Dream On (Dare to Dream Book 2), page 4
Kris wondered what it would be like to have someone else living in his room. It would be an adjustment, that was for sure. A final closure of the door on a time that they would never get back, and it seemed far too big of a step to really contemplate.
There was a scrabbling noise at the kitchen window that made them both jump, and they turned as their big ginger cat Cornflake appeared on the windowsill, pulled himself through the window and landed in the sink with a thud.
“You haven’t been missing any meals,” Marley teased him as he jumped from the bench onto the kitchen table, then snuggled down into her lap with a loud purr as she looked back up at Kris. “Did Van tell you that the dogs hadn’t been fed?”
Kris’s eyes strayed back to Dottie. “She mentioned it.” She watched Marley dip a spoon into her hot chocolate and offer it to the cat, who lapped at it eagerly. “What would you think about renting out Dad’s room?”
Marley looked startled by the suggestion, and Kris was relieved. But then her little sister’s face softened, and she looked thoughtful.
“Well, we’re not using it,” she said. “I guess we could. Who did you have in mind?”
“Mike knows a guy,” Kris said hesitantly, wishing that Marley had baulked, confirming her own resistance to the idea. But nobody else seemed to have a problem with it. “He suggested it.”
“He could take over for Ian on weekends,” Marley said, latching onto the idea and making Kris’s heart sink further.
“Maybe. We’d have to meet him first. He could be an axe murderer.”
“That’s the spirit,” Van said as she came back into the room, padding barefoot to the fridge.
“If he’s Mike’s friend, I’m sure he’s alright,” Marley replied trustingly, then shot Van a sideways look. “I thought you were having a shower.”
“I got hungry. So we’re considering this lodger idea? I can talk to Seamus at work tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Kris was startled at the sudden rate of change, but Van just shrugged.
“Might as well, before he finds somewhere else to live. You can’t tell me that having a farrier literally on the doorstep is a bad idea.”
Marley’s eyes lit up. “He’s a farrier?”
“Yeah, and a pretty good one too.”
“That’d be perfect,” Marley said enthusiastically. “He could-”
“Bedtime,” Kris interrupted, swiping Marley’s empty mug out from in front of her and dumping it in the sink.
“What?”
“It’s after ten, and you’ve got school in the morning.”
Marley groaned. “I could have the day off,” she suggested. “I’ve been working really hard. I’m actually passing everything.”
“All the more reason to keep it up,” Kris replied firmly.
“Ugh, fine. C’mon Corny.” Marley scooped Cornflake into her arms and stalked out, the cat’s wide yellow eyes glaring at Kris over her sister’s shoulder as they left the room.
* * *
A dense mist lay over the racetrack early the next morning. Heavy dew covered the green turf, and the running rail was barely visible more than a few metres ahead. Van pulled her collar up closer to her ears, took a firmer hold of the reins, and started jogging the bay filly around the outside edge of the track.
Riding track was one of the few ways Van had found to bring money into their household. Exercising racehorses didn’t earn much, but it was only a few hours in the early morning, and then she had the rest of the day to come up with other ways of making a dollar or two. None of which had really panned out yet, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her from trying.
She let the filly canter on, enjoying the smooth stride of the young Thoroughbred as she covered the ground effortlessly. Why Kris was so opposed to the idea of having someone come and lodge at their house confused her. It wasn’t as if they never had men around – Mike was there for dinner at least half the time now anyway – and they could use the rent money. We could charge more if he wants meals as well, she thought to herself. Kris cooks dinner every night anyway. And he’s a farrier – he can teach me to shoe, which would cut down on even more of our costs. Maybe I can apprentice to him, learn the trade and start shoeing for other people too…
The whole idea seemed perfect to her, solving a handful of their problems in one go, but Kris was going to take some convincing. As Van moved up to the quarter marker, she resolved to track Seamus down as soon as possible, and try to convince her sister that having him around was going to be a good idea. The filly tossed her head and spooked sideways, forcing Van to adjust her balance in the short stirrups. She pushed all other thoughts to the back of her mind. Right now, she had a horse to concentrate on.
“Marley, you’re going to miss the bus!”
Marley rolled her eyes and scrambled to her feet, leaving Miles to doze peacefully under the treehouse. She’d been up early and down to the paddock to check on his injuries. He’d been pleased to see her, and even more pleased with the apple she’d brought him, but the stitches in his neck and the awkward way that he lay on the ground still worried her.
As she walked back towards the house, her eyes strayed yet again to the dark bay pony standing in the far corner of the house paddock. What on earth is wrong with you? Her behaviour wasn’t normal, especially not for a pony that was supposed to be used to travelling and competing. She’d reacted last night as though she was in fear of her life, but gentle Miles would never hurt anyone. He had barely as much as looked in her direction before she’d attacked him.
“You’d think she’d be better socialised,” Marley commented as Kris handed her schoolbag out of the kitchen window.
“Don’t worry about her,” Kris told her. “She’s more trouble than she’s worth.”
Marley raised her eyebrows. “Since she’s worth a lot of money, I guess that’s really saying something,” she said as she slung the backpack over her shoulder.
Kris looked out at the bay pony with a sigh. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Van leaned on the stable wall and watched as Seamus hammered the nail into the horse’s hoof with a firm, sure stroke. He twisted the end off and gently released the horse’s leg. The twitchy young colt stamped it down onto the concrete, then turned his head and rubbed his muzzle on Seamus’s broad shoulder.
“Well, it sounds grand, and Mike’s right that I’m between homes right now,” he told Van. “But I just got a job offer down in Wellington, so I won’t be needing a place around here after all.”
“Oh.” Van was disappointed, but she shrugged it off. “Well, it was just a thought.”
She watched as Seamus worked, rasping the ends off the nails and clenching them down firmly. He lowered the hoof to the ground again and stepped back to cast a critical eye over his work before moving to pick up an unshod hind foot. Resting it against his thigh, Seamus sighed and muttered something under his breath.
“What’d you say?”
He glanced up at Van but said nothing, so she moved to get a better view of the colt’s hoof. “That doesn’t look too good,” she commented thoughtfully.
Seamus nodded as he carefully pared away the flaky sole with his hoof knife. He spoke softly, so only Van could hear.
“Your man Basil has done a wee bit of a hatchet job on this poor devil,” he said, referring to another of the farriers who came through the racing stable. “He’s a nice enough fella, but he should have his hands tied behind his back before he’s allowed near a horse again.”
“Can you fix it?” Van asked.
“I can help,” Seamus said. “But it’s not going to be right for a long while yet.” He finished trimming the hoof and gave the horse a pat on the rump. “Now I have to try and fit a shoe to that mess. Left to myself, I wouldn’t be racing him for months until that hoof’s squared away, but I’ve been hired to do a job, so…”
Van watched as he rifled through his stock of shoes, finding one the right approximate size, and started hammering it into a shape that would fit the colt’s hoof.
“I’ve got a mare at home with terrible feet,” she told him. “She was badly neglected and ended up with abscesses in all four hooves. It was a real mess, but between us, Mike and I have got her paddock sound. But her feet are still pretty ugly, and I’m not really sure what to do next.”
Seamus glanced at her as he held the reshaped shoe against the colt’s hoof. He straightened up and took it back to the anvil for further adjustments.
“Ah, so that’s why you wanted me moving in?” he teased. “So I can fix your horse for you?”
Van shook her head. “So you can show me how to fix my horse myself,” she replied.
Seamus gave her an appraising look. “That so? Well, I’m around for another couple of weeks. I can come out to your place and take a look at the mare sometime before I go, if you like.”
Van smiled back at him. “That’d be great.”
He fished a cellphone out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Put your name and number in here, and I’ll give you a call.”
Van complied quickly, then handed the phone back to him. “Done. I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you soon.”
Seamus winked at her. “If you insist.”
“He said no?” Marley asked, her forkful of mashed potato halfway to her mouth.
“He said he’s moving out of town. Bad timing.”
Kris scowled at her sister. “Mike could’ve told us that before he came up with this whole idea,” she complained.
“Mike didn’t know,” Van retorted. “I thought you’d be happy. You didn’t seem that keen on the plan to begin with.”
Kris just shrugged and concentrated on her food. She had tossed and turned all night, and still been in two minds about it this morning, until she’d collected the mail and found another stack of bills. Cruise’s sale had allowed them to pay off their mortgage, but the unfortunate reality of life was that bills never stopped coming in, and the money Van earned at the track didn’t go very far towards feeding and housing the three of them, let alone the countless animals that they supported as well. Kris had resigned herself to the fact that bringing a lodger in was a good idea, and had spent most of the day cleaning out Dad’s room in preparation. It had been a long, emotional day, and now Van was calmly telling her that it had all been for nothing?
Marley seemed disappointed too. “But I was looking forward to having a farrier on call. We’ve already got a vet, it would complete the set.”
Van laughed. “Well, he’s coming over sometime this week to give me some advice on Effie’s hooves,” she told her sisters. “So you’ll just have to try and charm him into staying.”
Marley grinned. “Challenge accepted. When’s he coming?”
“Not sure. He said whenever he gets a chance in the next few days.”
Marley speared a piece of broccoli and looked thoughtful. “Isn’t Mike’s step-brother coming tomorrow?”
“Yeah, Mike went to pick him up today.” Van scrabbled in her pocket for her cell phone, and checked it for text messages as she chewed. “He has custody of the delinquent,” she confirmed. “Says he’ll bring him over tomorrow to help me with the yards. Mike doesn’t seem convinced that he’ll be any use, but I said I’d give him a shot. Who knows, he might be able to swing a hammer. Ow!” she said suddenly, clapping her hand to her cheek.
Kris looked alarmed. “You okay?”
Van grunted. “Tooth.”
“Again? You need to get that looked at,” Marley told her sister. “Or are you waiting for it to rot and fall apart on its own?”
Van pulled a face and switched to chewing on the other side of her mouth. “It’s not that bad. I’ll survive.”
“Keep telling yourself that.”
“I will, thanks.”
Kris interjected, remembering the news she’d meant to share with Marley. “Speaking of survival, Stacey’s dad called this morning and said she’s woken up. Too soon to know much yet, but they’re hoping she’ll make a full recovery.”
“That’s great news!” Marley said.
“It is,” Kris agreed. “For them, at least. Not so good for us, since they’ve asked us to hang onto their nutcase pony for a while. I didn’t really feel like I could say no, all things considered, so I agreed. I did tell him what happened to Miles, but he didn’t seem to care. Told me they keep her stabled, because she’s so hard to catch.”
“Poor pony,” Marley said through a mouthful of food. “No wonder she’s so unsocialised if she’s never allowed out into a paddock.”
“Very sad, but I still want you staying away from her,” Kris warned her sister. “She’s unpredictable, and I don’t need you in hospital as well.”
“Don’t worry,” Marley assured her. “I’m not feeling suicidal.”
* * *
Van was digging out post holes the following morning when Mike’s ute came battering up the dusty driveway. Leaning on her shovel for a moment, she stood and watched as Mike unfolded his long legs from the driver’s side and slammed the ute door behind him. She could already see the tension in his shoulders, and her curiosity increased as she watched the passenger door. For a moment there was no movement, then it slowly opened and a lanky teenage boy got out. He stood and looked around dispassionately, then followed Mike towards the yards.
Van watched him approach, taking in his angular build, the long hair falling into his eyes, the pierced eyebrow and the spider web tattoo on the side of his neck. Classy, she thought to herself, and grinned, already understanding why Mike didn’t exactly get along with his step-brother.
“Morning sunshine.”
Mike grinned as he walked up to Van and gave her a swift kiss, before looking around admiringly. “You’ve been busy.”
“No rest for the wicked,” she replied, then switched her gaze to his step-brother, who’d stopped a couple of feet behind Mike. Mike glanced over his shoulder and made a vague, irritated motion towards him, and the boy shuffled forward reluctantly.
“You must be Jacob. I’m Van.”
She held her hand out to him, and after a moment’s hesitation, he reached out and accepted her handshake. Van shook his hand firmly, registering the flicker of surprise on his face at the strength of her grip.
“It’s Jake.” His voice was so low that Van barely heard it, and she could already sense the irritation flowing off Mike, whose own good-natured charm made it very easy for him to approach people, and very difficult for him to understand anyone with a reserved personality.
“Well, it’s good to meet you Jake. I hope you can teach Mike how to let his hair down once in a while.”
Mike glared at her, and Jake shuffled his feet and looked at the ground. Van smiled to herself and picked up her shovel again.
“So is this just a social call, or are you here to help?” she asked. “Many hands make light work, you know.”
“I’d be happy to,” Mike replied, “but I’ve got rounds to do. Speaking of, I’ve come to check on Miles. And you said Dottie’s been off her food lately? That doesn’t sound like her.”
“Sure isn’t. And last night she snapped at Kris for giving her a belly rub, which is most definitely not like her.”
“Hmm.” Mike looked concerned. “Sounds like she’s in a bit of a bad way. Is she up at the house?”
“Yeah, she’ll be in her basket in the kitchen, and I’m pretty sure Kris is there too.”
“I’ll find them. Back soon,” Mike told her, dropping a quick kiss on her temple before heading off up the track to the house.
Van leaned on her shovel and gazed at Jake, who was awkwardly watching Mike leave, clearly wondering whether he was supposed to follow him. His eyes flickered back to Van almost unwillingly, and she grinned.
“So, Jake. Wanna show me what you can do with a shovel?”
Jake shrugged. “Not much.”
“That’s okay, it’s not hard. Just dig where I tell you until I tell you to stop. Think you can handle that?”
He looked at her with a measure of distaste, clearly not used to being asked to work. “Nah, you’re all right,” he declined.
“Wasn’t a suggestion,” Van replied. He looked annoyed, but she wasn’t dissuaded. “Look, I don’t blame you for not wanting to be here. I wouldn’t want to be spending all day with Mike if he kept looking at me like I was something he scraped off the bottom of his shoe either. But the way I see it is, you hang out here with me and make a useful citizen out of yourself, or you hang out with Mike until one of you snaps and punches the other one in the face. And I prefer Mike’s face when it’s not all bashed up, if it’s all the same to you.”
Jake was looking at her curiously, trying to figure her out.
“Come on,” Van urged. “Mike promised me slave labour and I’m going to be gutted if I have to go buy a slave from an auction or something. You never know if you’re gonna get anyone good, and I just end up picking them on looks, which never really pans out all that well, at least not when it comes to getting any work done, if you know what I mean.”
She winked at him, and Jake couldn’t help cracking a smile. This girl was crazy, but she didn’t seem to be repulsed or irritated by him, which made for a refreshing change. He took a few steps towards her, and she gave the shovel handle a light push, sending it tilting towards him. He quickly caught it, then met her eyes.
“So now what?” Jake asked.
“Now,” Van replied, pointing at a dent in the earth next to her. “You dig.”
Mike knocked on the front door as he walked into the house. “Only me,” he called on his way down the hall. Kris was in the kitchen, getting dinner ready.
“Come on in,” she greeted him warmly, setting the chopping board aside and laying down the knife. “How’s it going with your stepbrother?”
Mike rolled his eyes. “Can’t get two words out of him,” he grumbled. “But I think Van’s put him to work already.”
Kris grinned. “She’s a hard woman to say no to.”
“Don’t I know it,” Mike replied with a smile. He walked across the room and crouched down in front of Dottie’s basket. “How’re you, granny?” he asked her. She wagged her tail in response, but when he reached out to pick her up she growled, and snapped at his arm.
