‘Of course.’ Camilla waved them over. ‘Your daughter is a genius!’
‘We’re so proud of you, honey,’ Mrs Abbott said.
‘And, ahem, Jackson you were, uh, very good, too.’ Mr Abbott was having a hard time saying it.
Ivy saw her sister blush. It must have been weird for Mr Abbott to almost-witness his daughter’s first kiss.
‘Thanks so much for putting up with me,’ Ivy overheard Camilla saying to Olivia.
‘It was a great show,’ Olivia replied. ‘You are really a fantastic writer and director.’
‘I agree,’ said a familiar voice behind Ivy. It was Amy Teller – Ivy hadn’t noticed her in the audience. She must have been right at the back.
‘You whipped a motley crew into shape in three weeks and put on a very entertaining show.’ Amy nodded her approval. ‘I’ll be keeping my eye on you, young lady. I’m always looking to make friends with talented people.’
Camilla blushed and Olivia clapped for her.
Ivy spotted her dad through the crowd, followed by Aunt Rebecca.
Rebecca smiled and waved, but thoughts of Lucky came rushing back and, suddenly, Ivy didn’t feel like celebrating any more.
‘I wasn’t expecting to like the sci-fi version,’ Mr Vega said to Camilla. ‘But it really worked.’
Camilla grinned. ‘Thank you.’
‘And you, Olivia, were a wonderful Julietron,’ he continued.
‘I couldn’t have said it better,’ Aunt Rebecca said.
Ivy shared a look with Olivia. That might be the first time those two had ever agreed on anything.
Maybe it could be the beginning of the two of them finally getting along?
Ivy dropped her fork and it clattered on to her half-eaten plate of food.
‘Sorry,’ she murmured.
They were back at the ranch, silently hoping for any hint of news about Lucky. It had been a week since he’d escaped and there hadn’t been any sign of him. How was he getting through the cold nights and was he OK without his medicine? If only I’d never gone into that stable! Ivy felt like she would never stop berating herself.
‘It’s been a hard week,’ Rebecca said, to fill the silence. ‘But I’m not giving up hope.’
Ivy felt as grey as the sky. Outside, the wind was blowing like a storm was coming.
During this lunch, there had already been three choruses of, ‘It’s not your fault, Ivy.’ And it seemed there wasn’t much else to say.
Once they were done with their mushroom salad, Olivia and Rebecca were planning to go out riding again. Ivy had nibbled a Vita Vamp bar in the bathroom just before lunch, but it had tasted sour.
Hank and John were already out there, searching. Ivy and Mr Vega would only be able to sit and wait.
Ivy picked at her food. She wouldn’t want even a rare sirloin steak today. Her appetite was lost somewhere out there in the woods with Lucky.
‘Lovely meal,’ Mr Vega said, being polite. Of course, he’d much rather be sinking his teeth into a beef stir-fry or some Italian meatballs.
At least he’s trying to get along with Rebecca, Ivy thought.
‘Thank you,’ Rebecca replied, but the conversation couldn’t go any further. There just wasn’t much to talk about that wasn’t about Lucky.
The ringing phone cut through the silence and made Ivy jump.
Rebecca flew out of her chair to the phone on the wall, a hopeful look on her face. ‘Yes, hello?’ Ivy wanted to hear what was being said, until she saw her aunt’s face fall. ‘Yes, yes, it’s OK. I understand.’ Rebecca started sniffling. ‘Thank you for trying.’
When she hung up, Rebecca leaned against the kitchen counter.
‘That was Jerry Green, the local sheriff. He’s suspending the search by his department. They did a last sweep this morning, but there’s nothing more they can do.’ Rebecca slid down the wall and buried her head in her hands. ‘I just have to accept that we’re not going to find him.’ Her voice was muffled.
Ivy couldn’t take it any more. I did this, she thought. ‘Excuse me,’ she said.
Olivia made eye contact, asking if Ivy wanted company, but Ivy shook her head. She just wanted to be alone.
She rushed up the stairs and threw herself on the big quilt. The square she was lying on had a little blue embroidery – the initials S.K. This square was her mom’s – that meant probably the whole quilt was.
I’m so stupid. Why did I even try to bond with Lucky? I’m not my mom. I’m not good with horses.
Ivy wiped her eyes and her black eyeliner smeared across the back of her hand. She didn’t even care.
She reached for her phone and called Brendan, but there was no answer. She tried a second time and then gave up, turning off her phone.
Maybe if Mom was here, she thought, she would know what to do. Ivy sat bolt upright. But Mom is sort of here …
She opened the desk drawer and took out the precious journal. What if she wrote something about Lucky? Where they liked to ride to, where he might be.
Ivy knew she had promised to look at it with her sister, but Olivia would understand. She tucked it under her arm, crept down the stairs, grabbed her black pea coat and went out into the muggy air. The spot where Lucky disappeared looked like a black hole in the tree line. Ivy knew that’s where she should start.
‘Who says I can’t search on foot?’ she said aloud.
She opened the journal and read as she walked, not really knowing where she was going.
Help me, Mom. Help Lucky.
She flicked through pages, catching words and phrases here and there, but there weren’t many mentions of horses in the first pages. Finally a sentence caught her attention.