was being held by Stella just a few metres away and he was fidgeting at the end of the lead rope, keen to meet this newcomer.
“You wanna say hello, boy?” Stella led him forward so that he was close enough to greet the mare nose-to-nose.
“Watch it,” Marcus warned. “She’s a typical mare – she can be pretty grumpy around other horses.”
As she touched muzzles with the gelding, Liberty’s ears flattened back and she let out a guttural squeal, making it clear that she wasn’t the slightest bit convinced about being friends.
But Comet wasn’t to be deterred. He thrust his nose out and nickered to the mare. Liberty had her ears hard back against her head, warning him off, but Comet kept his ears resolutely pricked forward, his eyes shining as he nickered to her again, trying to start a conversation. The mare stomped a hoof, her tail thrashed objectionably. She held her nose in the air, staring at this impertinent skewbald as if he were a commoner trying to make friends with a queen.
“She’s not very friendly, is she?” Issie said.
“Oh, she’s all right once you get to know her,” Marcus insisted, giving the mare a firm pat on her glossy neck. He smiled at Issie. “Just like me, really.”
The stalls for the horses at The Hacienda were a collection of covered yards, built in a U-shape around a dusty central courtyard behind the main building of the motel. Each of the covered yards was bordered by wooden railings and the floors of the stalls were covered in wood shavings for bedding. It was nice and clean, but it certainly wasn’t fancy, Issie thought. Comet would be fine here – but a horse like Liberty was probably used to a life of luxury – a proper, elegant loose box.
“We should put the partition gate in between them tonight—” Marcus began to say as he led Liberty into the stalls, but before he could finish his sentence the mare intentionally swung her rump towards Comet and flung out a hind leg, taking a swift and vicious kick at the gelding, which thankfully missed its target. “I can’t risk Liberty getting injured.”
Issie frowned. “I think she can take care of herself.”
Marcus shook his head. “The Valmont stables would freak out if they even knew Liberty was sharing her stall with another horse. They’re very uptight about this mare. Mr Valmont doesn’t even call her by her name – she’s worth so much money that he refers to her as ‘The Asset’.”
“And they let you travel with her by yourself?”
“It was a last-minute thing. I was supposed to have Annie, my groom, with me to help out,” Marcus said. “But Mr Valmont was short-staffed and kept her back at the stables. He’s supposed to be hiring a new groom to meet up with me once I reach Kentucky. It’s all right being on the road alone, though, I really don’t mind.”
“So you ride for this… Valmont Stables?” Issie asked.
“Uh-huh,” Marcus said. “Valmont are a massive operation with lots of horses. I was considering moving back to England when my old riding instructor from boarding school phoned up and said she’d organised the ride on Liberty for me. That was six months ago and I’ve been working at the Valmont ranch in California ever since.”
While Marcus slotted in the gate down the middle of the stall, Issie held on to Comet and Liberty. As soon as Marcus had locked the gate into place she let Comet loose in his stall, and then let Liberty go right next door.
Marcus looked at his watch. “Would you mind keeping an eye on her while she eats her feed? I better go back to my room and charge my mobile. I called Mr Valmont before to let him know where we are and the phone died. He likes to keep track of The Asset – he gets nervous if I don’t call him while we’re travelling.”
“No problem,” Issie said. “I’ve got to stay and make sure Comet settles in OK anyway.”
“See you in the morning then?” Marcus said. “There’s a diner just up the road. Maybe we can meet there for an early breakfast before we hit the road?”
“That sounds great,” Issie said. “And thanks again for sharing Liberty’s stall with me.”
They watched as Comet craned his neck over the partition gate trying to get Liberty to notice him, but the mare steadfastly ignored his overtures and turned her rump on him so she was facing the corner of her stall.
“Give it up, Comet,” Issie said as she turned out the light. “She’s just not that into you.”
Even with the curtains drawn shut in their room, Issie and Stella could still see the pink neon of the motel lights glowing softly outside in the forecourt. They had eaten pizza for dinner that evening with Avery.
“We’ve got a six a.m. start,” Avery said as he scooped up the empty pizza boxes and headed for his room. “You girls should get some sleep.”
As soon as the door was shut behind him Stella began pressing the buttons on the TV remote, flicking through the endless channels. “Ohhh! There’s a vampire versus werewolf movie marathon on channel forty-seven,” she said. “Issie, we have to watch that!”
Issie knew they were supposed to get an early night, but if they were only going to be driving again tomorrow, surely it didn’t matter how late they got to bed?
“All right,” she agreed. “Turn it on then!”
“Wait!” Stella had an idea. “All those vampires will make us hungry – we need snacks!”
The vending machine in the motel forecourt was filled with strange sweets and chocolate that Issie and Stella had never heard of before. They pushed their coins into the slot and bought two Hersheys, a Butterfinger and a Peter Paul Almond Joy and took their chocolate haul back to their room.
“Imagine having to live on blood instead of chocolate,” Stella said as she bit into the Almond Joy. “It must suck to be a vampire.”
The movie marathon seemed like a good idea at the time, but the girls had underestimated just how tired they were. Stella was asleep within minutes, way before the first werewolf even appeared onscreen and Issie was left awake watching the TV.
The movie had just reached a particularly scary bit where the girl was all alone in the house and the werewolf was coming for her, when Issie heard the sound of an animal howling outside, somewhere in the darkness.
“Stella?” Issie hissed. “Did you hear that?”
Stella responded with a snore. Issie tried to pull herself together. She was imagining things. It was just one of the werewolves in the movie.
She’d almost convinced herself that this was true when she heard the noise again – definitely outside this time. It was a long, high-pitched howl, like a wild creature baying its heart out at the moon.
Probably a coyote, Issie thought. She recalled Avery saying that the hills around this region were full of them. As long as the coyote kept its distance and didn’t bother the horses…
The coyote howled again and the motel lights outside flickered for a moment, and suddenly Issie had the strangest feeling. Something was out there – not far away in the hills, but right there – outside her room. She could sense it somehow and it made the hairs stand up on the back of her neck.
Turning
