priority would be to take care of her horse.
The road continued to wind through the forest. The trees were massive – obviously very old – and tree ferns grew thickly amongst them. The Land Rover passed a few artistically handmade signs pointing to unseen destinations tucked along narrow tracks in the forest.
“Just in case you’re wondering, Magic Forest Cottage is that way,” said Ben, pointing to a wooden sign indicating a turn-off to the right.
“Blue Butterfly Cottage,” read Gabi as another sign popped up. Beautiful blue wooden butterflies dangled from the branches of an ancient tree above it.
Two cyclists were slowly trundling up the forest path and they gave the passing procession a friendly wave.
“Still not our spot. Our place is called Night Owl Forest or Night Forest or something like that.” Ben tapped the GPS screen.
“Sweet Water Guest Farm,” Jinx read the next sign.
“‘Welcome to Harkerville Village’,” read Alex, and then improvised: “where we should probably be on the lookout for Dracula. So where’s the village? Anyone see a village?”
The road widened slightly as they passed a farm stall and a coffee shop. A few mountain bikes and 4x4s were parked outside a small office building, which a sign proclaimed to be the Harkerville Forestry Station. They had passed “the village” within seconds.
“A forestry station, a corner shop and some cyclists. Dad, I’m getting seriously worried about this guest house your girlfriend found for us,” said Alex.
“Well, your mother didn’t want you to leave the Western Cape, and you wanted to get as far away from Melkbos as possible,” said Ben cheerily. “And in case you haven’t noticed, we have a horse with us. This was the best Val could do to please everyone. And that was before the BF joined us.”
“We’re getting closer,” said Gabi, studying the GPS. She really needed to get Briggs out of the trailer soon.
The road narrowed and Ben was forced to slow down.
Deeper into the forest they went, on a road that felt neverending. And increasingly narrow. Tree ferns began to brush up against the car as it passed. Dusk was falling fast when, without warning, two white gateposts appeared alongside the road.
Ben braked hard and stopped in front of a heavy black wrought-iron gate. Perched on the gate were three big owls made out of wire, their glass eyes glowing a deep yellow.
“Is this it?” asked Alex.
“Nice owls,” noted Ben.
“OMG, their eyes are actually glowing!” Alex shivered and hugged herself tightly.
“Nightwalker’s Rest,” Gabi read from the ornate letters on the gatepost.
“It’s a bit eerie, you guys, don’t you think?” said Alex.
Beyond the gate and through the trees an estate stretched out, dotted with buildings and houses. The forest bordering the grounds made Gabi think of a green tsunami, threatening to drown the grounds.
Suddenly the gate silently slid open.
At a fork in the driveway, a sign pointed to “Guest house and Stables” to the left and “Sangoma” to the right. They followed the track to the left, passing the stables and a fenced paddock, and pulled up next to a red sports car that was parked in front of a large log cabin with huge windows.
Within seconds, a woman with long, curly black hair came running towards them. She was wearing a low-cut black top, black leggings and a red coat that flapped around her, and two handbag-sized Yorkshire terriers followed hot on her red high heels.
“Bee, darling, you’re here!” She laughed like too many bells ringing at once. The Land Rover had hardly come to a stop before she’d yanked open the driver’s door and thrown her arms around Ben, virtually dragging him from his seat. A long and intense kiss followed, while the Yorkies barked and bounced around wildly, desperate for attention.
So this, thought Gabi, is Val.
Val was very well groomed, athletic and toned – it was clear that she worked out regularly. Under her long hair, a fabulous pair of earrings dangled in her neck.
And she looked about twenty years old.
“Your dad didn’t exaggerate when he said she was younger than Marcus,” Jinx observed drily.
6
First impressions
After the long day on the road, Brigadier clearly couldn’t wait to stretch his legs, but the strange new place had made him nervous. The bay horse sniffed the unfamiliar air, bared his teeth and yanked at his halter. He swung his head from side to side, almost throwing his big body about, and Gabi had her hands full getting him to reverse out of the horsebox.
It was almost dark, but she was keen to give him a quick run around the paddock before she put him in the stable. As she struggled with the anxious horse, Gabi glanced up and saw Ben watching. But he seemed to be somewhere else entirely and made no attempt to open the paddock gate for her – Val had him by the arm and they both seemed oblivious to Gabi’s struggles.
“The owner has already gone home,” Val said, “but she said your horse can stay in the paddock during the day and in any of the available stables at night.” Val was jumpy and excited, like a child who couldn’t sit still. Then she turned on her heal, dragging Ben with her. “Come on, Ben – I’ll show you where we’re staying. It’s even prettier than on the website. You guys can unpack the car when you’re done with the horse!”
And she and Ben walked off, Ben leaning against Val, whose arms were tightly wrapped around him. They were followed by the barking Yorkies, whose names, Gabi had discovered, were Pipp and Zuki.
“It’s her horse, not mine,” Alex retorted to their retreating backs.
“Come along, Puff-Girl. Apparently unpacking the Land Rover is our job,” said Jinx.
“In my next play script, I’ll be using Val as the model for the role of Nasty Stepmother,” muttered Alex, taking her suitcase out of the boot.
“And you can add the absent Bio-Daddy in the role of the anti-hero,” Gabi commented as she led Brigadier into the fenced paddock. Her eyes were narrow and her cheeks flushed with anger. “Where’s the guy who was desperate to spend time with his daughters? Maybe fatherhood was just too overwhelming … All six hours of it!” Gabi unbuckled Brigadier’s halter. The newly freed horse immediately took off and cantered a few laps of the paddock. “You can call your play The One-day Dad. ”
Gabi suddenly felt tearful. Her mom and Marcus would never have left her to take care of Briggs all by herself after a long day on the road. Marcus always helped her with stabling, even though he knew nothing about horses. And they always supported her when she took part in showjumping competitions.
“You take care of your pony, Gabs, and we’ll unpack,” said Alex. “You scare me when you start getting bitchy.”
“Ah, they grow up so fast!” Jinx teased as he
