Great Equitations

It was the middle of the night, ghostly tendrils of mist hanging in the air, yard empty and void of sound save for the snuffling of the equines that surrounded it as they took lethargic mouthfuls of hay. As she approached, various horses whickered, expecting food, and she smiled, pausing to scratch a coloured mare on the tip of her nose.

She wasn't sure why she was there, really. All Squeeze's things had been cleared, and were now scattered across England in their new retrospective homes. Her stable had been filled by Tansy Mitchell's new warmblood, and it was as if the beautiful grey mare that had bought her so much joy had never even existed.

"Ella?"

She turned around, startled, and stood facing the speaker. He hadn't got any less good looking. In the light of the stark lamps that illuminated the stable yard, strange shadows crept across his face, sending strange flickering feelings into her stomach. His brown, slightly russet hair was as messy as she remembered, and his grey eyes hadn't lost any of their original sparkle. The smattering of freckles that were scattered across his ski slope nose stood out starkly against his skin, which was pale in the cold air.

"Tyler." The syllables rolled off of her tongue, and she couldn't help but grin.

"Didn't expect to see you here." He said bluntly. He wasn't being rude; the farmer's son had never been good with words.

"No." she replied, "I don't suppose you would, any more."

Her words hung in the air, rich with memories they had both shared.

"I miss her."

"I know. But God, it's good to see you."

Ella felt her lips quiver, and throwing caution the winds, stepped into his awaiting arms. Tears threatened to spill, and she blinked to get rid of them, breathing in the smell of Tyler's hoodie. There was a pause, in which neither of them said anything, until she pulled back, embarrassed of her outburst.

"Look, Ella?" Tyler put one finger under her chin, tilting her head up to look him in the eyes. "Do you want to come back with me? Like, to mine?"

She nodded, not trusting herself to say anything.

"Come on then."

He put his arm around her waist, guiding her to where he'd parked his Toyota truck. It was still shabby, the red paintwork so chipped and scratched that it was barely there.

On reflex, she pulled open the door, hopping into the passenger seat, like she'd done so many times after they'd finished at the yard. His truck had the same smell to it; a mix of that pungent boy-cologne stuff he wore sometimes and different types of horse and cattle feed.

There was a bag of chaff in front of her seat, and instead of shifting it, she propped her black, Wellington boot clad feet on top of it. The boots had been a present from her nan; second hand Hunter wellies, for her birthday last year. They'd stretched with her feet, thank god, because she couldn't afford new ones.

Tyler flicked the key into the ignition, and turned it on. It made a spluttering sound, but he was undeterred. The engine suddenly roared into life, and the pair shared a chuckle. He swallowed, trying to keep the burning questions inside his chest exactly there - inside. He knew that Ella wouldn't want to talk; he knew her far too well for that. But heck, he'd missed her. As he pulled onto the road, he glanced at her. She was looking out the window, wavy brown hair falling all the way to her waist, concealing her facial expressions. She was really beautiful, he thought, with her slender figure.

He'd always been quiet around girls, because he couldn't stand the rubbish they all spoke, all hot air and uninteresting and dull - he didn't really get on with most of the girls at the yard, preferring just to do his work and leave them to their chatter about boys and makeup. But Ella was different. She understood horses, and didn't talk pointlessly. He also didn't know many girls that would go out in the middle of the early November night at all. He didn't know many girls, really- but he was sure that most of them, if they did go out, would've worn a full face of makeup, and thought about what they were going to wear.