She had never directly crossed her aunt’s boyfriend Pete before, and her former certainty that he wouldn’t notice a missing pony out of so many seemed like wild optimism in the bright light of day. The sparrows were singing cheerily outside her window as if her worry was no concern of theirs. Even the photo of her mum and Auntie Cyn laughing on the beach in Norfolk, taken two years before her mother had had her accident, failed to cheer her as it usually did. Jess knew she’d acted impulsively. She’d seen Hannah’s notice the evening before when her aunt had persuaded her, with some difficulty, to bike down to West Brook village and see whether or not Pete’s van was parked in the pub car park. It hadn’t been, but on the way back she’d had to get off her bike and push, and the red paint on the field notice had caught her attention. Had what she’d done been such a good idea? Fearing that if she didn’t get up as early as usual Pete might notice and come and call her, Jess decided to dress and go downstairs.
What do You think about Ponies At Owls' Wood (2013)?
