Page 30 of Polo Fever
I’m trying to think back on what I learnt about cantering all those years ago when Serafina loses her patience and picks up speed before I’m ready.
I gasp. ‘Hang on,’ I say, my voice wobbling with nerves.
My instruction has the opposite effect. She launches into a canter and, not just any canter, but a Serafina-speed canter, which isfast. The sudden acceleration throws me into a panic as I grip onto the reins. I remember that my heels are supposed to be down, but jerk my foot too quickly and my boot slips out from the stirrup, which is left knocking against her as she hurtles around the arena. I’m too frightened to think about body position or taking back control, instead desperately trying to apply the brakes and slow her down, jerking back sharply on the reins.
‘Wait!’ Mateo’s voice echoes around the arena. ‘It’s all right, don’t—’
Serafina whinnies and slows, bucking and rearing until I feel myself slip, the reins tugged from my grasp as I fall from the saddle, landing on the ground with a solid thud.
‘Ash!’
I hear his footsteps thundering towards me as I grimace in pain and embarrassment.
‘Are you okay?’ Mateo asks urgently, looming over me as he kneels at my side, his eyes wide with panic.
‘Yes,’ I croak, though it doesn’t feel like it.
As I begin to push myself up, he places his warm hands on my arms to urge me back down again. ‘Don’t move. I need to check you over. You can’t rush this.’
‘I’m fine,’ I assure him, slowly bringing myself up to sit and unclipping my helmet, letting it drop to the ground before I look up to find Mateo’s face etched with concern just inches from mine as he continues to scrutinise me.
My mouth feels impossibly dry, mostly from the shock of the fall but a little from our proximity. He really is breathtakingly handsome. I must be a bit dazed from the fall because as he asks me questions on where the pain is, I’m unable to answer coherently, too distracted by the intensity of those dark eyes and long eyelashes, the sharpness of his jawline under the stubble, and the fullness of his lips up close.
He must notice me studying him, because something changes in the way he’s looking at me. At first, he’s all serious and concerned, his forehead creased, his brow furrowed, his eyes darting this way and that as he tries to work out if I’m okay. But now, as I repeat that I really am fine, just a bit bruised, the expression in his eyes softens. His hand lifts to cup my jaw and my breath hitches.
‘Are you sure?’ he asks, his throat bobbing as his eyes search my face. ‘Your head feels okay? Your neck? Do you have a headache? Do you feel sick at all?’ His hand drops to run down my arm as I shake my head in answer to his question. ‘Your arms? How do they feel? Any tingling anywhere?’
‘Fine, everything’s fine,’ I assure him. ‘Serafina slowed to a stop before she reared. I basically fell off a stationary horse.’
‘She wasn’t stationary; as you say, she reared.’ He draws back to look around the arena for her, finding her standing in the far corner, looking bored. He shakes his head, glowering at her. ‘She is such a little—’
‘Don’t insult her,’ I say, rubbing the back of my neck with my hand. ‘This is my fault.’
He stands up and holds out his hand for me, using the other to support my back as I get to my feet. I brush the dirt off my jeans and move all my limbs a little to make sure I am genuinely okay and Mateo’s beauty hasn’t distracted me from serious injury.
‘That I won’t argue with,’ he says disapprovingly. ‘Ash, what were you thinking taking her out on your own? She’s the most difficult pony in the yard. You’re a beginner!’
‘I’m not a complete beginner. I’ve ridden before. It’s been a while, that’s all.’ I look over at her, my shoulders slumping in disappointment. ‘I thought I could handle her. It was stupid of me.’
‘You were giving her conflicting commands, jerking those reins back suddenly when you were cantering. And your positioning wasn’t great. I could see how tense you were. She would have sensed that, too. She likely panicked. Both of you could have been seriously hurt.’
I hang my head and nod.
He seems to take pity on me, adding, ‘Although, you did well at first. She was responding to you nicely when you were trotting.’
I glance up at him in surprise. ‘You saw that?’
‘I happened to be passing. I didn’t realise anyone else was still here,’ he admits, which is no surprise. The most dedicated player on the team, Mateo is always the first to arrive at the stables along with the grooms and usually the last to leave. ‘It was lucky someone was around. Please don’t do this again.’
‘I won’t,’ I say, my hands still trembling a little from the fall. ‘I know now, I’m not meant to ride, after all.’
He looks puzzled. ‘I meant don’t go out here on your own, not that you shouldn’t ride again. At your level, you need an instructor.’
‘No one round here has the time, and anyway, I think I’ve had my fill for a while,’ I say glumly. ‘I should get Serafina to bed.’
‘I’ll do that. Go and sit down for a bit while I get one of the grooms to look over you and then you can get home. I’ll ring your brother and talk to him about the signs of concussion so he can keep an eye on you,’ he mumbles, seeming troubled by something.
‘Honestly, I’m fine.’
