Lucky Break Part 5

'Nothing!' Ivy called. 'Let's get on the road.' Ivy got in the front seat and Olivia sat in the back behind Mr Vega.

'Righty-oh,' Mr Vega called. 'Let's ride 'em, cowboy.'

The twins looked at each other and burst out laughing.

That just goes to show how vampires and country don't mix, Ivy thought. But as long as it's not too bunny on the farm, this weekend should be fun.

'Ooh, I love this song,' Olivia said, bopping around in the back seat to the tw.a.n.gy music blaring from the car speakers.

'It sounds like a dying hyena to me,' Ivy said, pretending to plug her ears.

'This is cla.s.sic country music,' Mr Vega said. 'I made a playlist for the car journey, to get you in the mood.' He grinned, which on him looked a little sinister.

'Oh yes,' Ivy deadpanned. 'It makes my feet itch for some square dancing.'

'Ha ha,' Olivia replied. 'Itchy feet are no joking matter. The last time I had to deal with your itchy feet, you turned my Romeo from a Jackson Caulfield into a Garrick Stevens!'

'A prince to a frog,' Ivy quipped.

'Precisely,' Olivia said.

'Now, girls,' Mr Vega said, turning serious. 'You are, of course, able to come home at any time. If at any point you wish to leave, I can be there in half an hour.'

'Thanks, Dad,' Ivy said.

Olivia realised that Mr Vega was a little more worried about the weekend than his just-for-fun playlist suggested.

'You know that Aunt Rebecca doesn't know anything about ... ah ... our background,' he said.

'We know,' Olivia replied.

'She doesn't really understand why your mother and I didn't keep in touch with her. We were planning to tell her about you two once you were born. Things just didn't work out that way,' he finished sadly.

'Don't worry, Dad,' Ivy said. 'We get it. And we're really glad you tracked her down so we could meet her.'

Just then, a phone beeped.

'That's mine,' Mr Vega said. 'It's in my briefcase on the back seat. Olivia, will you answer it, please?'

Olivia fumbled for the phone and then pressed the green b.u.t.ton. 'Charles Vega's phone,' she said.

'Ivy?' said a female voice. 'Olivia? It's Rebecca. Are you guys on your way? When will y'all get here?'

'It's Olivia and, uh ... hang on.' She pressed the mute b.u.t.ton. She didn't want Mr Vega to think that Rebecca was checking up on them, so she decided to rephrase the question. 'Aunt Rebecca would like to know how far away we are.'

'We are on schedule, of course,' Mr Vega said, 'and will be arriving at 10 a.m. as discussed.'

'We're right on time,' Olivia translated, leaving out the 'of course' and 'as discussed' so that it didn't sound too defensive.

'Your dad's not expecting to stay for lunch, is he?' Rebecca wanted to know. 'We're going to be real busy as soon as you get here, and I wouldn't want him hanging around with nothing to do.'

Olivia pushed mute again. This was tricky to phrase. 'Rebecca says that lunch will probably be late so if you want to leave before then, she won't be offended.'

'That's kind of Rebecca,' Mr Vega replied. 'But I would like to have a look around Susannah's ranch. She told me so much about it.'

Drat, Olivia thought. If her bio-dad had been planning on just dropping them off, it would have made this conversation much easier.

'He'd like to see some of the ranch with us, if you don't mind,' Olivia told her aunt.

'Well, of course, that's fine,' Rebecca said but Olivia wondered if she didn't really want him to stay. 'I just wouldn't want him to get stuck in prelunch traffic on the way home.'

'Great,' Olivia chirped, deciding to end the conversation there. 'We'll see you soon.'

Ugh, Olivia thought. That was awkward.

Ivy offered a sympathetic look from the front seat.

It doesn't matter, Olivia thought to herself. Finding out about our biological mom is going to be so worth it and we'll smooth out the adults' issues later.

As Mr Vega stopped the car at the top of the ranch's driveway, Ivy's heart sank. There were animals everywhere.

Dozens of chickens ran free, pecking the ground, while two black Labradors lazed on the front porch. The stables were huge it looked like a horse mansion. There were pigs in one pen and a goat was bleating as it munched on a green hedge.

This is definitely too much farm, Ivy thought to herself. On the positive side, so far no cows to milk.

As well as the animals, there were some picturesque weeping willow trees dotted around the yard. One overhung a small pond with a duck family swimming on it. It was like a scene from a painting.

Olivia looked like she'd just won a cheer-a-thon. Her eyes were sparkling as she undid her seatbelt and got out of the car. 'This is incredible!' Olivia declared.

'That's one word for it,' Ivy muttered as she followed, trying to avoid stepping on a white spotted chicken with feathers on either side of its head that looked like a beard.

It was a huge open s.p.a.ce, and the wind was kicking up dust. The air smelled like weird popcorn and gra.s.s.

The two dogs snuffled and one let out a short bark. They bounded down from the porch swing to greet the visitors, but as they got nearer to Ivy, they backed off.

'h.e.l.lo,' Olivia said softly to them. 'Who are you?'

That was all it took for the two big b.a.l.l.s of fur to go straight to Olivia for a good scratching. Ivy knew that vampires sometimes had an effect on animals, but this seemed pretty extreme. The dogs didn't even want to come near her.

The screen door swung open and Rebecca rushed to greet them. She had flour on her hands and a breeze of apple-scent followed her.

'I just put dessert for tonight into the oven,' she said. 'Hope you like apple pie!'

'I love it,' declared Olivia as she gave Rebecca a hug.

One of the Labs growled as Ivy tried to step forwards for her hug.

'Gonzo! What's wrong with you?' Rebecca tugged on Gonzo's collar. 'Be nice to Ivy.'

Ivy smiled sheepishly. 'Dogs don't usually like me,' she admitted as Rebecca hugged her.

'Nonsense,' Rebecca replied. 'Gonzo likes everybody.'

That doesn't exactly make me feel better, Ivy thought, glad that the wind was whipping her hair in her face so that no one could tell she was disappointed.

'You didn't have to drive, Charlie,' Rebecca said. 'I would have been happy to pick them up.'

'It wasn't any trouble,' Mr Vega replied. 'Besides, I wanted to see this place that Susannah talked about so much.'

Ivy saw Rebecca wince at Susannah's name. She must miss her every day, Ivy thought. I don't know how I could live without Olivia.

'I just wish there was more of her presence here,' Rebecca said sadly. 'But we were here so long ago that it seems it's only my memories that keep her here.'

Mr Vega looked miserable, too. 'Sometimes the memories just aren't enough.'

Ivy didn't want this to turn into a funeral.

'Can we go and see the stables, now?' Olivia asked, clearly not wanting it to feel gloomy either.

It's not what I would have suggested, Ivy said, but at least it will change the subject.

'Of course,' Rebecca replied, perking up.

'I'll wait here and unload the luggage,' said Mr Vega. Ivy guessed he was feeling uncomfortable around the animals as well.

The four of them crunched across the dirt and gravel towards the huge wooden structure that seemed the size of a small supermarket.

It was cool and dark inside, with a long central walkway dividing a dozen individual stalls on either side. Two stable hands waved, one a man as old as their dad and the other was probably a high-school student. They were shovelling hay with pitchforks.

'That's Hank.' Rebecca pointed to the younger one. 'And that's John.'

There was a huge tackroom filled with saddles, buckets, blankets and other things.

'Wow,' Olivia breathed.

'We've got twenty-two horses in twenty-four stables,' Rebecca explained. 'It takes a lot of looking after.'

Ivy looked down the row at the horses. Every single one of them was giant, magnificent and kind of scary. The nearest horse, tan with dark hair, shuffled and looked at Ivy warily. Ivy knew there were special terms for the descriptions of horses but she had no idea what they were.

'This is Coco,' Rebecca said of the tan one as they walked down the aisle. 'And this one is Admiral.' Admiral was all black with wise, cautious eyes.

Olivia greeted each one like a new best friend, and the horses whinnied and nuzzled back. Ivy kept her distance, not wanting a repeat of the scene with Gonzo.

'Come on, Ivy,' said Rebecca, walking over to a grey horse who had poked his nose over the stable door. 'Say hi to Leo. He's as gentle as a lamb.'

Ivy forced a smile. A lamb three times the size of me with stompy feet, she thought.

Rebecca opened Leo's stall, took hold of his harness and led him out into the wide aisle. The horse tossed his dark grey mane and snorted. His hooves clomped on the floor and he kept watching Ivy.

She gulped.

'Don't worry,' Rebecca said. 'Give him a pet.'

If Olivia can do this, Ivy thought, and if my mother could do this, then so can I. She shuffled forwards, and held out her hand but it was shaking.

The horse side-stepped away from her, and Ivy's heart sank.

Rebecca clicked her tongue and Olivia was smiling encouragingly. Ivy took a deep breath and the horse seemed to calm down a little.

Ivy reached out again and this time, she touched the side of the horse's neck. The short hair was almost wiry and Ivy could feel the strength in the animal's muscles.

Wow, she thought. That's amazing. Ivy had always thought horses were beautiful, but she'd never been close enough to touch one.

Bang!

The door to the barn slammed open in the wind, which startled several of the horses, including Leo. He reared up, kicking his front feet and jerking his head. Rebecca lost her grip on his harness and he bolted out of the open door.

Ivy leaped back, falling against a wooden pillar, and Olivia dived out of the way into a pile of hay.

The two stable hands jumped to attention, rus.h.i.+ng out into the yard to try to catch the frightened horse.

'Oh my goodness, girls!' Rebecca rushed over to Ivy. 'Are you OK?'

Ivy nodded and looked for Olivia.

Olivia brushed herself down. 'I'm fine,' she confirmed.

'Leo is never usually jumpy,' Rebecca said, helping Ivy up.

I know exactly what's making him jumpy now, Ivy thought. Rebecca had no idea that Ivy was a vampire, but the horse could obviously sense it.

As they rushed towards the open stable door to see what had happened to the horse, Ivy wanted to keep on running, just like Leo.

I'm a walking farm disaster! Ivy thought.

Chapter Five.

Standing in the stable doorway, the bright suns.h.i.+ne blinded Ivy momentarily.

She heard a sharp whistle and a horse whinnying. Then her eyes adjusted and nearly fell out of her head.