Chosen by Jessica Burkhart Read Free Book Online Page A

made me feel confident and adrenaline took over.
    I wanted the best time.
    And I wanted it to be by far.
    Cricket and I surged over the fence and, without giving it a second thought, I let her into a hand gallop along the wide turn.
    Kim hadn’t said anything about not galloping. Besides,there was plenty of room to slow before we reached the ditch.
    Strides before the jump, I brought Cricket down to a medium canter, preparing myself to get her over the ditch. Cricket, who’d taken the course before, knew the jump was coming. She slowed, beginning to weave to the left. She pulled at the right rein in an attempt to weave and run out on the ditch.
    I pulled her back into a straight line with steady pressure, tightening my legs against her sides.
    Cricket’s ears flicked back and forth. Her body tensed beneath me.
    My own nerves started to surface.
    You can do this—you’ve done it a zillion times .
    Three deep breaths and we were in front of the ditch. I squeezed my boots against Cricket, leaning forward. The pretty bay didn’t balk. She rocked back on her haunches and then—jumped!
    Airborne.
    It felt like much longer than the few seconds I knew to be true time. Our landing was smooth. We cantered our way through the rest of the course, heading to the final jump.
    The last jump, a vertical, had plastic pinwheels on thesides. The wheels spun in the gentle breeze and the blue-and-red wheels caught the sunlight. Cricket, emboldened after conquering the ditch, didn’t respond to the pinwheels.
    She stayed on track and jumped the tall vertical, landing with barely any sound at all, and then cantered back toward the group.
    â€œGood girl!” I rubbed her neck and she snorted with what I knew to be pride.
    I rode her through a few circles to let her muscles stretch and cool before I halted her. I looked at Kim, who had the stopwatch in hand.
    â€œLauren,” Kim’s voice sounded stern.
    What? Oh, no—
    â€œThat . . . was a lovely ride,” Kim finished.
    I let out a frenetic breath. The truth was, after I’d done it, I’d felt sure Kim would be upset that I’d galloped on course. I knew we were technically allowed to, but Kim only wanted us to gallop when absolutely necessary.
    I realized I still hadn’t replied to Kim’s compliment just as she began to speak again.
    â€œDid the wind from your speed round give you a hearing problem?” Kim teased.
    The other girls laughed.
    â€œI was going to say that you took a gamble and it paid off. Sometimes, you have to take chances. It could have cost you a jump if you hadn’t been able to slow Cricket. But you got her back under control and came in with the fastest time so far. Nice work.” Kim pointed to Ana. “Your turn.”
    Ana and Leah had clean rides, too, but their times were still seconds slower than mine. Kim didn’t have to say who had been the fastest with the cleanest ride, and I was glad when she didn’t formally announce me as the winner. My successful ride had been the highlight of my week.
    It made me feel like I hadn’t disappointed anyone today—Mom and Dad especially—who had moved from Brooklyn to Union for me. They’d realized I needed a fresh start and Mom had applied for a job at a law firm just outside of Union. When she’d gotten the job, they’d taken me for a walk, asking how I felt about a new start at Briar Creek and a break from competition.
    When they told me about one of Kim’s students getting into Canterwood Crest Academy, it was a fact that sealed the deal. I’d already known a ton about Canterwood, so once I’d heard that this stable had a connection with the elite school, I couldn’t have been more excited. Becca, on board for anything, had practicallypacked her stuff in a day. We’d never been happier than we were in Union.
    â€œNice work today, ladies,” Kim said. She put her stopwatch into her back pocket.