'It's fine,' Ivy replied. 'I never expected to do the horse thing. At least my mom and I have Jane Austen in common.'

As they headed back into the house, Olivia saw Brendan grab hold of Ivy's hand.

I wish I'd thought of inviting Jackson, Olivia thought, and decided to send him a text message. She took her phone out of her pocket but there was already a message from him waiting for her: Headline: Franklin Grove 27 per cent less cool without Olivia Abbott. Entire town awaits her return.

She smiled and replied: The horses are so beautiful. You have to come out here at some point. Miss you tons. She paused then finished: x.x.x.

Maybe, she thought, I should be even more obvious and write out: Kiss, kiss, kiss. And don't make my first kiss be with Garrick!

'Come inside,' Rebecca called. 'And help me finish up the soup.'

They trooped down the hall into the kitchen; the smell of onions had started to fill the air. Brendan had to duck to avoid the copper pots that were hanging from the ceiling, and definitely looked out of place next to the blue-and-red checked tablecloth.

'What can I do?' Brendan offered.

'Nothing, nothing,' Rebecca insisted, so Brendan sat down at the table awkwardly.

'So, Ivy ... Olivia gave me the summary all about you,' Rebecca said, snipping up chives into the soup pot. 'Why don't you give me the rundown on your sister?'

Ivy pretended to think hard. 'Well, she's a neat freak, much too cheerful in the morning and has a flare for extravagant party planning.'

Olivia smiled. Ivy was such a cute grump.

'Oh yeah, and as you know she's dating the most famous movie star in the whole world.'

Rebecca clapped. 'I know!' she squealed and turned to Olivia. 'Tell me all about it.'

That wasn't something Olivia had trouble talking about at all. She launched into the story of how they'd met, when he'd dressed up as a security guard.

But a nagging voice at the back of her mind kept piping up: He still hasn't kissed you yet!

Ivy and Brendan sat quietly while Olivia and Rebecca babbled on about cheerleading, horses and Jackson. Gonzo and Gibson, the Labradors, kept an eye on them from matching baskets in the corner of the kitchen.

'So, Brendan,' Rebecca said in a rare lull in the bunny conversation. 'Why don't you tell me a little about you?'

Brendan pushed his curly hair away from his face. 'Well, uh, there's not much to tell. I like running and am kind of a science geek, like my dad chemistry, building stuff.'

'Are you in any after-school clubs?' Rebecca asked.

Brendan shook his head. 'The kind of stuff I like tends to be less crowded.'

'He plays a mean game of air hockey,' Ivy put in.

Rebecca didn't look impressed.

It's not fair, Ivy thought to herself. Comparing Brendan to Jackson was like comparing funeral wreaths to wedding bouquets. Jackson might be the most amazing guy according to the entire world, but Brendan takes me by surprise every day.

'Aunt Rebecca,' Ivy said. 'Do you mind if I take Brendan on a little walk around the yard before he rides home? We promise not to disturb any of the animals.'

At least, she hoped they wouldn't.

'Of course, sweetie.' Rebecca looked relieved, either that they were going for a walk or that he was going to ride home. Probably both, Ivy thought. 'It makes sense to head out long before sunset.' Ivy remembered Rebecca saying something similar to her dad.

'Do you want to come, Olivia?' Ivy asked.

Olivia shook her head and held up her script. 'I was going to run through my Juliet lines.'

'Ooh, can I help?' Rebecca offered.

'Sure!' Olivia replied and handed over the papers.

Brendan grabbed Ivy's lightweight buckled coat, and they headed out on to the front porch.

The sun was low and the sky was turning yellow.

'I think your aunt doesn't like me much,' Brendan said, as they wandered past one of the weeping willow trees casting shadows across the yard.

'She thought you were stalking her chickens.'

Brendan chuckled. 'They are some crazy-looking chickens.'

'She doesn't seem to be a big fan of black,' Ivy said. 'She doesn't like my dad much either. But she is really nice, and she's already told us a ton about our mom that we never knew. Olivia is loving every minute.'

Brendan nodded. 'There might be parts of your mom that Olivia understands better, but there are parts just for you, too.'

Ivy thought of Jane Austen again. 'You're right.'

'And you're beautiful,' Brendan replied, giving her a little kiss on the nose. 'I'd better go, before the sun sets and either my bike turns into a pumpkin, or I turn into a chicken-stalking zombie ... Grr arrg!' He held up his hands and pretended to chase Ivy.

She dashed under the willow tree branches, back up the steps and collapsed giggling on to the porch swing.

Brendan kissed her and then headed off into the sunset, like a cowboy. Well, a black-clad vampire cowboy on a bike.

'Thanks for coming,' she called after him. He did a wheelie in reply, sending up a cloud of dust.

She snuggled into the cushions and gently swung back and forth, watching the sun go down. She could see why her mother would have loved coming here. The ranch was beautiful.

Ivy wished she had her notebook, but it was upstairs in her backpack. She felt like this swing would be the perfect place to write.

She sat for another moment, enjoying the changing colours of the sky. Then Olivia and Rebecca burst out laughing inside. Ivy hopped down from the swing to join them. She took a step. Her foot hit a floorboard that was poking up and she ended up sprawled across the porch. Ivy twisted round to look back over her shoulder; she'd dislodged the wooden plank.

Great, Ivy thought. Now I'm destroying the house!

Ivy crouched down and saw that there were no nails at either end of the board. It had been loose for a while. When she went to slot it back in place, she realised why. There was something hidden under the plank. She took out her cell phone and used the light of its screen to see a battered journal wrapped in a clear plastic bag. As she pulled it out, she could see that its leather cover was embossed with the initials 'S.K.'

Susannah Kendall.

Ivy sucked in her breath.

She'd just found a journal that belonged to her and Olivia's biological mom!

Chapter Six.

The instant Aunt Rebecca shut the door to their top-floor bedroom, Ivy leaped off the red-and-white quilt of the bed they were supposed to share.

'I have been desperate to tell you this for the last eternity!' she declared.

Olivia was completely taken by surprise and almost backed into the white drawers covered in odd knick-knacks, like rainbow-coloured ceramic cows and a statue of an African drummer.

Ivy never got this excited unless it was something big.

'What is it?' Olivia asked.

'This.' Ivy held up a dirty plastic bag that smelled like mud.

'Uh ...' Olivia had no idea what it could be.

'Look!' Ivy thrust it closer to her face and Olivia actually did b.u.mp into the drawers.

But then she saw what had Ivy hopping about like a cricket.

There were initials on the cover of the book inside the bag. 'S.K.'

'Is that what I think it is?' Olivia whispered.

'I think so,' Ivy whispered back. 'It was hidden in the porch and it looks old.'

'More than thirteen years old,' Olivia agreed.

'I waited for you to look at it, but ...' Ivy hesitated. 'I didn't want to show it to Aunt Rebecca just yet. I think this might be too big to share before we really know what it is.'

Olivia nodded. Her heart was racing like she'd just landed a back flip. 'We can show it to her tomorrow.'

'Can we ...?' Ivy said at the same time as Olivia started, 'Should we ...?'

They both wanted to read it. They had to read it ... to see if it really was their mom's.

'You do it,' Olivia offered. 'You're the one who found it.'

Ivy gingerly peeled the plastic back and pulled out the notebook. Around the initials, there was a faded pattern of ivy embossed on the brown leather.

'Ivy,' Olivia whispered.

Ivy carried the journal ceremoniously over to the bed. Olivia sat down on the quilt beside her and Ivy opened the first page. It was filled with line after line of scribbly, narrow lettering: First day at the ranch. Twenty-two days until I'm fourteen.

Ivy and Olivia looked at each other. The last time they found a journal from their family past, it revealed the secret of who their real parents were. Olivia knew she wouldn't find out anything as dramatic, but it would be a precious glimpse of their mom.

This is so awesome! Mom gave me this new journal when we arrived. I've decided to keep this just for the farm and go back to my comp books when we go home. I've never had a leather journal before. It's gooorgeous!

Rebecca got a new set of paints. She said she wasn't going to have time for painting I bet she won't. She's already in the stables.

'This is the best thing ever,' Olivia declared.

Ivy's eyes shone. 'I am going to read this cover to cover but maybe not all at once.'

'We should do it together,' Olivia said and Ivy nodded.

'Let's go through the rest of this entry,' Ivy said.

We're here for six weeks, but I've only brought four books. I'll make Mom take me to the library. We're going to have lunch soon, I think. Burgers on the BBQ and corn on the cob yum!

Corn on the cob wasn't exactly deep motherly wisdom, but Olivia felt like her mom was right there speaking and that was practically a miracle.

The next morning, during their breakfast of just-laid farm eggs and freshly baked bread, Ivy produced the journal. The girls had decided before they went to sleep that they would tell Aunt Rebecca about it.

'Oh my goodness,' Rebecca said, reaching out to touch the soft cover. 'Is this ...?'

Olivia and Ivy nodded at the same time.

'Where did you find it?' she breathed, pushing aside her half-eaten omelette.

'Under a floorboard by the porch swing,' Ivy said, her scrambled eggs forgotten.

'Susannah was always writing in journals in that swing.' Rebecca's hand lingered over the cover but then pulled away. 'I am so tempted to read it, but I never knew what she wrote in there and no one wants their sister reading her journal.' She sat back in her chair. 'But you two should; daughters are definitely allowed.'

Ivy and Olivia shared a guilty look.

'And if there's anything you want to ask me about, I'll try to help as much as I can.'

'Thanks,' Ivy said. 'We want to know as much about our mom as there is to know.' Finally Ivy felt like there was a reason she was supposed to have come here.

Rebecca cleared her throat. 'Girls, I hope you don't think it's too much and I hope your parents will agree but I'd really like you to come back again.'

'Me too,' Olivia said, without hesitation.

'If we left the journal here,' Ivy said slowly, 'we could come back again next weekend to read it.'

'That would be perfect,' Rebecca said, smiling. 'And to make the journey worth your while, Ivy, I'm going to get you up on a horse.'

'I don't know about that,' Ivy replied, turning her attention back to the food. She broke open a freshly baked roll and steam rose up from the soft middle.