Jade lay back on the pillows with a smile. ‘We’ll be able to go running together. That’ll be cool.’
Dusty lay back, too, and the girls drifted in and out of sleep as their mothers told each other stories about them when they were little.
‘Mum,’ Jade’s voice was muffled by the blankets. ‘How come you were here when we got here last night?’
‘I’m not as slack as you think.’ Jeannie twisted the silver rings on her fingers. ‘I didn’t worry when I couldn’t get through to you on Monday night, but when the phone was still off the hook on Tuesday, I freaked out and got the train back. When you didn’t come home that night I rang the Bankstown cops, but they wouldn’t take me seriously. Said kids nick off all the time. After Trav got back on Wednesday night with his sorry tale, they got their bums into gear though. Travis was screaming, out of control. Horse was too scared to tell him what had happened until Neville had gone, and when he did, Trav thought you’d be dead. They’ve charged that scumbag already, picked him up on the highway. And they’re still talking to Horse. He’s in big trouble.’
‘I don’t ever want to see him again.’ Jade pulled a face at Jeannie.
‘You don’t have to, Jadey. He’s out of our lives.’ Jeannie hugged Jade and started to cry. ‘Oh, baby, you must have been so scared.’
‘And the Snow Pony, Mum. Where’s the Snow Pony?’ Dusty couldn’t go back to sleep until she had everything sorted out.
‘She and Captain are tucked up in the old stables here. Snug as bugs.’
Rita started to rub her back again and Dusty nestled into the blankets. It seemed much longer than five days since they had come up to The Plains. It felt as though they had been on an epic journey, one of years, that had forged them into different people. Soon the early snow would melt and they’d come back and muster the cattle again. Mum would have to come, because Dad would still be sore, and maybe Jade would come, too. Dusty drifted to sleep as her daydream rolled over her. The clouds shifted and sunlight suddenly streamed through the window, casting shadows of waving gum leaves on the wall behind Jade’s back.
A NOTE FROM ALISON LESTER
When I’m riding a horse on the high plains I feel as though I’m in a different world, like a cowgirl riding out for adventure. It always seems as though anything could happen, and that you’re a long way from home.
It’s fabulous being in a place where there’s so little sign of humans. Occasionally there’s a hut or an old fence line, but it’s mainly you and your horse, the snow plains and the big sky. Up there the colours are muted, even on a sunny day, and when night’s falling, with mist creeping in and snow whipping your face, it can feel like the loneliest place on earth. It can be so cold, even when you have everything tucked into your oilskin coat, and you’re holding the reins halfway up your sleeve, and you’ve adjusted your hat so that the rain drips down the back of your coat.
It’s very easy to get lost up there, where every stand of snow gums and rocky outcrop looks like the next one, so it’s good to be with someone who knows their way around. My friend Christa knows the Dargo High Plains well. It’s lovely riding back to the house on the plains after a day mustering cattle, knowing you’ve got a warm dry place to spend the night. The horses stay in the house paddock, rugged up, groomed after their days work, and buckled up in rugs to keep the alpine winds out.
Riding a horse on the high plains makes you feel like a princess really; you have this wonderful animal carrying you across the landscape. There’s constant movement as the horse picks its way across the tussocks and snow grass. I always talk to my horse, and the horse talks back in its own way.
The Snow Pony Page 16