“Ready, finally.” Milly led Wildfire out of his loose box up to the truck. Cole led Hunter out. Milly, dressed in jeans and little ankle boots, looked cute as usual. Her hair was braided and tucked up like a horse’s mane. Not too sure about the hairnet though. It went with the outfit, he guessed.

It had taken them a couple of hours to get the horses brushed and their manes plaited, and they looked great. Tom Gaisford came out of the house, carrying a chilly bin.

“Sustenance.” He opened the small door in the front of the float and put it in. Then he unbolted the tailgate and lowered it so it formed a ramp.

Milly stood back holding Wildfire. “Cole, you load Hunter first and then Wildfire will go in more easily.”

“Okay.” He clicked at the horse and then led it to the ramp. Hunter tentatively put a hoof on the edge of the timber and drew back. “Come on, boy.” Cole gently encouraged him. After a bit of hesitation, the horse walked up the ramp into the float.

“Good work, Cole.” Her father turned back to Milly. “Now bring her up. She should follow easily.”

Milly nodded, and Cole watched as she led the horse up the ramp with no hesitation from Wildfire. Cole relaxed. That horse could be flighty.

Milly fiddled around with the hay net and stroked both horses. “You won’t have to be in here too long. And Cole’s a good driver. It will be a smooth ride.” She waited at their heads while Cole helped his boss shut the back of the float.

“I hope you’re right.” Still the late model ute should be easy to drive.

“Have you remembered everything?” asked her father.

“I think so.” Milly checked the back of the ute. “My riding gear, grooming gear, a change of clothes, food for us and the horses. I think that’s it. Can you think of anything we’ve missed, Cole?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Haven’t been to one of these things before.”

Milly’s father gave her a hug.

“I’ll see you both tonight then. Good luck.” Then he looked over at Cole. “Keep her fed and watered, Cole.”

“Wildfire?”

“No, Milly. She forgets to eat and drink when she’s competing. It makes her grumpy.”

“I’ll give it a try.” But he couldn’t imagine Milly grumpy.

He drove, and Milly sat in the passenger seat.

“What happens when we get there?”

Instead of answering, Milly twisted around and tried to see out the back window into the little window at the front of the float. “I heard a bang. Do you think they’re all right?”

He flicked a glance in the rear-view mirror. He could just see the tops of the heads of the horses.

“They’re both still standing. One of them must have just kicked the side.”

“I guess so.” Milly turned back and adjusted her seat belt. “We’ll go in the showgrounds, see where everyone else has parked and park there too.” She looked at her phone. “We’ve got ages before the vet check. We need to find out what time each of my events are on. Because I’m riding two horses sometimes I’ll have to go straight from one to the other. You’ll need to have the other one ready for me.”

“I can do that.”

She smiled at him. “It’s good you could do this.”

“I’m getting paid.”

“I’m still really grateful.”

“Can’t you do this without someone to help?”

She shook her head. “No. It’s too hard. Some of the older women do it on their own, and they seem to manage, but I couldn’t.” She turned again and watched the horses’ heads. “They look all right.”

“Are you always this anxious, or is it just my driving?”

“Sorry.” She bounced back into her seat and managed to talk about normal things.

“We’re nearly there,” she said after a while. “Turn left at the next roundabout.”

They found the showground and parked the ute. There were already about fifty floats and horse trucks parked in a line under the trees. Horses, girls in jodhpurs, women, kids, men, flags and tents were everywhere over the paddocks.

Milly opened the door of the ute and got out.

“We’ll get the horses out first and get them settled and then I’ll need to go and find what’s happening when.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Just help where you can. I’ll boss you around.” She wasn’t the hesitant girl he’d seen.

“Go for it.”

Milly opened the float’s front door. Cole went around the back of the float, slid the bolts out and lowered the ramp.

Milly untied Hunter and backed him out of the float. “We’ll just tether them at the side of the float in the shade.” She went back in and got Wildfire.

Once the horses were settled they walked together over to the organisers’ tent.

“Not too many males here.” Fathers and the odd boyfriend, but mainly females.

“You’ll be fine then.” Milly grinned at him.

“Ha ha.”

“You should hear what Tessa says about you.”

“What?”

“You’re the love ‘em and leave ‘em sort.”

Didn’t know he had that reputation.

“That’s not very nice of Tessa.” Not far wrong though.

“I think she tried to warn me. You’re not denying it?”

He raised his eyebrows at her. He couldn’t really deny the truth.

They reached the tent. He watched from outside. Milly went in, registered and then moved from list to list working out when she would ride. She came out holding a couple of sheets of paper.

“Find out what you needed to know?”

She nodded. “It’s not too bad. Most of the rides have gaps after them. It’s only the dressage, where I have to go from one horse to the next straight away. If you have Hunter warming up while I’m riding Wildfire, I should be able to manage it. Now we’ve got about half an hour before for the vet check.”

“Where do they have that?”

“Over there.” Milly waved her arm at a cordoned off area. A few girls with horses were already waiting.

“That next?” He walked beside her back to the ute.

“Yes.” Milly watched the vet area. “It’s all very formal. I’ll have to get dressed properly, brush them again, check all their plaits are still in. It takes nearly as long to prepare for the vet check as it takes to get ready to ride.”

“Lucky you’ve got me to help.”

“Yes, Mr Love ‘em and leave ‘em.” Her eyes sparkled.

“That’s pretty unfair.” Flattering that she kept going back to that, but he wouldn’t act on it.

“Just saying what I’ve been told.” Milly was still laughing when they got back to the ute. Then she got serious. “First, we’ll finish grooming them, then I’ll get dressed.”

“Okay.” He went around to the back of the ute and lifted out the crate of grooming gear.