by Ruby Loren
Hayley listened to the rain lashing down outside, as the balmy August weather finally broke. She sat on the cozy, star-printed bedding and opened her ears to the sounds of the thunder, rain and snoring.
She closed her eyes and tried to focus on anything but the snoring.
***
Russell’s snores were loud enough to wake the dead.
Hayley gave up on sleep and blinked in the darkness. Her phone screen told her it was three in the morning and she groaned, knowing that tomorrow was going to be very painful indeed. For a few heartbeats, Russell's snoring stopped and Hayley held her breath, praying that he’d finally run out of steam - or whatever it was that his interminable snores ran on. She waited in the silence and heard the sound of wood grinding against metal, right before a fresh snore rattled through the cottage.
Hayley stiffened beneath the blanket, her nerves on edge. It had sounded like someone had just slid the barn door open.
She stood up and walked to the front window of the cottage, looking out into the rain lashed night. There was no light to be seen down in the car park by the stable and she could see nothing in the barn either, but she’d still heard that scraping noise, hadn’t she? Maybe it’s just the storm, she told herself but knew she wasn’t convincing anyone. She had heard something and with horse thieves on the prowl and a very valuable pair of horses currently residing at the Hawley-Jones Riding Stable she knew she couldn’t just go back to sleep.
Romani would be ruined if someone stole Darken and Evenfall. She had to do something.
“It’s probably your imagination,” she repeated over and over as she pulled on the pair of wellington boots by the door and grabbed herself an old raincoat for good measure. She had no illusions that she’d be protected from the storm. It was hardly sensible weather to go outside in, but she had to investigate.
This might be her only chance to catch the thief who stole Starling’s Summer.
***
Rain ran off Hayley’s raincoat in rivulets and soaked through her pyjama bottoms. Her usually buoyant blonde hair hung down from her scalp in a sorry sheet. A shiver ran down her spine that had nothing to do with the drenching she’d received. Her worst suspicions had just been confirmed. The barn door was slightly ajar.
Someone had broken in.
She felt her initial bravado melt away and she wondered what she was doing out in the rain, well past midnight. The intelligent thing to do would have been to sit tight back at the cottage and call the police. Of course, they’d have never arrived in time, but what did she think she was going to do? She was soaked to the skin and completely alone. She didn’t even have a weapon and yet she was probably only seconds away from coming face to face with a gang of professional horse thieves.
“Not smart, Hayley,” she muttered, her eyes squinting through the rain as she looked around the flooded yard for something - anything - to arm herself with. There was not so much as a pitchfork in sight. There’s no lorry either, she suddenly realised. Wouldn’t professional thieves have some kind of transport ready to load their stolen bounty onto? Surely they didn’t just ride them away into the night? She snorted and clamped a hand over her mouth and nose, waiting for a long moment.
No sound came from inside the barn. The rain must have been loud enough to cover the noise.
What’s more… why would thieves choose the worst night of the summer to rob the stables? Also, what are the chances of them robbing the same stables twice, unless they knew about the new horses? She silently thought, a frown creasing her forehead.
Hayley discovered her hand was resting on the door of the barn. Her feet had carried her there without her noticing. She hesitated for a moment longer before curiosity got the better of her and she slipped silently through the barn doorway.
She couldn’t see a thing.
It was pitch black inside the barn and everything was quiet.
Too quiet for such a stormy night.
There was an angry squeal and Hayley’s eyes adjusted to the barn’s dark interior just in time to see the huge, black horse galloping straight towards her. She felt her limbs lock in their sockets as she froze in place, unable to move away from her approaching death. The monstrous horse’s eyes flashed white as he reared up, kicking his forelegs out, before they would inevitably crash down on top of her.
Hayley shut her eyes and waited for it to all be over.
***
“Barbarossa, no!” A commanding voice cut through the sound of the storm and the horse’s flailing hooves peeled away at the last second. Hayley tried not to collapse onto the floor when she heard the impact the stallion’s hooves made on the cracked concrete. She took a deep breath - one that she’d thought she’d never take and opened her eyes.
A man was standing in the shadows in front of her. Lightning flashed and illuminated his face, showing her his strong jaw, lined with dark stubble, hair that was dark and wild and eyes that appeared black and stared straight through her. Hayley knew she was being judged too.
“What are you doing here?” She bit out, sounding every word to make sure she had full control of her voice. Her heart still felt like it might be planning on leaping out of her chest, and she hadn't taken her eyes of the black beast of a horse who had so nearly killed her.
“I had to take shelter from the storm and this was the only place I could see. I didn’t think it would disturb anyone,” the man said, shrugging so arrogantly Hayley immediately wanted to call him out on the blatant lie.
“Why were you out in the storm?” She filled her voice with everything she wasn’t saying but the man in the shadows took a step forward and grinned, flashing his white teeth that were a stark contrast to his tanned face.
“It caught me by surprise. I travel around a lot, you see,” he said, nodding his head. A silver earring flashed in the dim light of the barn. Hayley looked him up and down, taking in the worn leather trousers and jacket. He looked more like a biker than a rider. “Sorry about back there with my horse, Barbarossa. He was just looking out for me,” the man said and Hayley found herself looking straight into those black eyes again, wondering if he meant it literally.
“I’m still alive, which is good,” she said as a peace offering and then took another deep breath. “Look, it was only a few days ago that some thieves broke in and stole the best horse at the stables. I’m sure usually no one would think twice about offering shelter and probably no one would even have noticed someone coming in for the night, but things are different around here now.” She sighed. “It’s not my place to say, anyway. If you don’t mind, we should go and speak to Romani," Hayley said, wondering if the stable owner would kill her for waking her up just to come and kick out a wandering gypsy. Perhaps she’d be furious with Hayley for even talking to him. Hayley also only had his word that he was telling the truth. A strange rider turning up in the middle of the night with a powerful, aggressive horse… she should probably have already called the police.
“What’s going on?”
They both turned towards the barn door in time to see Romani walk in. Her auburn curls were still springing around her head, despite the storm. “I heard you go out. I guess I'm not used to there being other people in the house. Not that anyone could sleep through…” She trailed off, looking at the stranger.
“I’m Danny Grey. I was caught in the storm with my horse and your barn was the only shelter around for miles. Your friend was just telling me that you’ve had thieves break in recently, so I completely understand if you want me to move on,” he said, giving Romani a rather breathtaking smile. Hayley wanted to stab him. It was fascinating the way his whole manner had transformed when the owner of the stables had walked in. She tried to ignore the way that Romani had reached up to subconsciously pull on her hair and Danny had opened his whole body language towards her.
“This is your horse?” Romani asked, moving towards the stallion who had tried to stomp all over Hayley. The big black horse snorted quietly and pushed his nose against her pal
m. So the horse was in on the act too. Great.
"Of course you can stay here, but only if you don’t mind if I stay with you. Our current house guest makes a sound as loud a sonic boom every time he inhales and exhales. I don’t know about you Hayley, but despite the roof problems, I’ve made sure the hayloft at the back of the barn is dry and I think it’ll be better to weather both storms up there.” Romani rubbed her tired eyes to emphasise the point.
“Sounds like a good idea,” Hayley said, knowing that this plan also meant she would be able to keep a close eye on Danny Grey. If Russell was going to be staying for long, she might even volunteer for full-time night guard duty.
“Hey… listen, there was something else,” Danny said and Hayley felt herself tense. Was he about to turn psycho killer, now that any plans he might have had for horse stealing had been compromised?
He pushed his hands together and looked appealingly at Romani. “I know it’s asking a lot, turning up out of the blue and wanting to stay the night, so to ask even more is crazy, but…” He turned the full force of those sincere eyes on Romani. “I was wondering if you might need some extra help around here? I’m pretty good with horses and I’ve taught people to ride before. Are you looking for any riding instructors or stable staff?”
“I’m really sorry, Danny… I'd absolutely give you a chance, but the truth is, we’re broke. The business wasn't in great shape before my horse, Summer, was stolen but now people think we aren’t secure and, well, the place is one big storm away from turning into a pile of rubble.” She looked anxiously at the corrugated roof, which groaned in response. “Hopefully not this storm,” she hastily added. “There’s no money to pay anyone. I’ve had to let all my paid staff go. Hayley’s here…as a friend.” Romani smiled but Hayley kept her eyes on Danny Grey.
“Well, how about I pitch in too? I don’t have anything better to do and I have a feeling I’ll like it here. If you let me stay, all I’d need is a bit of food for me and the horse and I’ll help you fix the stables up. I'm good at odd jobs. If you get any people looking for lessons, well, maybe then we could talk business.” He flashed that smile again. “Maybe I could show you what I can do? Give you a lesson, if you were up for it?”
Romani looked away and Hayley could read the thoughts on her face as clearly as if she were speaking them out loud. She hadn’t ridden a horse since Summer had been stolen. Even if she’d wanted to, there were only the riding school ponies and more recently, the horse gift that she had not accepted.
"You could ride Barbarossa. He’s… well, he’s an interesting horse, if you don’t know him,” Danny said and Hayley coughed. Danny smirked when she gave him a warning look but Romani was staring out into the stormy night, her fingernails in her mouth.
“Yeah… okay, I guess we can try that,” she finally said. Danny raised his eyebrows victoriously behind Romani’s back. Hayley just gave him another stern look.
She did not trust this wandering stranger with his unpredictable horse. People didn’t turn up out of the blue and then ask for a job and a place to stay. Horses were being stolen and two new equine stars had just arrived at the stable. Danny’s arrival appeared to be the most obvious attempt to case a joint anyone had ever made. The worst part was, so far they’d fallen for it.
Hayley frowned as she tried to get comfortable on top of the hay, still warm from days of sunshine beating down on the roof. Danny Grey was hiding something, and she was determined to figure out what it was.
CHAPTER FOUR
Second Impressions
“HELLO?!”
Hayley jerked awake and immediately grabbed her pounding head. It felt like she’d only shut her eyes a few minutes ago but sunlight was streaming in through the entrance of the hayloft. She sat up and noted that Danny was still there.
“HELLO?!” The shout came again and Hayley remembered why she’d woken up. She stood up and walked past Romani who was sprawled across three square bales of hay. She turned her auburn head as Hayley passed and groaned.
“Does the man not have a volume control?” She muttered and the ghost of a smile crossed Hayley’s lips as she climbed down from the hayloft to find out what Russell was shouting about so early in the morning.
“Oh! There you are. I woke up and there was no breakfast so I thought I’d come and see about getting Darken tacked up,” he explained, touching a hand to that suspiciously neat dome of russet hair.
“I think there are places nearby that will do breakfast,” Hayley said, knowing from Romani that Russell’s board and lodging was actually not part of their deal. He was not going to be waited on hand and foot.
“Yes, well… after my ride,” he said, and made an ‘after you’ gesture in the direction of Darken’s stall. Hayley finally figured out that he expected her to get the horse ready. Romani chose that moment to climb down out of the hayloft with Danny just a few rungs behind her.
Russell’s face went through an extraordinary range of emotions in a very short space of time. The one he finally settled for was ‘disdain’, probably afforded by Danny Grey’s shabby leather outfit and the silver earring that twinkled in the sunlight and marked him as someone very different from Russell.
“Who are you?” Russell enquired, physically looking down his nose - quite a feat given that he was half a foot shorter than Danny Grey.
“I’m here for an interview,” Danny said, not helping matters at all. “In fact, I’d better get my horse,” he said, walking in the direction of Darken’s stall. Russell followed his gaze and then trotted after him.
“What! What is that… creature… doing next to my horse?”
Barbarossa poked his head over the door of the stall next to Darkening Dawn and huffed air through his nose.
“It was the only stable free.” Danny smiled good-naturedly.
“Darkening Dawn doesn’t get on with other horses. He needs space. It’s space that I am paying for,” Russell said and Hayley noticed Romani start tugging on the loose tendrils of her hair.
“Well, these two look like they’re thick as thieves to me,” Danny said and right on cue, Darken stuck his head out and blew a raspberry at Barbarossa, who nickered in response. Hayley felt her lips twitch up as she admired the way the pair of jet black horses shone in the sun. Barbarossa was the bigger of the two, but you could see Darkening Dawn had a finer, more refined air to him. Russell knew it too.
“This is not going to work,” he started to say but Romani stepped forwards and smiled at him.
“Come on Russell, it’s only a week until the competition. How about I give you a hand with that tack and we’ll talk about the new sleeping arrangements.”
Russell blinked a few times. "New arrangements?” He asked while Romani walked into the tack store and pulled out Darken's saddle and bridle, which still smelt like the inside of a tack shop.
“Yes, well… at the moment, I’m not in a financial situation to offer Danny much in return for the work he’ll do around here. He’s helping with the renovations, so he’ll need a place to stay. There are only two bedrooms at the cottage and Hayley’s already using the sofa. It's the only recompense I can offer him…” Romani walked back over to Darken’s stall and they all held their breath while Russell figured out what was being said.
“Morning, all. What? Not already on horseback at this hour of the day?" Jack strolled into the barn and greeted Russell whose cheeks began to lose their maroon shade. He walked over to the stable where Evenfall nosed his dark brown head, flicking his ears back and dancing around. In contrast to when the two horses had arrived yesterday, Evenfall looked like he could do with the exercise, while Darkening Dawn had quieted right down, content to goof off with Barbarossa. It’s no wonder Russell doesn’t like Danny’s horse… Darken doesn’t look half as challenging today! Hayley thought with a wry smile.
“Would you like a hand with your tack?” Danny asked, managing to say it without a sneer. Hayley hid her surprise that he was even willing to consent to the idea that these priv
ileged men expected the day to day elements of owning horses to be taken care of for them. It was obvious that Danny himself had never had that experience and she was impressed that he wasn’t already judging them.
“Hey, uh… you know what? I’ll do it today. Good exercise, right Russell?” Jack blustered, looking from Danny to Romani in confusion. Romani blushed to her roots as she read the looks.
“You just missed the introductions. I’m Danny, I just started work here today. That’s my horse, Barbarossa,” he said, nodding to the big, black stallion who peeled his lips back in a horsey smile. Hayley was finding it just as hard to keep up with Barbarossa’s changeable personality as she was his owner’s. Was this really the same horse who’d tried to kill her last night? He seemed positively clownish today.
“Let’s get going. There are some figures I want to discuss with you,” Russell said, pulling the tack out of Romani's arms without so much as a thank you. “Jack, you’re staying with Earl George, aren’t you?” Hayley overheard Russell say as she began to look for the stable cleaning supplies. She couldn’t help smiling at the way you could almost hear Jack's unspoken panic.
***
“You're really going to let me stay up at the house?” Danny said when the three of them had finished the morning stable chores and he'd tacked up Barbarossa. Hayley noted the way the leather was worn, but well cared for. Whatever it was that Danny was hiding, it was clear he loved horses. That had to be a plus point.
“Well, I meant what I said. I really can’t offer you much, so it’s only fair that either you or Hayley get the best room. Russell sort of, well, didn’t give me much choice last night,” Romani shot an apologetic look at Hayley who inclined her head to let her know it was okay. Russell hadn’t even been invited to stay, let alone in the spare room. He just hadn’t left. “You guys can flip a coin for it later,” Romani finished.
