Val and Christina arrive about twenty minutes later for lessons. Joey and I are still sitting in the grass in Heartbreak’s paddock, and I don’t miss the scowl Val sends at me when she sees us. I sort of enjoy it.
“We’ve gotta figure out how to get that rope off before Ol gets out here,” Joey warns me. “He’ll be worried about him tripping on it and, you know, breaking his neck or whatever.”
I’m fairly worried about that, too. “Don’t worry—I have a plan.”
“Are you going to tell me what it is?” he asks as I get up and walk over to the horse. But I ignore him. I’m not planning on telling him because it isn’t really a plan. I walk up to Heartbreak again and slowly reach out.
“Don’t worry,” I tell him, reaching into the pocket of my jeans for a treat. “No tricks, no lies, no trouble, kid. Ju
