Crows Don't Fly Through Autumn Rain

Dakota sighed as she ran the soft brush over Charlie's coat, thinking back over the days. It was nearly a week since Nevarra had been sold to Aubrey Wright. It was a common event for horses on the farm to be sold, but Dakota couldn't help but wonder what Aubrey's plans were with the mare. She thought Aubrey would be more interested in warmbloods than a morgan.

Charlie turned his head towards her, nuzzling her arm impatiently. Dakota straightened up and dropped the brush in her grooming kit before glancing around the barn yard to see if Tamara was there yet. They planned on meeting up at Dakota's farm before taking a ride, rather specifically towards Crow Nest Farm to see if they could see anything. They couldn't be long as they were headed for the annual horse sales at the fair grounds and would be taking a few horses there that afternoon.

Suddenly Leroy's barks alerted Dakota to Tammy's arrival. She spotted her friend riding her bay thoroughbred along the pasture fences from the forest. She raised a hand to wave to Tammy before calling the excited Border Collie back to the barn.

Tammy jumped off Rosie's back as Dakota tied up the dog. "Hey," Tammy called over as she drew the reins over Rosie's head and led her towards the hitching post where Charlie was standing. "Ready to go?" she asked, eying the pony who wasn't tacked up yet.

"Almost," Dakota spent a few minutes saddling Charlie and putting the bridle on before grabbing her helmet. "We have to be back by noon; my parents just left to take some horses to the fairgrounds."

"We'll be back before then," Tammy assured her. It was Tammy's idea to take a ride by Crow Nest Farm and see if they could see Nevarra there. She knew that was the only way to get Dakota to go with her; she knew Dakota was more interested in the mare than going anywhere near Aubrey's farm after her last visit. They had also chosen this specific morning knowing Aubrey would probably be gone at the sales than at her farm.

"We're not really spying, are we?" Dakota asked tentatively, glancing at Tammy before swinging up into her saddle. She saw the binoculars around Tammy's neck, half hidden in her zip up hoodie.

"Of course not," Tammy rolled her eyes with a smirk as she turned Rosie towards the trails. "Let's go."

Dakota allowed Charlie to follow Tammy and her mare as they rode past the pastures at Autumn Rain and eventually entered the forest. She breathed in deeply, relieved to be back in the saddle.

"I got your birthday present today," Tammy called over her shoulder with a grin. "I still can't believe you're not having a party. What are you doing on your birthday, anyway?"

"I don't know," Dakota bit her lip as she thought of her birthday, just over a week away. She had already decided against a big party, given that most of her friends had gone away for the summer. She was thinking of having a few of her friends over who hadn't left. "I can't help it that everyone decided to go away. I might have some friends over, won't be anything huge though. Want to trot?"

Tammy responded by urging Rosie into a trot as the trail flattened out. Dakota gave Charlie a bit of rein, posting to his rather bouncy stride as they followed Tammy and Rosie along the trail, somewhat deeper into the forest. Dakota knew these trails well, but had been avoiding going near Crow Nest Farms to avoid having a repeat of what happened the first time.

It didn't take long for the fields to come into sight. They rode along the old trail that went along the back of many pastures, some full of cattle, others with a few horses in them. Eventually the white fences of Crow Nest Stables came into view.

Following Tammy's cue, she dismounted and drew the reins over Charlie's head as Tammy did the same ahead of her. They led the horses off the trail, concealed by the few trees at the edge of the fence. Large pastures separated them from the stable yard, but they had a decent view of the stables.

"See her?" Dakota muttered, scanning the horses in the pastures for Nevarra. Tammy lifted her binoculars, apparently looking past the horses in the pastures and instead looking into the barn yard and towards the house on the hill.

"I don't see her anywhere...she probably left already," Tammy muttered, biting her lip as she peered through the binoculars.

"Not Aubrey," Dakota sighed impatiently. "Nevarra. Did you see her?"

"No, but there's a few bay horses in the paddocks near the barn...she could be in the barn as well," Tammy straightened up as they suddenly heard hoof beats approaching. Dakota stepped back onto the trail, turning back to Charlie as if she was tightening the girth as Tammy shoved her binoculars back under her shirt.

A few seconds later a tall black horse came into view trotting along the trail. The rider wore black breeches and tall English boots along with a navy blue jacket. As the rider slowed the horse to a walk, Dakota suddenly recognized him as the moody teen that worked at Crow Nest Stables.

The teen drew the horse to a halt as he approached, frowning slightly as he gazed down at Tammy and Dakota. Tammy had turned away, pretending to be adjusting the bit on her bridle as he approached, as if the two girls had suddenly had tack malfunctions in the middle of their ride and simply stopped to fix it.

"Hi," Dakota could feel her cheeks turning red as she greeted the other rider politely, though her gaze was drawn to the horse he was riding. It was quite tall and black with a white star and snip. There was patches of sweat forming on his neck, indicating that he might not have just set out for a ride.

"What are you doing here?" the boy's familiar annoyed Irish voice asked, not bothering with a greeting. He looked past Dakota, clearly remembering her dun pony that had charged through their yard over a week ago.

"Just going for a ride," Dakota could tell her face was a deep red but she hoped, in the shade of the trees, he somehow wouldn't notice. "Er-nice horse."

William raised an eyebrow but didn't have time to speak as Tammy turned around, tugging on the reins slightly to keep Rosie's head up as the mare attempted to graze.

"Hi, I'm Tamara," she greeted him cheerfully, as if unaware of the painful exchange of words that had just passed between him and Dakota. "You work at Crow Nest Stables?" She added, eying the text on his jacket.

"Yes," he replied rather impatiently. Dakota refrained from rolling her eyes at his attitude and instead busied herself with pulling some twigs out of Charlie's black mane.

"Oh, you moved here with Aubrey, right?" Tammy asked eagerly. "I read an article about it in a Dressage magazine."

"Yes," William replied, frowning slightly. "I don't just work for her, I am one of her students."

"Really? That is so cool," Tammy gushed. Dakota turned away to hide her exasperated expression as she swung up into Charlie's saddle.

"Uhm..Tammy, we should probably get going," she said, hoping to get out of this awkward situation. She averted her gaze as she gathered up her reins.

"Yeah, you're right," Tammy looked grateful at the excuse to get away as she also swung up into the saddle. However, as William was about to ride by, she spoke up again. "Oh, by the way, next Saturday is Dakota's birthday, we're having a bit of a party. You can come if you want. It's at Autumn Rain Farm."

"I'll try to remember that," William replied, raising a hand in farewell before urging the black Warmblood back into a trot, clearly hoping to continue with his ride without other unneeded interruptions. Once he was out of earshot, Dakota rode up next to Tammy.

"Nice one," she said sarcastically as they continued down the trail at a brisk walk. "I'm sure he would love to come to this 'party' and hear all about you gush on about Aubrey."

"At least he didn't see us spying," Tammy laughed. "I couldn't help it. I wonder how he became a student of Aubrey? I would love to take some dressage lessons."

"Well, she'll be at the sales later. Just ask her." Dakota replied shortly as she shortened her reins. "C'mon, we better head back." She urged Charlie into a canter, keeping him under control as Rosie cantered next to him. The trail would eventually cut off onto another trail that would lead them back to Autumn Rain Farm.