Ivy looked down the row at the horses. Every single one of them was giant, magnificent and kind of scary. The nearest horse, tan with dark hair, shuffled and looked at Ivy warily. Ivy knew there were special terms for the descriptions of horses but she had no idea what they were.
‘This is Coco,’ Rebecca said of the tan one as they walked down the aisle. ‘And this one is Admiral.’ Admiral was all black with wise, cautious eyes.
Olivia greeted each one like a new best friend, and the horses whinnied and nuzzled back. Ivy kept her distance, not wanting a repeat of the scene with Gonzo.
‘Come on, Ivy,’ said Rebecca, walking over to a grey horse who had poked his nose over the stable door. ‘Say hi to Leo. He’s as gentle as a lamb.’
Ivy forced a smile. A lamb three times the size of me with stompy feet, she thought.
Rebecca opened Leo’s stall, took hold of his harness and led him out into the wide aisle. The horse tossed his dark grey mane and snorted. His hooves clomped on the floor and he kept watching Ivy.
She gulped.
‘Don’t worry,’ Rebecca said. ‘Give him a pet.’
If Olivia can do this, Ivy thought, and if my mother could do this, then so can I. She shuffled forwards, and held out her hand but it was shaking.
The horse side-stepped away from her, and Ivy’s heart sank.
Rebecca clicked her tongue and Olivia was smiling encouragingly. Ivy took a deep breath and the horse seemed to calm down a little.
Ivy reached out again and this time, she touched the side of the horse’s neck. The short hair was almost wiry and Ivy could feel the strength in the animal’s muscles.
Wow, she thought. That’s amazing. Ivy had always thought horses were beautiful, but she’d never been close enough to touch one.
Bang!
The door to the barn slammed open in the wind, which startled several of the horses, including Leo. He reared up, kicking his front feet and jerking his head. Rebecca lost her grip on his harness and he bolted out of the open door.
Ivy leaped back, falling against a wooden pillar, and Olivia dived out of the way into a pile of hay.
The two stable hands jumped to attention, rushing out into the yard to try to catch the frightened horse.
‘Oh my goodness, girls!’ Rebecca rushed over to Ivy. ‘Are you OK?’
Ivy nodded and looked for Olivia.
Olivia brushed herself down. ‘I’m fine,’ she confirmed.
‘Leo is never usually jumpy,’ Rebecca said, helping Ivy up.
I know exactly what’s making him jumpy now, Ivy thought. Rebecca had no idea that Ivy was a vampire, but the horse could obviously sense it.
As they rushed towards the open stable door to see what had happened to the horse, Ivy wanted to keep on running, just like Leo.
I’m a walking farm disaster! Ivy thought.
Chapter Five
Standing in the stable doorway, the bright sunshine blinded Ivy momentarily.
She heard a sharp whistle and a horse whinnying. Then her eyes adjusted – and nearly fell out of her head.
She saw her father holding on to Leo’s harness, stroking his neck and talking to him softly. Leo seemed perfectly at ease now, not at all afraid of her dad.
Great, Ivy thought. It’s not vampires; it’s just me. And how does Dad know how to stop a runaway horse?
Mr Vega led Leo back towards the barn.
‘I didn’t know you handled horses,’ Rebecca said to him.
‘Susannah loved to ride,’ he said simply.
Ivy guessed that it was also because he was born close to two hundred years ago, when everyone rode horses instead of motorbikes.
‘What happened in there?’ Mr Vega wanted to know.
‘I –’ Ivy began but Rebecca leaped in. ‘I don’t know. Leo just bolted,’ she said.
Mr Vega looked concerned. ‘You know my girls are not experienced horsewomen.’
‘Of course,’ Rebecca spluttered. ‘I would never do anything to endanger them.’
Mr Vega passed Leo over to the older stable hand.
Ivy felt even worse. The adults didn’t need anything to add to their pile of disagreements.
‘I’ll leave you to it and head home now,’ he said to Ivy and Olivia. ‘Are you sure you’re going to be OK?’
No! No, I’m not! Just take me home. That’s what Ivy wanted to say, but there was no way she could drag Olivia away from the farm when she was so clearly loving everything about it. Plus, Rebecca was her mom’s twin. She would force herself to stick it out for the one night.
He hugged them both goodbye and nodded to Rebecca. ‘I’ll pick them up tomorrow at six. Keep them safe.’
‘You don’t have anything to worry about,’ Rebecca said, smiling tightly. Ivy could see how tense her aunt’s body was.
They waved as Mr Vega drove away in a cloud of dust.
Ivy kept watching until the car was a dot on the horizon. Then she turned back to the chaos of chickens, goats, dogs and horses. One fat brown hen pecked its way over to her, and Ivy swore it was clucking its disapproval.
‘Are you OK to look at the rest of the horses?’ Rebecca said. ‘There’s one in particular I want you to meet.’
Olivia put her hand on Ivy’s arm, to ask the question silently.
Ivy wasn’t sure. She didn’t want to scare them or humiliate herself again.
‘Your mom’s favourite horse is the old patriarch of the stable now. I’ve started to think he was sticking around to meet you both.’
Ivy’s eyes met Olivia’s. Their mother’s favourite horse!
‘Your mom helped birth Lucky,’ Rebecca explained, wrestling playfully with the two energetic Labs. ‘It was a close call, too. Lucky’s legs were in the wrong position and he was in danger of not making it. Your mom wouldn’t give up, though, and he survived.’