Dream On (Dare to Dream Book 2), page 12
“Good girl,” she praised, taking her time to stroke the mare’s arched neck, wishing her owners even realised the effort that it had taken Maggie to stand still while Marley remounted.
“Come on Mags. Let’s try that again.”
She urged Maggie into a slow trot, circled her, and rode back towards the small jump. This time Maggie stayed on a straight line, and although she sped up and rushed at the fence, she jumped it cleanly and landed without bucking. Marley patted her, circled, and jumped it again. They landed in a smooth canter, and she kept her going, heading towards a medium sized oxer in the middle of the arena. Maggie hesitated, then sped up and bounded over the jump, giving it plenty of room to spare. Marley steadied her on landing, collecting her again as much as she could, and continued around the course. Maggie was unsettled and nervous, alternatively backing off the jumps or rushing at them with her head in the air, but she jumped every fence that Marley asked her to take, and didn’t so much as touch a single rail. The last jump they cleared was close to a metre twenty, and it still felt effortless.
Marley brought her back to a trot, then a walk, and let the reins out slack, resting her aching arms. Maggie was still nervous and jogged a little, so Marley slid to the ground and walked alongside the mare, reassuring her that her work was done for the day.
“They’ve seen enough. You’ve got some way to go, but I want to go there with you,” she told Maggie. “You were a great pony once, and you can be again. We can do this together. Right?” Maggie nudged her arm roughly, and Marley slid her arm over the mare’s neck and gave her a rub. “Right.”
“You’ll be happy with the pony today?” Seamus asked that evening as Kris gathered up the dinner plates, glancing at the clock and wondering when Van would be home. A friend’s mare had gone into labour a few hours ago, and had asked Van along for moral support.
“Maggie? Well I’m a lot happier with her than with her owners,” Marley said. “Honestly, can’t they see that relaxed and rideable is a good thing?”
“Apparently not,” Kris muttered. She was still seething over the way they had completely failed to appreciate Marley’s efforts, although they had been concerned after her fall, and paid a handsome bonus for the work they’d done so far. And Maggie was allowed to stay for the next few months, although now the expectation was that Marley would begin competing her soon. Kris was worried about that too, but she did her best to push her concerns aside as she focused back in on the conversation her sister was having with Seamus.
“At least she’s starting to try for me now,” Marley was saying. “Before, she’d just toss her head up and try and run off on me if she got confused or didn’t want to put in the effort, but today she actually tried to work out what I was asking for, and to do what I wanted.”
“She’s like the old poem,” Seamus said. “About what to look for in a horse. How does it go?” He looked at the sisters, who returned blank stares. “Come on, you must know it. The one lad asks the other what he looks for in a horse, and…no?” He scratched the back of his head, thinking. “So he talks about all the conformation points he looks for in a good horse, all the usual things, a nice eye and straight legs and all that, but then the other lad says he just looks for a horse with heart. With some grit and some try, and some heart and some guts, that’s the one that I’ll buy. Something like that, anyway.”
Marley smiled. “I like that. Some grit and some try,” she repeated. “You’re right. That’s what counts most at the end of the day.”
Her voice faltered slightly as her thoughts returned, as ever, to Cruise. He’d always given her everything he had, every time she’d asked. He’d stretched his body out over the wide fences, always impeccably careful not to touch the high rails. He’d been filled with such enthusiasm and joy, whether jumping a course or galloping up a hill or jumping off a bank into the creek. There hadn’t been anything fancy about his pedigree or exceptional about his conformation, but he’d had more try in one hoof than most of the other horses she’d ever ridden.
“How’s he doing?” Kris asked quietly, reading her mind as usual. “Have you heard anything?”
Marley shook her head. “Bubbles didn’t ride at Pukekohe last weekend,” she reminded her sister. She didn’t remind her that they’d seen him two weeks earlier, taking rails in the metre-fifteen at Woodhill Sands. He still wasn’t right, but there was nothing they could do to help him.
Unwilling to think too hard about that, Kris scooped the leftover lasagne out of the dish and dumped it on Seamus’s plate. He winked at her and lifted his fork as Marley got to her feet.
“I need a shower.”
“Give me a hand with these dishes first, would you? Then you’d better get on with studying for your exams. They’re only a few days away now.”
Marley pulled a face. “Man, you really know how to bring the mood down,” she muttered as she took the damp tea towel that was slung over Kris’s shoulder and began drying the plates. “I can’t wait until school is all over and done with. Forever,” she added, but Kris didn’t rise to the bait. They’d agreed to discuss Marley’s future education in the new year, and although Marley was adamant that she was done with school, Kris was hoping to be able to change her mind.
It was dark outside, and Kris could see Seamus reflected in the window as he sat at the table behind them finishing his meal. His dark hair had grown and was becoming unruly, the slightly curling tips resting against the faded collar of his shirt, and Kris wondered at how seamlessly he’d slotted into their lives, as though he’d been there all along.
Marley dried the last dish vaguely, ignoring the trail of soap suds still clinging to the side, and stacked it on the bench.
“Right, I’m done,” she said, slinging her damp tea towel over the back of a kitchen chair and heading for the door. “Goodnight.”
“Night,” Kris said absently as she got to work on the crusted lasagne dish, and Seamus got to his feet and picked up his empty plate off the table.
“Goodnight, Marmite.”
The heavy dish slipped out of Kris’s hand and landed back in the sudsy water, sloshing it onto the bench as Marley paused in mid-step, then turned back to stare at Seamus, her green eyes wide.
“You called me Marmite.”
Seamus’s eyes flickered between the sisters as the tension in the room built. Kris still hadn’t moved, and he looked back at Marley. “I did.”
“That’s what Dad used to call me,” Marley recalled. “When he tucked me into bed at night. He’d always say that. ‘Goodnight Marmite.’” She looked past him, at Kris. “Do you remember?”
Kris nodded. “I do.” Her throat was tight, and she plunged her hands back into the soapy water to disguise their shaking. Seamus’s words, spoken so casually, had brought back a wave of memories that flooded her completely. She hadn’t felt this close to their father in a long time, but suddenly it was as though he was so close she could almost smell him, could almost hear his voice and feel his arm around her shoulders. Almost as though he was there, and had spoken those words himself.
“I’d forgotten about that,” Marley said thoughtfully.
Seamus’s eyes were resting on Kris’s startled expression. “Sorry,” he said awkwardly, but it was Marley who replied.
“It’s okay. It’s nice hearing it again.” She smiled to herself. “Night.” She turned away and disappeared through the door, leaving it ajar behind her.
Seamus was still watching Kris, who had returned to scrubbing out the lasagne pan.
“You all right?”
Kris nodded, but she couldn’t stop a tear from sliding down her face. Embarrassed, she ducked her head to the side and tried to swipe it off on the shoulder of her t-shirt.
Seamus kept apologising as he set his plate on the bench. “I am sorry about that. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“Enough of your I’m sorrys,” Kris reminded him, trying to control her sniffling. “It just caught me by surprise, that’s all.” She pulled the dish out of the soapy water and rested it on the draining board. “Dad used to say that to her every night when she went to bed. After he died, Van said it to her once, and Marley snapped at her. You don’t get to call me that. None of us ever mentioned it again, but I didn’t realise that she’d forgotten about it altogether…”
Kris turned her back to Seamus, trying to get her emotions under control. But facing this way meant that she was looking straight at Dad’s photo, sitting on top of the cabinet, and his crinkling eyes smiling down on her somehow made it worse. The tears wouldn’t be held back, and she rubbed her face with the tea towel, trying to dry them quickly. She never let anyone see her when she was like this. Not even her sisters. Not in years.
Seamus reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“Hey, it’s all right,” he said quietly. “Just me and my fool mouth again, saying all the wrong things at the worst possible time. You have to get better at ignoring me.”
Kris choked on a laugh, and Seamus slowly turned her around and pulled her close, holding her gently in his arms. The smoky smell of singed hooves lingered on his warm skin, filling Kris’s nostrils as he held her steady against the rising tide of grief that was threatening to drown her. Her breath shook and Seamus rubbed her back, gently working the part of her that had been broken for so long. For a moment, Kris closed her eyes and started to relax, letting his comforting touch and gentle words reassure her. But just for a moment, before she pulled away and moved back into her own space. Seamus dropped his arms, letting her go.
“I should get to bed.” Kris’s eyes strayed to the pile of dishes still sitting in the rack, waiting to be dried, and Seamus read her thoughts.
“I’ll fix up in here. You get some rest.”
Kris nodded, handing him the tea towel, his fingers brushing against hers as he took it from her. “Thanks. Goodnight.”
“Night Kris. Sleep well.”
Kris walked quickly to the kitchen door, stepped through and closed it behind her, leaving him alone.
CHAPTER 7
“I still don’t think this is a good idea.”
“You never think anything’s a good idea,” Marley replied as she passed Maggie’s saddle up into the truck. “But Breeze is lame as a dog with that stupid abscess that just appeared out of nowhere, so I can’t take her, and Maggie has improved heaps in the last couple of weeks. Besides, if we don’t start competing her soon, they’ll give her to someone who will. Stacey told me last week that Hayley Maxwell has offered to ride her if I change my mind.”
“Only because they’re deluded enough to think that Hayley would be able to stay on,” Van said as she finished bandaging Covergirl’s tail, ready for transport. “I wouldn’t have picked Taupo as her first outing, but you might as well get it over and done with, and you can give her a good break over Christmas. And if you fall off, it’ll give the broken bones plenty of time to heal.”
“Not funny,” Kris muttered. “Hurry up and load your ponies then, so we can get on the road. It’s a long drive and the day’s not getting any younger.”
Marley ran off towards the barn as Van led Covergirl up the ramp and settled her into the truck. Kris watched, squinting her eyes against the bright sunlight, then turned at the sound of footsteps coming towards her.
“All set?” Seamus asked. It was his day off, and his hair was still tousled from sleeping late.
“Almost,” Kris replied. “You’ve got it all under control here?”
Seamus grinned. “Yeah, grand. Not to worry.” He watched Marley leading Maggie towards the truck. “She gonna be able to load that animal?”
“Who knows?” Kris asked. “It took a good half hour and all three of us to get her on when we brought her here, but Marley wants to try on her own to start with.” She sounded sceptical, and Seamus watched as Marley led the pony up to the ramp, stopping to let her sniff it inquisitively. She stroked her neck for a while, then stepped up onto the ramp herself and clicked her tongue, asking the mare to come along. Maggie hesitated for a moment, then followed Marley up the ramp and into the truck without argument.
“Not so difficult after all,” Seamus commented, and Kris shook her head in bewilderment as Marley shut the divider and came back down the ramp.
“Nice work,” she told her sister. “She’s really come a long way.”
“She trusts me now,” Marley agreed. She was quietly confident that Maggie was going to prove herself at Taupo. Everyone knew her as the wild pony that wouldn’t jump and had almost killed Stacey, and Marley couldn’t wait to take her into the ring and prove them all wrong.
From the moment they arrived at the National Equestrian Centre in Taupo, the festive spirit was in the air. Many of the trucks were enthusiastically decorated, with Christmas lights hanging in windows and tinsel dangling from the wing mirrors. Kris found a park next to the Campbells and they unloaded the horses. Maggie had travelled well, but by the time they got her off the truck, she had already broken out in a light sweat, and she snorted loudly as she pulled Marley down the ramp. The calm, responsive pony that she had come to know at home had completely vanished, and the wild-eyed nervous wreck was back.
Connor strolled over to Marley with his hands in his pockets, looking at Maggie appraisingly as she sidled back and forth on the end of her lead rope.
“I thought you’d have that beast tamed by now,” he teased as Maggie pawed the ground and then let out an ear-splitting whinny.
“She’s just excited,” Marley told him, struggling to remove Maggie’s travelling boots as the mare danced in a circle around her. “She’s not like this at home.”
Connor looked sceptical. “Here, let me hold her for you,” he offered, stepping forward with his arm out to take Maggie’s lead. Maggie lunged at him before Marley had a chance to warn him, and he leapt back, barely avoiding her teeth and swearing loudly.
“Don’t try and touch her,” Marley said. “She’s still a bit defensive.”
“That’s one word for it,” Connor said, looking at the pony with abject dislike. “You need to put a muzzle on that thing, or at least wrap her mouth in caution tape.”
Marley pulled the last boot off and looked over at him. “You think so?”
“Definitely. She could take some poor kid’s arm off!”
An hour later, Marley returned to the truck and collapsed on the bottom bunk with a sigh. Kris had the gas stove lit and was heating up dinner.
“Everyone settled?”
“Maggie’s still pacing,” Marley told her. “She’s only eaten about three mouthfuls of her feed, but hopefully she’ll calm down enough soon to have some hay.”
Van came in and kicked her jandals off. “If that mad creature of yours upsets Covergirl all night, you and I are gonna have words,” she told her sister as she grabbed a can of soda from the mini fridge. “Nice sign, by the way.”
“Thanks.” Marley had taken Connor’s warning to heart and written Warning: If You Touch Me I WILL Bite You on a piece of card, then nailed it to Maggie’s yard.
“Marley!” Connor came to the truck’s side door and looked inside. “You coming?”
“Where to?” Marley called back, not moving.
Connor climbed the steps and stuck his head in, grinning at her. “Anna’s having a barbeque and they’ve got enough food to feed an army. We’re all invited,” he said, looking around at Kris and Van. “You guys too.”
“Thanks, but we’re okay,” Kris told him as Marley got to her feet.
“I’m in. Sounds way better than beans on toast.”
An hour later, with an empty plate beside her and a full stomach, Marley stretched out on the grass next to Anna’s truck and stared up at the darkening sky. There was nothing she loved more than being at a show, surrounded by her friends, with the anticipation of the days to come, the fences to clear and prizes to win. Or failures to live down, she thought as she wondered what Maggie had in store for her. Connor clearly had the same thing on his mind, because he rolled onto his stomach next to her and prodded her arm.
“I hope you enjoyed that meal,” he teased her. “Just in case it was your last.”
Marley stuck her tongue out at him, but Anna was nodding agreement.
“I still can’t believe you’re brave enough to ride that pony.”
“She’s not that bad,” Marley said defensively, sitting up slowly. “She’s been going well at home, though I don’t know what she’ll be like tomorrow.”
“They’d better be paying you some serious danger money,” Anna said, as something else occurred to Connor.
“Hey, where’s Mihi?” he asked. “Isn’t she supposed to be hanging around, helping you out? I thought you two were like, joined at the hip or something.”
“Not anymore,” Marley said, trying to sound upbeat about it. “She just made the national development squad for softball, so she’s been training like crazy. I hardly see her.”
And she’s too busy hanging out with her cool new friends, Marley thought, but her musing was cut short as Hayley Maxwell came running over to them, breathless and red-faced.
“You guys won’t believe who just got here! I saw their truck drive in and I had to double check but it’s definitely her. I guess she wasn’t banned for life after all!”
Anna’s jaw dropped. “Susannah’s here?”
Hayley nodded, and everyone stared at her open-mouthed, taking the information in. Susannah Andrews had left the circuit last season under a storm of controversy following her brother’s brutal attack on Cruise, trying to take him out of Pony of the Year contention. There had been a lot of speculation about her supposedly being given a lifetime ban, but nobody who was in a position of authority had ever confirmed that, and Marley had always doubted the rumours.
“How is that even allowed?” Anna asked angrily. “After what they did to Cruise?”
“I don’t get it either,” Hayley said. “I can’t believe she’d dare to even show her face again, but I guess if you don’t punish them, some people will never learn.” She turned to look at Marley, who hadn’t spoken yet. “Right Marley?”
