Chapter Text
PUCK
It's show day, and the yard is mayhem.
Riders are rushing back and forth between lorries and the stables. Confused whinnies ring through the early morning air as horses are awakened, and shouts and orders are exchanged between pony campers and parents.
My insides are a chaotic jumble that match Brightfield's, churning with the memories of Sean's jaw brushing past mine, Corr's empty stall, Chester's mane in my face, Dove walking, Holly smiling behind a closed door. There are summers that you think you'll remembers, and summers you know you will, and this is one for the books.
"Put that up!" Holly barks at me as I balance a saddle on my hip and lead ropes attached to two ponies. "We're running late."
One pony stamps a leg at him. "That's not my fault, I was here an hour ago," I say irritably, but hand him the saddle to jam into the backseat of his car. Preparations for shows always happen like this- late, riders running amok like chickens with their heads cut off, half groomed horses. But they would leave me to an empty yard to muck and sweep and come home with ribbons, and everything will be back to normal.
I feel as though I've been waiting all summer to truly believe that.
"Where's Kendrick?" Jonathan cries behind me. I whirl around and press a lead line into his fist before he even realizes.
"I don't know, but he needs to be loaded, and get your brother to load the other," I snap. Jonathan looks about to protest, but then blinks down at the ponies, bemused, and leads them away.
Where's Kendrick indeed? I expected him here long ago.
"For luck."
Somebody pushes a paper cup into my hands, which automatically curl around the warmth. Sean stands in front of me with his own cup to his face, looking sideways at all the mayhem.
"Is this... coffee?" I ask suspiciously, looking down at it and trying to hide my furious blushing. It's not working very well. "I'm not even competing."
"Tea," he says, and then the Carrol brothers are jostling him away from me, but that's okay because I feel a sudden rush of gratitude towards him. Tea. How perfect.
"Puck? Is everything loaded?" Holly’s half in and half out of the front seat of his car, peering down at a map to the show grounds with narrowed eyes. I don't know why he bothers. He's gone every year.
"I think so," I say, taking a sip. "Is it time to go?"
"It was time half an hour ago." He leans on the horn, casual in his exuberance, and shouts to the riders, "all aboard who's coming!"
If Dove hadn't been sick, I might have been tempted to come with. Maybe even to ride, though he's never asked me. But I feel a pinch in my stomach when riders begin to pile into the two cars Holly and Tommy are driving. Sean hesitates over the passenger seat in Tommy's car and shoots me a glance. "You're not coming?"
I shake my head. "Work to do here."
Tommy leans over. "Come on, Kendrick, we haven't all day." He shoots me an apologetic grimace while Sean slides into the car, which I don't mind but could've done without. I grimace back and then the car doors are shut and they are gone.
I stand in the empty yard with my tea and my loneliness, watching them roll away.
"Well," I say to the barn cat that's begging by the stalls, "at least I can finish quickly today and not have everybody getting in the way."
Everything seems even more silent than usual, however, I realize as I begin to take my wheelbarrow through the motions of cleaning stalls. It's not just that the horses are gone- it's that Corr is gone, and the horses are not here to mask his absence. Despite everything, I can't help but miss him, and that makes me wonder how Sean is holding up. Every day that passes between his disappearance only shrinks the chances of us ever finding him.
"Hello?"
The question startles me- I thought I was here alone, but I manage to hold onto my pitchfork and step outside of the stall I'm in and peer around the corner. "Is anybody here?"
There's a man standing in the yard, not one I've ever seen before on this island, looking like something out of a magazine ad for the mainlanders. Not like an underwear model. More like a car salesman, with bright eyes and an even smile, but there's something self-assured about his stance that puts me on guard.
"I am," I say. "Holly’s at the show, if you're here about a horse. He owns the yard."
The man sweeps his gaze over me, then pauses. He cocks his head as though he's looking at me, actually looking, not dismissive like most are towards the stablehand. His smile widens. "I am here about a horse, but I think you could probably help me. Do you know of a Corr being stabled here?"
He flips out his hand, and there's a photograph of Corr- bright as a new penny, red as blood. I try not to widen my eyes in surprise. What kind of thief would gloat like this? What does he want? "No," I say, short and unfriendly.
He doesn't seem fazed, merely pockets the photograph into a pair of slacks that cost as much as my house. If anything, his smile burns even brighter. "That's alright. I'll just go and ask Holly. Where did you say he was- at the county show?"
I hadn't said. But he knows this, said this on purpose, I can tell, by the way his eyes flash. He's clever, but maybe in the dangerous way. "I need to get back to work to work," I merely say, turning back to the stalls, mind running over his appearance.
Who are you?
There's the sound of a car, and I'm alone again. For a moment I'm frozen, holding my wheelbarrow, but then I'm dropping it and running to get Chester from his stall. Something is happening.
I have to find Sean.
*****
"Hey, you're not a rider here!"
"What is she wearing? Those can't be show clothes."
Whispers and shouts follow me through the show grounds as I trot Chester past rows of trailers and arenas, all festooned with balloons and streamers and color, color, color. The chestnut is a worried mess beneath me, but he's the least of my worries.
I find Sean in the warm-up ring on Edana. She's moving great- in the bit, head low, gait even, but something's wrong. Her ears flicker uncertainly on Sean, and he's distracted, looking everywhere but at his horse.
He jerks when his gaze finds me, seeing my expression, and then he's trotting over, ignoring the ponies he cuts off. "So you know."
"What did the man want?"
He gives me an odd look. The feeling in my stomach drops even more- what else is wrong? "The man?"
"What do I know?" I ask, slowly realizing that we're talking about two entirely different things. Edana tosses her head, flinging lather and slobber onto Chester's neck.
"Holly."
Nothing makes sense.
Realization dawns across his face. "Holly. He's the one who stole Corr." And then I know what's on his face- horror. Betrayal. Corr's protector threw it all away, and for what? Money?
It slices at me, too. I trusted him. Finn loved him. And he was the one who stole Corr? But Sean's certain, I can see it in his eyes.
"Oh, Puck, good, you're here." It's Holly behind me, and my sudden flash of- rage? spooks Chester forwards. I whirl in the saddle.
"What do you want?" I snap.
He ducks his chin, eyes flickering from me to Sean. "So you know. And I can't explain how wrong I was."
"No. You can't." Sean's voice is ice.
Holly swallows. "But I can tell you this- he's in the cove on the eastern side of the island. They're taking him in the afternoon."
Neither of us move. He's lying. He has to be. But I see the apology in his mouth. "Why?"
"Because I'll never forgive myself."
I glance at Sean. It's good enough for him, because he's legging Edana forwards, even as I cluck to Chester. The mare shoots through the gate to the warm-up and then we're off, tearing away from the fairgrounds, across the island.
I know where the cove is, and Sean lets me lead, but my mind is spinning. It was Holly all along. I can't believe it, but it makes sense. Corr is valuable but also unruly- he's a client worth losing, that nobody would care to search for, that's young and beautiful enough to sell for a high price on the mainland.
Which is what's going to happen if we don't get there in time.
Sean crouches low in Edana's mane. She's flying, faster than I've ever seen, and so is Chester. It's exhilarating and I am so, so alive with the speed of it.
We slow only when we near the cove. I sit up and signal to Sean, and reluctantly, he pulls back against Edana. The mare fights the bit, but Chester is tired and drops gait instantly, breathing heavily.
"We'll walk from here," I say, dismounting and finding a crag of rock to loop Chester's reins over. "Don't want them seeing us approaching."
Sean agrees wordlessly, sliding down from Edana, tying her to my saddle, but his mind isn't here. It's already over the sand dunes, towards the cove, where Corr is. I can hear him now, a kerning that could be mistaken for the wind if you weren't paying attention.
I am paying attention.
We creep towards the edge of the cove, looking down into it. It's just a curve of sand, shielded from prying eyes on the beach, and beyond that- the ocean, so heartbreakingly infinite. Guarding the edge of the cove is two men and a van, pacing restlessly, hands cupped to their mouths, talking to somebody. Holly? Has he tipped them off?
I'm sick with the uncertainty of it all.
And there's Corr, below us, tied to a pile of rocks. He's livid, and screaming, but he doesn't move, and the reason becomes clear to me in a moment- bells, tied around his slender pasterns. When he moves, they ring, and he flinches at the sound. Sean beside me is frozen.
I blink back tears and look at him, away from Corr. "Go down there and get him. Ride for the fairgrounds as fast as you can, and I'll follow with Edana and Chester."
"And you?" he asks, unable to tear his gaze from Corr.
I swallow. "I'm the distraction."
"No." He finally looks away, but not towards me. Towards the ocean. "I can't let you do that."
"Bit late for that," I say, standing, an idea already half formed in my mind. "Just do it. We can't lose him. Not after all of this."
He takes a deep breath, then nods, standing, eyes back on Corr. My heart is a rabbit in my chest. The men on the beach are nothing I've ever dealt with before, and the wild ride behind us is just the beginning. "Sean," I say, like it means something else.
When he looks at me, I grab his chin and kiss him, hard. "For luck," I say, when we break apart.
He nods, firmly, as though that's settled. "For luck," he repeats, and then he's gone, down the hill to get Corr.
A moment later I'm racing around the edge of the cove, down to the beach and towards the mouth. The men are talking, looking out across the ocean, waiting for a boat. I don't see one, but there's no time to waste. Sean is almost to Corr, plain as daylight.
One of the men turns, about to look at Corr. He'll see Sean, bent over and removing the bells. Corr begins to move again.
"Hey!" I shout, startling myself with the volume of my voice. "What are you doing here? Why have you got a horse?"
Sean flinches. So do the men, and then they're facing me, away from Corr. Good. Except now I have their attention and no idea what to do with it.
"What are you doing here, girl?" One of the men snarls. Behind him, Sean swings onto Corr, bareback, his lead rope tied to his halter like reins. He's going to die if he tries to ride that stallion like that.
I plant a hand on my hip and try not to look too concerned. "Walking on the beach, obviously. What you're doing is far more questionable."
The man narrows his gaze, then glances over his shoulder. "Ake!" he barks out. "It's a diversion!"
The other man, Ake, lunges forwards and grabs at me. Before I can run, before I can escape, his hand is around my arm, the other one gripping a knife.
Everybody freezes, attention on that knife. It's pointy, and angled towards my throat, but I look towards Sean instead, heart in my mouth. He, too, is frozen on Corr's back. "Now, get off, or the girl get it," Ake snarls to Sean.
He hesitates.
"Sean," I say, hoping he understands to leave. They're horse thieves, not murderers. But he sets his jaw, and Corr is flying- towards them. For a moment he's a horse alight, fire in the sun, and then he's crashing past us. The man holding me cries out, and his grip loosens, and I'm spinning across the sand, my cry choked out of me by the memory of a hoof against my side. The slice of a knife through my breeches. I seize it and roll to a stop, ready to stab the next person to reach for me.
Then Sean and Corr are flying down the beach, just a small dot on a red giant, and with them, the men. They've forgotten me in the frenzy, leaping into their van, and for once I'm grateful to be invisible.
I stab the knife into the ground and rush back up the cove, to where Edana and Chester are tied. I cannot hope to outrun Corr, to outrun a van, but I know this island like none other. I'll reach the fairgrounds before the others do.
It still might be too late.
*****
By the time I get to the fairgrounds, it’s over.
I can see the flashing of the sirens, the police cars parked carelessly at the bottom of the hill. Cautious of Chester’s exhaustion and Edana’s thinning patience, I halt at the top of the hill and watch the scene play out, see Sean get off Corr and stagger over to the Carroll brothers and Tommy, arms around each other, see the attention in his stance as a police officer interrogates him, and then checks over Corr. I watch as Holly approaches, and something dark spins in my stomach, but then words are exchanged and he slips quietly into a police car. Then Sean looks up the hill, towards me, and waves.
I wave back. Then I lay a rein against Chester’s neck, touch Edana’s lead line, and we head for home.
The ride back is long enough that the rest of Brightfield has already returned, prideful and jubilant from the show. They’ve won, but we’ve lost so much more, and everybody is caught up enough in their own thoughts that nobody offers me a hand with Edana and Chester. I just lead them through the yard, invisible as always, and untack them by the tack shed while Sean fusses over Corr in the stall, carefully wrapping his legs, tending to every little nick and cut on that horse’s body.
Some things will never change.
The sun has streaked the sky with its setting colors, purple and orange and the palest of blues, by the time most of the yard has left for the night. It’s just me, finishing up chores, with Sean helping and Tommy and the Carroll brothers chatting quietly over mugs of tea. I’m not necessarily included, but I’m not excluded either, and it feels nice. Corr is banging around in his stall again, slowly returning Brightfield back to normal. But it never really will be. Holly’s gone. Mutt has a new horse. And Sean…
Well, this has been a summer for change.
“Puck, Sean, the rest of the stalls can wait for morning,” Tommy says tiredly. “I think we all just need to go home. It’s been a long day.”
I don’t want to know what tomorrow at Brightfield will feel like, without Holly here. Surely it will sell, and to whom? Will I be able to keep my job? Sean and I exchange glances, wondering what tomorrow will bring, but Tommy’s right. We can’t keep avoiding it. So we silently stow the wheelbarrow away, and the five of us make our way to the entrance of the stable, where a horse lorry is waiting, engine idling.
“Who is that?” Sean asks warily, Tommy already stepping in front of us to knock on the window. There’s a sick feeling in my gut. I recognize the car waiting behind the trailer.
Sure enough, the strange man from earlier steps out of the car and exchanges quiet words with Tommy. There’s a handshake, and a gleam of a smile over it. Then Tommy turns, and his expression is grim. “Everybody,” he says, awkwardly. “Meet Corr’s owner. Corr’s owner, meet… everybody.”
Of course.
Sean sighs beside me, so soft that nobody else could have heard it. After all we’ve been through, we’re losing Corr to this strange man with the stranger smile. But Jonathan looks confused. “Wait, I thought Malvern owned him?”
The man shakes his head and holds up a photo of Corr as a colt. He couldn’t have been much younger than he was when Gabe and I found him on the beach. “I lost him many years ago, and have been searching ever since. And now I’ve found him.”
Tommy looks at Sean, almost apologetic. “I’ll go get him.”
Sean doesn’t even bother responding. He disappears back into the yard, to fetch his horse, for the last time. The unfairness of it all bites at me. Corr doesn’t care about legality- in everything but name, he belongs to Sean. “This can’t be right.”
“Pardon?” The strange man’s smile doesn’t fade, but something about it turns deadly. Brian shoots me a warning look.
I shake my head and step towards him. I’m not afraid. “Sean trained that horse. He took him from unmanageable, wild, dangerous, and turned him into- well, look.” And sure enough, there’s Sean, leading Corr quietly from the yard. Corr tosses his head and looks towards us, towards the trailer, but then nudges Sean’s shoulder with his nose and settles. “They belong together.”
“I’ve not much time for sentimentality. This horse has some of the best breeding in the country,” the smiling man says. “He’s worth far more than you could ever imagine. I’ll take it from here.”
Sean doesn’t protest when he takes the lead from Corr, but his fingers linger on the stallion’s shoulder. Something about his gaze turns empty.
Corr is an instant riot. He rears up, tugging at the lead line, and pulling away, away, away. The man cries out, the lead line snaps up into the air, and then he trots towards Sean, snorting uncertainly. It’s been a long day. He’s no patience for antics with strangers.
Sean stares at the lead line dangling from Corr’s halter for a moment too long before reaching out and grabbing it. “I’ll load him,” he says, and there’s no room for argument in his voice. Corr follows him quietly enough to the waiting lorry, up the ramp and inside.
“I’ll close it up,” I volunteer quickly, though nobody has asked. I hurry to the front door, looking inside. Sean is standing at Corr’s head, the stallion’s face pressed against him, lips in his mane, whispering. It’s so private, so intimate, that I look away. And then a moment later Sean is slipping through the front door, not looking at me. At anybody.
I close the door. But I don’t lock it.
“Thank you,” says Corr’s owner. “That was very painless. I prefer it when things go painlessly. Much less of a mess to clean up.”
I glower at him, but he doesn’t seem to notice, and if he notices, he doesn’t care. He merely brushes his fingers across his forehead in a type of salute and slides into his car. Corr rocks inside the lorry as it slowly pulls away, throwing his head back to release a wail. Sean draws in a shuddering breath, and without even thinking I seize his hand, trying to let him know that it’s all going to be okay. Maybe not now, definitely not tomorrow, but one day it will be.
The lorry rocks slowly away from Brightfield, around the corner, and then it’s gone. With it slips the sun, finally past the horizon, leaving us all in darkness. Corr’s keen slowly fades in the distance and it’s just us five, standing in an empty parking lot. Everything is coming to an end.
“Well,” Tommy says bitterly. “I suppose that’s it.”
It’s over. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.
Brian nods, once. His eyes are unreadable, but there’s something set about his eyebrows. “We’ll see you tomorrow, then,” he mutters. “I don’t suppose-”
Something is coming, louder than his words. Hoofbeats.
“Corr!” Sean calls out, tugging away from me. And yes, there, a great shape flying around the corner, gleaming even in this darkness, and Sean’s running. They meet in the middle of the parking lot, and their silhouettes become one as the stallion slides to a stop at Sean’s feet. My heart tears, just a little. I can’t imagine somebody taking Dove away from me, not like this.
Shoes slap the pavement and Corr’s owner appears in the dusk, breathing hard and out of shape. “What is wrong with this horse?”
“It’s Sean,” Jonathan pipes up. “They love each other.”
The thing is, he isn’t wrong.
“Love.” The man takes a few deep breaths, struggling. “I hadn’t planned for this to happen.”
“Nobody ever really can,” Tommy says, and there’s something so painfully honest in his voice that I have to stop and give him a stern look. He smiles at me, sheepish.
“I don’t think there’s any way to change this beast’s mind, then?” Corr’s owner asks, surveying the two. He doesn’t look disappointed, however. His eyes narrow, calculating. Alarm bells are going off in me, but nobody else seems wary. Instead their interest sharpens around the owner and Sean, who is standing by Corr’s side, watching us all, chin tucked cautiously inside his popped collar. “Well, this might work out after all. I have a horse. All I need now is a rider.”
“I can’t leave,” Sean says, but there’s something troubled in his voice. I think, even after all we’ve been through, that he would leave for Corr. He would do anything for him, but so would I for Dove. I understand, though I don’t have to love it.
“No, of course not,” Corr’s owner says briskly. “I’ll board him here, and you’ll ride him. That seems fair to me.”
Nobody says anything for a long time. We’re all cupped in this moment, this day. Everything is changing, too much, too fast. But we have to keep up, else we’ll get left behind.
We all know what Sean is going to choose.