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.
Night-time…
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.
Leaning against Spirit’s warm shoulder, she gently traced the lines of his face. She’d always known she was lucky to have him, but only that day had she begun to realize quite how special he was. Looking back, she could see how much he had taught her in the last few months, both through talking to her and showing her through his own behavior. He hadn’t just taught her how to speak to horses; he had also shown her the importance of listening to her instincts, being patient, letting go, moving on. It was as though, day after day, he had taken it on himself to guide her, gently nudging her along.
Ellie knew that many people would say she was mad. Her uncle, for one. She could just imagine his scornful laugh if she said Spirit had been setting out to teach her things. But she was sure he had.
“You’re amazing,” she whispered, kissing him. After all he had been through in his own past, Spirit could have hated people, but when he had met her he had been prepared to trust and love again. Horses were incredible—Spirit most of all.
Ellie started thinking about all they could do together, the horses they could help. She wanted to use what he had taught her, make as big a difference as she could. She wondered about the horses she would talk to next. Who would they be? What would be the matter with them? What stories would they tell?
Spirit nuzzled her, bringing her back to the present. His wise eyes met hers and she smiled. Whatever was in the future, one thing was for sure: they would love each other, truly and completely. Most things changed in life, but she knew that never would.
Not ever, she told him fiercely.
Resting her head against his neck, she let the rest of the world fade away. It was just her and Spirit. Outside a barn owl hooted in the dark, wide night as the shadows slowly deepened around them.
Turn the page to continue reading from the Loving Spirit series
Spirit…
THE GRAY HORSE STOOD in the field, his dark eyes wise, his tail swishing softly to keep away the flies. Near the gate, the other horses jostled, teeth flashing and hooves threatening as they argued over patches of grass and the water trough. The gray horse never got involved in their disputes. He led a small group of quieter horses. When he moved, so did they.
Lifting his head, he snorted with contentment. The early summer grass was lush and green, and the sun was warming his back. Behind the field the mountains of the Peak District rose up, their slopes criss-crossed with gray stone walls and dotted with black-faced sheep. The horse coughed, feeling a tightening sensation deep inside his chest. He paused in his grazing, but then, accepting the discomfort, he lowered his head and started cropping the grass again. He had known far worse pain in his life.
The memories were always there. The man who had fallen off him, coming to his stable, whip in hand. The horse could remember the feel of the whip lashing down on his neck and shoulder, and the man’s anger that he hadn’t understood. The scars had left him unfit for the show ring and so he had gone to another home—a trekking stable where they had made him carry people up the mountains hour after hour, his tack stiff, his stomach empty, his coat thick with mud and grease. The horse remembered his life there too—the tiredness, the hunger, the shouting when he slowed.
It was over now. He looked to the gate, his eyes seeking the slim blonde girl with her soft hands and gentle voice. The girl who had saved him. The horse coughed, feeling the strain in his chest again. Putting his head down, he continued to graze, his eyes never leaving the gate. She wasn’t there yet but he knew she would come…
Chapter One
THE STABLE WAS WARM, the air close and still. Outside on the busy yard there were sounds of stable doors banging, hooves clattering on concrete, grooms calling to each other. Ellie pushed the body brush over Spirit’s gray coat, cleaning it with every stroke of the curry comb. Her mind emptied as she lost herself in the regular rhythm—brush and clean, brush and clean…
Back in February, when she had bought Spirit at a horse sale, he’d been thin and scarred, destined to go for meat, but as soon as Ellie saw him, she had felt a connection between them. From the moment she’d looked into his eyes, she’d known she couldn’t leave the sale without him and so she had bought him and walked him back through the bitterly cold wind to High Peak Stables where she lived. He looked like a different horse nowadays: his white mane and tail tangle-free, his once-dirty coat clean. Ellie ran a hand over his side, pleased with thevelvet-soft feel. However, she could feel his ribs bumping too sharply against her fingers. Although Spirit had put on weight after she’d brought him back from the sale, over the last couple of weeks he had gone off his food and was growing thinner again. She frowned, worried, as she looked at his tucked-up stomach. Why wasn’t he eating?
“Should we talk?” she whispered, putting down the grooming tools. When she and Spirit were quiet and still, her mind could connect with his. Sometimes they would communicate with words; sometimes he would send her images and feelings that she would interpret.
At first, Spirit had been the only horse Ellie had been able to communicate with, but then he had shown her how to talk to other horses too. Now, if horses were unhappy or in pain and people didn’t know why, Ellie could find out. No one knew about her ability, only Spirit.
Shutting her eyes, she placed a hand on his shoulder and began to breathe deeply and slowly, clearing her mind, sending out love. Every person and animal in the world had their own energy field. Being able to talk to an animal with her thoughts involved opening herself up and connecting to that energy, waiting for the images and words to come. Every bit of her mind was focused on Spirit. Gradually she felt the familiar sensation as their minds merged. It was as if a door was opening.
Spirit?
Yes.
A thrill ran through Ellie. Even though she had talked to Spirit many times like this it always felt amazing when he answered.
How are you feeling today? Opening her eyes, she moved closer to him. Spirit had arthritis and his joints were often stiff. Maybe they were hurting now and she wondered if that was why he hadn’t been eating. Is your arthritis all right?
Yes.
Are you sure? You haven’t been eating your food.
I don’t feel hungry.
But you’re losing weight.
Spirit sent her a wave of reassur
ance in reply. A picture of him as a foal came into her mind. He was cantering around a field. It was one of his early memories and Ellie experienced it now as if she was him. She could feel the sun on her back, the cool grass under her feet. She felt the instinctive urge to gallop and buck in delight. Happiness surged through her and she knew she was feeling what Spirit had felt back then.
She wondered why he was showing her the memory—what he was trying to say. You were happy then? she questioned.
Yes. It is how I feel now.
Ellie breathed a sigh of relief. If Spirit didn’t think there was anything wrong that was good enough for her. She rested her head against his neck and changed the subject.
I managed to speak to Gem this morning, Spirit. I wanted to find out why he’s always so tense.
Gem was one of the hunter ponies she rode for her uncle. He was only young, a blue roan pony, and about to start his first season of showing. Ellie loved him like she loved all the ponies on the yard, but she found him quite difficult to ride because he was so anxious and needed constant reassurance. She’d been keen to find out more about him and his past.
What did he tell you?
Ellie began to share Gem’s thoughts with Spirit, showing him the pictures the pony had shared with her earlier that day—the first memories from when Gem had been with his mother in the field and then the day he had been taken away from her. Ellie had lived through the moments with him—as he had walked inquisitively up to the man with the headcollar and then been put into a horsebox with three other foals. There had been noise and confusion, men shouting, the other foals whinnying frantically.
Ellie had felt Gem’s terror as the ramp had clanged shut. He’d been very young to be separated from his mother—only four months old. There had been the smell of diesel fumes from the engine and the fear radiating from the other foals. She had heard his desperate cries for his mother as the horsebox started moving away. He’d never seen his mother again.
Gem had told her he’d been taken to a showing yard where he stayed for a couple of years. There he had been fed and watered, but the grooms were busy. After his attempts at seeking affection—nuzzling, pushing against them, pulling at their clothes—had been met with slaps and sharp words, he became nervous. When he was old enough to be ridden he’d been sold on again, this time coming to High Peak Stables, Ellie’s uncle’s yard in north Derbyshire.
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