Pony Jumpers 2- Double Clear Page 4

  “That jump’s huge!”

  “It’s not that big,” I shrugged. “Only a two-star.”

  “Bigger than AJ can jump.” She elbowed him indignantly, but he gave her a knowing look. “Well, it is!”

  “Give me time.”

  Anders’ eyes flickered back to me. “So did you win?”

  “Yeah.” My fleeting moment of pride was quickly subdued as I thought of Lucas standing in his box, trapped in there for months of rehab. “Not that it matters now.”

  “Someone set the table please,” Mum said as she started pulling bowls out of the cupboard, and AJ got to her feet, leaving the magazine splayed out on the table. Anders and I both reached for it at the same time, then both pulled our hands away simultaneously. Anders laughed, and pushed the magazine towards me slightly.

  “You have it.”

  “I’ve already read it,” I admitted. “I was just going to put it away. But you can read it, if you want.” I felt my skin redden again. Why would he want to read it?

  “Do you have any interest in horses, Anders?” Mum asked him, saving me.

  “Not really,” he admitted as AJ dumped a handful of cutlery onto the table.

  I grabbed the magazine out of the way and threw it onto the bench. At least, I tried to throw it onto the bench, but it missed and fell into Critter’s bed, half-landing on him and making him leap up with a yelp.

  “Sorry Crit,” I told him as I picked him up and gave him a cuddle. He licked my chin, and I scruffed his head, then glanced at Anders, who was watching me with his eyebrows raised. “What?”

  “You call that a dog?”

  “Just because your dog is a giant,” I retorted. AJ’s family had a retired police dog, presumably because their mother was a detective, and he was a huge German Shepherd with a loud bark but a squishy personality once he got to know you. “What would you call him, then?”

  “House rat,” Anders grinned, then turned to smile at Mum as she put a big bowl of stew down in front of him. “This looks amazing, thanks so much.”

  Mum beamed at him. She was still falling for his charm, and it was starting to feel a bit creepy. “Oh, it’s no problem at all. I made far too much for the two of us anyway, so you’re doing us a favour.”

  She grabbed a loaf of sliced white bread out of the pantry and set it on the table as well. I hoped it wasn’t stale, but I had a suspicion it’d been in there for a few days. I certainly wasn’t eating it, and I watched uncomfortably as Anders helped himself to a slice.

  “Eat up,” Mum commanded as she set bowls of stew down in front of me and AJ. We picked up our spoons obediently as she dished out her own bowl, but Anders waited for Mum to be sitting down before he started eating his.

  If the bread was stale, he didn’t mention it. Mum chatted with him as we ate, which turned out to be not as awkward as I’d imagined, because she asked all kinds of questions that I would’ve been too shy to ask, and he answered them all honestly. Through their conversation, I learned that he played at fullback for our school’s First XV rugby team, and was considered likely to captain the team next year; that his favourite subject was Graphic Design and his least favourite was English; that he wanted to be an architect when he left school, but he wasn’t sure whether he’d go straight to University or take a gap year and travel around Europe. At that point, Mum had launched into stories of her own travels, which she’d undertaken right after leaving school. Like him, she’d planned to take a year off and see some of the world before heading to Uni, but she’d become addicted to travelling and hadn’t returned home until she ran out of money.

  “I’d been having far too much fun overseas to consider sitting in a lecture theatre for the next three years, so I got a job and started saving to go back again. Not that I ever made it,” Mum said with a heavy sigh.

  “What happened?” Anders asked as I glared across the table at my mother.

  “Katy did,” she told him. “I fell pregnant, and that was that.”

  “Try not to make it sound like the worst thing that ever happened to you,” I muttered.

  “Of course it’s not, darling,” Mum said quickly. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, you know that.” She shovelled another spoonful of stew into her mouth and chewed, then swallowed. “Would’ve been nice to get to Nepal, though. That was next on my list.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Anders looking at me, but I concentrated on my meal until he looked away, turning back to my mother.

  “So you never made it to Uni, huh? What were you planning on studying?”

  “Fine Arts,” Mum admitted, rolling her eyes at herself. “Not exactly a money spinner.”

  Anders shrugged. “More to life than money,” he replied easily.

  I kept my eyes on my food. Easy to say when you’ve got plenty of it, I thought, then felt bad. I’d been to their house and I knew that they didn’t have a lot of spare change lying around. AJ’s sister Alexia had Asperger’s Syndrome, and according to AJ, her parents had spent a lot of money over the years getting Alexia into extra tutoring and other programmes to try and help her. I didn’t like Alexia much. She was hard to talk to, abrasive and downright rude sometimes, and I didn’t really know how to act around her. Luckily AJ preferred my house to hers, so we spent most of our time together here.

  “That was amazing,” Anders said, putting his spoon down and smiling at Mum. “I’d ask for the recipe, but I bet nobody can make it like you.”

  “You’re such a greaser,” AJ scolded him, then smiled at Mum as she scraped her own plate. “It was delicious though. If you ever make it again, I’ll be in here like a shot.”

  “I’m just glad to have such an appreciative audience,” Mum replied, looking at my bowl which was still half-full. Everyone’s eyes followed her, making me self-conscious.

  “You gave me too much,” I told her. “I can’t eat it all.”

  “Anders’ll finish it,” AJ told me. “He’s like a garbage disposal. Between him and Aidan, there’s never any leftovers at our house. Probably why we eat so fast,” she added, looking at her and her brother’s empty bowls guiltily. “More out of necessity than greed, I promise.”

  “He can if he wants.” I laid my spoon down and pushed the bowl towards Anders. “I’m done.”

  “Sure? You’ve hardly eaten anything,” he said, even as he picked up his spoon.

  “I’ll have a snack later if I get hungry,” I told him.

  Mum shook her head at me. “Eats like a sparrow, this one. Constantly snacking, but a waste of time to take her out for a meal because she’ll only pick at it. She’s always been that way.”

  “I hate feeling full,” I said, shuddering as I tried to explain. “Ugh. It’s horrible.”

  Anders shook his head at me as he started to eat my dinner. “You’re a weird one, Katy-did. No wonder you’re friends with my sister.”

  “He’s a nice young man,” Mum said as she stacked the dishwasher and I came back into the room after watching Anders’ headlights disappear down our driveway.

  “Yep.”

  “Good-looking, too.”

  “Mum!”

  “What? I’m forty, not blind.”

  I shuddered as I cleared the table. “Gross.”

  “Not the adjective I’d have chosen,” Mum teased, and I pulled a face at her, then dumped the plates on the bench.

  “I’m going to do my homework.”

  “Okay.” I was halfway across the room before she spoke again. “Katy?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Be careful, okay?”

  “Huh?”

  “He’s AJ’s brother. I’d hate to see something come between you two. Especially a boy.”

  “Oh my God. I know he’s AJ’s brother, I’m not stupid.”

  “I know you’re not.” Mum was facing me now. “But you’re young still, and there’s a lot you don’t know about…”

  I cut her off before she could go somewhere super uncomfortable. “I�
��m fifteen, not five. And I know all this. Just leave it, okay? It’s not even like that.”

  And I left the room before she could say anything else.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The best thing about competing at the Hawke’s Bay show grounds was their proximity to home. I got up at the highly civilised hour of seven-thirty on Friday morning and loaded the ponies, kissed Lucas goodbye, and gave Puppet a scratch too. He was shut into the loosebox next to Lucas to keep him company, and he was happily pulling at his stuffed haynet while Lucas paced around in agitation at being left behind.

  “Sorry buddy.” We lifted the truck ramp and I heard Molly whinny back to him. I tried not to think about what it was going to be like to come home without her. “We’ll be back tonight, I promise. And Hannah will bring you some lunch.” Hannah was the oldest of the Fitzherbert kids, home from Uni on a study break, and had promised to look in on the ponies during the day.

  Lucas wasn’t reassured, and he called out and banged on his stall door as we started the truck. I watched him turn fuzzy through my unshed tears as Mum backed the truck out and headed down the driveway, leaving him behind.

  I pulled Molly’s forelegs forward to smooth out the wrinkles under her wide stud girth, then gave her glossy neck a rub. I’d entered her for the show weeks ago, before Steph had even talked about selling her, and since we’d arrived I hadn’t seen any sign of her – or Susannah. Mum had made noises about going and seeking them out, but I’d quickly dissuaded her. I took Molly’s reins and prepared to lead her out of her yard when I heard voices approaching, and stopped, my heart plummeting into my stomach.

  Susannah and her parents were striding towards us, and as happy as I’d have been to completely ignore them, Steph was with them. I had no choice but to stand there and watch them approach, seeing the smiles on their faces widen as they looked at Molly, standing fit and proud behind me.

  Steph reached me first, and I swallowed hard.

  “Hi Katy. She’s looking good.”

  I couldn’t speak. I didn’t want to look at them, let alone talk to them, and I wondered where on earth Mum had got to. Steph’s hand reached out towards Molly’s reins, and I let her take them.

  “Susannah’s going to take her around the metre-fifteen,” she told me heartlessly. “It’ll be a good chance for her to get a feel for her in the ring. She’s a straightforward ride at home, but she can be a different creature when she’s competing.”

  Steph smiled at them, making light of the fact that she’d never been able to get the pony to perform, that she’d written her off as a lost cause until I’d come along and proven her worth. Until I’d made her into a pony worth selling. But there was no guarantee that Susannah would be able to get her to jump. Maybe this was the best way. Maybe Molly would refuse in the ring, and Susannah would fall off, and Steph would apologise to me for even thinking of taking my pony away because she was a real one-person pony and would never perform for anyone else. And then she’d admit defeat and give her to me, to keep forever. I clung onto those hopes as I watched Susannah step forward and give Molly a gentle pat, then walk alongside her as Steph led her down towards the jumping rings.

  And then when they were gone, I turned away and let myself cry.

  Forbes strained against the lead rope, tugging me towards more grass. I let him pull me along, ignoring my mother’s voice in my head to demand respect and establish my own personal space. If Forbes wanted that particular patch of long grass over there, he could have it. I was done arguing.

  Robin followed willingly, as placid as always about whatever life threw at him. I hadn’t wanted to stand around on my own at the yards, and Mum was still nowhere to be seen, so I had taken the boys for a walk and a pick of grass. I’d purposely left my cell phone in the truck. If mum came back and wondered where I was, she was going to have to come and find me. But now I was wondering if AJ had texted me, and when she was going to get here. Her parents didn’t like her skipping school, and she’d had to work hard to convince them to let her even have this afternoon off. It had never bothered Mum to give me time off school, as long as I kept up with my homework and assignments, which for the most part, I did. Squib hadn’t been too pleased when I’d taken his friends away, and had been whinnying and running around his yard when I left, but there were other ponies just over the railing from him, so it wasn’t like he was totally alone.

  I was starting to regret bringing both the boys out at once though. Forbes was still bolshy on the lead, and he kept aiming kicks at Robin, warning him to stay out of his space and making Rob pull back to the end of the lead with his legs braced, yanking my arm almost out of its socket repeatedly.

  After fifteen minutes of being pulled in one direction and then the other by my recalcitrant ponies, my mood was only getting worse, so I started walking them back. Robin marched alongside me as Forbes dragged back, unwilling to leave the world’s tastiest grass that he’d just discovered by the fence. He still had long strands of it hanging from his mouth, and I watched him chew as he followed me sulkily back across the show grounds.

  “At least you’re good looking,” I told him, and he snorted at me. It was true though. Despite being a plain dark bay with barely any white on him, Forbes was a head-turner. His conformation was almost flawless, and his curved ears and slightly dished face made for a very attractive picture. He was fairly well-bred too, an undersized Warmblood-Thoroughbred cross that had been bred for jumping. We’d bought him cheap and unbroken, because he’d been a bit of an ugly duckling, but after a couple of years turned out on the hills, he’d grown into himself. He had plenty of natural jumping ability, but he also had a stubborn streak a mile wide. We’d already had a couple of arguments, but so far I’d managed to win them all through quiet perseverance. But the big battle was still coming, I could tell. Someday I was going to ask him to do something he really didn’t want to do, and I was going to have to win. I wasn’t looking forward to that day.

  We were almost back at the yards when I saw Susannah. She was still in the warm-up, cantering Molly in a circle. My pony was flexed and on the bit, soft in the hand and working through her body correctly. Steph was standing by the practice fence, calling instructions, and I watched as Susannah cantered towards the jump. It was an oxer, set high and wide and square across - Molly’s least favourite kind of jump. She’d jump verticals all day long, but oxers took a bit more leg and a steadier hand. I stopped in my tracks and watched Molly canter down to the fence. Her head lifted slightly and I saw her fall back behind Susannah’s leg. Steph called something to her, Susannah rode forward a touch more, and Molly soared cleanly over with her ears pricked forward.

  I was grooming Forbes when Susannah brought Molly back. Mum was walking behind her, chatting to Susannah’s father as though they were long-lost friends. So that’s where she’d ended up disappearing off to. I ran the body brush over Forbes’ rounded hindquarters once more, then looked up reluctantly as Susannah stopped in front of his yard.

  “Where should I put her?”

  Forbes reached over the railing and sniffed at Molly, who squealed at him and laid her ears flat back, making Susannah jump. I motioned to the yard next to Forbes with my brush.

  “In there’s fine. I’ll untack her.”

  “I can do it.” She led Molly into the yard and hitched up the gate as I ducked through the railings between them.

  “I’ve got it.” I unbuckled Molly’s girth swiftly. “I need the saddle anyway, for Forbes.” That wasn’t even true – Forbes had his own saddle. I don’t know why I lied, or why Susannah’s very presence seemed to bring out the worst in me.

  I pulled the saddle off Molly’s back and slung it over the divider as Susannah continued to ignore my request to let me deal with my own pony, and slipped Molly’s bridle off. Molly lifted her head a bit as she did, and the bit clanked against her teeth, startling her.

  “I said to let me do that,” I snapped at Susannah as I rubbed Molly’s sweaty neck reassuringly. She was d
amp and still blowing slightly, and would need a thorough wash and a long walk to ease her tight muscles. “You have to take her bridle off really slowly and let her drop the bit on her own.”

  Susannah met my eyes with her own icy stare. “Well I didn’t know that, did I?”

  “It’s called common sense,” I replied. “It’s how you should unbridle any pony.”

  Susannah opened her mouth to retort when her father came to the front of the yard. “Susie, we have to go.”

  Susannah glanced back at Molly, slick with sweat, the veins still popping out against her skin.

  “She’ll need cooling off,” she told me, as though I had no idea how to look after a pony. That was the pot calling the kettle black if ever I’d heard it, and I would’ve told her so except that she had at least enough common sense to get out of there before I had time to reply.

  I grabbed a sponge bucket and got to work on Molly as Mum said goodbye to Susannah and her father, shaking their hands and smiling as though they were lovely people who would give Molly a top home, not vile people who would probably tie her head to her chest and beat her senseless if she didn’t perform for them. I closed my eyes and laid my head against Molly’s damp neck, fighting back tears.

  “You probably don’t want to hear it, but she went well for her.”

  Of course I don’t want to hear it, I wanted to yell. “I hate her.”

  “I know.”

  I lifted my head and looked at my mother. “She’ll be horrible to her.”

  Mum looked unconvinced. “She’s riding a lot better these days.”

  “In public,” I agreed. “She has to. She could hardly come back out and ride the way she used to after everything that happened. But what about behind closed doors? What’s going on there?”

  Mum sighed, knowing I was right. “The decision isn’t up to us.”

  “Oh really? Wow I had no idea.”

  I grabbed Molly’s halter and buckled it onto her head. She rolled her eyes uneasily at me, but I was in too much of a hurry to care. I picked up her trailing lead rope and opened the gate, leading her out into the aisle. Mum said something, but I ignored her, marching out of the yards and back to the far corner of the grounds where Forbes had found that wonderfully delicious patch of grass. I wanted Molly to have it.