Leap of Faith Read Free

out a deep breath.
    Damn. They didn’t half want much. She felt so sleepy. She opened her eyes and looked around to try to distract herself from the sleepiness trying to claim her. She saw that the man holding Prince had brought him up as close as he could get without being in the way. Jessica could see the course vet was having a good look at her horse. The man holding Prince gave her the thumbs-up signal.
    She tried to lift her hand to wave back and offer some sort of gesture of thanks, but it was too heavy. And her brain was struggling with basic thought and battling exhaustion. God, she was tired. And sore; the pain was masked, but there was enough of a feeling to tell her she’d done some damage. At least she hadn’t broken her neck – if she could feel pain down her right side all the way to her foot, she couldn’t have broken her leg or have serious spinal damage, right?
    She noticed a few familiar faces gathered around Prince – fellow competitors who had been before her in the draw and their strappers; someone would make sure Prince was looked after. That was the great thing about the horse community: they were all fiercely competitive, but they all banded together when necessary. And was that Zoe and Lucy, two of her young pupils, standing over there too? Poor kids, having to see this.
    Jess was loaded into the ambulance and the doors banged shut behind her.
    *
    The trip in the ambulance seemed to take just moments – or maybe it was an hour? Jessica was in no state to know, or care. But with the event being in the city’s parklands and less than a kilometre from the Royal Adelaide Hospital, it was more likely just a few minutes. She was wheeled into an open area with cubicles divided by curtains, and hoisted onto another gurney. The paramedics wished her all the best, and said goodbye. She thanked them in a mumble. She tried to apologise for their wet, muddy attire, but they were gone. She hoped they had a change of clothes in a locker somewhere.
    Left alone, Jessica returned to worrying about Prince. When she tried to picture the accident, her mind went blank. She was able to relive their take-off, with Prince failing to fit in the extra-small stride, but was unable to recall the actual fall and the horse being on top of her in the water. She really hoped they hadn’t lied to her about his injuries so she wouldn’t worry. What if he had to be put down? Jessica began to sob. Oh, God, he’d looked so forlorn.
    She chided herself into getting a grip. He’d been upright and on all four legs. He was probably just a bit bruised and feeling sorry for himself. And exhausted – he’d managed to get around half of his first international two-star cross-country round.
    Jessica wondered who might have sorted out her gear and taken Prince home. She wished she knew what was going on. She felt naked without her mobile. And her wallet – wouldn’t they need her Medicare card? Oh well, perhaps her full name and date of birth would do. But of course they had all her details – they were on the medical armband each competitor was required to wear. She relaxed slightly. Someone would call Steve, her listed emergency contact, and he would be by her side as soon as he could. Though, he was at least an hour’s drive away. Had someone phoned him already? Was he still at tennis? Tears began to sting.
    Her best friend, Tiffany, was her second emergency contact. But today she was off competing at Burra – miles away – and would have her phone off or not with her for most of the time.
    Jessica blinked back the tears. She needed someone beside her to tell her everything would be okay. She had to keep it together. But she was frightened, and so lonely. More tears prickled, and a few slipped out and down her cheeks.
    Jessica felt a wave of pain roar down her right side and promptly burst into sobs. She’d never felt so utterly alone and helpless. She realised