half of my bed, one of my pillows hugged to her chest and Caprice curled up next to her elbow. Hilary was supposed to be there for moral support but she’d quickly gotten distracted by an article on custom boots.
“I think I really need a pair of these,” she said dreamily, tracing her index finger across the toe of a burgundy crocodile-print boot. She sighed and glanced up at me. “Look, Astrid. Everything is running on its own just fine here. Personally, I’m looking forward to an entire month without a single sheep in the barn.”
“Yeah, yeah, you know you’ll miss them.” I threw another pair of socks into my suitcase and stared down at the pile of clothes, frowning. Why on earth was packing so hard?
“I don’t know why they have so many ads in these things now,” Hilary said, flipping another page of her magazine. “There are barely any articles. If I were ever running a magazine, I’d do things completely differently. Maybe that’s what I should do in my spare time, start my own magazine.”
“Hmm,” I said, half-listening. I held up two pairs of schooling breeches, trying to decide between them, then finally threw them both in the suitcase.
“Astrid,” Hilary sat up finally and looked at me with a no-nonsense expression, “you’re going to be fine. There are whole team of people here to look after this farm so you don’t have to worry about anything.”
“But, Caprice …”
“… will be perfectly okay with us. We love her and she sleeps with my parents half the time anyway. Don’t worry, we’ll spoil her rotten.”
I knew it was true. Sometime in the middle of the winter, Caprice had started dividing her loyalties between me and the Ahlbergs. I guessed it was because she was home with them all day while I was at school. It was nice that she was loved but I still felt a little jealous. And a little anxious about leaving her behind.
“I still wish Aunt Lillian would have let me bring her,” I said. Aunt Lillian’s only stipulation to our visit had been that I leave Caprice at home since her big wolfhound Jake was getting old and cranky. He didn’t really like other dogs much, although he loved people.
“Less chit-chat, more packing,” Hilary said, rolling to her feet. “Actually, wait, don’t you have a lesson to get to? You go, I’ll pack.”
“But …”
“Go, you can always reorganize everything when you get back. At least I’ll have gotten you off to a proper start. Honestly, it’s like you’ve never packed a suitcase before in your life.”
“Right, okay, thank you.” She would do a much better job at packing than I would anyway. I looked over at the clock and headed for the door reluctantly. I had so much to do; I must have been crazy to think I could squeeze in a last minute lesson the day before I left.
Still, the moment I hit the barn all my doubts and worries just sort of melted away. Red and Portia were eating their breakfast side by side with their noses close together. Antonio was curled up in a pile of hay beside them, his eyes half-closed and his chin resting on one outstretched foreleg.
It was such a peaceful scene and I was suddenly hit with the feeling of how truly lucky I was to even be there. Three years ago I would never have even dreamt of having a horse of my own, or any pet at all actually. Or dreamt of a life where my father’s all-consuming presence wasn’t hanging over me like a dagger waiting to fall.
It had been a long, hard journey and I barely recognized the scared, lonely girl I’d been at the time.
Red looked up and whickered softly under his breath when he caught sight of me, his ears pricked as he came forward to gently search my pockets.
“Hey, buddy,” I whispered, straightening his forelock, “are you looking extra-cute because you know I have treats?”
He gave my pocket a tug and I laughingly pushed him away and fished out the carrot chunks I’d brought for him. I gave Portia her share, too.
Antonio scrambled to his feet as soon as he heard the sound of crunching food, shook the shavings free from his coat, and trotted over to me, rearing up and putting his little hooves on the wall so he could get closer to me.
“You’re getting pretty pushy there, friend,” I told him, tickling the end of his nose and giving him a tiny piece of carrot. “I don’t think they’re going to let you get away with that sort of stuff at the ranch.”
Red was already pretty clean but I polished his coat with a soft brush, picked out his feet and smoothed out his silky mane and tail. I tacked him up quickly, tossed the sheep some grain for a distraction, and then headed across the paddock and up the pathway to the indoor.
It was dark and silent when I went in, the air noticeably cooler than the warm, spring sunshine outside. I felt a pulse of excitement. No matter how many times I rode in there, it always felt like I was entering some sort of sacred space. The rich smell of the footing, the stillness, the light filtering softly in from the skylights. It felt like the whole place held its breath, waiting for Red and me to create something magical.
I slipped on his back and let my legs dangle at his sides, my hips swaying slightly with his long, rhythmic strides.
“Good morning,” Oona called from across the ring, sliding the rolling door shut behind her.
She had the required travel mug of coffee in her hands and was watching us with her head tilted slightly to one side.
I didn’t mind her scrutiny like I had when she’d first arrived at the farm. She was exacting and bossy and could see the tiniest mistakes, but she was also kind and I’d learned to both like and trust her; she’d never do anything to hurt the horses.
This was actually one of the first under saddle lessons I’d had with her in a long time. We usually just worked Red on the ground in the long-lines.
“Looking good,” she said as I moved Red up into a trot, “fix that right ankle, slightly more flexion to the left. Honestly, Liza is going to freak out when she sees how well this horse is going.”
I smiled, guiding Red in a series of gentle looping serpentines across the arena, silently agreeing with her. I circled at the top of the ring, spiraling my track inward and then outward again, capturing his shoulder just as it began to drift.
“Good,” Oona said.
We concentrated on our trot work until Red was completely loose and supple, then I gave the signal and he sprang eagerly into a canter as if he’d been waiting for the opportunity.
