Chapter 3
3
Ciaron
T aylor sat straighter in her seat as we exited the village. Within two minutes, we were surrounded by green paddocks again. Wooden fences and hedges lined both sides of the road. It was green upon green out here. Large paddocks were full of lush grass, and some were surrounded by trees.
“Slow down,” Taylor said. “The driveway is just up here.”
I turned into a driveway. In front of me was a black steel gate and on both sides of that were thick hedges as tall as a man. I peered through the gates to the road that stretched into the distance. It was like a grand country estate.
“We need to pin a number into the keypad,” Taylor said.
I rolled the car up to it.
“Seven two three five.”
I keyed the number in, and the gate slowly swung open. I drove through and continued past more paddocks. The grass along the road was mown and kept neat. There were trees too, some huge with branches that stretched across the road. I’d never seen so much space in my life. In all my years, I’d hardly left the city. The wide spaces that existed in my life were mostly concrete lots with weeds scattered throughout.
“This is your daid’s farm?” What was I driving into? This was out of my comfort zone.
“No. My dad works here. A lot of people who work on horse studs live on them,” Taylor said. “Often farm workers work long hours depending on the time of year. Like in breeding season, when foals are born, the workdays are longer.”
“That makes sense. The pub is always busier in summer, so we work longer hours and have more staff on.”
Roads criss-crossed each other and there were lots of buildings and houses.
“You can park over there,” Taylor said, pointing to the side of the road opposite a house. We parked and hopped out of the car. Horses were in the paddocks behind the house.
“What do you think?” Taylor asked as she stood beside me.
“It’s like a city park but on steroids.” I took a deep breath of fresh air.
“These are the maiden paddocks,” Taylor said.
What did that mean?
“Maidens are mares who haven’t had babies yet,” Taylor explained. She pointed to a paddock down the road. “That paddock has mares and their foals.”
The horses weren’t huddled in groups, but were still close together. Most of them had their heads down, eating grass. Some mares were lying flat on their side.
“Are they OK? Why are they lying down?” I asked.
Taylor smiled at me. “They’re sleeping. Horses can sleep standing up, but to get quality REM sleep, they lie down.”
My face heated. I didn’t want her to think I was an idiot.
“Usually in the wild, other horses will keep watch close by to make sure the sleeping horses are safe.”
At least she wasn’t treating me like I was stupid.
“None of the others seem to be watching the sleeping ones,” I said.
“No. They all know they’re safe here.”
Running footsteps approached. I turned to see a red-haired girl with pigtails running up to us. A boy, maybe a year or two younger, was right behind.
She stopped and stared at me. “Who are you?”
Taylor tensed beside me. These last few days with her family must have set her on high alert.
“This is my friend Ciaron,” Taylor said.
She looked me up and down with a screwed-up mouth that reminded me of my brothers when Mam was getting all dressed up to go out with a man or when said man would knock on our door. “Who said you could bring friends to my house?”
Interesting words from an eight-year-old. I’m sure Taylor said she was eight.
“I’m not just Taylor’s friend. I’m her boyfriend.”
She shot off, hollering for her father. The boy followed her lead.
Taylor stared after her. “That was my sister Laoise. Pleasant, isn’t she?”
I scoffed, then took her hand. “Best we go meet my future in laws.”
She chuckled and led me towards the house. “This is going to be a shit storm.”
I shrugged. “It depends on them.”
I was ready to do what it would take to make this a pleasant experience for Taylor. Not only this visit, but the rest of her stay in Ireland.