His body was a blur as he moved. I bent to retrieve the bucket and my phone rang again. Shadow shrieked, and I looked up just in time for him to spin around and kick me in the guts.
Chapter Ten
Harry
Car mechanics always had the knack of putting me in a shitty mood, and Newquay’s finest was turning out to be epic at it.
“Bad news,” he said. “The parts came in, but they’re the wrong size. We ordered some more, but they won’t be here till Monday.”
“You couldn’t have told me that on the voicemail you left this morning?”
“I did ask you to call me back,” the mechanic retorted mildly.
And the fact that he had a point pissed me off even more. Monday. Brilliant. I didn’t particularly need my car, but hiking to and from the garage was something I could’ve done without today, and the fact that I’d abandoned Joe on the couchagainfor absolutely nothing frustrated the hell out of me.
I trudged back to the farm, pointlessly hoping that Joe had got up in my absence, done everything he needed to do, and returned to the couch. Today was typically British and grey, like summer was something that happened somewhere else, and curling up on Joe’s beat-up sofa, snatching a few hours’ sleep in between keeping the promise I’d made him would be a dream come true.
Fantasising about just how I would keep that promise kept me company on the three-mile walk, even when it began to rain and the dirt tracks leading to the farm became instant rivers of mud. The call to be wherever Joe was seemed so strong, I half expected him to be waiting for me on the doorstep, but of course he wasn’t. The house was empty, and a cursory glance around the yard found it deserted too.
Deflated and wishing like a bitch that I’d called the garage back before assuming their half-cocked mumbled message meant my car was ready, I drifted to the kitchen. Sal’s absence at lunchtime was obvious by the pile of dirty dishes in the sink. Sighing, I turned the taps on and looked around for a sponge. In the yard, a horse called out. A shudder passed through me, like someone had walked over my grave. I glanced out of the kitchen window, but there was still no one about.
Idiot.
I needed a nap, but my bed was still stacked with tack, and kipping on Joe’s sacred couch while he wasn’t around seemed all kinds of weird. Yawning, I settled for finishing the washing up and boiling the kettle. Coffee was on the list of things I rarely allowed myself, but if I had any hope of getting through the rest of the day, I needed it.
It took me a while to remember how I drank coffee, and the farm had every type under the sun squirrelled away in the cupboards. In the end, I picked the cheap brand that reminded me of my father, because by then, the two hours’ sleep I’d caught on the couch had become inadequate enough to turn me into a masochist.
I was on my way to look in on the sick ponies when Toby burst into the yard, covered in mud, his face twisted in panic.
“Harry!”
I grabbed his arm to stop him barrelling into the tack room door. “Whoa. Where’s the fire?”
“It’s Joe,” Toby gasped out. “Shadow kicked him. He can’t get up. I—”
“Where?”
“Top field.”
I took off running with Toby a heartbeat behind me. Dread laced every step. I knew jack about horses, but danger had always lurked around Shadow, even when Joe rode him so beautifully.This is bad. My heart knew it even before the top field came into view.
We reached the gate. Shadow was standing on the crest of the hill, storm clouds gathering in the sky behind him. He stamped his hooves and tossed his head, blowing like an angry dragon. He bent his neck and nosed at the crumpled body on the ground beneath him.
But Joe didn’t move.
I grabbed Toby and pushed him towards the other gate. “Quick. Do something to distract that horse. I need to get Joe out of there.”
“You can’t.” Panic reared in Toby again. “Shadow’s guarding him. He’ll barge you.”
“Just do it. Where did Joe get kicked? His neck? His chest? His spine?”
Toby shook his head. “I didn’t see.”
Fear clenched my heart. If the impact of Shadow’s hooves had injured Joe’s spine or neck, I wouldn’t be able to move him. And what if he was bleeding? Or worse?Fuck. I neededto get to him, and fast.
I pushed Toby again. “Go.”
He ran off, sprinting to the other gate until he reached the trees and swung himself up like I’d taught him a week ago. He called Shadow’s name and shook the branches. Fruit began to tumble to the ground. Shadow turned his head, casting his baleful glare in Toby’s direction. For a long moment, he didn’t move a sleek muscle, and horror spiked in my chest. If I couldn’t get him away from Joe, a vet would have to come, and—
