Lucky Break

by Sienna Mercer

  Mr Vega looked miserable, too. ‘Sometimes the memories just aren’t enough.’

  Ivy didn’t want this to turn into a funeral.

  ‘Can we go and see the stables, now?’ Olivia asked, clearly not wanting it to feel gloomy either.

  It’s not what I would have suggested, Ivy said, but at least it will change the subject.

  ‘Of course,’ Rebecca replied, perking up.

  ‘I’ll wait here and unload the luggage,’ said Mr Vega. Ivy guessed he was feeling uncomfortable around the animals as well.

  The four of them crunched across the dirt and gravel towards the huge wooden structure that seemed the size of a small supermarket.

  It was cool and dark inside, with a long central walkway dividing a dozen individual stalls on either side. Two stable hands waved, one a man as old as their dad and the other was probably a high-school student. They were shovelling hay with pitchforks.

  ‘That’s Hank.’ Rebecca pointed to the younger one. ‘And that’s John.’

  There was a huge tackroom filled with saddles, buckets, blankets and other things.

  ‘Wow,’ Olivia breathed.

  ‘We’ve got twenty-two horses in twenty-four stables,’ Rebecca explained. ‘It takes a lot of looking after.’

  Ivy looked down the row at the horses. Every single one of them was giant, magnificent and kind of scary. The nearest horse, tan with dark hair, shuffled and looked at Ivy warily. Ivy knew there were special terms for the descriptions of horses but she had no idea what they were.

  ‘This is Coco,’ Rebecca said of the tan one as they walked down the aisle. ‘And this one is Admiral.’ Admiral was all black with wise, cautious eyes.

  Olivia greeted each one like a new best friend, and the horses whinnied and nuzzled back. Ivy kept her distance, not wanting a repeat of the scene with Gonzo.

  ‘Come on, Ivy,’ said Rebecca, walking over to a grey horse who had poked his nose over the stable door. ‘Say hi to Leo. He’s as gentle as a lamb.’

  Ivy forced a smile. A lamb three times the size of me with stompy feet, she thought.

  Rebecca opened Leo’s stall, took hold of his harness and led him out into the wide aisle. The horse tossed his dark grey mane and snorted. His hooves clomped on the floor and he kept watching Ivy.

  She gulped.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Rebecca said. ‘Give him a pet.’

  If Olivia can do this, Ivy thought, and if my mother could do this, then so can I. She shuffled forwards, and held out her hand but it was shaking.

  The horse side-stepped away from her, and Ivy’s heart sank.

  Rebecca clicked her tongue and Olivia was smiling encouragingly. Ivy took a deep breath and the horse seemed to calm down a little.

  Ivy reached out again and this time, she touched the side of the horse’s neck. The short hair was almost wiry and Ivy could feel the strength in the animal’s muscles.

  Wow, she thought. That’s amazing. Ivy had always thought horses were beautiful, but she’d never been close enough to touch one.

  Bang!

  The door to the barn slammed open in the wind, which startled several of the horses, including Leo. He reared up, kicking his front feet and jerking his head. Rebecca lost her grip on his harness and he bolted out of the open door.

  Ivy leaped back, falling against a wooden pillar, and Olivia dived out of the way into a pile of hay.

  The two stable hands jumped to attention, rushing out into the yard to try to catch the frightened horse.

  ‘Oh my goodness, girls!’ Rebecca rushed over to Ivy. ‘Are you OK?’

  Ivy nodded and looked for Olivia.

  Olivia brushed herself down. ‘I’m fine,’ she confirmed.

  ‘Leo is never usually jumpy,’ Rebecca said, helping Ivy up.

  I know exactly what’s making him jumpy now, Ivy thought. Rebecca had no idea that Ivy was a vampire, but the horse could obviously sense it.

  As they rushed towards the open stable door to see what had happened to the horse, Ivy wanted to keep on running, just like Leo.

  I’m a walking farm disaster! Ivy thought.

  Chapter Five

  Standing in the stable doorway, the bright sunshine blinded Ivy momentarily.

  She heard a sharp whistle and a horse whinnying. Then her eyes adjusted – and nearly fell out of her head.

  She saw her father holding on to Leo’s harness, stroking his neck and talking to him softly. Leo seemed perfectly at ease now, not at all afraid of her dad.

  Great, Ivy thought. It’s not vampires; it’s just me. And how does Dad know how to stop a runaway horse?

  Mr Vega led Leo back towards the barn.

  ‘I didn’t know you handled horses,’ Rebecca said to him.

  ‘Susannah loved to ride,’ he said simply.

  Ivy guessed that it was also because he was born close to two hundred years ago, when everyone rode horses instead of motorbikes.

  ‘What happened in there?’ Mr Vega wanted to know.

  ‘I –’ Ivy began but Rebecca leaped in. ‘I don’t know. Leo just bolted,’ she said.

  Mr Vega looked concerned. ‘You know my girls are not experienced horsewomen.’

  ‘Of course,’ Rebecca spluttered. ‘I would never do anything to endanger them.’

  Mr Vega passed Leo over to the older stable hand.

  Ivy felt even worse. The adults didn’t need anything to add to their pile of disagreements.

  ‘I’ll leave you to it and head home now,’ he said to Ivy and Olivia. ‘Are you sure you’re going to be OK?’

  No! No, I’m not! Just take me home. That’s what Ivy wanted to say, but there was no way she could drag Olivia away from the farm when she was so clearly loving everything about it. Plus, Rebecca was her mom’s twin. She would force herself to stick it out for the one night.

  He hugged them both goodbye and nodded to Rebecca. ‘I’ll pick them up tomorrow at six. Keep them safe.’

  ‘You don’t have anything to worry about,’ Rebecca said, smiling tightly. Ivy could see how tense her aunt’s body was.

  They waved as Mr Vega drove away in a cloud of dust.

  Ivy kept watching until the car was a dot on the horizon. Then she turned back to the chaos of chickens, goats, dogs and horses. One fat brown hen pecked its way over to her, and Ivy swore it was clucking its disapproval.

  ‘Are you OK to look at the rest of the horses?’ Rebecca said. ‘There’s one in particular I want you to meet.’

  Olivia put her hand on Ivy’s arm, to ask the question silently.

  Ivy wasn’t sure. She didn’t want to scare them or humiliate herself again.

  ‘Your mom’s favourite horse is the old patriarch of the stable now. I’ve started to think he was sticking around to meet you both.’

  Ivy’s eyes met Olivia’s. Their mother’s favourite horse!

  ‘Your mom helped birth Lucky,’ Rebecca explained, wrestling playfully with the two energetic Labs. ‘It was a close call, too. Lucky’s legs were in the wrong position and he was in danger of not making it. Your mom wouldn’t give up, though, and he survived.’

  Ivy was a little afraid to do it, but she had to meet the horse that meant so much to her mother. ‘Yes, I want to meet Lucky,’ she blurted.

  ‘Me too,’ Olivia whispered.

  They walked through the stable to the back. Lucky was munching on some feed in the last stall. He was beautiful – all white, including his mane. His big black eyes, full of grace and dignity, seemed to take everything in.

  ‘He was a jumping champion in his youth,’ Rebecca said, pointing to several framed photos outside his stall.

  Ivy caught her breath. In each picture, their mom was standing next to Lucky, as a girl not much older than Ivy was now. She was always holding up trophies or flower bouquets, except for one photo where it was simply Susannah hugging Lucky.

  The horse snorted gently as Rebecca spoke to him and stroked his muzzle. ‘Hello, lovely Lucky,’ she said. ‘Look who I’ve brought
you.’ Lucky nudged Rebecca with her nose. ‘This is Olivia and Ivy – Susannah’s girls.’

  ‘Hi, Lucky,’ Olivia said.

  ‘Hello,’ Ivy whispered, not wanting to ruin the moment. Lucky swung his head over to them and blinked.

  Not exactly an excited welcome, Ivy thought, but at least he isn’t trying to run away.

  ‘He would always jump higher and ride better for your mom. It was like Lucky thought Susannah was his mom.’

  Olivia gasped. ‘That practically makes him our brother!’

  Lucky snorted, and Ivy couldn’t tell if that meant he was agreeing or thought it was a ridiculous idea.

  ‘I don’t ride Lucky too much nowadays. He’s very old and a bit frail. He needs a dose of medicine every day, and loves his creature comforts!’ Rebecca said. ‘But how about if we take out a couple of the younger horses for a little trot?’

  ‘Yes, please!’ Olivia said.

  ‘I’ll just watch for now,’ Ivy replied. ‘One horse not attempting to flee is a victory for me. I don’t want to push my luck.’

  ‘Ha ha,’ said Olivia at the pun.

  Ivy sat on a bench, swinging her feet, as Olivia and Rebecca ‘tacked up’ their two horses. Bits, pommels and cruppers – it all sounded like Romanian to her, but Olivia seemed to be picking it up easily.

  While Rebecca led Coco and Olivia took Honey, a light-golden horse, into the yard for a ride, Ivy perched on the fence and watched as they laughed and chatted. The wind rustled through the woods behind them and picked up little flurries of dust wherever the horses stepped. Ivy was a long way from her bedroom coffin.

  ‘Looking at you riding, here on the ranch …’ Rebecca called to Olivia. ‘You remind me so much of your mother. It’s like I’m looking at a thirteen-year-old version of Susannah.’

  Olivia beamed and Ivy couldn’t help it; she felt a pang of jealousy. Don’t I remind her of our mother, too?

  ‘Ivy, watch!’ Olivia called and urged Honey into a canter.

  Ivy gave a little wave. Olivia was a natural and looked like she was having the time of her life. Normally Ivy would be happy sitting on the sidelines – especially at something as bunny-ish as a farm – but this was her mom’s favourite place.

  I want at least some part of this to make sense to me. Ivy looked at the pigs rolling around in the mud, snorting gleefully. The leaves of the big weeping willow tree were so long that they made a tent around the trunk. Ivy wandered over to sit underneath the tree. She could still see the riders but it was through a curtain of green.

  The main riff from Phantom of the Opera intoned from her messenger bag and she pulled out her phone. She already knew it was Brendan.

  ‘How ya doin’, cowgirl?’ Brendan said in a fake drawl.

  She sighed. Rebecca and Olivia were lost in their own equine world and couldn’t hear her conversation, so she could be honest. ‘Like a cow without its spots, or a chicken without its feathers – utterly out of place.’

  ‘Uh-oh,’ Brendan said. ‘That doesn’t sound good.’

  Ivy turned away from the riders, holding back tears. ‘I should have known I wouldn’t fit in, but this kind of bites.’ She took a breath.

  ‘I’m coming,’ Brendan declared, his voice serious now. ‘Where are you?’

  ‘You can’t; I’m miles away.’ Ivy sniffled.

  ‘There is this incredible invention called the wheel – and I am the proud owner of two.’

  Ivy smiled. Brendan could always cheer her up.

  ‘In fact, these two wheels have a chain and pedals that take me wherever I want to go. Now,’ he instructed, ‘tell me where you are.’

  Ivy glanced back to see Rebecca and Olivia riding side by side. ‘I could do with the company.’ She told him the address.

  ‘See you as soon as I can,’ Brendan said and hung up.

  Olivia wiped the tears from her eyes and kept chopping. She had a stack of onions to get through for the tomato and bean soup that Aunt Rebecca was making for dinner.

  Ivy was dicing up the tomatoes from Rebecca’s garden like a professional chef and, for the first time since they’d arrived, Olivia saw her sister had relaxed. Ever since Gonzo growled at her, Ivy had been walking around afraid to touch anything in case she broke it.

  But now the three of them were sitting on tall stools around the island in the middle of the huge country kitchen. There was a basket of fresh eggs on the windowsill, rustic wooden cabinets and a huge open stove. They were surrounded by fresh ingredients for the soup: chives, potatoes and carrots, all from Rebecca’s garden.

  ‘Ivy, you are a whiz with that knife,’ Rebecca commented as she washed and drained the beans in front of the kitchen window.

  ‘I like cooking,’ Ivy replied. ‘And this knife makes it easy. It’s a Fangtooth knife, right?’

  Olivia wondered if that was a vampire-run company. There were all sorts of them, from the Milk Duds baby store to funeral homes that were more like bedroom displays – seemingly normal, but with a vampire store in the basement.

  ‘It sure is. Your mom always used to say that you had to have the right tools for the job,’ Rebecca replied, and Olivia felt a little lurch.

  Every time Rebecca said something like that, it was like another piece of the puzzle fell into place, like her mother was that much more real.

  ‘Will you tell us another story about her?’ Olivia asked. ‘About when you both came here?’

  Rebecca put down the beans. ‘I can tell you that she always used to tease me for being a vegetarian and she was a terrible cook. She tried to make chocolate-chip cookies once and used baking soda instead of flour. Ugh!’

  Olivia chuckled. ‘That must have tasted horrible.’

  ‘The funniest part was she was so determined to prove that she could cook, she ate a whole cookie, pretending it tasted wonderful.’ Rebecca smiled.

  ‘From the looks of that apple pie,’ Olivia replied, ‘you obviously know what you’re doing in the kitchen.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Rebecca said. ‘But that’s enough about me. I want to know everything about you.’ She started to put ingredients into a big blue pot on the stove. ‘Ivy, will you go first?’

  ‘I don’t know what to tell,’ she said.

  ‘Then, I’ll do it for you,’ Olivia said, carrying over her onions. ‘Ivy is the best writer on the school newspaper. She’s in all advanced classes and has read lots of the classic literature books I wish I had, like Jane Austen.’

  Rebecca beamed at Ivy. ‘Your mother read Jane Austen.’

  ‘Really?’ Ivy said, like she’d just won the lottery.

  Olivia was glad to see her perking up – well, as much as a broody vampire could perk.

  ‘She read all that stuff,’ Rebecca said. ‘I could never understand it.’

  Olivia watched her sister turn back to her tomato-chopping with twice the enthusiasm, while Rebecca stirred the soup with her big wooden spoon.

  ‘I always wondered …’ but Rebecca’s voice trailed off as she peered out of the window. ‘Is that …? Who could that be?’ She pointed with the spoon and a piece of cooked carrot plopped on to the counter.

  ‘Who?’ Olivia couldn’t see.

  ‘There’s some hooligan in black stalking my chickens!’ Rebecca cried.

  Ivy ran to look out of the window. ‘He’s here!’ She jumped up and down, her boots clomping on the blue-and-white tile floor, then rushed for the door.

  ‘Oh dear,’ Rebecca said, frowning, as they followed her out of the kitchen. ‘That’s Ivy’s boyfriend, isn’t it?’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Olivia said. ‘Ivy’s too excited to take any offence at the hooligan comment.’

  ‘It’s all that black he wears,’ Rebecca muttered as she hurried down the hallway.

  Olivia cleared her throat. ‘It’s not what you wear that makes you a thug.’

  When Olivia and Rebecca got to the front door, Ivy had jumped into Brendan’s arms to give him a huge hug and he was twirling her around.

  He p
ut her down when he noticed Rebecca and said, ‘I hope you don’t mind, Ms Kendall, and I won’t stay long. I’ve left my bike by your mailbox.’

  He didn’t look at all tired from his bike ride, but that was one of the advantages of vampire super-strength.

  Rebecca cleared her throat. ‘No, no, I don’t mind.’

  Olivia wondered if she was telling the truth. But Olivia knew that after Aunt Rebecca had spent some time with Brendan, she’d see past his clothes to know how nice he was.

  ‘Thanks, Aunt Rebecca,’ Ivy said. ‘Brendan really … uh … really loves horses.’

  Brendan whipped his head up in surprise, but covered it up quickly. ‘Drawing them,’ he said. ‘Not riding them.’

  ‘OK, then,’ Rebecca replied, unconvinced. ‘I’ll just go add more beans to the soup.’ She gave an awkward smile and went back into the house.

  ‘So, what’s really going on?’ Olivia said to Ivy and Brendan.

  ‘I was feeling like a third wheel,’ Ivy confessed. ‘A fifth wheel, really: you, Rebecca, Coco and Honey were having so much fun.’

  ‘I could tell she wasn’t,’ Brendan put in, ‘so I insisted on coming. Besides, I wanted to see my girl living the cowgirl life!’

  ‘I’m sorry this hasn’t been easy for you,’ Olivia said. She felt awful that her sister wasn’t enjoying herself. She didn’t want it to be like when they went to meet their vampire family in Transylvania and Ivy had felt like an outsider.

  ‘It’s fine,’ Ivy replied. ‘I never expected to do the horse thing. At least my mom and I have Jane Austen in common.’

  As they headed back into the house, Olivia saw Brendan grab hold of Ivy’s hand.

  I wish I’d thought of inviting Jackson, Olivia thought, and decided to send him a text message. She took her phone out of her pocket but there was already a message from him waiting for her: Headline: Franklin Grove 27 per cent less cool without Olivia Abbott. Entire town awaits her return.

  She smiled and replied: The horses are so beautiful. You have to come out here at some point. Miss you tons. She paused then finished: XXX.

  Maybe, she thought, I should be even more obvious and write out: Kiss, kiss, kiss. And don’t make my first kiss be with Garrick!