“You know, this has been the best summer ever,” he murmured.
Georgia looked into his eyes. How had she never noticed they were so blue? Like the palest cornflower. She felt her heart tremble as Dan went on.
“It hasn’t been easy after my mum … well, you know,” he said. “Meeting you, and Em, and Lily, and Melanie and the horses, has really cheered me up. I love spending time with you all, but especially you, Georgia.” He smiled at her gently. Georgia felt the wind rushing in her ears as she blushed and lowered her eyes.
When she dared look up at Dan, he was still grinning at her. He nudged her gently in the ribs, and laughed. “Even if you are totally pony mad!” he said.
The two of them burst out laughing. “That may be so, Dan,” Georgia replied, “but I think you love the ponies just as much as I do now!”
“You may be right!” Dan nodded. Before Georgia could say anything else, he jumped to his feet and pulled her up by her good hand. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s show those teachers how to dance!”
Despite the late night, Georgia was still up at Redgrove bright and early the next morning. There wasn’t much left of the summer holidays now, and she wanted to make the most of every single moment she had with Lily. She had decided to take her for a walk on the lead rein and show her some of the scenery of the surrounding area.
The beautiful palomino really seemed to be enjoying herself. She was relaxed and calm, her lovely ears pricked forwards, drinking in the new sights as they ambled up the path at the back of Redgrove.
Stopping her at the brow of the hill, Georgia sighed with pleasure. She’d had such a great time the previous evening with Dan and Em and all her other friends – she was so lucky. And to top it all, she now had her dream pony. This summer had turned out to be better than she could have ever imagined.
Georgia fondly patted Lily’s golden neck and then leaned in to whisper her thanks to the little pony. She stood back and smiled. Just being with Lily was enough, but as soon as her wrist was healed they would have so much fun riding out together and maybe one day even training to compete.
Lily had been at Redgrove for such a short time but already it felt as though the beautiful palomino belonged there with Georgia. The two of them, together. What could be better than that?
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Nosy Crow would like to thank Katy Marriott Payne for letting her lovely Palomino pony star on the covers of this series.
Copyright
With special thanks to Michelle Misra
THE PALOMINO PONY COMES HOME
First published in the UK in 2014 by Nosy Crow Ltd
The Crow’s Nest, 10a Lant Street
London, SE1 1QR, UK
This ebook edition first published 2014
Nosy Crow and associated logos are trademarks and / or registered trademarks of Nosy Crow Ltd
Text © Olivia Tuffin, 2014
Cover photography © Rebecca Lupton, 2014
The rights of Olivia Tuffin and Rebecca Lupton to be identified as the author and photographer of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, incidents and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictiously. Any resemblence to actual people, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978 0 85763 365 1
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