Free Ponies at Owls' Wood by Scilla James Page B

lycra shorts.’
    Neither pony looked worried. Polly wanted her supper and Jack was happy to have her back in the field with him again.

8
    Distracting Pete
    Hannah had forgotten Tom, who came out and stood by the gate.
    â€˜You’ve been hours,’ he complained. ‘I thought that man must have got you and put you in a box.’
    â€˜Sorry,’ said Hannah, and then she thought, help, what shall I tell him? She’d forgotten his very existence whilst she was with Jess, but now remembered promising him an explanation and also happily suggesting he should spend some of his day talking to Jack.
    â€˜How did you get on with Jack?’ she asked, her mind spinning as she also remembered that she hadn’t consulted Jess, or even mentioned Tom to her at all.
    â€˜We’re friends, as a matter of fact,’ said Tom, ‘it’s lucky we weren’t waiting for you for our lunch though, wasn’t it?’
    â€˜All right,’ said Hannah, ‘I’m sorry.’ She hesitated. ‘I do want to tell you about today,’ she said, ‘but I need you to promise to keep quiet and not keep talking about calling the police. Really, I mean it. If you won’t promise I can’t tell you a thing.’
    Tom looked at her with interest, his cool expression disappearing as he smiled. It crossed Hannah’s mind that he was actually quite good looking.
    â€˜I promise,’ he said.
    â€˜Well,’ Hannah began, ‘first, have you got anything to eat?’
    Tom sighed. ‘Why don’t you come over to mine? Mum’s not in, but there’ll be drinks in the fridge and I think there are some crisps.’
    Hannah was curious to see Tom’s house. They went in the back door, and as they went Hannah decided just to tell Tom everything and hope Jess would forgive her. It would be harder to tell half a story and then have to remember which half she’d told.
    The kitchen was big, and tidier than Hannah had ever seen a room before. Gleaming surfaces and stainless steel cupboards. Microwaves and shining ovens. A fridge the size of a phone box. Hannah thought of her own comfortably untidy kitchen with affection. She didn’t think she’d like to live anywhere quite so clean. She realised that she’d never actually seen Tom’s parents, except as shadowy and insignificant figures, driving off to work or to the shops. He seemed to have a solitary time of it.
    They brought the drinks and crisps back over to the field, and sat on the verge outside.
    â€˜Go on then,’ prompted Tom.
    So Hannah started from the point where she’d got Jess’s note and biked over to meet her in the wood. When she came to the bit about the ponies in the shed Tom’s eyes grew wide and he stared at her in horror. But when she told him of her meeting with Pete on the way back, he was angry.
    â€˜How dare he grab you like that! That’s outrageous! You wait till I meet him.’
    Hannah didn’t like to point out that Tom already had.
    â€˜So we’re going tomorrow night,’ Hannah finished her story, ‘we’ll bring them back here then call the police. They’ve got to believe that the horses are stolen, and don’t belong to Pete. Do you want to come with us?’
    â€˜Try and stop me!’ cried Tom, ‘I’ll wait for you coming up after eleven then I’ll get out of my window and join you. I’ve climbed out before and it’s a cinch. Have you had any news about your friend’s pony?’ he asked.
    Hannah hadn’t spoken to poor Charley all day, but she’d thought about her and hoped she might ring with some good news.
    â€˜I’ll ring her this evening,’ she said, ‘but I know she’ll contact me if she hears anything. And if I don’t get home soon they’re going to come looking. I’ll see you in the morning, OK?’
    â€˜No,’ said Tom, ‘Mum wants me to go out