by Olivia Swift
Diana looked at it and nodded.
“Our grandparents are gone now, or they would be able to tell you exactly, but as far as I know, these were the barns. It’s not the ranch house because there is another one showing that.”
Magda found that one.
“These must have been your great-grandfather and mother.” She went back to the one of the barns and used the magnifier. Then she passed it to Bart.
“That corner of the barn - could it be Rula’s?”
“Yes, it could. That’s a fantastic find.”
“Rula,” Magda called. “Have a look at this and I’ll serve the customers.”
Rula came and inspected the photo with the magnifier and asked if she could take it to Mikey.
“Of course, you can,” Diana said. “I will leave them with you so you can all look at them when you have a chance.” She popped the baby back in the playpen and touched her cheek with a finger. Then she spotted the delectable candy horse chocolates. Some were finished and bagged, and others were half done. Katie had to leave them unfinished to work in the gallery.
“These are fantastic,” Diana said to Magda as she came back into the kitchen. “Can I buy a rosette one for Chloe?”
Magda laughed and handed one over.
“Payment for the photos. I haven’t priced them yet anyway. It’s edible gold.”
“Wow, she will be thrilled and is really excited about tonight. Good luck with the séance.” She left through the gallery to speak to the others as Sam and Declan came down the alley for their lunch.
“You just missed Diana, but Bart has the photos in the kitchen,” Magda said and started the sandwiches they always ate. Rula came back and added the one of the barns.
“That corner,” she said tapping the picture, “is our stable.”
“Good grief,” Declan said. “It must be almost a hundred years ago.”
“And it still stands good and strong,” Rula added as she went back to serving.
The two men ate their sandwiches, helped clear tables and then cut through to the gallery to see if help was needed there. Katie and Mikey were enjoying themselves as the place was full of people happily buying items. Ava had put aside the horse blanket for Magda. Katie pointed that out to Sam, and he paid for it and took it back to the café.
“It’s absolutely beautiful. I guess she bought the material already printed but made the blanket by hand,” said Magda.
“I paid for it,” he grinned at her and she kissed his cheek as he went back to join Declan.
“You are one lucky woman,” said one of the regulars at the counter. She smiled and showed her the blanket.
“My cousin has sold me a beautiful mare at a bargain price. I’m spoiling her already.”
“You need pictures of horses. Folks around here have always been horse riders.”
“Yes, you’re right. Next week we’ll have pictures by the great grandson of Cody Jones,” Magda told her.
“The Jonesville founder?” the woman asked and Magda nodded. “Pity he had to sell up and stop breeding. My dad always said that the best horses in the area were descended from what they produced.”
“Is your dad still around to ask about them?” Magda queried.
“Oh yes, but once he starts you can’t stop him,” she laughed. “Here’s my number and address.” She handed Magda a business card. “Give me a call if you want to come and chat. He’s at home all of the time now.”
“Thanks very much,” Magda said and tucked away the card.
“I’ll buy a packet of those whiskey liqueur ones. He loves them.”
“Regular’s free gift,” Magda said and handed the package over.
Later in the afternoon, Magda went back to see how the gallery was doing. She found Ava really happy that things had gone so well.
“I was so nervous to try it out,” she said. “I’m happy to do it again now.”
“Your work is so well done. Some of this must be really hard to stitch.”
“I have a very heavy-duty sewing machine for leather work because I started out making bags. I have made bags from just about any material you can imagine. I wanted to try things with a native background.”
“What about a stall at the rodeo? Some of the others are going but you would need someone to help you.”
“My brother is in the calf roping competition. He could help me set up and take down,” Ava said.
“Ask the others how they manage there,” Magda said. “By the way, I love my horse blanket. My horse Jessie will look lovely. She’s dark brown with a cream mane and tail.”
“Enjoy it,” Ava said. “Thanks for all your help.”
The exhibitors cleared away at the end of the day and Mikey said that he would just sweep up and tidy.
“I can stock up bottled water and snacks in the morning. We sold a lot of them.” He left Katie to total the takings and went to do the same in his camping shop. Magda did the same in the café and at last the place was quiet.
“Great day,” she said as they locked up. “See you at Rula’s.” She packed the baby into her car seat and put the new blanket beside her. She had made tacos from what was left in the café and took them home to eat. “Daddy can have hot soup and these. That will be easy to do,” she told the baby as she drove home.
The cats had been well-behaved. No books on the floor and Crystal was peering at the baby to make sure she was safe and well.
“You’re a funny cat, Crystal. I bet nobody ever had a nanny cat before.”
She plopped Samantha down on the floor until her food was ready and then spread the blanket on the back of the sofa. Crystal immediately clawed it to the floor.
“Whoa, whoa,” Magda said and picked it up. “This is not for you to destroy, madam.” It went back on the sofa and the cat clawed it to the floor again. “Why?” Magda asked herself out loud.
“Why what?” Sam said. Magda put the blanket back on the sofa and Crystal pulled it back down. She looked decidedly angry. They tried it on a chair and the same happened.
“I’ll put it in the bedroom until I can take it to the ranch,” Magda said and closed the bedroom door to keep it safe.
“Strange cat. Self-appointed baby minder and all-things-horses are obsessing her at the moment.”
“How did she know it was a horse blanket?” Sam asked. “It hasn’t been on a horse.”
“Heaven knows. She has a mind that works in a weird way,” Magda said.
They ate and then Magda fed Samantha. Crystal watched to make sure she was doing everything right. Magda shook her head.
“Okay, Samantha Barnes. Off we go to your second séance.”
Everyone was already there when they arrived and Rula was showing them her house. The gym was again popular. They then made their way to the barn.
Everyone stopped at the door and walked around the outside. Looking at the photograph of the barns from such a long time ago, they were able to see where the other buildings must have been.
“My great-grandfather bred horses right here,” Shelby said. “That’s a strange feeling.”
“Cody must have practiced on this very spot,” Chloe added. “I hope he knows I do the same.”
It was dark inside, so they used flashlights.
“We must get electricity installed before we start looking after horses,” Mikey said.
“That’s the staircase in my painting.” Shelby shone the light on the steps and went over to run his hand over the wood.
“It was as if you had really seen it,” Chloe said to her uncle.
“I guess I did really, but inside my head.”
Merle glanced at Declan and smiled. Magda put the carriage with the sleeping baby in front of her.
“Let’s make a start,” Merle said and explained what she was about to do. “There might be nothing. We just have to see.” She went through her little talk about imagining yourself in a bubble of light and asking for protection. She glanced over at Declan who had put himself in a position
to see the stairs.
He gave her a nod and she knew that he had seen the man. She could almost feel that the spirit was there waiting to come forward.
Bart said that he could see a ball of light on the steps and Chloe looked where he said.
“I can see a man,” she whispered and gripped her uncle’s hand so hard, he winced.
9
“It’s the cowboy. I can see him as well,” Declan said very calmly as if it was something everybody saw every day. In fact, he did see them every day but had learned how to switch off and block out anything that he didn’t want to see.
“Is it the man in the picture?” Magda asked and Declan described what he could see.
“Is that what you see as well, Chloe?” Merle asked and the girl said it was.
“Hello, cowboy on the stairs,” Merle started to call out. “Thank you for coming forward.”
“Can you bang once to let us know you can hear us please?” Magda asked and there was an instant response. Chloe and Shelby both gasped.
There was clearly a nicker from a horse straight afterward and they all looked at Branston. The sound was definitely beside him and he put up a hand to his shoulder as if there was a horse there.
“Is this your grey?” he asked and there was a bang.
Chloe looked at Declan and he nodded at her.
“I know. I can see it as well.” Chloe let go of the hands and went to Branston.
“There’s a grey stallion right behind you, Branston. He’s as big as your black one and has very gentle eyes.” She reached up her hand and there was such a loud nicker and it was so real, that they all jumped. She went back to the circle and looked at the stairs.
“Are you Cody Jones please?” she asked and there was a quick and instant bang.
Merle broke in and told the cowboy that Shelby and Chloe were descendants of his friend, Al Bentley.
“Did you already know that?” she asked, and the bang was instant again.
“Do you know that I practice the same way you did and I’m in the rodeo in two weeks?” Chloe asked and could not take her eyes off the stairs where a vision of the man she had grown up admiring was standing.
The cowboy nodded and there was a bang at the same time.
“I have found a grey gelding for Mikey and it will come and live here,” Branston told the thin air where he thought the man would be.
“Would you like a grey in this stable again?” Magda asked and the bang was loud and quick.
“I will breed horses one day and do what you did all those years ago,” Chloe said. “It’s what I want to do.”
“He’s moving,” Declan said.
“Stay still everyone,” Merle told them.
Declan watched as the spirit of the cowboy came down from the stairs and went to Branston. He took the stallion and led it to Chloe. She held out her hand to the horse and the two spirits blended into a ball of light and bathed her in a warm golden glow before fading away.
Chloe fainted and her uncle caught her as she fell.
Branston had bottled water on hand as Merle was always thirsty after a session. He opened it and tipped some onto Chloe’s lips. Shelby held onto her until she came around and started to shake.
“To the house,” Merle said, and Shelby carried his niece up the path and put her on the sofa.
“It’s normal,” Merle said. “I sometimes faint as well. Just give yourself a few minutes and sip the water. Then have a drink of coke. The sugar helps.”
Mikey handed Shelby a beer and told the others to help themselves. They sat around and went over what had happened.
“Have you ever seen a spirit before?” Declan asked. Chloe looked at him. “I always did,” he added.
She finally nodded and told them she had seen things when she was little and just shut them out.
“I wanted to see him though and I guess it just happened.”
“He wanted to see you as well,” Mikey said. “What about this grey, Branston?”
Branston said that he had gone over the stock at the ranch and the grey gelding called Callum needed more rest than he had at the ranch. “He’s still fit and well. He’s very well behaved and he’s ready for semi-retirement.”
“Sounds about right,” Mikey said.
“I need electricity, a paved floor, and new stalls in there,” Rula said.
Sam looked at Declan and laughed. “They need builders again.”
The group broke up and went home with Sam and Declan promising to make a start on the building work. Mikey and Rula said they would find time to come and see the grey and Bart thought that he would like to dig a bit further into the history of Cody Jones.
“And what the horses they bred were like,” Chloe added.
“It would be good to go back and find out more information about the family,” Shelby agreed.
Magda did catch him before they all went their separate ways to ask if she could see the horse sketches.
“They are my personal drawings. I will bring them in and see what you think.”
“He’s being far too modest,” Chloe said and smiled at her uncle. “He uses just a few strokes and the horse appears on the page. I love them.”
“But you love all horses,” her uncle pointed out.
“Are these real horses or some that you dream about?” Merle asked and cast a quick look at Declan to see if he was on the same wavelength.
“They are both,” Shelby said looking from one to the other. “You mean that the ones from my dreams might be actual horses from the past?”
“Oh heavens,” Chloe exclaimed. “The painted ponies1, did you dream about those?” He smiled and nodded.
“We have to see them,” Katie said. “Would you mind having prints made and sold if we wanted to?”
“I’ll tell you after you see them,” he laughed. “I don’t normally put them out there. It might feel a bit strange.”
Chloe flicked on her phone. Her wallpaper background was Merlin and she passed it to Katie.
“I have this one in my bedroom,” she said.
Katie drew in a sharp breath.
“How long did it take you to do this?” she asked Shelby. He smiled.
“About thirty seconds.”
“Like you did with Sam and the baby?” Magda added and he nodded.
“Do you know how rare that is to be able to do that?” Katie asked. “Please let us see them.”
“Okay,” he agreed. “I have quite a lot of them. See you tomorrow.”
Magda and Sam made sure the baby was fed and comfortable after her evening adventure and stood over the crib enjoying the little one breathing evenly with eyes closed.
Magda went to find the sketch of Sam and the baby.
“He did actually do that in thirty seconds and it’s obvious that the person is you. How does somebody pick up so quickly what will identify the subject?”
“I guess cartoonists do that but not in thirty seconds,” Sam agreed.
“I will find a frame tomorrow. There are plenty in the gallery.”
“What did you think about tonight?” Sam asked as they made hot chocolate and sat in the living room. The cats came closer to see if there was a chance of treats but went away again looking slightly offended. Magda laughed and went for some treats. The felines all came back quickly and sat in a row. She shook her head and said that the four of them were spoiled.
“To go back to your question, I had the feeling that Cody Jones had something more about him than we know. Don’t ask me why I think that. It was great to see Chloe and Shelby connect with the past. She’s very grown up for twelve.”
“I have no doubt she will be a breeder of horses in the future. She’s bright, clever, and very talented with her horse riding.”
Magda found the business card that the customer, known as Madge, had given her. She passed it over and told him about the conversation.
“Her dad might just know some bits of gossip from the past that give us more information.”
/> “We could give her a call and see if we can visit him,” Sam said.
“I’ll call her tomorrow,” Magda said.
They finished off the night watching some late-night television in the bedroom and enjoying being together. The baby slept on until it was almost time to get up anyway as the next day rolled around.
“Declan and I will ask what Rula wants and see if we can fit it in. With the building crew, it would be just a day’s work, I think.” He roared away as ever in the enormous truck. Magda talked to her daughter about horses and how Jessie was now part of the family. Crystal prowled around checking on everything and when it was time to leave, the cat retired to the sofa and curled her tail around in a contented position.
“Glad somebody is happy,” Magda gave the little cat a stroke and then did the same for the others.
The café produced its magic as usual and she enjoyed the feeling that she felt every time she walked down the alley and saw what she had created.
Katie and Rula arrived, the huge, gleaming drink makers switched on and the chocolate vat murmured into life. Katie went to open up the gallery.
Magda knew that Katie would be involved with the gallery. She saw that the stallholders were setting up and coming through for coffees to get themselves started.
“I’ll have to try and make some of the old favorites,” she told Rula.
Her friend looked at the chiller and nodded.
“Strawberry cream, orange liqueur, gin and crème coffee.”
“Better start then,” Magda said and donned an overall apron and plastic gloves. She had made the centers for the low stocks and put them in the chiller, when she remembered the card in her bag. Sitting beside little Samantha, she gave Madge a call.
“You are welcome to come over this evening if you like,” Madge said. “Dad loves visitors. I’ll tell him. He can be thinking back to the days when he was a keen horseman himself.” The address was on the card and Magda thanked her. She told Rula that she would pop over to the gallery and found the place humming with people talking happily and the stalls all selling enough to make them happy. Ava had relaxed and started to enjoy selling. Magda fell for some naturally made perfume and bought a spray of rose geranium on her way.
