Silver Opportunity

Chapter Seven

I was dressed in leggings, a baggy Olympic Equestrian sweater, and my sneakers. I dragged a brush through my hair and pulled it back into two french braids before throwing a Dover Saddlery hat on. I applied minimal makeup and grabbed my phone and wallet before heading out to the kitchen.

"All ready for your date with Leo?" Hannah asked, glancing up from her computer.

"It's not a date," I laughed. "But, yes, I'm ready. He'll be here any minute."

"Have fun," she said. "I'll be out in the barn tonight. Looks like Mama's going to pop any minute."

"Okay, we won't be out that late," I promised.  Just then, Leo's truck pulled up and he hopped out.  "That's him."

"See ya," she got back to typing. I opened the door and headed out to the truck, where Leo had the passenger door held open for me.

"Thank you," I laughed as I climbed into the truck.

"So," Leo said as he fastened his seatbelt. "This racetrack is about forty minutes away, so I was thinking we could go, stay for about an hour or two, then grab lunch someplace before heading back. Sound like a plan?"

"Sounds perfect," I agreed. We set off on our little adventure. "So. How'd you get into showjumping?"

"My first pony loved to jump. I always thought I'd do hunters or something, but when I outgrew him and moved on to my second horse, I found out I loved the speed and adrenaline rush show jumping gives me," he explained, faltering for a split second. "It also reminds me of my dad. I never met a man more passionate about his horses and his sport than my father. He almost made it to the big leagues in show jumping."

"Almost?" I asked.

He paused. "Yeah, he, uh. Got in an accident a few years ago. His truck and trailer got struck on the way to a show. Archie was one of his horses, he was the only one that survived."

"Wow, Leo, I'm so sorry," I said. I wasn't quite sure what to say. "You're not alone. When I was two my mom got killed in a similar accident. It crushed my father. He ended up abandoning me with my uncle, who couldn't care for me. That's when Hannah swooped in and took me in. I've lived with her ever since. I never met my parents, but from the sounds of it, my mom was amazing. She loved horses more than anyone else."

I pulled a small, worn picture from my wallet- a beautiful young woman riding a little dappled horse bareback and bridles.

"She was fearless," I muttered. "She was everything I wish I was."

Leo glanced over at me and smiled.

"What?" I asked, smiling back.

"We are so sad," he said. "So, so, so sad."

I gave a little laugh. "Everyone rides horses for a reason. Whether it's getting over loss or illness or disability, everyone has that reason they love horses. For us, it's because of our parents."

-

When we arrived at the track, the stands were practically empty, but there was lots of activity going on down by the track. At the moment, they were setting up a mock race with six horses, all gorgeous white coloured horses.

"Look, those must be Airdrie Apache babies," I said. Leo pulled out his camera and snapped a few pictures of the final horse to get loaded. He took pictures of everything, from the start of the race, to the running legs, to the watering mouths or flying dirt. He even managed to get a shot of a very confused looking pigeon sitting in the middle of the track.

"Look at this one," he offered me his camera, which had on it the beautiful bay we had just watched do a solo run. Her tongue was sticking out and the photograph caught globs of slobber spraying everywhere.

"I love it," I laughed. "Ooh, look at that one!"

-

We hung around the track for another hour or so. After Leo's camera died (he forgot to fully charge it last night), we just sat and watched. When they did group runs, we each chose a horse we thought would win. I usually won.

"So where are you bringing me for lunch?" I asked as I climbed back into Leo's truck.

"Well, what are you in the mood for?" he asked.

"That's a dangerous question to ask me," I laughed. "What are you in the mood for."

"I know this really good Mexican place," he said after a moment of thought. "Is that good with you?"

"Perfect," I smiled. After a short drive, we pulled up to a little brightly painted building, labeled 'Paco's Tacos'. He led me inside and we claimed a booth seat.

"So, what are your plans for Sunday?" I asked after we ordered.

"Nothing yet," he replied. "Why? What's up?"

"Hannah found a little show series that has their final spring show on Sunday, and she wanted to check it out. Want to come?" I offered. "It'll be a fun way to spend the summer. Plus, Molly seems really interested."

"I would love to," he said. "But I haven't shown in years, since, you know what. And Archie doesn't trailer anymore."

"Oh," I frowned. "Well, if you want to do it, I'm sure Hannah and I can find you a horse to show for this season."

"Really?" he grinned. "That'd be cool."

"Of course," I said. "Do you really think we'll have a shortage of horses to ride this summer?"

"Yeah, you got a point," he laughed. "This is fun. Thanks for coming out with me today."

"Anytime," I smiled. "This was really fun."

Our collection of food soon arrived: Guacamole and homemade chips, taco salad for me, and a 'nacho explosion' quesadilla for Leo. We dug in.

"This is so good!" I exclaimed after taking a bite of my salad. I then tried the guacamole and chips. "This is also so good!"

He laughed. "Isn't it great? I wish it was closer, but it's a nice special occasion meal."

"I love it," I said as I scooped up more food.

After we ate, Leo paid (again, what a gentleman), and I packed some leftovers to bring home to Hannah.

On the drive home, Leo and I blasted cheesy pop songs that we both knew all the lyrics to. We arrived back in the farm way too soon.

"Well, I'll see you later," he said as he dropped me off.

"Bye," I waved. "I had fun!"

"Me too!" he said as he pulled away from the house. I smiled as I opened the door and stepped inside. There was a note on the counter from Hannah.

Em -
Apparently we have no food in this house, so I had do go get groceries. I'll be back soon.
- Han

I tossed the note away and changed into my boots before heading out to the barn. I lunged all three horses lightly and let them back outside. Dublin, as per usual, was a nut case and had all fours off the ground the entire time.

When I finished with my horses, I wandered back inside. Hannah was there unpacking groceries.

"How was your date?" she asked.

"My not-a-date was fantastic," I said. "I brought you leftovers."

"Ooh," smiled. "I love Mexican."

"You would've loved this track, Han," I explained. "Gorgeous horses, beautiful venue, awesome company. It was great."

"Well, I'm glad you had fun," she laughed. "But if I remember correctly, you have some school work to complete."