A.J. nodded. It felt good to have a pair of reins in her hands again but immediately she recognized the pain in her arm. The stallion was strongheaded under the bit and every time he arched his neck forward, she felt like she was getting stabbed in her shoulder. Telling herself the limb only needed to warm up, she set her teeth and struggled not to show the difficulty she was having.
As A.J. and the stallion approached the center of the ring for a gait change, Sabbath caught sight of the water jump. Rearing in protest, he stopped short. It took all of her patience and control to get him to trot past and he did so reluctantly, all the while looking as if something were going to pop out and get him. Up on his back, she realized they had a big problem.
Devlin called out, “For now, let’s steer clear of the water. We’ll all feel better after he calms down a little.”
A.J. nodded and continued to work the stallion on the flat, staying at the rail. When Devlin and she decided it was time, she took Sabbath over some smaller fences. He was energetic and strong but not as interested in a good battle as he usually was. Even when they tried a combination of jumps, the stallion responded well, biting into the corners and accelerating like a slingshot into the straightaways when she asked him to.
It would have been one hell of a training session, if it hadn’t been for all the pain she was in.
After an hour, Devlin called them over.
“Now, that’s what I call jumping!” he said. And then sensed there was a problem. “A.J., what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she answered with a forced smile. Her arm was throbbing to the beat of her heart and she felt queasy. “Should we go through the round again?”
“No,” he said slowly. His eyes were measuring her intensely. “You sure everything’s okay?”
“Absolutely. I think we should do it again.”
He shook his head. “That’s enough for his first day back.”
Nodding, A.J. tried to keep her relief to herself as she took Sabbath out to the rail and cooled him down. When the stallion was ready to go in, she walked him over to Devlin, who was waiting by the gate. Aware she was being watched closely, she dismounted as smoothly as she could and led the stallion back to the barn, careful to put her good hand on the reins.
12
AS SOON as A.J. had Sabbath secured on the crossties, she told Chester and Devlin she needed to run up to the house for a minute. Devlin was tempted to follow but didn’t want to seem overbearing. Settling himself against the barn door, he began to write out his notes but he couldn’t get far because his mind was on A.J. About twenty minutes later, she came back looking more like herself.
“I think I know how to get him over it,” she said as she went over to the stallion. Chester had finished grooming him and his coat shone like black ink.
Devlin looked at her blankly. His mind was still dwelling on how pale and shaky she’d looked coming off the course.
“The water jump,” she prompted.
“Oh, yeah. What’s the plan?”
“Y’re gonna teach ’im to swim?” Chester quipped, throwing a blanket across Sabbath’s back.
“Just about. It’s the same way we got my cousin to go on airplanes. Well, almost got her on planes.”
“Drugs?” Devlin asked.
“Exposure over time. We shipped her off to a boot camp for people with a fear of flying. They actually managed to get her on a plane.”
“So she flies now?”
“Well, not exactly. But she did sit in one for twenty minutes before they had to give her a paper bag to breathe into.” A.J. frowned. “Maybe this isn’t the best example.”
“I think we should give it a go,” Devlin said. “Desensitization works with humans and animals. It’s a good idea.”
Pleased, A.J. took Sabbath off the crossties. “Then it looks like we’re going back into the ring, champ.”
She led him out of the barn, carrying her injured arm close to her body so the stallion wouldn’t knock it as he craned his head around. The pills Dr. Ridley had prescribed for her, which she’d taken back at the farmhouse, had gone to work and given her some relief from the pain. Unfortunately, they also made her feel a little spacey, so she decided to stick to over-the-counters in the future.
Anyway, it’ll feel better tomorrow, she told herself. She probably wouldn’t need to take anything else.
Devlin opened the gate for them and she led the stallion into the center of the ring, halting some distance from the jump. Sabbath eyed the water nervously. After she gave him a moment to adjust, she walked him closer while speaking in soft tones, but he balked. Craning his neck away, his eyes began rolling wildly and his hindquarters seized with power. Digging into the loose dirt, he refused to get less than a couple yards away from the water.
With two thousand pounds working against her, A.J. had to relent and she led him away, only to circle back and approach the jump again. They did this a number of times, getting closer to the water at each pass. All the while, she was calm and focused on the horse, trying to manage his fear, working with him patiently. When Sabbath would get really antsy, she’d give him a break and walk him over to Devlin, who’d offer them encouragement. By the end of the session, the stallion was looking to A.J. when he would get scared, drawing strength from her calm, soothing voice.
Later, after they’d returned to the stable, A.J. found herself deep in thought. She felt a little better knowing they had a plan for getting Sabbath acclimated to water. It was another issue whether or not it worked but at least they had a direction.
What was really on her mind was Devlin.
While they’d been in the ring jumping, he’d obviously picked up on her discomfort and been worried by it. His concern for her had been in his face, in his words, in the intense scrutiny he gave every movement she made. When he’d asked, she should have told him how she was really feeling. Instead, she’d flat-out lied to him.
But what could she do? If his expression was anything to go by, his first concern was for her and not the Qualifier. And she loved him for that. The trouble was, they needed to train. Considering how he’d reacted to her accident, she figured if he knew how much pain she was in, he’d probably demand she take more time off. They’d already lost a week. The stallion came unglued at the mere sight of water. And time was running out.
The last thing she wanted was to pull out of the Qualifier, especially after announcing to everyone she was entering Sabbath in the event. With all the attention paid to her buying him and leaving her family’s stables, walking away from the competition would be a public pronouncement that she couldn’t handle the horse. That everyone had been right and she’d been wrong. That she couldn’t go the distance and meet her goals.