Page 112 of The Sun Sister

‘Charmed, I’m sure.’ Lizzie stuck her tongue out at me as Manuel led Jenny out of the stables and handed her the reins.

‘How about Hector?’ Manuel beckoned me over to a huge black horse who was moving restlessly around his box.

‘I’ll give him a go,’ I said.

‘He’s fine once he know who is boss. And you look like a boss girl to me.’

‘Do I?’

‘Sí, like my Sammi is the boss girl,’ Manuel clarified as he grabbed the reins and drew Hector out of the stable. ‘Now, you climb on, okay?’

As we clopped out of the courtyard behind him, Hector did a lot of whinnying and tossing of his head, while I tried to find my seat on top of him.

‘Okay, so we go slowly at first, and then we see,’ Manuel suggested as he pulled up next to us.

I watched Lizzie move ahead of us and thought how elegant she looked on horseback.

‘She is English, your friend?’

‘She is.’

‘Hah! I can tell from the way she sits on the horse.’

‘Whereas I’m a mess, I know,’ I said as Hector threw his head back impatiently.

‘He will calm down once we are on the move. He just like to go fast.’

It took a good fifteen minutes before I got the hang of Hector, and when I did, Manuel signalled to me.

‘So, now we can go.’

Manuel and I arrived back a couple of hours later, filthy from the red dust, which I could taste on my lips. But wow, I felt euphoric. After setting off at a polite trot, I’d begun to feel the thrum of Hector’s engine revving up beneath me. I’d glanced at Manuel, who’d nodded, obviously confident in my riding skills, and let Hector take the lead. We’d flown across this magnificent plain, and I thought I couldn’t remember feeling happier in a very long time. I was free, yet in control, and it was incredible.

‘Did you enjoy that?’ Lizzie asked as I clopped back into the yard, shadowed by Manuel. She had turned back twenty minutes before us.

‘Oh wow, Lizzie, I just adored it,’ I said as I dismounted. ‘Sorry if we went too fast.’

‘Not at all, it was fantastic to watch you both. Sedate point-to-points were more my thing in England. You’re a natural, isn’t she, Manuel?’

‘She is,’ Manuel smiled. ‘Now, time for a cool beer.’

After Lizzie and I had taken ourselves into the big, modern bathroom to wash the dust from our faces (and had a sneaky peek into the incredible master bedroom, which faced the mountains and had a plunge pool built into a small enclosed terrace just beyond the glass wall), we joined Manuel on the veranda and sat down.

He was already halfway through a beer and there were two more on the table, along with a jug of water.

‘You want?’ He indicated the beers.

‘Thanks,’ Lizzie said, taking one.

‘Er...’ I swallowed hard. ‘No thanks. I’ll stick to water.’

Lizzie turned and gave me a look of approval as I poured myself a glass from the jug. I had to get used to the fact that people would be drinking around me constantly when I went back to my old life. The good news was that I was getting a soft entry, as beer was not a drink I liked. I let Lizzie’s and Manuel’s voices wash over me as I breathed deeply, took in the view and enjoyed the desert breeze.

‘Now, ladies, I am sorry to tell you, but I must leave,’ Manuel said eventually. ‘Sammi and I have a dinner party in the city this evening.’

‘Of course, and thank you so much for today,’ said Lizzie, draining her beer. ‘And your house is absolutely beautiful. I hope you sell it soon,’ she added as we walked back through the house towards the front door.

‘We hope so too. We borrow the money to do it when things were good and now...well,’ he said as he opened the front door, then shook both our hands. ‘It was a pleasure meeting both of you.’