Sterling's Daughter

Two things happened the following week. One, Laya's cast came off her arm, and two, the hunt for a new horse for Will. It was a good feeling to finally be able to move her arm again, although the muscles were a little weak for not having been used for a while. But on Friday afternoon, when her and Mum joined up with Will and his mum, it was already feeling a lot better.
As she clambered out of the car at Mrs Crew's place, she instantly spotted Will and Mrs Hamilton talking to the tall, thin lady. She suddenly felt a bit awkward. She'd only seen Will on the bus and at random points throughout school for the last week, but she'd never spoken to him since the night his family had come around for dinner. Since she'd walked away and left him standing in the yard, alone. She'd stayed in the barn for the better part of the night, well after the Hamilton's had left. She'd thought and thought and thought - trying to figure herself out, but had come to nothing. Or maybe she was just unwilling to come to anything. Or maybe she just didn't know - and had no idea why she was acting the way she was.
Mum led the way to where the three of them were standing at the entrance of a large stable.
"Elena!" Mum smiled.
"Jane, its good to see you again. It's been a while since you were here," Mrs Crew said. "And this must be Laya?"
"THat's right," Mum nodded. Laya gave the woman a smile, though it didn't really reach her eyes. She had been feeling like crud for a while now, and today wasn't an exception even though it was friday.
As the others began to discuss the horse situation for Will, Laya kept her mouth shut and didn't emit a single word.
"Why don't you come inside the barn and we can look at the horses?" Mrs Crew invited. "There's four mares - two bays, a grey, and a chestnut. Then we'll take them outside to the arena and you can have a ride on them and see if they suit you."
The first horse they saw was the chestnut. She stuck her head over the stall door, ears pricked and alert, nostrils flared.
Laya inhaled sharply, her body jolting like she'd been given an electric shock. The mare's brown eyes were two huge pools as she studied the new comers with obvious interest. For a second there, Laya had been sure it was Tempo staring back at her. Tempo had been a chestnut. He'd had a star on his forehead, and this mare did too.
Mum seemed to have the same realisation. She leaned over and gave Laya's hand a little squeeze of encouragement and assurance. Laya glanced around a little wildly, and caught Will looking at her. He looked almost sympathetic, but she didn't know whether he knew why she felt thrown off balance, whether he remembered that Tempo looked like the mare before them.
"I'm going to the car," she said in a tight voice, snatched the keys out of Mum's grasp, and fairly bolted for the vehicle. She clambered inside and into the passenger seat, and tried to focus on her breathing - inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.
As the minutes ticked past and Laya sat there in silence, she began to calm down. She swallowed and breathed and tried to move normally and not all jerkily.
It seemed like forever until the others emerged from the building with the two bay horses. As Laya watched, Will placed a helmet on his head, clipped it into place, readied the stirrup on the first horse, and swung up onto the mare's back. He did it with such ease that Laya sat up a little straighter.
Mrs Crew let him into the arena, and WIll started walking the mare around the outside of the arena, getting used to the feel of her beneath him. After half a lap, he opened his legs slightly and clicked once. The mare reacted a little slow, and Will bumped her with his legs a little more forcefully. When she broke into a trot, he left her alone.
Laya sat there in the car and stared. He turned the mare to the left and the right, in figure of eights, and through and over obstacles at both a trot and a canter. She could barely believe her eyes.
WIll was incredible. He obviously hadn't ridden in a while because it took him a few moments to the get the hang of it all again, but by the time he got to the last horse, Laya could find no fault whatsoever in his riding ability. And she did actually try, if she was honest.
Laya hopped out of the car and headed over to the women as Will brought his final horse down to a walk and stop in front of them. She couldn't help but notice his expression. His eyes were bright and alive and sparkling, and he was grinning so widely she thought his face would completely crack in two.
She didn't know why, but her heart seemed to plummet to her toes.
Will dismounted slowly from the chestnut mare.
"Well?" his mum asked with a huge smile. "Any of the four that you like in particular?"
"That's hard," Will grinned. "THey're all incredible. You've done a good job with them, Mrs Crew."
Mrs Crew beamed.
Will noticed Laya a few seconds later, where she'd stopped a few metres behind the others.
"Did you see?" he asked. "Do you have an opinion which horse is better for me?"
The women turned and looked at her.
Laya's first instinct was to snap 'no' but his expression made her relent. He'd looked so carefree and happy, something she'd never really seem him like before, and for some reason it got to her. She sighed reluctantly.
"The grey," she said.
"The grey was very exciteable," Mum pointed out.
"Will was better on the grey," Laya was slightly surprised how insistant her voice was. "Sure, the mare was jumpy and all, but she was faster, jumped higher and was a little more agile than the others. Will wants that in a horse."
He was giving her an astonished and amazed look; actually, he was staring. Mrs Hamilton turned to her son.
"So you'd like the grey mare, then?" she asked.
WIll nodded silently.
The women were all smiles. Will handed the horse's reins to Mrs Crew, and the women headed back to the barn with the chestnut in tow. Will stood in front of Laya, still speechless.
"Okay, you can stop gawping now," Laya almost smiled. He shut his mouth because his lips had parted slightly, and shook his head as though to clear it.
"How did you even know all that?" he demanded. "So yes, i guess I had a lot of fun on the grey, but the other horses weren't all that bad either."
"It's like they say," Laya shrugged, "actions speak louder than words."
"What?" Will asked, frowning. "I mean, yes, I know the saying but...?" his voice trailed away.
"Will!" Laya cried a little frustratedly, "you were loving it out there, being back on a horse again. But when you were riding that grey mare, you looked way more...I don't know...alive?"
"I am alive, yes," Will agreed, not really following.
Laya almost laughed in exasperation.
"I don't know how to explain it," she said. "But it seemed as though you went with the grey horse more than the other ones. Like you almost had a connection. But hey, I could be wrong. You don't have to have the grey. You were great on all of them, and all of them are good quality horses."
"You are so right," Will said incredulously. "As soon as I rode the grey, I couldn't really be bothered riding any other horse. She was perfect."
Why did Laya's heart shudder at that piece of information?
"Great then," she gave him a forced smile. "That's great. You got yourself a horse."
There was a short silence.
"Well," she began eventually, seeing Mum heading for the car. "I guess I'll see you round sometime. Good luck with...whatever her name is."
"Gypsy," Will supplied.
"Yeah, Gypsy," Laya nodded. "Good luck with Gypsy."