by Kate Lattey
CHAPTER NINE
After Mum and Hayley left in the ambulance, Jonty stayed by my side until Dad arrived to drive the truck home. Dad gave me a brief hug when he arrived, but he was more concerned about getting home than comforting me. We’d already loaded the horses, and he started the truck, then tried to hand me the keys to the ute.
“I didn’t bring another driver, so you’ll have to follow me home.”
I stared at him. “I can’t drive on the main road!”
“Course you can,” Dad told me. “You’ve driven it plenty of times.”
“Only around the farm!” I reminded him anxiously. “And I don’t even have my Learner’s licence yet.” None of that seemed to bother him, but I could still feel myself shaking and I knew I was in no state to drive anywhere, let alone on the main road. “Dad, I can’t.”
He made an impatient noise and looked over my shoulder. “Can you drive?”
“Yes sir,” Jonty replied swiftly.
The keys went sailing through the air past my left ear and I heard Jonty catch them. Dad turned back to me, then nodded towards the truck cab and spoke to me like one of his dogs.
“In.”
I did as I was told, and moments later we were making our way through the maze of trucks and floats, with Jonty driving the ute carefully behind us. I got a glimpse of him in the wing mirror as we turned onto the highway, and picked up speed.
“You know Jonty’s the same age as me, right?”
Dad barely glanced at me. “What?”
“He doesn’t have a licence either.”
Dad looked in the wing mirror and watched the ute following us. “Seems to be doing okay,” he said with a casual shrug.
“Yeah, but if he gets stopped or pulled over…”
“He won’t.”
“But what if he does?”
“We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it,” Dad muttered. “Stop arguing with me.”
I gave up, leaning back against my seat and wishing I could travel in the ute with Jonty. I wanted to listen to him reassuring me that things were going to be okay, instead of sitting here with Dad who was beside himself with anxiety right now.
It occurred to me belatedly that maybe I should be the one trying to calm him down. “She’ll be okay,” I said, trying to sound as convinced as I could.
Dad looked over at me. “I know. Sorry. I’m just worried.”
“I know. Me too.”
And then there was nothing left to say, and we drove on, scared silence filling the cab.
We all made it home without being pulled over, much to my relief. Jonty and I turned the horses out while Dad changed gumboots and overalls into something a little less offensive smelling for the hospital. I stood at the gate and watched Misty trot across the paddock towards his favourite rolling patch while Copper wandered around breathing on the grass instead of eating it, too wound up from the day’s events to settle down just yet.
“What’s that?”
I followed Jonty’s line of sight to the strip of dark blue satin hanging out of my pocket. “Oh yeah. Misty got second in the metre-ten,” I told him belatedly, pulling it out of my pocket to show him.
“No way! Really?” I looked at the smile on his face and tried to echo his excitement, but the moment was gone. He saw my half-hearted smile and stepped closer, putting his arm around me. I leaned in against him and closed my eyes, pressing my cheek against his warm shoulder.
“Be happy for yourself. You did Misty proud.”
“I fell off,” I reminded him.
“I’m sure Misty was proud of that too,” he said, and I giggled despite my melancholy mood.
“Tess!”
Jonty and I pulled apart as we turned around to see Dad standing behind us, his arms folded across his chest. “You ready to go?”
I looked down at my dirty breeches and riding boots, then back up at him. “Not yet.”
“Well, get a move on!”
I nodded, taking a couple of steps towards him, then glancing back at Jonty. “I’ll finish getting the gear put away,” he assured me.
I was about to thank him when Dad intervened. “I think we’ll be fine. You can head on home. Thanks for your help.” His tone was cold and insincere, and he turned away, clearly dismissing Jonty.
“Don’t take it personally. He’s kinda freaking out right now,” I told Jonty.
He nodded, still looking a little hurt. “Yeah, I get it. You better get moving.”
“Okay. See you at school on Monday?”
That crooked smile again. “Not if I see you first.”
* * *
I did see him first, as it turned out. I smiled at him as he walked up and sat down next to me on the bus the next morning.
“Hey.”
“Hey. How’s Hayley?”
“Home. But they still don’t know what’s wrong or why any of this is happening. The doctors are dragging their heels on getting her a CAT scan though and Mum’s livid. Luckily she has a friend who’s a neurosurgeon in Christchurch, so they’re flying down this weekend to get her looked at.”
“Well that’s good, right?”
“Yeah. I hope so. I guess it depends on what they find.”
“Right.”
We sat in companionable silence as the bus trundled on down the road, watching the farmland roll by. The back of Jonty’s hand brushed against mine, and my heart pounded. Then the bus ground to a halt, the doors hissed open, and I saw Evelyn waiting to get on. Jonty saw her too and started to get up, but I grabbed his wrist, stopping him.
“You don’t have to leave.”
He gave me a curious look, still halfway out of his seat. “I thought your friend would want to sit here.”
Evelyn was on her way down the aisle towards us, and the fact we were sitting together – and that I still had my hand on Jonty’s arm – hadn’t escaped her eagle eyes.
“I don’t care. I like you better than her anyway.”
Jonty’s smile started in one corner of his mouth, curving steadily upwards. “I’m flattered, but I don’t want to get you into trouble with your mates.”
Evelyn had stopped next to us and much to my chagrin, Jonty stood up completely. I dropped my hand into my lap, deflated, but then he turned back towards me and gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, then let his fingers trail lightly along my jawline.
“Chin up, eh?” he said softly, and I nodded.
“I’ll try.”
The bus started moving again, and the driver yelled at him and Evelyn to sit down. Jonty squeezed out of the way and headed down the aisle, and Evelyn sat down, staring at me with goggling eyes.
“Just friends, huh?” Her tone was accusatory, and I knew she was thinking of Mia. But I was well beyond caring about that.
“What’s it to you?”
“Sheesh, settle down. What’s the matter with you?”
I didn’t feel like explaining, and I really didn’t want to talk about it in the middle of a crowded bus, so I stared out the window and said nothing.
I came home that afternoon to find Hayley lying on the couch watching a stupid romantic comedy and stuffing her face with popcorn. The EEG hadn’t shown anything abnormal in her brain, which a small part of me wanted to make a joke about, but the rest of me couldn’t bring myself to do it. Hayley ignored me when I tried to talk to her, so I went out to the paddock and brought Rory in to check on her leg.
I was running the cold hose over it when Bayard turned up. I waited for him to ask about Hayley, braced myself to have to talk about it yet again, but he had something else on his mind.
“So did you ask him yet?”
“What?” It took me a moment to realise what he was even talking about. “Oh. No, I haven’t.”
“Maybe you should.”
“Maybe you should mind your own business.” I stood up straight and glared at him. “What’s your problem with Jonty, anyway?”
“He’s rough,” Bay replied. “His family,
his old man, they’re…”
“What, poor? That’s the pot calling the kettle black, don’cha think?”
Bay scowled at me. “You’re not letting me finish.”
“Go on then.” I put my hands on my hips and glared at him. “Tell me all about how terrible Jonty is, and how he’s corrupting me by helping me learn to ride Misty, and taking care of Hayley when I completely freaked out and I couldn’t do a thing to help her, and fetching the ambulance and driving the ute home and going out of his way all the time to help me out. Tell me how awful he is, go on! I dare you.”
“He’s only doing that because…” Bay cut off midsentence, looking down at his feet.
“Because why? Enlighten me.”
“Because he likes you.”
“No shit, Sherlock. I did happen to notice. Is that such a bad thing? What are you, jealous?”
“No! It’s not like that. But…you can’t trust him, Tess. Boys like him, they’re only after one thing.”
“Oh my God. You sound like my Dad!”
After seeing Jonty with his arm around me the other day, Dad had given me a lecture all the way into Palmerston North about how I should be careful with young men and to make sure not to lead Jonty on. I’d just sat there in a stony silence, letting it go in one ear and out the other, because he was my Dad and it was part of his job to be overprotective and unreasonable. I could take it from him, because I had to, but from my supposed best friend? No way.
“I’m glad,” Bay had the gall to say, which tipped me right over the edge.
“Would you get over yourself?” I demanded. “You’re my friend, not my parent. Besides, it’s not even like that. We’re just friends.”
“For now.”
“Well I’ll be sure to let you know when things change,” I told Bayard. “Don’t worry about that. You’ll be top of the list when we send out the wedding invitations.”
He rolled his eyes and walked away, and I threw the tub of ointment in my hand after him. It hit him in the back of his calf, but he didn’t even break stride. The tub bounced, rolled, and lay on its side on the gravel, leaking ointment into the dirt.
I’d actually thought my day couldn’t get any worse, but that was before I got Evelyn’s Facebook messages. She started out nice enough, asking how Hayley was doing, and I’d felt reassured by her concern until the next message came through.
I know its not a good time but ive just gotta say that you’re not being a v good friend to Mia right now.
I stared at the words on the screen, unable to believe what I was reading.
Excuse me?
Evelyn’s reply came back quickly.
You knew she liked Jonty and then you start flirting with him and now youre going out and shes really upset
Nope, still couldn’t believe it.
I’m not going out with Jonty. We’re friends. And if Mia likes him that much maybe she should’ve made the first move and tried idk talking to him just a wild suggestion
It sounded rude, and bitter, but I was so over their drama. I could feel myself getting angrier as I read over my words. I needed to stop before I said something I would really regret, although right now I couldn’t care less if I never spoke to any of them again. Then another message popped up onscreen, and I looked suspiciously at the unfamiliar avatar. It was a grey pony, which meant it wasn’t Mia or Jodie, so I clicked on it. It was AJ.
Hey Tess! Just wanted to check in and see how things are and if Hayley’s doing ok. We’re all real worried and hope she’s all right xo
I read the message three times, letting her genuine concern wash over me in a comforting wave, then started tapping out a reply.
Thanks. We don’t know yet she has to go in for more tests. Hasn’t had another seizure tho so fingers xd. Thanks for being there for me at the show, I really appreciated it even if I didn’t show it at the time, I was a bit freaked out :/
Another message came in from Evelyn, but I ignored it, waiting instead for AJ’s response.
Yeah of course!! Glad we could be there for you even if your mum didn’t want us hanging around. Sorry about that, we weren’t trying to make trouble, just worried about you - and Hayley of course
I know, its fine. I appreciated it even if she didn’t. She’s taking Hays to Chch for the wkd to get a proper scan done so hopefully will get some answers after that.
Yeah def! AJ replied. We’re having a pony sleepover at Katy’s this wkd, youre welcome to join us if you want a distraction, the more the merrier!
I sat back and stared at the words on my phone’s screen in surprise. I wondered what Katy’s house was like, and what a pony sleepover even involved, and if that meant I’d have to bring Misty along, since Rory was still too sore to ride. Part of me wanted to go, but I didn’t want to be invited out of pity. While I thought about how to politely decline, I flicked tentatively back to Evelyn’s message.
No need to be such a bitch about it. I’m just saying that you’ve let Mia down and she’s feeling really betrayed
She’s feeling betrayed? I wanted to reply. How about her letting me down by not giving a crap about my actual serious problems, and somehow making the one thing that’s making me happy right now into a huge drama that’s all about her?
My fingers itched to type those words, but another message from AJ came in to distract me.
I just asked Katy and she says yes come. It’s gonna be a full moon so we’re doing a midnight ride and Katy said she’d teach me and Susannah some mounted games. You could bring Misty or you can ride some of Katy’s she’s overloaded with ponies as usual. We’d love to have you… please come!
It was the ‘please’ that got me. I pushed my hesitations aside and decided that maybe it was time to make new friends. I swiped Evelyn’s message off the bottom of the screen without responding, then replied to AJ.
Ok I’d love to, just let me ask my mum.
YESSSS!!
Mum was surprisingly agreeable to the plan. She knew Katy’s mum pretty well from years of competing at the same shows, and she trusted her. After a quick phone call to check that I was actually invited and not intruding, she said I could go, but I wouldn’t be able to take Misty because it was too much hassle to drive the truck to Havelock North and back. I didn’t mind that at all – Katy was an accomplished rider who knew how to school her ponies correctly, and I was sure that anything else would feel easy after riding Misty.
The rest of the week passed slowly. I’d arrived at school on Tuesday to some seriously cold shoulders from Mia and Evelyn (who wouldn’t even sit with me on the bus now), but fortunately Jodie could see how pathetic they were being and stuck by me. I wasn’t sure if it was because she actually cared or because she felt it was the Christian thing to do. Jodie’s family were very religious and she told me piously that she’d prayed about what to do and she knew that God wanted her to support me in this difficult time. I’d just nodded and smiled, appreciating the gesture if not the sentiment. It would’ve been nice to have her stick by me because she was on my side, not because Jesus told her to, but I supposed that beggars couldn’t be choosers and at least I didn’t have to walk around school on my own all week.
Jonty sat with me on the school bus instead, and on Thursday he came over after school and rode Copper. Hayley had grand plans to compete again next weekend, and Taupo Christmas Classic was only a few weeks away. No way was she missing Taupo, she told Mum definitively, who lacked the fortitude to argue with her.
“We’ll see,” was all she’d say, and Hayley had informed me that I might as well let Jonty ride Copper again to keep him fit until she’d had the stupid scan and been given the all clear, or had been put on some drugs that would stop the stupid seizures and let her get on with her life.
It felt like old times as Jonty and I rode out of the yard side by side, Misty jogging excitedly at Copper’s side as Colin trotted eagerly ahead of us with his pointed ears pricked. The tall chestnut was relaxed and happy with Jonty in the saddle, and I sm
iled at his calm expression as he settled into a long-striding walk.
“He’s like a different horse for you.”
Jonty shrugged. “Hayley’s got a hot seat. She needs to learn to bring her energy down to balance his.” I gave him a sideways look, and he elaborated. “Nervous horses need calm riders to bring their energy levels down so they can concentrate. Lazy horses need energetic riders to bring their energy levels up. You’ve just gotta find the right balance.”
“Huh. That makes sense. How’d you figure that one out?” I asked, as Misty sidled through the gate and bucked half-heartedly when a rabbit shot out of a ditch and ran across in front of him.
“Just life, I guess,” Jonty said cagily, a strangely closed expression settling on his face. “You wanna trot?”
I puzzled over his answer as we trotted and cantered across the farm with Colin bounding happily in our wake. Misty still pulled and bounced and spooked, but I was getting stronger in my seat and better at predicting his antics. I still didn’t like riding him, and I still looked jealously at Copper as he cruised along on a loose rein, but at least I wasn’t quite as petrified as I had been in the past.
“You’re getting better at handling him,” Jonty commented, reading my thoughts as we pulled up and he leaned down to open the gate, which Colin promptly jumped over.
“Slow improvement,” I admitted.
“Still thinking of selling him?”
“That’s still the plan. I still don’t like him, and I still don’t want to jump Grand Prix. He should go to someone who’ll appreciate having him.”
“Fair enough.” Jonty held the gate as I rode Misty through, then worked on getting Copper lined up to close it. For some reason, the chestnut horse decided he’d forgotten how to shut a gate, so we had to stand and wait for Jonty to convince him that he was quite capable of the basic manoeuvre.
In the distance, I noticed a lone horse and rider. I recognised the stocky outline of Rusty and Bayard’s slumped shoulders, and our last conversation came rushing back to me. Don’t do it, I warned myself, but I didn’t listen.
“Can I ask you a question?”
