A Hundred Horses Read Online Free

She turned to Mom. “It’s just some silly old wives’ tale.”
    Gem mouthed, No, it’s not, and folded her arms.
    Aunt Liv rolled her eyes and turned back to Mom, who had her hands on her hips, waiting for a proper explanation.
    “I’ll have a chat with Rita at the farm,” Aunt Liv said. “See if she knows anything about the horse. Really, it’s nothing to worry about.”
    “I think there was a girl on the horse,” I said, careful not to say anything about the carousel suitcase. “But I didn’t really see.”
    My cousins looked at each other, their eyes wide. Aunt Liv sighed, like you do when you’ve just figured something out and wish you hadn’t.
    “Oh,” she said. “Perhaps that means Angel’s back.”
    I noticed Gem nudge Alfie, and he shushed and glared at her.
    “And what’s that supposed to mean?” said Mom.
    “Oh, nothing,” Aunt Liv said. “There was a girl who used to hang around the horses on Rita’s farm. There was some trouble. I think she was caught stealing at the supermarket.”
    Mom had a look on her face now that said, “Did I really agree tothis?”
    “Anyway,” Aunt Liv said, as if she wished she hadn’t mentioned it, “I heard her family moved away, about the same time as the horses were taken to Old Chambers’s farm over the other side of the valley, so nothing to worry about.”
    There was a heavy silence as Mom put on her jacket and tugged her sleeves straight. Oh, good, I thought. She’s taking me home again.
    “Well, as long as you’re sure you’re okay, Nell, because I have to get back now. I need to finish preparing for the conference.”
    I held on to her. Because I wasn’t okay and I had nothing I wanted to stay for. Not now that the carousel was gone.
    “Don’t worry, Cathy,” Aunt Liv said. “We’ll take very good care of Nell.”
    Mom and Aunt Liv had a private chat outside the door before Mom kissed me about fourteen times and squeezed me in a hug. I linked my fingers around her waist so she couldn’t pull away. But she did.

Nine
    “H ave you two been playing with the cart?” Aunt Liv said, picking up the clothes on the bedroom floor. “I thought I left it behind the greenhouse, but it’s not there.”
    “No, Mom,” Alfie said.
    “Not me,” said Gem, wriggling into her pajamas.
    “Oh, well,” Aunt Liv muttered. “Perhaps I put it somewhere else.”
    I looked around the room. The walls were half straight and half sloping in Alfie and Gem’s bedroom, like we were in the roof. There was a small low window and a big, colorful mess under the bunk beds. There was also a mattress made up into a bed on the floor. I could tell which bed was mine, even though Gem pointed and said, “This is mine, this is Alfie’s, and that’s yours.”
    My cousins squabbled about where they were sleeping because they both wanted to be on the bottom bunk nearest to me. In the end, Aunt Liv put a pillow at either end of the bottom bed and said, “Just for tonight, then back into your own beds.”
    It’s funny, but when you’re little like them, anybody new is really interesting.
    When Aunt Liv had gone, Alfie crawled under the covers and came up next to Gem. They lay on their fronts with their chins in their hands and stared at me.
    “Have you got a horse?” asked Alfie.
    “No,” I said.
    “Have you got a pig?” asked Gem.
    “No,” I said, realizing this game could go on for a long time.
    “Have you got a monkey?” Gem said.
    So I said, “I haven’t got any animals.”
    Gem made a sad face. They whispered to each other.
    “We’ve got a pig,” said Alfie. “Her name’s Maggie.”
    “She’s a kunekune pig, and she’s going to have some babies,” said Gem.
    “Any day now,” said Alfie.
    They were quiet for a bit, just staring at me.
    I couldn’t stop thinking about the carousel. I’d found something unexpected, something that made me feel brilliant inside. Now it was gone, and it left my stomach churning. I shouldn’t have taken it in