Pole Position by Sofia Grey Read Free Book Online Page A

that’s saying something.”
    Shelley broke into the conversation. “Sorry, Clare, I have to tell Anita. He was here again. Looking for you .”
    “He?”
    “Jonathan Craigowan,” she squeaked, her cheeks bright pink.
    I sat up straight, only vaguely aware of Clare’s interest. “Here? Today?”
    Shelley nodded. “He’s coming back later. I told him you’d be free at seven.”
    “Seven? It’s six o’clock now.”
    Clare looked puzzled. “Hang on. I thought you saw him last night? Hells teeth, I completely forgot to ask you how it went.” She leaned forward. “So come on then, how was it? And my guess is, it must have been good if he’s already coming back to see you.”
    My cheeks burned and I tried to play down my excitement. “I had a wonderful evening. He took me to some big, posh restaurant somewhere out toward Cranage, I wasn’t really paying attention where.” I shrugged, and smiled at their rapt expressions. “And yeah. We had dinner.” And kissed, but I wasn’t sharing that.
    I remembered the strange events at home and frowned. “But Danny acted really weird. He was horrid to me when he found out I was seeing Jon. And then when we came back, as Jon was saying goodnight, I saw Danny watching us from the kitchen window.”
    Clare paused for a moment, her brow furrowed, then swung into action. “Right. Anita, you go and exercise Sam. Shell and I will sort out his bed and feed. When Jon arrives, I’ll send him out back to find you. I left the practice jumps out for you, by the way.”
    “What about Danny? Do you know where he is?”
    “Right here,” said a voice from the doorway. He scowled at me. “Where did you expect me to be?”
    “Go on,” said Clare. “Danny and I need to have a little chat.”
    Shelley looked relieved to escape, and so was I. When I led Sam past the office, just a few minutes later, they were already yelling at each other.
    I started working Sam, warming him up for some serious exercise. He felt lively tonight, and I had to concentrate. Round the arena we trotted, then cantered. I waited patiently for the moment in which we’d click and start working together.
    After tossing his head for a while and shying at the slightest distraction, he dropped his head, and began listening to all my signals. “Good boy.” I patted the side of his neck and cantered a few more figure eights.
    Of all the horses I’d ever ridden, Sam had the most potential. It took only the tiniest hand or leg movement, a slight shift in my weight distribution in the saddle, and he would respond. Showjumping would only ever be a hobby for me. Without sponsorship, it was impossible to get into the big competitions, but there was still a long way I could go with the right horse.
    Shelley appeared at the gate, and I slowed down to listen on my way past. “They’re still yelling at each other, it sounds serious.”
    “That’s normal for them. It’ll blow over.” I pulled Sam back to a walk and guided him to the practice jumps so he could take a look at them. “Any sign of Jon yet?” I tried to sound casual, despite the anxious lump in my throat.
    “No, but I’ll watch out for him.” Shelley checked her watch. “It’s only six thirty five.”
    I flashed her a smile and kicked Sam back into a trot. For the next twenty minutes or so we practiced approaching the jumps from a variety of angles, working on our turns, starts, and stops. Shelley disappeared, and I focused on Sam. It came as a surprise when I looked up and saw Clare sitting on the fence with Jon standing beside her.
    I slowed Sam to a walk, and while slipping my feet out of the stirrups, let the reins go slack, and guided him with just the pressure of my knees. It meant he could relax, and he tossed his head and blew noisily as if to say thank you.
    “Hey.” I felt shy now Jon was here.
    He gave me a glorious smile. “We didn’t want to interrupt. You looked miles away.”
    “Anyway.” Clare hopped from the fence. “I’ll