Page 8 (2/2)

"He should’ve won," Jack says, rubbing his eyes "Shit"

Mr Goodwin lays a hand on his shoulder "Son, lower your voice, please"

"He shouldn’t be losing Not with his breeding! That’s all horse racing is Breeding!" Under his breath, I hear Jack ht"

I look at the crowd around us People are staring at Jack Here’s the thing: regular horse races aren’t like the Derby They aren’t like an NFL gao inside and cash in their winning tickets, and then they bet again They usually don’tto face his father, letting out a string of curses "Five lengths! He ht as well have not run," Jack hisses

"Shh," says Mr Goodwin

I feel bad for Jack, but I’et the job now I’ll have to try out for another owner, maybe even work at another far with e

I turn to watch Bryant handing Star off to Rory to cool the horse down Dad pats the horse’s neck then walks over to us "Savannah, I need you back in the barn now"

That’s when Jack looks at me as if he just reht I could help with Jack’s horse Bile works its way from my stomach to my throat

"Excuse me," I say to Jack and Mr Goodwin, then follow Dad back to the barn I yank a sucker out of ot the job

Star did great in his warlance back just in ti herself into Jack’s ar ather?

I pop the sucker in et ready for the long drive hos Stay Si out by the Greenbriar pasture, watching Star graze He’s chorass, not a care in the world I unlock the fence and head into the pasture

Star sees ainsthi him move several feet from me Dad always says that horses have shorttheir feelings They’ll always come back, because they want to feel safe, they want to feel taken care of

So why doesn’t Star feel safe? What’s he scared of? With his bloodline, he should be an expert racer already Instead he panicked and got a shitty start out of the gate

I cluck ue and snap "Star, c’ a bit of distance from me this ti hislows and a stillness settles over his body

I start exa I rest ainst the withers and listen for his heartbeat

Sometimes, it’s almost like I can hear a horse’s voice This one ti her head againstTurns out she had an infection that could’ve ht it just in time

"Why are you so skittish?"

I stand there with Star while he grazes and stare up at the sky, praying to Moh Star did bad in his race today, I get the job

All of a sudden, Star’s tail starts whipping around and his ears lay back He’s nervous or angry

"Hi," Jack calls out, waving fro circles around him Jack looks comfortable in a T-shirt, track pants, and a baseball cap turned around backward A good outfit to curl up in on a Sunday night

Star pins his ears Does the horse not like Jack, or is it the three ras at his side? I’d hate to tell Jack that his horse doesn’t like hi, I pat Star’s neck and exit the pasture

"You did really well today" The fresh smells of Jack’s cotton T-shirt and soap waft up to ht sapphires under the moon

"I’m sorry he didn’t win I can’t believe it, honestly"

"Me neither He did better in your warm-up than he did in the damned race" Jack purses his lips and looks at the next pasture over, where et the horses inside"

Jack and I mount Appaloosa ponies and herd the horses toward the barns A rush of happiness fillsinto his stall I love how he respects and takes care of his ani skills show he’s a true horseainst the deep purple sky It feels like it’s just me and Jack for miles and miles

Much too soon, the horses are safe and cozy in their stalls, and I have no excuse to spend ate," he calls

"Yes, sir" I finish the chore and meet back up with Jack

"Don’t call me sir"

"Aren’t you the boss?" I tease

He scratches the back of his neck, looking pained all of a sudden "I’ fat F on this test"

"Why do you say that? Everyone respects you" Gael told me a story about when Jack was fifteen and his father was out of town and couldn’t be reached, Gael restling hether to euthanize a prized gelding that broke his fe horse down

"I don’t knoho’d buy a horse I breed considering how bad Star’s turned out"