�Just what is this?� Emily asked as she sat down in the chair across from the couch.
�We were going to tell you, Mom.�
�When?� she demanded.
David bit his lip, but didn�t say anything. It would get him deeper into trouble. �I know you�re scared, Mom, but I can do this.�
Emily sighed. She had never forgotten the day her brother, an apprentice jockey, had been bumped in a race, knocked off his horse, and then died from his injuries 3 days later.
�I don�t want to be a professional jockey,� he continued. �I want to train. But I have to get my foot in the door somehow. I refuse to tag along on Dad�s coattails.� He went over to his mother and squeezed her hand. �I just want to try. I�ll only be riding Holleyhock horses to start with, I promise.�
David looked up into the blue eyes that were a mirror image of his own. �Please, Mom? Let me try?�
Emily looked down at her son�s hands that were wrapped around her own. They were worn rough from years of riding without gloves, handling pitchforks and working on the farm as a groom. But they were also like Ben�s, able to calm a horse with touch and speak their language.
�Alright,� she finally agreed. �But you are still to keep your grades up at the level we set at the beginning of the school year. I want to know when you ride and who you�re riding. If another trainer asks you to ride, it must be cleared with your father and me first.�
David nodded. �Dad already told me that. Don�t worry, Mom.�
Emily smiled. �I will worry. I just won�t do it out loud.�
David returned her smile, then kissed her cheek. �I have horses to feed.�
Emily watched him practically float from the house and run towards the barns. �Lord,� she prayed, �keep my baby safe.�
Two weeks later found David returning triumphant from Churchill Downs. He had passed his ride and now had an apprentice jockey�s license! His first real race would be in just 3 days.
After calling Courtney to tell her the good news, he headed for the barn to say hello to Sunny and Coco. He�d been so busy that day that he hadn�t had time to stop and check on them yet. What he saw waiting for him did not make him happy.
There was a strange teenaged boy standing there in front of Coco�s stall. He looked to be about David�s age, and was there with the man everyone now knew was Mrs. Davenport�s fianc�e. Then he saw the boy open the stall door and try to slip inside. David started running as Coco reared up and whinnied.
�What do you think you�re doing?� David demanded angrily as he slammed the door. He crossed his arms and stood in front of Coco�s stall, listening to her frantic pacing behind him. She was clearly upset. �I asked you a question.�
The boy smirked. �That�s none of your business. You don�t own that horse.�
David�s eyes narrowed. �Neither do you.�
�Not yet anyway. My dad said I could have that colt.�
David looked at the man who was standing there. Now he recognized him. He was a frequent bettor at the track, and David had noticed him many times in the saddling paddock. But he couldn�t remember what his name was. �Mrs. Davenport owns the colt. And his dam and sire.�
�You must be David Evans,� the older man finally spoke up. �Brian Tyson. This is my son, Brent.� He stuck his hand out. David ignored it. Tyson dropped his hand at David�s cold reception. �I�m marrying Polly next month.�
�I know that. But you still don�t own him.� David turned, unlatched the stall door, went inside and pulled the top half closed behind him.
Brent Tyson frowned. �I don�t like him, Dad.�
�Neither do I,� Brian agreed. �But he�s the head trainer�s son, so you leave him alone.� The two turned to leave.
�What about the colt? Polly said I could have whichever horse I wanted.�
Brian put his arm around his son�s shoulders. �Leave that to me.�
Inside Coco�s stall, David was fuming. Little Sunny was scared to death, and Coco had lathered up a sweat in her frenzied pacing and kicking. David put his hand on her muzzle and stroked her gently, murmuring in her ear to calm her down.
�What did he do to you?� David asked softly. Coco stood still in front of him, trembling slightly and breathing hard. �It�s OK now. He�s gone.� David heard the stall door open and Jack poked his head in.
�Why don�t you give her a bath? That always calms her down.�
David nodded, took the lead shank that had appeared, and led Coco out to the back of the barn. Sunny followed her, sticking close to her side and staying behind David. He was looking around, as if to make sure that Brent Tyson didn�t show up again.
David clipped Coco into the crossties and leaned over to hug Sunny�s neck. �It�s OK, little guy. He�s gone now. I won�t let him scare you again.� Sunny bobbed his head as if to say, �You better!�
As David proceeded to give Coco a bath, Sunny once again became the inquisitive little colt everyone had come to know. He nosed around the water hose, stuck his nose in the bucket, tipped the shampoo bottle over, and tried his best to trip David. It wasn�t long before most of the grooms were gathered around watching the spectacle and laughing as David tried to keep from tripping over the colt.
David finally turned to Sunny, and put his hands on his hips. �What is the matter with you? You want a bath too?�
Sunny cocked his head and seemed to be smiling, then his head bobbed up and down. David took that as a yes, soaked the sponge and then gently squeezed it out over the colt�s back. Sunny squealed and jumped away. �Not what you thought it would be, is it?� David dropped the sponge back in the bucket as Sunny ran to the other side of his mother. He poked his head through her tail and stared at David as he finished washing Coco up.
After drying her off with towels and a sweat strap, he led the mare back into the barn, clipped her into another set of crossties, and set about grooming her. Sunny nosed through the tack bucket, sniffed around the stall door that was closest to him and pawed through the straw on the floor, all the while keeping David in fits of giggles.
�You silly!� David told him. Sunny came over to him and butted David�s back with his head, then looked up at him. David smiled and took the soft brush out of the bucket and ran it over Sunny�s still fuzzy coat. He neighed softly, then turned and scampered into Coco�s stall and curled up in the straw for a nap.
When David was finished, he led Coco back into her stall, carefully latched the door closed, and left to take care of his assigned horses at the training barn.
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
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