Loving Spirit (7 page)

Joe took no notice.

‘Maybe it’s a present for his new girlfriend.’

‘I’d chuck him, love, if that’s the best he can do.’ They burst out laughing.

‘He’s my cousin, not my boyfriend!’ Ellie retaliated, unable to keep quiet any longer.

‘Well then, I’m available!’ one of them yelled. ‘Why don’t you come on over here?’

‘Just ignore them,’ Joe told her with a sigh. ‘They’re morons.’ He turned to Stuart. ‘He’s not going in, is he?’

‘Let’s try the lunge ropes,’ Stuart said. He fetched two lunge reins from the front and explained to Ellie what he was going to do. ‘We’ll fasten them on to the box, Joe’ll take one and I’ll have the other, we’ll bring them round behind him and see if that gets him going forward into the trailer.’

Ellie shot a doubtful look at Spirit. His head was up and he was looking at Stuart and the ropes suspiciously. ‘Isn’t there anything else we can do?’ She had a very strong feeling this wasn’t going to work.

‘Let’s give it a go.’ Stuart laid a hand on Spirit’s
neck, his voice gentle. ‘Come on, lad. Let’s get you in the box and take you home.’

He clipped the ropes on to rings at the side of the entrance to the ramp. Ellie then led Spirit forward, while Joe and Stuart went behind the horse and brought the lunge reins up so they crossed over and touched his tail. Ellie felt Spirit stiffen and his ears flicked backwards.

‘This isn’t going to –’

Spirit reared straight up as the lunge reins tightened against him. His front hooves lashed in the air, narrowly missing Ellie’s head. His eyes, which had been so empty, suddenly flashed with a long-lost defiance. As he came down, he leapt forwards, almost pulling Ellie off her feet. The new leadrope burnt through her hands, but she hung on tightly as he plunged around her.

‘Steady, boy, steady!’ she cried.

The boys watching jeered.

‘Whoa! Rodeo horse!’

‘Hold him, cowgirl!’

Spirit came to a stop and she stroked his neck, trying to block out the calls. ‘It’s OK,’ she soothed the horse. ‘It’s OK.’

‘Are you all right?’ Joe demanded, reaching her.

She nodded.

‘Let’s try again,’ Stuart said, coming over.

But Ellie shook her head. ‘It isn’t going to work,’
she said, her hand on the horse’s neck, her eyes on his. She knew, as clearly as if she could read his mind, that there was no way he would go into the trailer that day. ‘I’ll walk him home.’

Stuart and Joe had tried to argue with her, but in the end they had finally agreed it might be the most sensible thing to do. Now Ellie and Joe walked Spirit along the road that led up from the town in the valley. The empty fields stretched out on either side of them, rising up to the high peaks. A bitter wind blew down the mountainsides, shaking the strands of barbed wire above the stone walls. Everywhere looked so desolate. Ellie shivered, wishing she had some gloves with her. Her fingers were freezing. She put one hand on Spirit’s neck, tucking it under his mane and feeling the warmth from his skin seep into her. The horse’s head was stretched out low and he was stumbling every few steps as he walked. ‘Looks like he’s lame in his near shoulder,’ said Joe, breaking the silence.

Ellie nodded. She’d noticed that, and also the scars on his shoulder and legs. How had he got those? His mane and tail were matted and full of burrs, and his coat was thick with grease and dirt, standing out dully from his skin. He was skinny, and his neck was weak and un-muscled. He was a far cry from her uncle’s glossy, fit animals.

As she thought about her uncle, she felt slightly ill again. She’d been full of bravado at the sale, but now they were getting close her nerves were starting to build. What if he wouldn’t let her keep Spirit at the stables? He wasn’t the type of man who would be persuaded into anything and he certainly wouldn’t let her keep Spirit out of the kindness of his heart.
Then I’ll keep him somewhere else
, she told herself firmly.
Gran said I’ve got lots of money in trust. I’ll just use some of that. Gran and the other people
have
to let me
.

But what if they didn’t?

But Ellie knew she couldn’t let herself think like that. She stroked Spirit’s neck. Whatever happened she wasn’t going to let him go. As if he sensed her thoughts, Spirit raised his head and looked at her. Ellie smiled.
You’re mine
, she told him in her head.
I’ll find a way to keep you. I promise
.

Just then, there was the sound of an engine. ‘It’s Luke,’ Joe said as a motorbike came down the hill from the direction of the stables.

Ellie felt her insides tighten. Luke stopped a little way off and cut the engine. Getting off his bike and tucking his helmet under his arm, he walked down the road towards them in his black leather motorcycling gear, his dark hair falling across his forehead.

‘Oh my God!’ He shook his head in disbelief as he reached them. ‘Stuart told me what you’d done
but … oh my God! Len’s seriously going to freak.’ His eyes swept to Ellie, an amused, incredulous smile twitching at his lips. ‘Have you got a death wish or something? I mean, buying any horse without his say would make him mad, but to get a knackered horse like that –’

‘He’s not knackered!’ Ellie responded, stroking Spirit’s neck protectively. ‘He’s been ill-treated. He’ll be fine. He just needs love and care.’

‘So will you after Len’s finished with you!’ Luke turned to Joe. ‘I can’t believe you let her do it.’

‘Yeah, well, she’s not that easy to stop,’ Joe said glumly.

Ellie was too busy stroking Spirit to bother getting cross with them for talking about her. Luke’s gaze flicked back to her face, a new assessing look in his eyes. ‘You know something, you’re turning into good value to have around, Ellie. I’ll give you that.’

Ellie frowned. ‘Oh, shut up. It’s not that big a deal. I’ve got money. I’ll pay for Spirit’s keep or keep him somewhere else if Uncle Len won’t let me keep him at the stables. It’ll be fine.’

Luke raised his eyebrows. ‘I’ll remind you of that. Good luck with it then. I’ll see you later – if you’re still alive, of course.’ He strode back to his bike. Ellie clicked her tongue and walked Spirit on. The horse stumbled and Luke chuckled as he straddled the bike, blue eyes glinting. ‘Look on the bright side. Maybe
the old nag’ll drop dead by the time you get him home and Len will never need to know about him.’

‘He’s not an old nag!’ Ellie yelled furiously as she pulled Spirit past. A few minutes later, she heard the roar of the bike as it started up and Luke headed away.

‘He is
so
annoying,’ she complained for about the millionth time to Joe.

‘Forget Luke,’ Joe said drily. ‘You should be thinking about what you’ll say to Dad.’

Len wasn’t due back until feedtime. Ellie tied Spirit up outside and went in to phone her grandma.

It was very early in the morning in New Zealand and her gran sounded half asleep. ‘What is it, sweetheart? Is everything OK?’ she asked, as in the kitchen Pip jumped around Ellie’s legs, putting her paws up on Ellie’s knees.

Ellie could heard the alarm in her gran’s voice. ‘It’s fine. It’s just I really need to speak to you, Gran,’ she said, fondling the little dog’s head. She hadn’t wanted to wake her gran up, but she knew she had to talk to her before Len came back. ‘Um, the thing is I … well, I’ve just bought a horse and I was hoping, well, can I have the money to keep him?’

There was silence. Ellie held her breath and crossed her fingers.
Please, please, please
, she prayed.

‘Oh!’ her gran said. She gave an astonished laugh. ‘Oh, goodness, Ellie. You’re so like your mum at
times. So you’ve just bought a horse! What does your uncle think?’

‘Um, he’s OK with it,’ Ellie lied.

‘Well then, sure, I guess. You can have the money for the horse’s keep. I know your mum and dad would have been happy for you to have one. I’ll talk to the executors of the will, but yes, I’m sure it can be arranged.’

After saying their goodbyes, Ellie clicked the phone off, feeling a massive rush of relief. Phew. One obstacle down. Now there was just her uncle to face – but she didn’t want to think about that. Pushing the thought to the back of her mind, she picked up Pip and gave the little dog a cuddle. ‘Luke’ll be back soon, though it beats me why you like him so much.’

Pip wriggled and licked her nose.

Ellie went outside. Stuart suggested she put Spirit in one of the foaling boxes round the back that were not in use. They were large roomy stables, well away from the other horses. Ellie bedded one of the stables down with a thick layer of golden straw, and filled a haynet and a water bucket. Then she fetched Spirit. He hesitated as she tried to lead him in, stopping a few metres away.

‘Come on, boy.’ Ellie clicked her tongue and pulled on the leadrope, but looking at his face she could see that he was worried. His ears were flicking back and forward and his head was up.

‘OK. Well, there’s no rush,’ she told him. She loosened the leadrope and stood quietly beside him, stroking his neck until the tension left him and he pushed against her with his nose. She fed him a mint from her pocket and then rubbed his forehead. ‘I promise it’ll be all right. Look. I’ll go in.’ Putting the leadrope over his neck, she walked into the stable and came back out. ‘See, it’s all right.’ She patted his neck and then walked into the stable again. This time, Spirit followed her inside, his head stretching out, so his muzzle just touched the small of her back.

Ellie felt a wave of love as she saw the trust in his eyes. ‘There,’ she said, taking the headcollar off. He walked around, sniffing the straw and snorting, his eyes wide, as if he could hardly believe it. Ravenously, he pulled out a big mouthful of sweet hay from the haynet. Ellie smoothed down his mane and straightened his forelock. She was longing to start grooming him – to get rid of the grass stains and mud, the tangles and burrs – but some part of her sensed that she needed to be patient and give the horse time to adjust and settle in. She wished she knew all about him, where he had come from, why he was in such bad condition. She could guess that bad things must have happened to him from the scars left on him and the fact he was so nervous of horseboxes and stables.

‘You’re safe now, though,’ she murmured, and for
the next hour she just stayed in the stable with him, stroking him and keeping him company.

At feedtime her uncle arrived home. ‘He’s here,’ Joe said, coming to Spirit’s stable door.

Ellie knew it. She had heard the car arrive.

‘Look, I’ll come with you,’ Joe went on worriedly. ‘Help you explain.’

But Ellie remembered what had happened the last time Joe had tried to help her. ‘No.’ She swallowed. ‘It’s OK. I’ll tell him on my own.’

She readied herself to confront her uncle, feeling as if she was about to walk into a lion’s cage. But as she reached the door of the stable she heard a soft whicker. She looked round and saw Spirit staring at her. ‘I’ll be back soon,’ she reassured him.

She went up the yard, her heart beating fast. Part of her wanted to run away, to hide, to wait until her uncle found out, but she also knew she had to face the music some time. There was no point putting it off. She might as well just get it over with.

Her uncle was in the kitchen. Ellie put her hand on the door handle and, squaring her shoulders, walked inside.

Chapter Six

Len spoke slowly, as if trying to understand the words. ‘You’ve bought a horse?’ His eyes hardened to flint. ‘At the market? You bought a horse at the market this morning?’

Ellie nodded. ‘I had some money that Gran had given me. I phoned her and she said I can keep him.’

‘
She
said?’ Len’s voice rose angrily. ‘She’s the other side of the bloody world! Well, it can’t stay. You’ll have to sell it.’ He marched towards the door.

Fear gave Ellie courage. She jumped in front of him. ‘No. I won’t.’

‘You won’t?’ Len stared at her. ‘You’ll do as I say, lass.’

‘No!’ Ellie said desperately, her heart pounding. ‘I’m not taking him back to the sale!’

Len slammed his fist into the table. ‘You will do what I damn well say!’ he roared.

Adrenaline coursed through Ellie. ‘I won’t! I’m keeping him! If you won’t let me keep him here,
then fine, I’ll keep him somewhere else. But Gran said I could have a horse. She said I could have the money!’

They glared at each other.

When Len spoke, his voice was dangerously soft. ‘So, when you had this conversation with your gran, you told her that you’d picked this horse up from a sale, did you? You told her that he was unwarranted and unsound, which he must have been if you could afford him?’

Ellie didn’t answer.

‘He
was
unwarranted, wasn’t he?’

Ellie nodded.

‘And unsound?’ Len pressed on.

Ellie had no choice but to nod again.

‘And you think when I tell your gran this, it won’t make her change her mind?’

Ellie knew he had her. If he told her gran that, she knew just what the reaction would be. Spirit would be sold, no arguing. Her shoulders sagged, the fight going out of her. ‘Please,’ she said desperately. ‘Please, Uncle Len, let me keep him. Gran said I can pay for his food and stabling. He won’t cost you and I’ll do anything. I’ll …’ A thought struck her. It would mean backing down, which she hated, but she’d do it for Spirit. ‘I’ll ride the ponies for you,’ she offered quickly. ‘Whenever you want. At shows or here, and I’ll work really hard on the yard.’

Len’s eyes narrowed. ‘You’re suggesting we do a deal?’

‘Yes.’ Ellie thought he was going to explode again, but to her surprise his forehead furrowed.

‘Well, I do need a rider for the smaller ponies.’ Len considered her for a moment and then gave a curt nod. ‘All right. But on
my
terms …’

Ellie caught her breath in relief.

‘He’s only here on a temporary basis. I don’t have room on this yard for pets and the time you spend with him will be time you could be with the others, working them. You can keep him for six weeks. Get some condition on him and then sell him on. Maybe make yourself a few bob. You’ve got him now so it makes sense.’