believe it. Three film jobs falling through in a row. We’ve got the luck of the devil hounding us, Aidan. I just wish we had his money too. I was relying on this movie. There’s no way I can keep things going now…”
“Of course you can!” Aidan said. “Hester…I’ve been thinking about it and you don’t have to pay me. I mean, I don’t need much to live on and I’ve got my room and board here. You can forget about my salary until you’ve got some money again. I was thinking maybe we could do a deal with the feed and grain merchants too. I’m sure they’d help you out. If you just told them the situation, and we promised to pay again when things get better…”
Hester smiled back at Aidan. “That’s very kind, dear, but feed merchants aren’t very keen on charity. And in case you haven’t noticed, it’s already been over a month since I last paid you. I don’t expect you to keep working for me for free.” Hester looked at Aidan’s forlorn expression. “I appreciate your offer, I really do. But even if I wasn’t paying your salary, there’s still the mortgage. And the maintenance. This place is so big and so old, it needs an enormous amount of money just to keep it running. And all the horses need shoeing and there are vet’s bills mounting up…” Hester sank down into a kitchen chair and put her head in her hands.
“Aidan, I’ve run out of money. Worse than that, for the first time in my life I’ve run out of ideas.”
There were tears in Hester’s eyes as she turned to face her stable manager. “It’s over. I have no choice…I have to sell Blackthorn Farm.”
Sell Blackthorn Farm? Issie couldn’t believe it. The farm was her favourite place in the whole world, and she knew how much her aunt loved it too.
She still remembered when Hester first bought the farm, complete with a decaying mansion, high in the hills outside Gisborne. Issie’s mum had pronounced her sister “officially totally bonkers”.
Mrs Brown worked for a law firm and was very practical about boring things like having a proper job. So when Hester broke the news that she was giving up her acting career, buying a rundown farm manor and becoming an animal trainer, Mrs Brown was far from impressed.
The whole farm, especially the manor, needed loads of work to restore it to its former glory. Loads of cash too. Mrs Brown called Blackthorn Farm “Hester’s Money Pit”. Issie’s aunt spent all of her savings restoring the buildings inside and out, including the stable block for her stunt horses.
Eventually, though, even Mrs Brown had to admit that Hester’s hard work and determination had paid off. Hester’s mad menagerie of movie-star animals–pigs, chickens, ducks, goats and especially horses–were considered to be the best in the business. Her Daredevil Ponies had worked on loads of films doing all sorts of stunts.
“It was all going so well!” Issie said. “I can’t understand it. What happened?”
Mrs Brown sighed. “The movie business is unpredictable. Aidan told me they’ve been out of work ever since The Palomino Princess. There was a new project due to start filming this week and it fell through. Now Hester’s been left with mountains of debt and no way to make any money!”
“But she can’t sell the farm!” Issie said. “What about the horses?” Hester had over a dozen stunt horses in the stables at Blackthorn Farm.
There was silence on the phone. And then Mrs Brown finally spoke. “Aidan didn’t say, but I guess they’ll have to be sold as well.”
“Mum! This is awful…” Issie felt close to tears.
“I know,” Mrs Brown said gently. “Aidan is calling back soon. He says he has an idea that he wants to talk to you about, something that might help.”
“I’m coming home now!” Issie hung up the phone. She turned around and saw Avery standing in the hallway behind her.
“I’m guessing she doesn’t just want you to tidy your room then?” he said.
When Issie told Avery the bad news he immediately offered to give her a lift home. Issie gratefully accepted, putting her bike in the back of the Range Rover and clambering into the passenger seat. She spent the ride home in total silence, feeling sick with worry. Aunty Hess couldn’t sell Blackthorn Farm. Things sounded pretty bad, but maybe there was still hope. What was this idea that Aidan wanted to talk to her about?
Issie didn’t have long to wait before she found out. The phone was ringing as she ran in through the front door.
“I’ve got it!” she called, making a mad dash down the hallway to grab the receiver. She was still puffing and trying to catch her breath when she heard Aidan’s voice at the other end of the line.
“Issie? Is that you?” She knew that they were in the middle of a crisis here, but still Issie couldn’t help smiling when she heard Aidan’s voice. She hadn’t seen him in ages and she had missed him. She pictured his face, the thick mop of black hair and the long fringe that hung down, almost hiding those startling blue eyes.
“Issie? Are you there?”
“Sorry, I’m still puffed from running to the phone,” Issie panted.
“That’s OK,” Aidan said. “You don’t need to talk anyway. Just listen. I have a plan to save the farm and I want you to hear it because I’m going to need your help.” He paused. “Issie, I want to start a riding school.”
“What?”
“My mum used to run one years ago when I was little,” Aidan continued, “and I always thought Blackthorn Farm would be the perfect place to have one.”
“But it’s miles from anywhere!” Issie protested.
“I know,” Aidan said, “but school holidays are about to start, right? We could run a school holiday camp with ponies. Kids could come and stay during the week and go home on the weekends and we could give them lessons.”
“We?”
“That’s where you come in,” Aidan said. “I need instructors. Hester and I have too much farmwork to do it all ourselves.”
“But I’m not an instructor!” Issie squeaked.
“You’ve got your B certificate, haven’t you? And don’t Stella and Kate have theirs too? That means you can be junior instructors. Hester can run the school and you’ll be her assistants.”
“Does Hester think it’s a good idea then?” Issie said.
“She will do once I tell her about it,” Aidan said. Issie laughed, but he sounded serious. “You’ve got to help me do this, Issie. It’s our last chance. I don’t want Hester to lose the farm.”
Issie took a deep breath. “When can you come and pick us up?” she said.
Issie needed to talk to Stella and Kate urgently–and she knew exactly where they would be, since today was rally day. She would find them at the pony club.
Some things never changed at Chevalier Point Pony Club. Take Natasha Tucker for instance. You would have thought, after all Issie and Natasha had been through together as stunt riders on the set of The Palomino Princess, that Natasha would have finally wanted to be friends. But no. From the moment the girls had arrived back at pony club this season, Natasha had become her same old super-snobby self. In fact, she was worse than ever. Issie had been really upset at first when Natasha had stopped speaking to her. Now she just tried to avoid her–which wasn’t always easy.
“They must be here somewhere,” Issie said, staring out of the window as her mum manoeuvred her car through the pony-club gates and into the parking area. Issie was so busy looking for her two best friends that she hardly noticed where her mum was driving until it was too late.
“No,