My Second Chance

Chapter Three

The next morning, when I came down for breakfast, there was a glorious feast waiting for Elliot and me. I had never eaten this much food in my life! There was toast, bacon, sausages, eggs, tomatoes, hash browns and a glorious jug of creamy milk. I sat down on the soft chair in the corner, my stomach growling. As I helped myself to the bacon, Elizabeth came into the kitchen with some muffins.

"Good morning, Amy," she said, brightly," Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you," I said, almost as brightly as her," It was lovely."

"Good," Elizabeth grinned.

I shook my head. Why was I so happy all of a sudden? My father had just died, and I had moved to a place that I didn't know with a family that didn't know me. My usual frown settled across my face as I continued with my breakfast. I had been stubborn while I was at the care home, I didn't eat anything while I was there, but this food was too good to pass up.

As I sat down with a big plate of everything, I suddenly heard the barks and yaps of dogs and a young woman, about my age, maybe a bit older, with thick brown hair scrapped up into a messy bun on the top of her head, and dark sea blue eyes that sparkled with intelligence and mischief came through the door and into the kitchen. She had a lot of dogs with her; there were several little terriers, a Collie, a Labrador and a massive German Shepherd.

"Morning all," she said as she came through the kitchen.

The comment was mainly directed at Elizabeth and Archie who had snuck into the kitchen while I was studying my cousin. He nodded at him sister as he sat down next to me, his eyes still thick with sleep.

"You went out early this morning," Elizabeth said as she too sat down.

"One of the mares was whining, I thought I'd better go out and see," came the reply as she walked into the little utility room where all of the towels and bed sheets were kept.

"And? Anything?"

"Not yet, but she's not comfortable," came the reply," I want to make sure it's not colic or anything like that."

"Are you not staying for breakfast, you haven't even said hello to your cousins," Elizabeth said.

She stopped in her tracks and looked down at Elliot and me for several seconds before saying a short, hi. She grabbed herself a muffin and a few streaks of bacon for the dogs, before rushing outside as quickly as she'd come in.

"That was Chloe," Elizabeth said as she began to fill her own plate," Don't worry if she seems a little hostile at first, she normally is."

"Are all of those dogs hers?" I asked as I dug my fork into my sausage.

"Yes, she bought them all up by hand," Elizabeth said," Most of them are rescues. I'd keep away from the German Shepherd if I were you. He's good enough in his own way but he won't let anything touch her or any of those dogs."

"What are their names?" I asked, as if I'd remember.

"Er...let me see," Elizabeth said, almost to herself," The terriers are Webley, Purdey, Daisy, and Blaser, the Collie is Bessy, the Labrador is Winchester but we call her Chester for short and that German Shepherd is Ranger."

I nodded as I tried repeating all of the names in my head. I thought Chloe sounded very interesting, even though we hadn't even said one word to each other. We heard her come back in, obviously grabbing something from the side, before the door slammed again and we were left in silence to have our food.

I finished my breakfast in half the time, for I wanted to find my mysterious cousin. She was unlike any of my friends back in London. They were all girly girls who, like me, loved makeup and shopping and going out partying. Chloe didn't seem like that type of person at all, and although as I thought about it we had barely anything in common, I found myself curiously drawn in to this life. I ran upstairs with a full stomach and got changed into my old jeans and a hoodie. When I came back downstairs, I went to put my white trainers on when Elizabeth came through into the landing and, with a laugh, said," If you're going to go out onto the farm, I would recommend wearing boots. What size are you?"

"Five," I answered.

She pondered the boots for a while before she threw me a pair of dark blue wellies.

"I'll start lunch at twelve-thirty," she called as she exited the room.

I pulled the boots on and left the farmhouse out the front door. This was the first time I had been out since I got here and I wondered why I didn't come out earlier. It was such a beautiful place, as it was late spring and all of the trees and plants were flowering and releasing the most beautiful colours and smells.

I went out of the farmhouse door and went round to the left. My eyes opened wide to let my eyes see the glorious country view that was laid before me. I walked out into the back garden which was filled with beautiful flowers of all shapes and colours. Cutting through the garden was a gravel path that led towards a small wooden gate. I pushed it open, trying to make as little noise as possible, although I couldn't say why. It led onto part of the driveway which continued up the slight hill towards a large barn. I walked alongside the outdoor sand school which was deserted. No one seemed to be here as I searched for a way into the barn.

As I continued in my search, I could see the slightly darkened doorway. It was the main one that led into the barn. As I neared, I could see one of Chloe's little terriers lying in the doorway in the sun asleep. I chuckled to myself as I neared. Of course, the little dog woke up. It peered at me, before sitting up. Of course, it didn't know who I was, so it reached up in search of something to sniff. I offered my hand, and it began licking my fingers. I laughed as it tickled, but then I heard the frightening sound of a bigger animal. I looked up quickly and saw the German Shepherd, Ranger, standing a few feet away from me. He growled and snapped, almost sounding as if he were roaring. The little terrier looked back at him, before I heard a voice call them both into the barn. The terrier ran around the corner of one of the stables happy as anything. Ranger stared at me for several more seconds before turning around with a growl and following his little companion.

I made a spiteful face, before walking quietly into the barn myself. I could hear and see several horses in their stables, happily eating or looking over their doors at me. I didn't know why, but the sight of the barn amazed me. It was massive, able to hold many horses at once. I continued walking, forgetting that I wasn't actually alone in here. As I turned to scan everything in my field of view, I suddenly saw, standing outside his stable, a pretty dappled grey horse. He was happily munching away at his hay, while all of the dogs I had seen earlier were either sitting or laying around him peacefully. I watching them all interacting with each other, not noticing that the German Shepherd was quite near me now, and let out one of his roaring barks that made me scream and jump back in fear.