on.
âOkay,â Drew said. âEverybody stand in your stirrups. No
holding onto manes or anything. You sit, youâre out.â
I felt my competitive juices kick in. We all stood and I glanced at Drew,
a cool, this-is-so-easy look on my face.
âGuys! Look at the deer!â Khloe said.
I swiveled my head and immediately lost my balance. Not wanting to pull on
Whisperâs mouth, I sat down.
Everyone else was standing.
Shoot. Going out the first round wasnât
fun.
âAw, Khloe! No fair!â Lexa said. âLTâs never
played with us. That was a dirty trick!â
I looked over at her, confused. âWhere are the deer?â I looked
at both sides of the trail, not seeing any wildlife.
âThere are no deer,â Clare said.
âKhloe just said it to try and make some of us fall.â
I mock-gasped. âKhloe!â
Khloe gave me a guilty grin. âIâm sorry! I didnât even
think about it.â
âNone of us looked, because weâve played games with Khloe
before and she does it all the time,â Lexa said. âClare, Drew, and I totally
spacedâwe should have warned you about her diabolical tricks.â
I laughed. âItâs okay, you guys. I fell for it. Now I get to
watch.â
âYou should get a redo,â Khloe said. âYou guys want to
call that a practice round?â
Everyone nodded, but I shook my head. âNo way. Fair is fair.
Itâll be just as fun to relaxââI kicked my feet out of the
stirrupsââand watch you guys play.â
âYou call the commands,â Clare said.
âLove that,â I said. âOkay. Everyone sit, then let go of
your reins, drop your stirrups, and keep your horse moving with nothing other than vocal
commands. If your horse stops, starts to run into another horse, or generally stops
moving forwardâyouâre out.â
As much as I wanted to play, this was fun too. Everyone followed my
commands.
âHey, Lex,â Clare called.
âNot listening,â Lexa sang. âCanât hear
you.â
âOkay, but Honor might,â Clare said, her voice syrupy sweet.
âHonor!â She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth.
âCâmere, girl!â
âOoh, you guys really play !â I
said.
âHonor,â Lexa said, her voice firm. âWalk. Donât
listen to Clare.â
The strawberry roan mareâs ears flicked back at Lexa and then
swiveled toward Clareâs voice.
âHonor,â Lexa said again.
Drew and Khloe were oblivious to Clareâs tricks. Both had their
horses walking, and neither showed signs of wobbling.
Lexa kept talking to Honor, trying to keep the mare from listening to
Clareâs I-have-a-treat-for-you voice. But Honor took a
step sideways, veering in front of Whisper and starting in Clareâs direction.
âSorry, Lex,â I said.
Lexa shot Clare an evil eye, then winked. âWeâll get you next
time.â
Lexa dropped back beside me.
âYou make the next call,â I said. âEveryone else,
relax.â
Lex thought for a minute. Then she called a new task.
I sat back, enjoying the battle. Whisper seemed to be
watching too. This was one of the best things weâd done together in a long
time.
Khloe was the next to drop out.
Clare and Drew were the only two left.
âWeâre about to reach the field,â Khloe said, since it
was her turn to decide on a command. âLast task. If no one fails in a few strides,
you both win.â
âYouâre going down, Bryant,â Drew said to Clare.
âWhatever,â she scoffed. âYouâre done and you know
it.â
âSwing around in the saddle to look at us,â Khloe said.
âAnd keep your horses in a straight line.â
âGood one,â I said.
Drew and Clare immediately dropped their reins,