Horse Gods: The Dressage Rider’s Betrayal

I walk over to the bench and pull the boots off and shove them in the box before I change my mind. “I’ll take these.” Cory’s mouth forms a surprised little round shape, but she doesn’t say anything.

“You sure, honey?” Lori asks. “You don’t want to try on some others?”

I shake my head no.

“I’ll just put them by the register.” Lori tucks the box under her arm and heads to the front of the store.

Cory struggles back into her shoes. “You’re buying those after all?”

“My mother is.” I wave the credit card.

Cory grimaces and makes a little sucking noise through her teeth.

At the register, my hand trembles when I hold out the card. What if it doesn’t work? Angela might have cancelled it a long time ago. When she gave it to me we were traveling on the horse show circuit a lot. She said it was for emergencies. For emergencies only! I hear her voice in my head. Well, I’d call this an emergency. Her getting released from prison is one big, major emergency to me.

Lori slides it in the machine. I hold my breath.

Cory gives me a sideways look that asks the obvious question: What the hell are you thinking, Regina?

“That will be two sixty-five.” Lori hands me a pen to sign and turns to put the box in a bag.

Cory kicks me. “What are you doing?”

I scribble my name on the receipt. “I don’t know.”

But it doesn’t matter. Nothing does.