Reins and Robbers: Hayley Argent Horse Mysteries, #2

By Ruby Loren

A stolen horse, an unwanted saviour, and a stable on the brink of bankruptcy.

Hayley Argent just wants to give something back, but the Hawley-Jones Riding Stables appear to be beyond her help. She's promised to do her best to solve the mystery of what happened to Romani's stolen horse, Starling's Summer, but with no clues left behind, she's forced to admit he may be gone for good.  

When wealthy bachelor, Russell Orpington-Mills, rolls up at the stables with three eventing horses in tow, Romani would be mad to turn away a new client. 

But Russell's business comes with strings attached.

He's Romani's mother's idea of the perfect marriage match, and Romani's idea of everything that's wrong with the world of horses.

One stormy night, Hayley hears an intruder and suspects the thieves have returned.

But catching them in the act is dicing with death!

If you like horses, fun mysteries, and romance, you will love this series! Start reading these short mysteries today.


*Please note, this book was previously published under a different title.* This is a rewritten and re-edited edition:

The Starling's Summer

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ruby Loren
• Release date: Oct 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393190370

Book preview

Introduction

Rain ran off Hayley’s raincoat in rivulets and soaked through her pyjama bottoms. Her usually buoyant blonde hair hung down from her scalp in a sorry sheet. A shiver ran down her spine that had nothing to do with the drenching she’d just received. Her worst suspicions had been confirmed. The barn door was slightly ajar.

Someone had broken in.

Her initial bravado melted away and she wondered what she was doing out in the rain, well past midnight. The intelligent thing to do would have been to sit tight back at the cottage and call the police. Of course - they’d have never arrived in time, but what did she think she was going to do? She was soaked to the skin and completely alone. She didn’t even have a weapon, and yet, she was probably only seconds away from coming face to face with a gang of professional horse thieves.

Not smart, Hayley, she muttered, her eyes squinting through the rain as she looked around the flooded yard for something - anything - to arm herself with. There was not so much as a pitchfork in sight. There’s no lorry either, she suddenly realised. Wouldn’t professional thieves have some kind of transport ready to load their stolen bounty onto? Surely they didn’t just ride them away into the night? She snorted at the idea and clamped a hand over her nose and mouth to quell the sound.

A long moment went by.

No sound came from inside the barn. The rain must have covered the noise.

And another thing… why would thieves choose the worst night of the summer to rob the stables? And what are the chances of them robbing the same stables twice… unless they know about the new horses? she silently thought, a frown creasing her forehead.

Hayley discovered her hand was resting on the door of the barn. Her feet had carried her there without her noticing. She hesitated for a moment longer before curiosity got the better of her, and she slipped silently through the barn doorway.

She couldn’t see a thing.

It was pitch black inside the barn and everything was quiet.

Too quiet for such a stormy night.

There was an angry squeal.

Hayley’s eyes adjusted to the barn’s dark interior just in time to see the huge, black horse galloping straight towards her. She felt her limbs lock up as she froze in place, unable to move away from her approaching death. The monstrous horse’s eyes flashed white as he reared up, kicking his forelegs out, before they would inevitably crash down on top of her.

Hayley shut her eyes and waited for it to all be over.

1

It’s All Falling Apart

The sun was still rising in the sky when Hayley pulled up outside the Hawley-Jones Riding Stables. She stepped out of her silver car onto the heat-cracked ground. A few loose stones shifted beneath her feet, hinting that this area had once been covered in gravel. It had clearly been a long time since anyone had thought about redoing it.

She looked up at the solitary barn - the sole building that made up the riding school and stables. She could hear the quiet sounds of the horses moving inside their stalls, as she dragged open the heavy door and peered inside.

Light streamed through several rusted holes in the corrugated iron roof. Hayley observed that numerous buckets had been strategically placed to catch water. The roof was probably the least of the owner’s worries, she realised, as she took in the brick work with crumbling mortar, and the rotten panels of wood that lined the outer wall. Hayley had come to see if there was anything she could do to help save the stables from sinking without a trace, but it looked like she may have arrived too late.

The Hawley-Jones Riding Stables was in the process of falling down.

Hayley spent a few more moments in the barn, walking past a few unremarkable riding school ponies. One liver-coloured mare flicked her ears forwards when Hayley passed, and she paused to note that this horse had a thoroughbred look to it. It was the only horse in the stables that did, and Hayley found she was struggling to imagine that the owner had once believed she had a shot at competing in regional show jumping trials. She hesitated by an empty stall, one away from the barn door. A dusty plaque of golden oak looked incongruent with the rest of the rundown stables. Hayley dusted it off, reading the name ‘Summer’… and somehow she knew.

The star of the stables… the horse that had been stolen - this had been his stall.

Hayley sighed and ran a hand through her curling blonde hair, unknowingly staining it with dust. She was already starting to have doubts that she would be of any use at all. If the police hadn't been able to find the missing horse, and if the stables were on the verge of crumbling to dust, was there really anything she could do to change that?

Hayley bit her lip. You can help her to prepare for the worst, she thought, and decisively walked out of the barn and up the neighbouring hill, before her feet could carry her away from one woman’s doomed dream.

Late summer flowers spilled over the natural stone path, which led up the side of the small hill a little way on from the main barn. Hayley had arranged to meet Romani up at her cottage, but every step felt like she had lead weights attached to both feet. Her brain was already pushing her to tell Romani that she’d made a mistake, that there was nothing she could do. She’d offered to help out in any way she could, thinking that perhaps this stables was just in need of a second chance, or a little smoothing over after the theft of the horse.

She could tell it was far worse than that.

Romani Hawley-Jones had a serious cash-flow problem, and Hayley didn’t have the first idea about how to fix it. All she knew was horses.

Hayley lifted the horse-shaped door knocker and rapped on the pale blue door, not failing to notice the sea of paint shards which fluttered down to join the pile already on the floor. The door was flung open and Hayley came face to face with a woman close to her own age, who had rather mad, curling auburn hair, a smattering of freckles, and a sparkle that hinted there was a lot more to her than met the eye.

You must be Hayley! I’m Romani, she said, thrusting out a hand and shaking vigorously. Come in. I’ve just got some brownies out of the oven. You’ll be saving me from myself, if you pitch in. I’m just a big mess of comfort eating at the moment, she said easily, leading the way into a glorious country-style kitchen where a cooling rack full of gooey brownies sat invitingly on the solid oak farmhouse table.

Hayley opened her mouth, figuring that now was as good a time as any to start wriggling out of what she'd said on the phone. Romani had been so miserable when they’d first spoken that Hayley had done her best to fill her with hope