Dreams (16 page)

I hope he does well
, she prayed as she groomed him the day before the show. She’d washed his tail and his coat was shining like polished ebony. Looking at him standing calmly while she brushed him over, she could hardly believe that just two weeks ago he had been so hostile.

“Don’t you let me down with Anna Hallett tomorrow,” she sighed.

Anna had been supposed to ride him that week but she’d been too busy with exams. Ellie was feeling slightly worried about it. She hoped Anna would ride him lightly and give him the best chance. The judge would only ride him briefly but Anna would be on his back for a long time, and if she was too firm with him Ellie wasn’t sure how he’d react.

Just then, Lucifer started slightly as Joe looked over the stable door.

“Hi there. I’ve done his tack—it’s in the trailer. Do you want me to do Picasso’s too?”

“Oh, yes please!” Ellie said, smiling at him. “Thanks!” Things were getting easier with Joe. Having Lucifer to focus her thoughts on had really helped. The pain she’d felt when she and Joe had decided to be just friends had begun to fade. She could laugh and chat with him now without feeling torn up inside. In fact, she even found herself occasionally wondering if they really had been that perfect for each other after all. She loved Joe to pieces but he did think and act differently from her in so many ways. She was glad they were still best friends, though. She knew he was still deeply upset about Merlin and didn’t want to be avoiding him when he needed support. As he’d said, she was determined they’d always be close.

“I can’t believe what a difference you’ve made to Lucifer,” Joe said as he looked at the black gelding. “There were Dad and Luke fighting with him and then suddenly, in one afternoon, you have this idea to treat him in a different way.” He shook his head. “I still don’t understand how you knew what he needed.”

Ellie smiled. “Just instinct, I guess.”

THE NEXT MORNING
, Ellie crawled out of bed at 4 a.m., helped load the horses and then climbed into the living accommodation of the horsebox. While Joe and Luke plugged themselves into their iPods, she promptly fell asleep on the sofa there until they arrived at the show at 5:30 a.m.

“Wakey wakey!” She became aware of something tickling her face and opened her eyes to see Luke grinning at her, tickling her face with a cactus cloth.

She groaned.

“Come on, Sleeping Beauty! We’re here!”

“Here you go,” Joe said, handing her a mug of tea, while Luke threw open the jockey door and jumped out on to the show ground.

“Thanks.” Feeling crumpled, Ellie tightened her ponytail and went down the steps. The sun was just starting to rise in the sky, lightening the dark. Taking a deep breath of the fresh cool air, Ellie felt herself start to wake up. All around them were other trailers and people unloading horses and ponies.

“Time to get the horses out,” Joe told her as Len went off to check what was happening. Joe and Luke undid the ramp. As well as Lucifer, there were Picasso and Barney who would both be in the open working hunter pony classes, Wisp, who Joe would ride in the 153-centimeter show hunter pony class, and Gabriel, who Luke was taking in the Intermediate working hunter class. Spirit had come too, because Picasso was much happier traveling with Spirit in the horsebox.

Gabriel’s class was the first of the working hunter pony classes. It started at 8 a.m. but Ellie didn’t have time to see much of it because she was too busy exercising Picasso and getting him used to the show ground. The horses were usually worked in first thing, then prepared for their classes. Still, as she was working Picasso in, she caught sight of Luke doing his individual show for the judge. He pulled off a foot-perfect individual show with the fastest gallop of the class. He’d already gone clear in the jumping phase of the class and the judges placed him first. Luke came out grinning, the red rosette clipped on to the string of his number. Ellie and Joe rode to meet him. “Nailed it!” he said, high-fiving Ellie.

“Well done!” she said in delight.

“Great start!” said Len, patting Gabriel’s neck. “Let’s carry it on,” he said, looking at Ellie and Joe.

Barney was next in the ring. While Joe was competing, Luke brought Lucifer out and Ellie started preparing Picasso for the ring. His class was next. Luke had just started working Lucifer in when Anna and Jeff arrived. Anna was looking immaculate in a black jacket that showed off her slender waist, tight spotless cream breeches and shiny riding boots. Her dark hair was held back in a bun and the red stock around her neck was perfectly tied.

Ellie broke off from polishing Picasso. “Anna, can I talk to you for a minute?”

Anna was busy watching Luke, who had halted close by and was now practicing reining back. She gave Ellie an irritated look. “What?”

“I need to tell you about riding Lucifer.”

Anna frowned. “I hardly think I need advice from you.” It was clear she thought of Ellie as much younger.

Ellie refused to be put off. “Lucifer can be difficult.”

“He doesn’t look difficult to me,” said Anna as Lucifer backed five paces, halted and walked forward again obediently.

“I know. But he is. You have to ride him gently,” Ellie felt her anxiety growing. How could she make Anna understand? “Really gently.” She looked at Lucifer and caught Luke’s eye. She knew he was listening.

“Right. Thanks,” Anna said dismissively.

“I mean it. Please, just use the lightest possible aids and—”

“Hi,” Anna cut her off as she went over to Luke. “He’s looking good.”

Luke smiled at her. “So are you.”

Anna blushed.

Luke dismounted. “He should have a really good chance in the ring, but there are some things you need to know about riding him if you want the best out of him.”

“Sure, what do I have to do?” Anna looked up eagerly at Luke.

“Ride him gently, very gently, use very light aids,” Luke echoed Ellie’s words.

“OK, right.” Anna nodded, agreeing with every word he said. “Of course I will.”

Ellie felt her mouth drop open. Luke put his hand on Anna’s back. “Maybe you should get on and I’ll give you a quick lesson on how to make him go best,” he said smoothly.

“Sure thing.” Anna smiled and mounted. She walked Lucifer away.

Luke shot a look at Ellie and grinned.

Luke’s charms worked on Anna and she rode Lucifer on the lightest possible contact. Ellie didn’t have time to watch for long, though, because she was due in the ring herself. Barney had won his class too and Len was delighted. To Ellie’s disappointment, she didn’t quite manage to make it three in a row. Picasso jumped a clear round and did a really good show, but the judge placed him fourth. Ellie would have liked to win but she felt OK about the fourth place. She knew Picasso had gone really well, but at the end of the day it came down to the judge’s opinion.

She wondered what her uncle would say, but as she rode over to him he just nodded philosophically. “Next time,” he told her. “You rode well.”

Ellie took Picasso back to the box. She rubbed him down and put him back in the trailer with Spirit, then went to see what was happening with Lucifer.

He was just going into the ring. He looked wonderful. Luke had groomed him to perfection and as he trotted around, his hooves skimming smoothly across the short grass, his neck arched, his black coat gleaming, he caught the eye in a way none of the other horses did. After all the horses had been ridden around together, Lucifer was pulled in top of the line. It seemed to take forever for the judging of the individual show and the confirmation, but eventually it was over and the two smartly dressed judges began to confer, as the horses walked on around the ring.

“Oh, please, please, please let it be him!” Ellie prayed aloud.

“It will be,” Luke said, but he gripped Ellie’s arm. The two of them were watching a little way away from Len and Jeff, while Joe was back at the box readying Wisp for his class. Ellie glanced at Luke’s face and saw the tension in his jaw. “Come on, come on,” he muttered as the steward started walking in Lucifer’s direction. Ellie held her breath. Would Lucifer be called in first or would the steward go to the next horse along?

The steward pointed at Lucifer and called out Anna’s number.

“They’ve won!” Luke exclaimed, grabbing Ellie in a bear hug and swinging her around. She squealed in surprise.

He put her down, laughing, his eyes sparkling with triumph. For a moment all she could think was how blue they were. “He’s got his ticket to Hickstead. First time out.”

Still in his arms and feeling rather breathless, Ellie grinned. “We did it! We actually did it!”

As he looked down at her a strange expression passed across his face.

“What?” she demanded. He didn’t say anything and she began to feel rather self-conscious, wondering if she had a smudge on her face or something. She tried to step back but his arms tightened around her.

“Do you ever wonder, Ellie,” he said suddenly. “You and me?”

“You and me?” Ellie echoed in confusion. Her eyes widened as she realized what he meant. “You and ME!” she spluttered. “No!” She pulled away from him, shaking her head. “Oh no, no, no, no, no!”

He grinned. “I’ll take that as a no then.”

Suspicion hit her. This had to be just one of his wind-ups. “You’re joking, aren’t you? You’re not serious?”

He just looked at her in reply, amusement glinting in his eyes.

Jeff and Len came walking over in their direction. Ellie went to meet them, her heart banging against her ribcage. Luke had just been joking, hadn’t he? She glanced back at him. He gave her a broad grin.
Of course he was
, she told herself.
He’s got enough on his plate with Sasha and Anna. As if he’d be interested in me as well.

Jeff and Len were both delighted with Lucifer. “What a win!” Jeff said. “You’ve worked a miracle with that horse, Len, he’s a different creature from the one I saw a few weeks ago.”

Ellie thought her uncle would take all the credit himself, but to her surprise he said, “It’s been a team effort. Everyone’s been involved—Luke and Ellie most of all.”

Seeing her uncle’s delight with the win, Ellie felt torn. She would never forgive him, but she was glad Lucifer had won. Anna was over the moon when she came out of the ring, and they headed back to the horsebox to tell Joe and have some champagne before Lucifer went into the hack championship.

Jeff handed the glasses out when they arrived. “Here’s to the whole of the High Peak Stables team!” he said as he poured out the bubbles.

They clinked their glasses together. Ellie took a gulp.

“One show, one win, can’t ask for more than that,” said Jeff with satisfaction. He and Len started talking.

“We’ve still got our bet to go,” Ellie heard Anna say to Luke. The dark-haired girl was standing very close to him, her fingers playing with the stem of her wine glass. “Who’s going to get the HOYS ticket first then? You or me?” She looked up at him through her eyelashes.

“What I want to know is what does the winner get?” said Luke lazily.

Anna whispered something to him. He smiled and, moving her hair from her ear, murmured something back that made her blush. Ellie felt a stab of indefinable emotion and looked quickly away.

He’s still going out with Sasha
, she thought hotly.
He shouldn’t be flirting like that with Anna!
And what about Uncle Len? He had already warned Luke off. Ellie felt a prickle of foreboding.

Suddenly very keen to escape from them, she joined Joe who was standing a little way off.

“Hi there. You OK?” he said.

“Yeah.”

“It’s brilliant Lucifer won the class and it wouldn’t have happened without you working out how to ride him. Well done!”

“Thanks.”

They smiled at each other.

“I’d better finish preparing Wisp.”

“I’ll give you a hand.”

Ellie followed Joe over to the pony. She could hear Jeff and Len talking loudly about Lucifer and what he would win that season. It seemed as if the threat of losing the Equi-Glow sponsorship was well and truly over.

She silently thanked Spirit. No one would ever know the part he had played in it all. Without him, she wouldn’t have found out what was wrong with Lucifer and Lucifer wouldn’t have won.

Ellie sighed happily. Things were going well. Lucifer was content; she and Joe were back to being friends, and Luke…for a second she pictured his laughing blue eyes but she pushed them away…well, it had been lots of fun working with him and Lucifer
.

Her life at High Peak Stables might be very different from her old life in New Zealand, but it was beginning to feel like
her
life and not just a life she had been dumped in and didn’t belong to. She knew she would never stop missing her mom and dad but she also knew she couldn’t cling to the past, hoping it would come back. It wouldn’t. One of the many things Spirit had taught her in the last few months was that life moved on and you had to live in the present. Things were always changing and you had to change with them. You couldn’t live in the past. Horses knew that.

“Earth to Ellie!” Joe pushed a bottle of hoof varnish into her hands. “Of course, I could get Wisp ready all by myself at the ringside but you
did
offer, and standing there really isn’t going to do the business.”

“Sorry!”

Live in the present
, Ellie told herself with a smile. And, crouching down, she began to paint Wisp’s hooves.

LATER THAT NIGHT
, when all the horses and tack had been unloaded from the trailer, Ellie went to Spirit’s stable. He was lying down now, his legs tucked under him, his muzzle resting on the straw. He whickered as she opened the door.

The stable was warm and sweet-smelling and the straw rustled under her feet as she went over to him. She sat down, curling up in the space between his front and back legs. Putting her arm around his back, she felt the tension, adrenaline and excitement of the day slowly fade away and sighed. It had been a great show—Lucifer had also gone on to win the hack championship, and then Gabriel had won the working hunter pony championship, with Barney being made the Reserve Champion. However, she was glad it was all over now. Of all the places in the world, this was where she most wanted to be.