She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and glanced around. The other beds were empty—Paige’s neatly made, Livi’s a complete mess, and Hannah’s somewhere in between. Brooke checked her watch and saw that she was late for breakfast. “Thanks for waking me, guys,” she muttered as she climbed out of bed. She dressed quickly, not bothering to shower, and rushed to the main house. There was barely time to choke down half a piece of toast and a few gulps of orange juice before Robin was shooing them off to the barn for their morning lesson. As she pulled Foxy out of her stall, Brooke was feeling rushed and sleepy and generally out of sorts. The pony seemed to pick up on her mood, spooking at the click of the crosstie being clipped on and generally being antsy and difficult all during grooming and tacking. Robin wasn’t in the ring yet when the girls entered. The other three mounted their horses, barely pausing in their conversation as they did so. Finally it was Brooke’s turn at the mounting block.
