They’d been riding for well over an hour, and while she was usually super alert, Poppy wasn’t used to just walking like they were in a boring old trek. She hated to think how her friends were feeling – they usually cantered everywhere and found all sorts of things to jump. They were probably bored out of their brains.
As they rode over the farmland, she fell back to daydreaming about the upcoming eventing season, imagining what it would be like to compete every single weekend.
‘I think I see them!’ Sarah announced, frightening the life out of Poppy. She sat bolt upright in the saddle, eyes peeled. And then she saw them. The black heifers were grazing, their coats gleaming in the sunshine. A few of them stared at the girls as they rode toward them.
‘They all look fine,’ Poppy said, thankful that she wasn’t going to have to deal with any obvious injuries. Her worst fear had been one of them being stuck in a wire fence! But she’d done this often with her aunt and uncle, and she knew that it was usually as easy as looking over each animal to make sure they appeared okay, and checking their grazing and water supplies. ‘We’ll just need to ride a bit closer to get a good look at them and check their water.’
‘Do we all ride over?’ Milly asked.
‘Hmmm …’ Poppy hadn’t really thought the whole thing through. ‘I reckon we should all just keep walking, not make a big deal out if it. They might be more likely to let us get close that way, but they should be pretty calm, I reckon.’
‘Those bulls look kind of mad,’ Katie said as they rode closer. ‘Are they acting weird?’
‘They’re actually heifers, not bulls,’ Poppy said, staring at the cattle from where they were halted half a paddock away. ‘That means they shouldn’t do anything too mad because they don’t have any calves at foot.’ She kept watching them, and Katie was right. They were acting weirdly, making a lot of noise and milling about anxiously instead of just grazing quietly. It was like they’d been spooked by something. ‘The heifer ones are the mums, and they’re usually very quiet unless they have babies to protect.’
But the words were hardly out of her mouth when Sarah screamed, ‘Poppy!’
One of the cows was snorting and stamping, and all of a sudden it came charging at them!
Poppy felt helpless. She couldn’t let go of Sarah’s lead rope, but she could feel Missy pulling at it desperately, and Crystal was dancing under her like she wanted to flee. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sarah lean forward and clutch Missy tightly around the neck in an effort to stay on. Her face was white as a ghost.
The heifer came lunging toward them and Poppy’s mind went blank. She moved as close to Sarah as she could and held tight to the lead rope.
Suddenly there was a flash of noise and movement and Milly and Joe plunged in front of her. Milly looked terrified but her legs were clamped down hard on Joe as she yelled and flapped her hands as if she’d gone mad.
Realising what she was doing, Katie leapt forward to join her and the two of them wheeled and turned in fierce circles. Dust flew and their loud yells filled the air.
The cow hesitated, kicking out her legs and snorting, then she turned and trotted off, back to the herd. It was over as suddenly as it had begun.
Poppy could hardly breathe – and she wasn’t the one who’d had to ride flatstick at the beast and scare it!
Milly and Katie cantered back and pulled up beside them.
‘You guys were . . .’ Poppy was lost for words.
‘Amazing!’ Sarah finished for her. ‘Milly, you were so brave, and Katie, I can’t believe you just leapt in like that to scare them away.’
Milly and Katie shared shaky smiles but didn’t saying anything, probably as much in shock as Poppy was.
‘That was incredible,’ Poppy finally said. ‘You saved us.’
They all sat there, silently, until Sarah spoke up. ‘Um. Anyone else think we should ride in the other direction before we stop for lunch?’ she asked in a quiet voice.
Poppy tried to smile reassuringly, thankful that Sarah had taken charge. ‘Yep, how about we go a bit further on along here, towards that boundary paddock. There’s a creek with a waterhole a bit further down. Let’s check there’s water in there still and we can stop under the trees for a bit. I think we could do with a rest.’
The hot summer sun was beating down on them and Poppy’s T-shirt was starting to stick to her skin. Her arms were hot, but she always wore sunscreen so she didn’t have to worry about burning. It was better than sweating in a long-sleeved shirt.
She gave Crystal a quick pat, keeping an eye on the herd of cattle. The rogue heifer was still assessing them like she could charge again at any minute.
‘I’m with you, let’s go,’ Katie said, walking Cody away from the herd.
They all followed, and Poppy was sure she only started to breathe again after they’d been riding for a few minutes. Up ahead the land fell away into a dip, and Poppy knew that the creek would be at the bottom. Soon enough a large oak tree came into sight, with a wide piece of dried-out dirt stretching across one side.
‘That’s the waterhole?’ Milly asked. ‘I thought we were going to be able to swim in it!’
Poppy laughed, relieved that someone had broken the silence that had again fallen over them. The waterhole was fed by a creek that sometimes disappeared completely in the middle of summer. Since it was still hot, it was almost all dried up. ‘This time of year it’s never very impressive, but the horses can have a drink and we can sit in the shade of the tree.’
Poppy glanced over her shoulder at least five times as they rode towards it, worried the stupid cattle might all decide to come after them. She wasn’t scared of any animals usually, but she had expected the heifer to be calm and content, so it had made her tummy go all squirmy. Her uncle had always warned her that cattle were unpredictable, that they could kick out back and sideways and every other way in-between, but she hadn’t really taken him that seriously until now.
Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right. Why had they been making so much noise? What could have spooked them like that and made them so unsettled?
The horses had their ears pricked forward, happy to be out riding across the farm, and Poppy smiled as she looked down at Crystal, her grey ears flicking back every now and again listening for her. Poppy realised she hadn’t been talking to her like normal. With Sarah beside her and so much going on, she’d just been sitting in the saddle, forgetting all about her pony except for the odd pat.
‘Sorry, girl,’ Poppy said. ‘I still love you.’
‘What?’ Sarah asked.
Poppy shrugged. ‘Just talking to Crystal.’ She found it cute that Missy was walking so close to Crystal – they were almost matching, although Crystal was a little bigger and not as pure white in colour as Missy.
‘How do you figure out what to say to her?’ Sarah asked. ‘I mean, she is a horse.’
Poppy rolled her eyes. ‘Stop making fun of me. Everyone who loves their horse does it.’
Sarah laughed. ‘I’m actually not making fun of you. I want to know.’
‘Really?’ Poppy wasn’t convinced, but still. She loved talking to Crystal. It was natural to her. Whenever she was nervous or doing something new, she talked to her, sometimes even sang a silly song to forget about her nerves. Or she just chatted because it was nice to tell her about what was going on at school and what she wanted to do with her.
‘I just tell her stuff. Anything. Just, I don’t know.’
‘So you don’t have to like, force it? I mean you can just talk like we’re talking now.’
‘Well, she doesn’t answer back. She’s no talking horse.’
Sarah giggled. ‘You’re the one being silly now.’
‘Hey, Mils, what do you talk to Joe about?’ Poppy called ahead. The other two had taken the lead while she was riding at a slower walk with Sarah.
‘Whaddya mean? I just talk about nothing. Everything.’
‘See?’ Po
ppy shrugged again. ‘And I saw you talking to Casper today. It’s no different than that.’
‘All I told him was that he was a good boy and he had a nice furry belly to scratch.’
‘Exactly.’ Poppy smiled at Sarah. She couldn’t believe they were riding side by side. She never thought it would happen. Not ever!
‘I’m starved, how about you?’
Poppy nodded. ‘Me, too. Thanks for making us all lunch.’
Sarah burst out laughing. ‘It was make lunch or go down to the stables and pick up horse poo. Um, wasn’t really something I need to be thanked for! I got the good deal.’
Her laughter was contagious, and Poppy found she couldn’t help giggling, even though she personally thought that being stuck inside for an hour when she could be doing anything around horses was like torture. There was no way she’d give up an hour of being with Crystal for anything in the world.
They dismounted under the shade of the oak tree, a soft breeze blowing against Poppy’s arms, cooling her down. She wished there was more water so they could swim or even just paddle up to their knees, but it didn’t look that appealing and it wasn’t very deep. There was enough for the horses to drink though, and that was all that really mattered.
She loosened Crystal’s girth to let her pony relax while they ate lunch, then ducked under her pony’s neck to help Sarah down from Missy. She didn’t let go of her until she landed with a soft thud on the ground, followed by a moan.
‘How do you ever get used to your body hurting this bad after riding?’ Sarah asked.
Poppy thought for a minute. She was often exhausted but never really sore, although she did remember when she’d first started it had made her ache all over, and she always felt it in her leg muscles if she had a break from riding for more than a few weeks.
‘I guess you get used to it,’ she replied.
Sarah didn’t look convinced as she slipped her backpack off her shoulders and held her hand out. ‘I’ll take yours over for you.’
Poppy gave her backpack to Sarah, undid Missy’s girth and told her what a good girl she was, then led both horses side by side to the water’s edge, feeling like the filling in a sandwich when they both shied at the same time and squashed her gently between them.
‘Easy,’ she said in a low voice. ‘Nothing to be scared of.’
‘Are they a bit jumpy?’ Katie asked, appearing beside her.
Poppy frowned. All the ponies seemed to be a little jittery, on high alert, their bodies not as relaxed as they should be when they were about to rest. Each horse knew the routine, that when their girth was slackened off after a ride it meant nothing more was happening for a bit, which made it even more unusual.
‘Cody, that’s enough!’ Milly scolded.
Poppy looked up and saw Cody a bit further down, pawing at the water, his nostrils flared so much that she could see the reddish colour inside them.
‘What’s going on?’ Sarah called out, sitting a few metres away, her back propped up against the trunk of the big oak tree. ‘Are they usually like that?’
Poppy stroked Crystal’s neck, happy to see that her horse at least was starting to calm down. Or that might have been the Missy effect, because the lovely older pony had dipped her head now and was drinking from the creek. She looked up and saw the other two were still on edge, but whatever it was that had spooked them had passed.
‘Do you think they can sense the cattle or something?’ Poppy asked Katie in a low voice, not wanting to alarm Sarah. She still hadn’t answered her yet and she knew her friend would be asking again what the problem was.
‘That was ages back, and they didn’t seem worried while we were riding them.’
Something wasn’t right, but they had settled enough and Poppy’s stomach was roaring with hunger. She waited for Crystal to drink her fill as well, then led them away to a smaller tree beside the oak. She tied Missy properly to a branch with the lead rope, then slipped Crystal’s reins more loosely around another. She should have brought a rope for her own pony, but then she hadn’t been expecting her to spook over anything.
‘Poppy?’ Sarah said her name and Poppy turned to find her standing close by, her brows pulled together with worry.
‘It’s okay. The horses were just worried about something, that’s all.’
She watched as Sarah glanced back over her shoulder, looking for the crazy heifer that had charged them. Horses had amazing senses, knew when something was coming, but something told Poppy it was more than just a cow they were nervous of. They hadn’t exactly seemed worried earlier when they were in real danger! In fact, she suspected that Joe and Cody had been super excited about cantering at the cow with Milly and Katie yahooing on their backs.
Maybe there was a change in weather coming?
‘Come on,’ Poppy said, double-checking the horses one last time before linking her arm through Sarah’s. ‘Let’s eat.’
Katie and Milly had tethered their ponies and sat down to join them, and they all unzipped their bags and ate lunch so fast it was like they’d never seen food before.
‘Thanks for lunch,’ Katie said.
‘Yeah, thanks, Sarah,’ mumbled Milly, her mouth still full.
‘They’re just peanut butter and jam sandwiches,’ Sarah said with a shrug. ‘Nothing special.’
‘It’s food and it’s yummy,’ Milly replied. ‘Plus you packed us chips and apples. You’re awesome!’
Poppy noticed that Sarah was smiling even though she was staring down at her hands, and Poppy was pleased that they were all having fun together, getting along. She lay back and stared up at the branches waving, just ever so slightly, the pretty green leaves swooshing back and forth and letting little snippets of sunlight peek through. One of the reasons she loved it here was being outside all the time, feeling the sun on her skin and the fresh air against her face. Even when her dad had first died, coming here had been like escaping to a different world. She’d missed her brother and worried about her mum all the time, but it had still been nice to get away and pretend everything was okay. Back then she’d missed Sarah like crazy, which was why having her here was so special.
‘What’s over there?’ Milly asked.
Poppy snapped out of her daydream and propped herself up on her elbows. ‘Where?’ She stared into the distance, following Milly’s point.
‘Over there. That black thing.’
Sarah stood, peering forward. Poppy felt too lazy to get up yet so she just watched her.
‘It looks like a black pole or something. Weird shape though,’ Katie said, yawning as she leaned into Poppy. They were both sitting side by side, and Poppy pushed her head against Katie’s and wished she could just close her eyes and sleep for a bit.
‘It’s a tree,’ Sarah declared, taking a few steps away from them. ‘But it’s black, like it’s been charred. Must have been a fire.’
That made Poppy sit bolt upright. She exchanged glances with Katie and they both stood.
‘Are you sure? How can you even tell from here?’ Poppy asked.
Sarah looked back at Poppy, and Poppy knew from the serious look on her face that she was certain about what she’d seen.
‘It’s a tree. I’ve seen them on the news like that. And there’s more further out.’
Katie’s phone suddenly rang.
‘It’s Sophie,’ Katie said, looking at the screen. They all sat quietly as she answered. ‘Hello?’
Katie looked up and locked eyes on Poppy, and Poppy knew straightaway that something was wrong. Seriously wrong.
‘She wants to talk to you.’
Poppy reached for the phone. ‘Hi, Aunt Sophie.’
‘Poppy, you need to come home. There’s a storm coming and I need you out of there as quick as you can. Ride safely, but do it fast. Head straight for home, the most direct way you can. I’m already on horseback and I’ll meet you somewhere adjacent to Smithy’s.’
Poppy’s hand started to shake – she couldn’t help it. ‘How bad is it?’ s
he asked, voice trembling.
‘They’re expecting lightning, and a fire has already sparked about an hour’s drive from here. I want you and your horses back as quick as can be. Do you understand?’
She nodded even though her aunt couldn’t see her and quickly stood up. ‘We’re on our way.’
When she hung up and passed the phone to Katie, she realised her friends were all watching her, silent.
‘We need to go,’ Poppy announced. ‘Pack your bags fast, and get mounted. There’s a storm coming.’ She stuffing her things into her bag and rushed to the ponies. She tightened Crystal and Missy’s girths, checked their bridles and pulled their stirrups back down.
‘What kind of storm?’ Milly asked, right behind her.
‘The kind that sparks a fire. Come on.’
Katie and Sarah didn’t say anything, but they were moving fast and Poppy’s heart was hammering so loud she was sure they’d be able to hear.
‘Is she ready?’ Sarah asked.
Poppy turned and gave Sarah a quick smile. ‘Ready. We’ll be fine, we just need to hurry.’
Sarah looked a lot more confident than she had earlier in the day, or maybe she was just good in emergency situations. ‘I’m okay. You were right about her being a sweet pony.’ Sarah stroked Missy on the cheek and Poppy thought she was going to burst she was so excited about how friendly Sarah was being with the little horse.
‘She is super sweet. Before Crystal came along she was my favourite pony here.’ Poppy patted Missy and put the reins over her neck. ‘Let’s get you back in the saddle.’
Poppy gave Sarah a leg up and then mounted herself, settling into the saddle and gathering her reins in one hand, the lead rope in the other. She was used to leading another horse to exercise two at once, so it didn’t bother her having Missy beside her, even if they were going to be going faster than planned. Milly and Katie were already mounted and ready to go, and she could see from the look on Milly’s face that she was ready to dig her heels into Joe’s side and go as fast as they could to get back.
Starlight Stables: Bush Bolts Page 7