Read Online Rising Star by Karen Webb - Free Book Online Page B

even more mysterious. Betsy had really
worked wonders with her hair and makeup. Selena barely recognized
the person staring back at her in the mirror.
    “ You really are a beautiful
girl,” Betsy said as she looked in the mirror over Selena’s
shoulder. “And your eyes are one of your best features. You should
always accent them.”
    “ Thank you, Betsy. I never
thought anyone could make me look this good.”
    “ It’s my pleasure Selena.
It makes my job a lot easier when I have something to work with.
Some of these frumpy actresses…,” she sighed heavily, then both
girls giggled.
    Betsy carefully removed an evening gown from
a garment bag and Selena went into the bathroom to change, sliding
it over her head carefully so as not to mess up her makeup or hair.
It was a floor-length gown by a well-known designer. It was white
lace with short see-through sleeves. It fit Selena to perfection
and set off her dark hair and dark eyes perfectly. The back was
see-through lace all the way down her back—too far down—she
thought. It had small white mother of pearl buttons down the back
that Betsy helped her with. Selena stood in front of a full-length
mirror when Betsy finished with the buttons. “It almost looks like
a wedding gown,” she whispered as she stared at the wraith-like
beauty in the mirror.
    “ Yeah, but without the long
train. It really does look beautiful on you Selena. Me, I couldn’t
fit even one of these hips in there.”
    They returned to the beach, Selena holding
the hem of her gown up out of the sand, where she was introduced to
the horse. “Her name is Catalina and I’m Jake,” the tall man
holding the reins told her as he took her hand politely. “They tell
me you can ride? Cause Catalina here is quite a handful.”
    The mare still danced daintily as she eyed
Selena and snorted. She had no saddle, nothing but the shiny black
bridle against her snow-white coat. Selena nodded in answer to
Jake’s question as she held the back of her hand near the mare’s
nose. The horse blew softly as she sniffed the hand. She stopped
dancing as Selena ran her hand along the smooth, arched neck and
then, holding the hem of her gown in one hand, she grabbed the
mare’s mane and swung deftly onto her bare back. She let go of the
hem and the dress floated out across the horse as Catalina reared,
yanking the reins from Jake’s hands. As Catalina’s front feet hit
the ground again, Selena leaned forward and the horse was away at a
gallop down the beach. Two different cameras had been set up on
tripods and the men began snapping pictures as Selena and the horse
became one, the long white mane mingling with her long auburn hair.
She turned the horse down the beach and came back past the cameras
at a slower gallop, the white dress billowing around her. She could
hear the click of the cameras as she passed, but she let Catalina
continue her run down the beach. She wanted to take the edge off
this fiery little horse’s energy and get to know her a bit to be
able to handle her in front of the cameras. As she tried to slow
Catalina for another turn down the beach, the horse suddenly
grabbed the bit between her teeth and stretched out in a dead run
down the beach, away from the cameras. Selena sawed at the reins
with no luck for a minute, then finally pulled on the left rein,
turning the horse into the ocean. As the horse hit the waves,
Selena slowed her out of control run. She brought her down to a
trot but kept her in the surf as the horse tried to turn back
toward the beach. She slowed her to a walk in the edge of the surf
as she reached the cameras, but one of the men waved her on. “Keep
going, this is great stuff,” he called out to her. Selena urged
Catalina back into a trot and spun her around to trot back in front
of the cameras. For a few minutes, she had been able to forget the
cameras and people as she became one with the horse. When the
cameraman called out to her, it had broken the spell and reminded
her