Page 54 of Love Thief

She tilts her head back, exposing her neck to me, and I bite at her throat before licking across her collarbones to bite her tits. I can feel her tightening again, and we move together, flying high. I feel fucking wild, frantic, free, and I shout out her name as we both go over the edge together.

Chapter

Sixteen

EVIE

We settle into a pattern for a few days, me working both the farm and controlling the construction at Cornhill. Marshall and I interview some trainers for the racing yard. I like a sister combo—Molly and Lisa Dickson. Both women bring different things to the party as trainer and assistant. They’ve apprenticed to trainers in the North and over in Ireland. And Molly has been over in America, again as assistant trainer, and feels she’s ready to step up. Marshall and I agree on them, so offer them the yard.

They’re getting their team together, but as they may only have a few horses, it doesn’t need to be too large, and we set a date for July 31st to give us a chance to get the accommodation sorted. We’ve offered them setting up monies and Kellen has decided to buy a horse or two with Xander, of course. Marshall is in charge of picking, along with the girls.

As I’ve been in Devon, I’ve been trying to engage Becky and the women who are at ‘the Cottage’ with Gabe. I feel I need to rise above everything that has happened, and as I will be spending the summer with them, want to try to at least make it a little comfortable. I’ve offered for them to come to the races for a hospitality day. I’ve invited them for dinner. All have been declined for one reason or another, but it’s two days to the off that puts the final nail in my coffin with them.

The problem? Pinky.

She’s been exiled to Greystones Farm for causing disruption with Mr. Tubbs’ tinder dates. It’s a busy time for him, April to October, and the ladies are feeling the love. Pinky, fed up with being kept in the barn that resembled a maximum security prison—with cameras, electric fences and literal guards in the shape of two goats named Magnum and Higgins who bleat every time she tries a move—decides to find an easy mark. She set her sights on the three Purcell boys, visiting us before we moved off to the festivals.

Of course, they don’t really believe our tales of devilry the pony is capable of and allow her to lure them in with little whinnies and a bit of prancing around. She playfully butts the goats, who, to be fair to them, bleat and try to warn the Purcells she’s up to no good. But the foolish boys just laugh at Pinky’s antics and egg her on.

She loves a show, a crowd her utopia, so she puts on a full song and dance and waits for the smallest of the Purcells, Eamonn aged six, to sit on the wrong end of the gate. Or, in Pinky’s case, the right end.

She gently butts him off it and into the paddock. Eamonn, crying with laughter, lays on the paddock floor until one of the security goats tries to butt him with his horns. It was probably in warning, but obviously Eamonn doesn’t know that. Pinky prances and the twins Colm and Oisin, aged ten, open the gate to pull poor Eamonn out.

Having created the perfect opportunity, Pinky makes her dash for the gate, butts Oisin out of the way, dodges Colm, and is free.

Luckily for us, and unluckily for Pinky, we’re all at Greystones.

Pinky heads home to Tubbs, but, knowing not to take the roads, puts her head down and goes native across the fields.

She does, however, get a good head start on us, as the Purcells didn’t want to admit the pony had outfoxed them when it was discovered that the pony had in fact flown the coop.

Marshall and I jump on our motorbikes, and the Purcells each have monkey bikes, so a posse of two motocross bikes and three kids on monkey bikes set off in hot pursuit.

As we follow her tracks across the fields, we see Ian and Dave, who tell us they saw her grazing in one of the fields and assumed she should have been there. They put out an SOS on farm radios to watch for the pony who should be weaving her way home to Crockett and Tubbs.

We reach Coulters Hollow, the fields behind the Farm Cottage, and my heart sinks when I see the tracks headed that way. They veer off, however, toward the orchard.

Marshall shouts she’ll be in there getting her lunch, so he turns to the orchard and the three Purcell boys go through the gap in the hedge toward the Cottage on the monkey bikes.

I follow them through the gap, making sure they’re all okay and to cut Pinky off if she comes out of the orchard. Which she does. At a full gallop. With Marshall not far behind.

The Purcells head for the house, gazebo, and pool. And of course Pinky follows them. I shout to the boys in warning, but Oisin, going too fast, sees the pool late. Fortunately he stops the bike before it goes into the water, but he slides off it straight into the pool, followed by Colm.

Unfortunately it’s full of women. Topless, drunk, or high women, but definitely all screaming fit to murder.

Eamonn pulls up and looks at me. “Aunty Kitten, why are those women naked? It’s not dark yet.”

Ah, the sweet innocence of a child.

Pinky then decides the water looks cool enough to drink, and needs it after a few apples. Setting herself, but clearly getting entranced by her own reflection, she leans too far forward, and splash! She’s swimming with Oisin, Colm, Tiff, and Texas.

Becky runs for the studio, and next thing we have all the band, plus Jurgen, joining in with the general mayhem.

Pinky, seeing the human love of her life, Kellen, starts to whinny at him to come and get her.

What a sight we are, me on my motorbike with goggles on, Eamonn with a miniature pair on (I had bought them all a pair), stood hand in hand watching a pony, two boys and two women all try to avoid each other in a pool.

The boys get out first and are dying with laughter. Emptying water from their goggles, they pull up their bikes that are still teetering at the edge of the pool, and start them up again.

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