Loving Spirit

unhappiness as best she could, avoiding Len and Luke. Len had his hands full with the horses and the clients he taught, and Luke was far too busy to take much notice of her, flirting with Sasha and the female livery owners who kept their horses at the yard, taking phone calls and working with the horses. He strode around the yard in the day, exuding a relentless energy, with Pip scampering at his heels, before going off on his motorbike into town in the evenings. It didn’t seem to matter how late Luke stayed out, he was still up and on the yard by seven the next morning before doing a full day’s work. But despite all the girls who seemed to fall for his charms, the only person or animal Ellie ever saw him show real affection for was Pip.
    It was a busy yard, particularly in the afternoons when the livery owners came to ride their horses. There was Eliza Peterson and her friend Carey Moss who were in their twenties, a lady called Veronica Armstrong whose ten-year-old son and four-year-old daughter rode ponies Len produced, and then there were the owners who never rode but just liked to own show horses. Ellie generally kept out of the clients’ way, preferring to spend time with the horses and Joe. And she had started school – a modern comprehensive in the nearby town where Joe was in the year above her. Everyone in her year had friends already, but that was OK. She just kept her head down and avoided trouble, wanting to get to the end of the school day as quickly as possible so she could get back on the yard.
    The horses and Joe were the only good things in her new life at High Peak Stables. No matter how bleak she felt, the horses always helped. Their presence comforted her, and seeing to their needs took her out of her own head for a little while. A part of her wished she hadn’t decided to make the stand she had. It was hard being around them and never riding. But there was no way she was going to back down and it was enough that she was around horses. Joe helped her too. Sensitive, friendly and responsible, he was the complete opposite of Luke, and the more she got to know him, the more she liked him. Whenthere were quiet moments, they would retreat to the barn, play with Sweep the kitten, talk about the horses and music, and tease each other. During those times, Ellie felt almost normal again.
    ‘If you had to be a dog or a cat, which would you be?’ Ellie said one Saturday lunchtime as they sat together in the barn on top of the hay bales.
    As Joe considered the question, she thought how lucky she was that he just seemed to get her and she almost never had to explain what she meant.
    ‘I’d be a dog,’ Joe decided. ‘A Labrador.’ He grinned. ‘And you, you’d be one of those little white poodles with hair all tied up.’
    Ellie shoved him. ‘I so wouldn’t!’ She knew Joe was teasing her. ‘Go on, what would I be?’ she challenged him.
    ‘You’d be a …’ Joe looked at her thoughtfully. ‘A dog like Pip. Interested in everything, full of energy and loyal.’
    ‘Totally wrong, actually. I wouldn’t be any type of dog, I’d be a cat,’ said Ellie, running a piece of straw along the bale for Sweep to chase. The kitten pounced and she scooped him up, lying back with him. ‘I’d be just like you, Sweep.’
    ‘Yeah, with a wonky head!’ Joe grinned.
    Ellie frowned. ‘Sweep’s head isn’t that wonky now.’ She kissed the kitten’s nose. ‘You take no notice of him, Sweep. You’re beautiful.’ She put Sweep downand watched him bound away. ‘I like it up here,’ she said, glancing up at the roof of the barn. The beams were hung with years of cobwebs and dust, but it had a warm, safe feel.
    ‘You’d better make the most of it. In another month or two there’ll be shows every weekend, some in the week too. We won’t get a second to sit around like this.’
    There was a note in Joe’s voice that suggested he wasn’t looking forward to it. ‘Don’t you like shows?’ Ellie asked curiously.
    Joe shrugged. ‘They’re OK, I suppose, but I’d far rather be working with the horses on the yard.’
    ‘What will you do when you leave school?’ Ellie had heard Joe talking of leaving school after his GCSE exams in the summer.
    ‘Work here I guess, though –’ Joe broke off.
    ‘What?’
    ‘What I’d really like to do is go and work on a different yard. Not a showing one. One where they treat difficult horses, maybe, and help them.’
    ‘That would be brilliant,’