Chapter 33
Poppy was lying on her bed, her chin cupped in her hands and a riding magazine open on the duvet in front of her, trying to pass the time until her dad arrived home. She’d barely glanced at the magazine. When she wasn’t staring morosely out of the window at the darkening sky, she was watching the minute hand of the old Mickey Mouse alarm clock on her bedside table. The harder she looked at the dial, the slower the hand seemed to move. Her dad had been due home at four o’clock. It was now half past, and there was still no sign of him.
Poppy looked down at the magazine. It was open on a feature about first aid for ponies. ‘How to save your pony’s life!’ ran the headline. She scanned the top ten things to include in a first aid kit and she skim-read the tips on treating wounds and common causes of lameness. Everything she saw, read or heard made her think of Cloud. She knew in her heart that he would never have been able to outrun the drift and by now was almost certainly back at George Blackstone’s farm. The thought chilled her to the core.
Twenty five to five and her dad was still a no-show. Poppy could make out the sound of Caroline singing along to a song on the radio in the kitchen. Knowing Caroline, she was probably dancing around the kitchen table, too, and the thought made Poppy smile. She and Caroline had had a heart to heart earlier, just the two of them. Poppy had been mucking out Chester and Caroline had come to see if she needed any help. They chatted easily now and Poppy no longer felt awkward around her stepmother. For the first time she could remember they’d talked about Isobel, and it had been OK. Better than OK, in fact – it had been good. As she looked over to the clock again her eyes fell on the photo of her mum. Poppy still missed her deeply, but she no longer felt so alone.
The distant rumble of a lorry interrupted her thoughts. It was a welcome distraction and she flung the magazine on the floor. The rumble grew louder and was followed by the crunch of tyres on gravel.
“Dad’s home!” yelled Charlie at the top of his voice, and Poppy could feel the walls of the old house tremble as he galloped along the landing and down the stairs. By the time she reached the hallway Charlie had already flung open the front door. She had been expecting a taxi but was flummoxed to see a sleek horsebox parked outside.
“That’s weird,” she said, half to herself. The horsebox was steel grey with a berry red logo. Poppy could just make out the words Redhall Manor Equestrian Centre. It was probably trying to reach the farm but had taken the wrong track, she thought. Then the passenger door opened and her dad jumped out. Charlie whooped and ran into his outstretched arms. Poppy waited a heartbeat and followed. Her dad’s suit was crumpled and there were shadows under his eyes but his face was tanned and he was grinning from ear to ear.
“Come here and give your tired old dad a hug, kids,” he commanded.
“Mike!” called Caroline from the front door. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the horsebox. “What on earth -?”
“I cadged a lift with Ted in Tavistock,” Mike said, gesturing at the driver, who was also jumping down from the cab. “We got delayed for one reason or another and my taxi driver had another airport run to do. I bumped into Ted and he said he was coming this way and would give me a lift in return for a cup of tea.”
They all filed into the house, congregating in the kitchen where Caroline made tea. Mike looked at his daughter, who was offering everyone a slice of coffee cake. She was growing up so fast. “Be an angel and go and get my hand luggage out of the horsebox, Poppy. It’s in the groom’s compartment, through the door on the side. There’s a light switch on the left, I think. There might be something for you both in there,” he added, winking at Charlie, who whooped again. As she crossed the gravel to the lorry she heard him yell after her. “Poppy! I nearly forgot. Your present might be harder to spot. Just keep looking and I’m sure you’ll find it.”
She walked around to the far side of the lorry and let herself in, feeling in the darkness for the light switch. After a couple of sweeps of the wall she found the switch, flicked it on and looked around curiously. She’d seen plenty of horseboxes in her pony magazines but had never been inside one. Scarlett just had a trailer on the farm, which her dad towed behind his old Land Rover. The groom’s accommodation reminded her of the inside of a caravan. There was a small sink and draining board with cupboards and a tiny fridge underneath, a sleeping area over the cab and a long seat the length of the wall opposite the door.
On the seat was the battered, black suitcase her dad used as hand luggage. Next to it was a carrier bag with the barrel of the biggest Nerf gun Poppy had ever seen poking out of the top. Charlie would be beyond excited. She walked over, picked both bags up and put them by the door. Poppy looked around her again. Her dad’s big suitcase was by the sink. She tried lifting it but it was so heavy she could barely haul it an inch off the ground. He’d have to come and get it later. There was no sign of any other bags but as Poppy turned to go she noticed the interior door that led to the horse area. She paused. Ted hadn’t said if he had any horses in the back but it wouldn’t do any harm to poke her nose through the door and have a look, would it?
“Of course it wouldn’t!” she exclaimed, her voice sounding unnaturally loud in the empty space. There was a thump from the horse area and a low noise that sounded very much like a whicker. Poppy reached for the door handle.
The light from the groom’s area revealed the first of three padded partitions which stood at an angle to the sides of the lorry. Peering around the partition she saw a Dartmoor foal, blinking nervously behind a hay net that was almost as big as he was. Poppy smiled and went to stroke his nose, but he shrank from her touch. “Don’t worry, little fellow. I’m not going to hurt you. I just wanted to say hello. Are you all on your own?”
At the sound of her voice there was another whicker from the stall next to the foal. Poppy felt the hairs on her neck stand up. She hardly dared to look at the foal’s companion but when she did she gasped. Standing with his legs slightly splayed was a skeletal grey pony. He looked as insubstantial as a wraith, but when he turned his brown eyes to Poppy they burned with life. “Cloud!” Poppy breathed. She flung her arms around his bony neck and he stood patiently while she sobbed noisily, snot mingling with the sweat and dried blood in his tangled mane.
Minutes passed as they stood locked together. Poppy’s mind was reeling. Could Cloud be for her? But how had her dad known about him – she’d never mentioned him in any of her emails. And anyway, things like that only happened in stories, not to girls like her.
More likely Cloud was destined for the flash-sounding Redhall Manor Equestrian Centre where he would be used as a riding pony for spoilt rich kids. But at least he was safe from the brutal hands of George Blackstone. Poppy realised that was all that mattered.
She hugged him fiercely. “I’ll find out where you’re going and I will always look out for you, Cloud,” she muttered into his mane.
“No need for that. He’s staying right here,” said a cheerful voice. She looked up and saw Ted opening the ramp of the horsebox.
“But I don’t understand –”, she gulped, wiping her nose on the sleeve of her jumper.
“Your dad bought him at the pony sale in Tavistock this afternoon. My boss offered the lorry to bring him back to Riverdale. He’s as thin as a stick and very nervy but you two seem to have made friends already!”
Mike and Caroline were standing at the bottom of the ramp, arms around each other, broad smiles on their faces.
“It’s Cloud!” Poppy told her stepmother, the disbelief on her face giving way to joy.
Caroline’s blue eyes were sparkling. “I thought it might be from the way your dad described him.”
“But Daddy, how did you know?”
“I’d like to take the credit but I’m afraid it was all down to Ted’s boss, Bella. We bumped into each other at the pony sale this afternoon. She’s a force to be reckoned with, I tell you.” Ted chuckled at the accurate description of his boss as he undid the first two partitions of the horsebox.
“I was looking for a foal for you but Bella said no, two novices together would be a mistake. Then this one walked into the ring and Bella reckoned he would be perfect for you, Poppy. He looked like a mess to me but she sounded so sure I found myself bidding. It was me against the knackerman,” said Mike succinctly. Poppy shuddered.
“Then a man standing next to us told me the pony had killed a girl. I didn’t know whether to believe him or not. But before I had a chance to ask Bella if it was true the bidding was over. Someone had bought him.”
Poppy held her breath as her dad continued. “It was Bella. She told me he belonged to Riverdale and that I could pay her back later. And suddenly I was the owner of a dappled grey bag of bones with a notorious reputation and not much else. I had no idea you two had already met,” Mike finished, looking at his tear-streaked daughter. She was leaning heavily against Cloud, while he rested his head on her slight shoulder. It gave the illusion that they were propping each other up.
“I don’t understand how he ended up at the pony sale. I thought George Blackstone would have wanted to keep him,” said Poppy.
“I can answer that,” answered Ted. “Apparently he came off the moor yesterday afternoon in the drift near Waterby.”
Poppy and Caroline nodded. They’d guessed that much.
“He was taken back to Blackstone’s farm. Blackstone’s a miserable old sod who lives on the other side of the village,” Ted explained to Mike. “According to gossip, Blackstone went into the back of his lorry with the pony. Who knows what he intended to do but knowing Blackstone it wasn’t to give the pony a titbit. His farmhand Jimmy found Blackstone a while later. He’d fallen and knocked himself out. He was out cold for quite a while, apparently. Jimmy had to slap his cheeks a few times before he came round. Other than a blinding headache he was as right as rain. Unfortunately.” Ted added with feeling.
Poppy looked at the streaks of dried blood that were caked to Cloud’s flanks and wondered what had gone on in the back of that lorry. She laid her cheek gently against Cloud’s as Ted continued. “Blackstone decided last night to send the pony to the sales. He wasn’t prepared to throw good money after bad, Jimmy said. Cloud here was one of the last lots of the afternoon. Bella recognised him as soon as he came into the ring. And the rest you know. Right, shall we unload him now?”
Poppy pulled the quick release knot and led Cloud slowly down the ramp and around the back of the house to the stables. As she passed the kitchen window she saw Charlie watching her, a huge grin on his face. Her heart was threatening to burst as she undid the bolts of Chester’s stable. The donkey looked up and hee-hawed loudly when he saw his old friend. Cloud limped straight over and they nuzzled each other affectionately.
“It’s a bit of a squeeze. Do you think they’ll be OK in there together?” asked Caroline, who was watching over the stable door.
Poppy looked at them and smiled. “I think so. He looks pretty settled already, I’d say.”
“We’ll get the vet out to have a look at his leg. You do realise it’s going to be a long journey, getting him back to full strength, Poppy? His leg might be so badly damaged you’ll never be able to ride him. And if it does heal it’s been years since Cloud has had anyone on his back. We’ll be starting from scratch,” said Caroline.
Poppy was glad her stepmother was planning to help. It felt right.
“I know, mum. All I care about is that he’s safe and he’s here. Anything else will be a bonus.”
Caroline smiled. Cloud Nine lay down, exhausted, in the thick straw, with Chester standing over him as if keeping guard.
They knew they had a long road ahead of them, but they would travel it together. All that really mattered was that Cloud had finally come home.
The end
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Read on for the first chapter
of the next Riverdale book,
Against all Hope