Blue {Completed}

Chapter 25

6 weeks later...

" Come on, Blue. You know that you can do it!" I ask him into a lope. He has been progressing very well, lately. I've moved him into lunging and he is getting the hang of it. I make him switch direction, carefully, and lope him around in two loops. My timer goes off in my pocket and I stop it, pulling Blue in. He nudged my pocket, playfully, knowing I have treats. I chuckle and hand him one, carrot flavoured one. He happily crunches it and just when we're about to exit, a truck pulls up with a horse trailer in tow. They must be the new borders! Blue pricks his ears, watching the girl and her mother step out and start to unload the girl's horse. The girl holds onto the lead as her mother puts the ramp down. A beautiful, palomino paint mare steps out and patiently stands as she is being tied to the trailer. 2/3 of her coat is hidden beneath a purple, trailer blanket. I try to pull Blue back into the barn, but he wants to meet the pretty, new mare. I jerk his lead, signalling that he has to obey to me. He follows, head low. But, River, the brown and white pinto I rescued, cheers him up by nuzzling him on our way by. In one day, Blue would've bowed his tendon for almost 3 months, now. It got a bit irritated when we were coming home, but isn't hot or swelled anymore. My phone starts chiming and I pick it up.

"Hey, Cody. What's up?"

" Oh, nothing. How's my horse training lady doing? Oh, wait, are you doing anything tomorrow for your birthday?" Oh! It totally slipped my mind! My 19th birthday is tomorrow.

" No, just going out to dinner with a bunch of people and spending the first half of the day with Blue or whatever."

" Okay... Um... Do you wanna go out to lunch? Tomorrow?"

" Sure!" I smile to myself.

" Okay, I'll pick you up at noon!"

" Okay! I have to go though. New boarders."

" Okay, have fun! Love you!" He calls, waiting for my answer.

" Love you too!" And we hang up. Blue impatiently stamps his hoof, so I put him in his personal pasture, and go to greet the newbies. I don't know much about them, so it's a bit awkward right now. I approach the girl, who looks around my age, and offer my hand. She spins around from her horse and shakes it, excitedly.

" Hi, my name's Hayley. Your mom talked to my parents about boarding here." She smiles, a white, toothy one.

" Hi, my name's Victoria. But you can call me Tori. My horse's name is Calico, but Cali for short." I smile and nod, listening to the approaching footsteps.

" Hi, Hayley? My name's Rebecca. I'm Victoria's aunt." She smiles slightly as she hugs something tight to her chest.

" Do you want to stall Cali, or put her in a pasture today?" She looks at her aunt and she nods.

" I'll put her in a pasture, please. But at home, she practically lives in her stall, except for when I ride her." I nod, not liking that Calico hasn't been in a pasture in a while. She lets her loose with her halter on, but I stop Calico and take it off. Rebecca frowns, questioning me.

" Here, we just take it all off. She could get her hoof caught on it when she scratches her face," Victoria help take the blanket and boots off.

" and the blanket has to come off. It's meant for a trailer, not a pasture! The boots are self explanatory." I say, trying not to offend anyone. They nod in agreement and I take them for a quick tour around the barn. Blue was awfully excited to meet Cali's owners, smelling Tori's hands, trying to find the mare's scent. We all laugh as he whinnies out to her, she answers. He seemed pretty confident.

" Any questions?" I ask.

" Who is Blue?" Tori speaks up.

" I'm sorry, what?"

" Is he like, an eventer, barrel racer, stud? Cause I think he'll like Cali." She says with a smirk.

" Oh! Okay. Let's see... I adopted him from the auction, he was a wild mustang. I was training him, a little too much and that ended with a bowed tendon," She cringes.

" he's in the middle of lunging and a bit of riding. He's progressing well." As Rebecca stands there, nodding, Tori steps forward to pet his face.

" My mom's horse broke her leg, falling down a cliff." She sniffles.

" Oh, I'm sorry. Is she okay?" Rebecca puts a hand on Tori's shoulder.

" She has passed. She didn't make the fall, unlike her horse. Calico was the foal to that mare at the time." I bring Tori into a hug and pat her back.

" I'm so sorry. I didn't realize. I-" She cuts me off.

" It's fine. And she's gone, that's the reality." I pull back, looking into her fiery auburn eyes.

" Excuse me." She says as she slips back and goes into Cali's pasture. I look at Rebecca and apologize.

" Again, I'm so sorry for bringing that up." She shakes her head.

" It's fine. It's been nine years, Tori was nine when it happened. Her mother, Jamie, had such a passion horses." She strokes Spring's face and continues.

" We were on a girls day trail ride, it went Jamie, Tori, a friend of Tori's, then me. We were coming around a cliff and this rabbit jumps across the path, spooking Jamie's horse, Hannah. Hannah reared, backing up into Rockslide, Tori's horse at the time, he bit Hannah just above her tail and she rocketed forwards, then to the side. The cliff gave out under Hannah's hoof and she stumbled down. She rolled on top of Jamie, but that didn't kill her. I didn't have my phone on me, but Tori's friend did. She was calling 911 and when Hannah rolled that second time, I knew my sister was gone. I dismounted my horse, Eddie, and slid down the cliff, telling the girls to stay put. I started following a trail of blood and it lead to Jamie's dead body. Hannah was a couple of feet away, lying on some grass. Jamie had been caught by a dead tree stump, so it stopped her from sliding down the hill to where Hannah was. She had multiple cuts and bruises, the I saw a puncture wound on her stomach, I moved her body forwards a bit and saw a root stabbing through her. I was terrified, hands shaking, adrenaline coarsening through my veins. I backed up and ran down to Hannah. She was bleeding on her legs and didn't want to get up. I crouched and undid her cinch sliding the saddle off. I pulled on her reins, trying to get her to stand up. She was breathing very hard and her eyes started to fade. I stared clapping and yelling, pulling on the reins hard. My bloody hands covered the reins in dark blood. Hannah's eyes suddenly burst open and she sprung up, sidestepping away from me. I calmed her down, but she was still pumping adrenaline through her blood. She sniffed Jamie's body, nudging her to get up. When she didn't, Hannah took one, last, long sniff of her. I look up and the ambulance and paramedics are here, I take Hannah around and back up the trail. I get to the girls and see that they got Jamie and her saddle that I left. Tori was crying so hard, not accepting her mothers death. At the funeral, she layer down and hugged her mothers grave, that had a horse engraved into it. I'll never forget that day, and neither will Tori. She just needs another horsey girl to hang around with." She finishes and my breath is taken away.

" Oh my, gosh. I'm so sorry, really." We hug and just at that time, my parents arrive home, my mother carrying a pizza box. She calls Tori from Cali's pasture and she enters the house.

" So, are you hungry?"

A/N
So, this book ends pretty soon. I plan on the 30th chapter. I know it seems quick, but I will make chapters longer if I have to. But, thank you so much for everything!!