‘Whoa,’ he said, reaching out and steadying her. ‘He’s not out the front. Isn’t he here?’
‘N-no,’ she stammered. ‘Neither is Flicker. The gate’s open.’
Ben stilled. Without releasing Lily, he turned to check the paddock.
Nothing.
‘Would he have tried to take her to the river?’
‘Maybe he would,’ Lily whispered. ‘He was so upset about you going. If he and Rosa were getting Flicker ready for her daily walk and Rosa came back inside…’
‘Let’s go.’
Side by side they ran, down the track leading to the pasture where they normally brought the mare to graze. They reached the rocky outcrop at the bend to the horse pasture and stopped dead as they saw the deserted river bank before them.
No horse. No small boy.
‘She’s a strong horse,’ Lily whispered. ‘At the fork in the track even Rosa sometimes has a battle turning her this way. Rosa says she wants to join the other horses.’
‘Closer to the sea,’ Ben said, and they were already moving. ‘Hell, it’s marsh down there. If the horse gets stuck…’
And it seemed that was just what had happened.
For most of its length this river was deep and fast, surging from the mountains to form a swift-running channel, but at its mouth it broadened and shallowed.
On the far side of the river was a rocky incline, delineating the edge, but not this side. Because it was summer and the water from the mountain catchment was less, the width of river had narrowed. There was now thirty or forty yards of river-flat on this side, normally under water but now dry. Or almost dry.
On the far side of the river Lily saw the other four horses belonging to the property. They were staring over the river toward a clump of rocks. For a moment she couldn’t see what they were staring at. And then, appallingly, she did.
Flicker was there, half-hidden by the rocks. Lily hadn’t seen her because she’d been searching for something of horse height and Flicker was now a lot lower than horse height. The mare had taken herself halfway across the flat, trying to reach her companions. And then she’d sunk. She was up to her withers in mud, struggling to free herself from what looked to be an impossible situation.
Her world stilled. Where was Benjy? Dear God, where was Benjy?
But Ben was there before her. ‘Benjy.’ Ben was yelling his son’s name, breaking into a run across the mud, regardless of whether it was safe or not. ‘Benjy!’
‘I’m here.’ It was a terrified wail from behind the horse. ‘Dad, I’m here. Help me.’
She was running almost as fast as Ben. The ground gave a little under her feet, but she was moving too fast to sink. It was firm enough to hold her-just-but it was a miracle Flicker had got this far out.
Ben reached the horse before she did. By the time she reached them he was around the other side of Flicker. And there was Benjy. He was still clutching the halter as if he alone could stop the mare sinking, but the mare’s struggles had made the ground at her head a quagmire. It looked a glutinous mess that had hauled Benjy into it as well as the mare. He’d sunk to his chest, and the mare’s struggles were driving them both deeper.
But Ben had him. He sat on the ground behind Benjy, with his legs on either side of his son. His arms came around Benjy’s chest, and he leaned backward.
‘Don’t struggle,’ he told Benjy. ‘Just go limp in my arms. Let me do the work.’ He looked at the mare. ‘Hush,’ he told her, and crazily the mare stopped struggling for a little. She looked wild-eyed and as terrified as Benjy but maybe Ben’s bedside manner was not bad for horses either.
But Lily had eyes only for Benjy. She sat as Ben was doing-the mud only sucked you in if there was a big weight on a small surface so she presented the mud with her backside. And prayed it was big enough. She was desperate to help but Ben had Benjy fast in his arms, fighting for the mud to give up its prize.
And it did. Slowly, gradually, Benjy was eased outward. Then, wonderfully, as his torso came free, the rest of him came in a rush and Ben sprawled backward, his arms full of mud and boy.
Lily reached for him but Ben wasn’t relinquishing him. They lay in the mud, a tangle of legs and arms and mud and pure emotion. Ben’s small shoulders were shaking with sobs and his face was a blotched and crumpled mess. He lay on Ben’s chest while Lily reached out and ran her fingers through his hair and felt her heart go cold at the thought of what might have been.
‘She kept pulling,’ Benjy sobbed at them, still cradled against his father. ‘I tried to take her to the nice grass but she wouldn’t come. And she keeps sinking more.’
‘Oh, Benjy. It’ll be OK.’
‘It’s not OK,’ Benjy managed, hiccuping on a sob. His small body might be crumpled against Ben, gathering comfort, but he was made of stern stuff, and he’d only slumped a little and now he was pulling away. ‘She’s stuck and we have to help her.’ He bit his lip, trying valiantly not to cry any more.
Enough. This was her baby. Lily sat up and tugged him away from Ben, into her arms. ‘Sweetheart, let’s think about you first. We’ll look after Flicker but we need to check you. Are you hurt? Were you kicked?’
‘N-no. Just stuck.’
‘So nothing hurts now.’
‘My dad pulled me out of the mud,’ Benjy whispered. ‘So I’m OK.’
‘It’s what your dad does best,’ Lily whispered back, holding him close. ‘He’s very, very good at making people OK. Just lucky we had him here, hey?’
There was a moment’s silence. Lily very carefully didn’t look at Ben-but it was a struggle.
‘Tell us what happened,’ Ben managed at last. He was sitting up too now, taking in the full mess the mare was in. Or maybe he was trying not to look at his son. He’d been rocked to the core, Lily thought, and she knew it because she was feeling exactly the same. The only difference was that she’d known she loved her son to bits.
Ben looked like a thunderbolt had hit him.
But Flicker needed them. Ben’s question was waiting to be answered and finally Benjy took a deep breath and told them.
‘Flicker was acting funny when Rosa and me came out this morning. She kept going back and forth by the gate, over and over. Rosa said maybe something’s happening, but then the helicopter came and she said stay with Flicker and she went inside. And no one came and no one came and Flicker was going back and forth and back and forth and I thought I’d start taking her down to the river like she wants. ‘Cos you’d know where I’d be. But she was still acting funny. She was whinnying and looking behind her all the time. And then she came the wrong way. She pulled and pulled and I couldn’t stop her coming here. Then she got stuck and every time she fought I went deeper and I couldn’t get out of the mud.’ His words ended on a frightened whisper. Lily hugged him close and looked at Ben, who was watching them as if…
As if nothing.
‘What can we do?’ This was no time for wondering what Ben was thinking, she decided. She didn’t have a clue. When had she ever?
‘Let’s check.’ Ben edged forward, lying by the mare’s flanks, keeping out of range of the churned mud at her head. She was still for the moment, but quivering in obvious fear. And pain? He ran his hand down her side and he frowned.
‘Maybe she’s in labour,’ he said, and Lily winced and held Benjy tighter still. Mare stuck in mud. In labour?
‘Throw us another complication, why don’t you?’ she demanded, and Ben managed a smile.
‘Sorry. But let’s assume the worst. We need equipment.’
What sort of equipment? Maybe putting the mare down was the kindest option, she thought bleakly. Oh, but Benjy…
‘It’s not time for that yet,’ Ben said, his smile fading, and she knew he’d seen the bleakness of her thoughts. ‘Benjy, I want you and your mother to stay here while I fetch what I need. I want you to stay calm and stay away from the churned-up mud, and I want you to try and keep Flicker calm as well. No more struggling. I’ll be as fast as I can.’
He hesitated, then he moved back to where they sat and touched Benjy lightly on the cheek. Then, with the same muddy finger, he touched Lily. It was a feather touch and why the touch of a mud-caked finger should warm her-why it reassured her that all was well-she didn’t know. But it did.
