Heaven And Hell novel Chapter 122

After all that, my aunt and uncle went straight to the barn to ready my ride to the fields. I felt ready to combust with excitement. I totally needed to relax and not think about the stupid problems landing on my shoulders ever since I'd come here. Oliver called, like, twenty times, and my parents had yet to demand me what the heck was going on down here. I so didn't want to be there when they called, no matter how cowardly you might think of me! I didn't need the pressure right now. No, no, no.

I kept pondering these things, clearly forgetting my statement about relaxing and clearing my mind, when I finally trudged down the knoll toward the barn. I heard some mooing from the cows and the chickens' squawking, fluttering and pecking inside as I entered the area.

"Uncle Ed? Aunt Mare?" I bellowed, trying to see past the stalls where the cows were swishing their tails. I found it odd that there wasn't any horse tails moving about. Shrugging that aside, I stepped inside and kept away from a chicken running past me.

"In here, pet!" Aunt Mary called out from somewhere behind.

Hearing her voice and a moo from a certain cow around the area, I quickly walked toward their location, going, "I can't wait to do some horseback riding! I totally --" until I just had to stop halfway and halt in my tracks when I saw my aunt and uncle hovering over a giant, brown cow. They grinned at me (excluding the cow) and petted the animal with gentle strokes.

"Um," I began, stumbling a bit as I neared, flailing an arm in confusion, "where's the horse?"

In fact, where were the horses?

I didn't need to voice that out since my facial expression said it all in one go.

Uncle Eddie flung his hand this way and that, chuckling. He looked to Aunt Mary to reveal the devastating news, and when she only stared at us back and forth, she idly walked toward the cow's rear and stared at the swishing tail like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. But that didn't stop her from smiling. When Uncle Eddie nudged her, she cleared her throat and scrunched her brows. "Did we say a horse was involved, love?" she asked my uncle. "I don't think we did."

"Uh, yeah, y'did!" I burst out, stepping away as the cow mooed at me.

Uncle Eddie stroked his beard fondly. "We might have told her horseback riding was involved but we didn't make promises that an actual horse was going to be present."

I gaped. "Then that wouldn't even be called horseback riding!"

"Aw, don't be a smart lassy, old Delilah here's still in good shape and she can walk you easily round the fields!"

"At what, zero point two miles per hour?"

Despite the rather devastating situation, my relatives looked at each other and started cracking up like two teenagers. I thought they were just kidding around and a real horse -- even just a pony, for heaven's sake! -- would magically strut through the doorway, but I was horrified when my uncle vanished around a stall and came back with a saddle. A saddle!

Beneath me, Delilah mooed her approval, and my relatives smiled.

"And, darling?" Aunt Mary called. I saw her running up to me, holding a very small spray bottle. She handed it to me.

"What the heck's that for?"

"This is generally a very safe area, but no harm in being sure, yeah? I haven't bought pepper spray in a while but I do keep a nice travel-size Windex. You can use that as a substitute!"

I gawked at her. "What am I gonna do, clean my assaulter's eyes?"

"Oh, just take it and go!" She began shooing me away while her husband kept his giggles to himself. "Go and explore the wonders of the English country! Clear your muddled mind and hopefully you come back feeling much improved."

Tucking the small bottle with one hand, I gave a jaunty salute with the other and nudged Delilah to go on, vowing not to forget where their property ended.