by Ruby Loren
“I’ll pay you enough,” he said airily, like it was nothing at all to him. Hayley winced as Russell continued to dig himself into a very deep hole. It was painful to watch after Romani had spoken so passionately about how much she despised presumption, prejudice and above all, assumed entitlement. Charlotte Hawley-Jones could not have been more wrong when she'd thought them a suitable match.
Hayley turned around to inspect the large horse lorry and found herself face to face with the man who'd been speaking with Russell.
“Jack Drayton, I’m a friend and a business associate of Russell’s. We both entered the regionals rather late in the day, so it was a lifesaver when this place was recommended. You won’t believe the prices some of the other yards are charging, just because they know you have to be local to compete and that this competition is one of the most prestigious - no matter where you come from.” He looked expectantly at Hayley who realised she hadn’t introduced herself.
“I’m Hayley and I... work here,” she said, figuring it was best to just leave it at that. From what Jack had just said, she definitely didn't want to divulge any more of the financial situation of the stables than was blatantly obvious. “Did I hear that you’re going to be keeping three horses here? That’s really great,” she said, going for something innocuous to keep the conversation going. A smile curved Jack’s lips and he tilted his handsome face at her, dark stubble and hair lending him a rugged look that was only further set off by his grey-blue eyes.
“Yeah, Russell and I both imported horses from somewhere terribly foreign. Details of their breeding are all a bit hush but we have some very high hopes for them.” He walked around the lorry and opened the back to reveal three horses stood waiting in their stalls. “Darkening Dawn, Evenfall, and Sandy,” he said, pointing at the black pointed dun horse.
“Sandy?” Hayley said, immediately noticing the change of tone when Jack had listed the last horse. He shrugged and gave her a look.
“Yeah, it’s a horse that Russell got for Romani. He figured because she'd lost hers, she might want a new horse but I’m not sure how smart an idea it was. I mean, it’s not like she can afford…” He stopped talking and looked sorry for what he’d almost said.
“You’re right, adding an extra horse around here that Romani has to fund will be difficult. You should know that her horse was stolen very recently. Until all hope is gone, I think Russell should keep his gift and definitely do not mention it to her at all,” she said seriously.
“Yes, that would have been a good idea, wouldn’t it?” Jack said, deliberately using the past tense. A moment later they heard the sound of stomping footsteps as Romani returned to the car park.
“A horse? You thought giving me a horse would mean you could get your horses looked after for free and stay in my house too? I don't even want another horse! I already have the one I want,” Romani said and then bit her lip hard as her eyes misted up for a second.
“Okay, look, I was under the impression that you weren’t going to turn any comers down and that horse is great. It came with the other two when Jack and I imported them,” Russell said, pointing at the drab dun who lifted his head a little and looked at them all.
“Not only were you not planning on paying anything, your horse gift was the result of a buy two, get one free deal,” Romani said and Hayley half expected to see smoke start pouring out from her ears. There was a moment of silence in the car park when only the chirps of the birds could be heard. “Okay," Romani said, shutting the back of the horse lorry. “It was nice to meet you Russell, I wish you all the best in finding a stable somewhere else without paying a fair price for it.”
Romani turned and walked back towards the house and Hayley dutifully followed, after nodding goodbye to Jack. Inside her heart was jumping up and down in her chest. On one hand, she wanted to clap out loud at they way Romani had set the entitled Russell straight, but unfortunately it meant that any revenue Russell might have been persuaded to contribute was lost.
“Wait! Come on now, I think we've both had our wires a bit crossed here,” Russell called.
Romani shot Hayley a victorious look before turning back and inclining her head to show that he should go on.
Russell forced his hands deep into the pockets of his tweed trousers. “I was under the impression that you wanted a partner… both business and personal. I see now that it was a hasty assumption to make and I would be very grateful if we could begin our business relationship by discussing the terms of stabling my horses, and Jack’s, at your stables.”
Hayley’s eyebrows shot up. It was a remarkable recovery and one she’d never have expected to leave Russell’s lips. Perhaps he genuinely had been given the wrong impression by Romani’s mother. After overhearing the earlier phone conversation, it wouldn’t have surprised her.
“Okay, let’s talk business,” Romani said, brushing off the previous outburst and gesturing for Russell to lead the way back up to the cottage.
Jack started to laugh as soon as they heard the door shut at the top of the hill.
“I have never seen anyone put Russell right like that before. Do you know, just between us, I think he quite enjoyed it,” Jack said and Hayley didn't know where to look.
“I guess we should unload the horses,” she said, opting for neutral ground again.
“Sure, you get Sandy, I’ll take Evenfall and with a lot of luck, we’ll get Darken into a stable without him kicking the whole place down. Although, it wouldn’t need much help,” Jack said, looking pointedly at a rotten section of the barn.
Hayley kept her gaze frosty, unwilling to betray Romani. “We’re actually starting renovations right away, so you’re going to see some changes around here," she said brightly.
“It’ll be good to see the money Russell and I bring in being put to use,” Jack said and Hayley decided to let that lie. If he wanted to treat them like a charity case, let him. Even better if it meant they paid more than the going rate. Unfortunately, for all her fire, Hayley strongly suspected that Romani would be offering Russell the same prices she’d offer anyone who wanted to keep a horse at the stables.
Sometimes you could be too fair.
Ten minutes later, the first two horses were done and Hayley and Jack were left looking at Darken, who looked right back… and dug his heels in.
“First he refuses to get in the damned lorry and now he won't leave it," Jack muttered as he pulled on the leading rope attached to the flashy red head collar that the big black stallion wore.
“Hey, can I try?” Hayley said and Jack threw his hands up before handing her the leading rope and folding his arms across his chest. Hayley tried to ignore the mountain of disbelief beside her as she approached Darken and tried to get him to share something of himself with her. She looked at his dark eyes and the way he held his head, proud and wild. This was a horse with a big personality and a lot of pent up energy he clearly wasn’t anywhere close to getting rid of.
“How often does Russell ride him?” Hayley asked.
Jack shrugged, still watching her not attempt to drag the horse out by force. “Most days for a bit. He schools him, jumps him, and stables him. Ideally he’d be out in a field, I know that, but we all know horses are being taken and with the amount Russell paid for Darken… well, he’d be quite a feather in a horse thief’s cap.”
“Maybe while he's here, Romani or I could ride him, just to give him a bit more exercise. I’d say he could use it.” Hayley slowly backed off and Darken took a tentative step and then another one forwards.
Jack hissed air through his teeth. “You’d have to ask Russell that, but I’m pretty sure I know what the answer’s going to be. He really cares about this horse and I know he’d be broken up if anything were to happen to him.”
“Well, maybe in time he’ll decide to do what’s best,” Hayley said diplomatically, knowing full well that if Russell didn’t change the way he was working with his horse, it wouldn’t be long before his horse didn’t work with him. Or anyone
, for that matter.
“How are you doing that?” Jack asked as Hayley slowly walked down the ramp with Darken following behind, not dragging his heels at all.
“I’m a horse psychologist. Calming horses down and figuring out what makes them tick is kind of my thing,” she said, deciding to come clean in the hopes that it might make it more likely that Russell would deign to let someone else help with the care of his high-energy horse.
“Thats great, so what are you doing around here? I already had a look in the barn and there aren’t too many horses in need of a shrink that I noticed,” Jack said with a lopsided grin.
“I’m just… here to help a friend,” Hayley said simply, leading Darken up to the stall adjacent to Evenfall.
The reaction was immediate.
Darken squealed and reared up, flashing his hooves as Evenfall stuck his very pretty nose through the railings and tried to say hello.
“Oh, I forgot, Darken doesn’t like to have neighbours.” Jack looked around the stables, which had seemed pretty empty until a horse arrived that needed a full free space on either side of him. “This one will do.”
Hayley saw he was pointing to the stable with the oak plaque on the door. “That’s Summer’s stall,” she warned and Jack spared a moment to look thoughtful before he shrugged it off.
“Well, he’s not here now and I’m afraid there isn’t any other room. If he comes back, we’ll sort it,” he promised although his tone made it clear that he didn't think that was going to happen in a million, trillion years.
Hayley unhooked the rope from Darken’s head collar and shut the door behind him. He looked at her with those big dark eyes that seemed to plead ‘aren’t you going to take me out for a ride?’ and she hated having to turn her back on him.
“Hello? Excuse me? Is anyone here?” A very loud, female voice called through the door of the barn. Hayley and Jack left the horses and walked out into the sunshine to find a rather large lady with bleached blonde hair, too many chins, and an unfortunate preference for faux fur - despite the August heat. She was also surrounded by a small army of children.
“Where’s Jennifer? Milly, Billy, Tilly, Philly and Tarquin are here for their riding lesson and Tarquin doesn't want to be on that nasty old pony that he's always given, so get him another one,” the woman said, directing her words at Hayley. It only took Hayley a second to realise that there were five riding school ponies in the stables, which meant swapping in another horse was impossible - unless she gave dear little Tarquin a whirl on Darken. That would either see him hooked on horses for life, or begging to be returned to his nice, fat pony.
“Sure, how long do lessons usually last? I’m the new riding instructor,” Hayley said, hoping Jack wasn’t looking too surprised. So far she’d implied she was in charge of renovating the stables, a horse psychologist, and now she was a riding instructor too. He was going to think she was a pathological liar.
“I’ll be back in an hour. Here’s the money,” the woman said, slapping a twenty pound note into Hayley’s hands and then mincing back to her Porsche people carrier. Before she’d pulled away, another car pulled into the car park and Hayley couldn't help wondering what was happening now. She hoped it wasn’t another child for a riding lesson, as they really had run out of horses.
A young, willowy woman with raven black hair stepped out of the car. She saw Jack and Hayley and walked over with a smile on her face.
“Hi, are you guys moving your horses here? It's a really great place. I know the owner and she’s lovely. I’m sure you’ve noticed things could use a little facelift around here, but this sort of place… it’ll be around forever, and believe me when I say it grows on you!” She said brightly.
Jack snorted. “Grows on you… like mould?” He said and received an uncertain look in response.
Hayley pointedly took a step away from him. “I’m actually working with Romani. I’m the new…” She looked down at the already brawling children, “…Riding instructor.”
“Oh cool, I didn't know Romani was hiring,” the woman said, allowing Hayley to fill in all the words that she wasn't saying. “I’m Jade. I keep my horse, Lawrence, here. Sorry for giving you that whole sale spiel, but I promise I meant every word," she said and Hayley smiled back.
“Romani seems to have some great friends," Jack commented, looking amused. Both women turned to look at him, Jade with a question on her face. “I’m Jack, I’m stabling a horse here for the competition,” he added.
“Well, I’ll see you there,” Jade said, the coolness in her voice enough to let him know that she was reading him loud and clear. She summoned up an extra warm smile for Hayley.
“I’m off to see Romani, so I’m sure she’ll fill me in on everything. I’ll see you later though, right? Give me a shout if you need any help,” she said, her eyes dipping briefly to the gaggle of children.
“Will do, thanks,” Hayley said, wondering if asking for some help in tacking up the ponies would be taking her offer of help too literally. Unfortunately, Jade had already walked away.
“Hey, are you busy?” She started to say to Jack who nodded in response.
“Russell and I have got to shoot. We’ve got a business meeting that we’re already technically late for as things didn't go… well…” He left it at that. “I’ll probably see you tomorrow,” he said, lifting a cheery hand and then beating it back towards the horse lorry. Hayley looked up at the hill to see Russell on his way back down and knew she wouldn’t get much help there either.
She was on her own.
“So guys, who knows how to tack up their own pony?” She asked and wasn’t impressed by the response. It would be a miracle if she managed to get all five ponies tacked up and then teach some sort of a lesson within the hour time slot. One thing was for sure, she was definitely working way harder than £20 an hour deserved. Romani needed to rethink her prices and probably her clients too, if the way these children’s mother had treated her was any indication of her remaining clientele.
Hayley pasted a bright smile on her face and got to work.
CHAPTER THREE
Barbarossa
“I am so sorry you had to deal with Kerry’s children. I completely forgot they have their lesson on Saturdays. Since Summer’s been missing, I’ve lost track of the days… and everything else,” Romani added.
“It's fine, it was fine,” Hayley said for what felt like the hundredth time. They were sat in the kitchen again and clouds had come over to darken the sky at the end of what had been a very long day. Jade had stayed after the lesson and they’d shared more brownies and discussed how awful it was that Kerry Bollinger assumed she could get away with paying such a pittance just because she was friends with Charlotte Hawley-Jones.
“She also seems to expect me to be grateful for it too,” Romani had wryly revealed, as they all contemplated whether £20 was really any sort of fair compensation for dealing with five children on horseback for an hour.
Now Hayley was looking forward to hitting the hay and the pair had made plans to talk about marketing strategies, structural repair strategies and any other strategy they could think to pull out of the bag in order to save the stables. Hayley was even thinking of suggesting a fundraiser, but with Charlotte Hawley-Jones’ own brand of charity still resident in the house, she thought that idea could wait a few days.
“Busy day, busy day. I’m going to hit the sack. I’ll let you know if there’s anything I need,” Russell said, smiling amicably through the doorway of the kitchen. Outside a peal of thunder rang out, echoing through the old cottage.
“Night, Russell,” Hayley bravely attempted and Romani mumbled the same. Fortunately, he didn’t hang about and they soon heard the sounds of the plumbing working as Russell indulged in a shower before bed.
“I understand the local stable rule for the championship, but why does Russell need to stay here?” Hayley asked and Romani half shrugged.
“At first, I figured it was my mother’s plan. You know, if
we’re kept close enough together then…" She slid her palms one on top of the other. “But I don’t know. Perhaps he really is that worried about his horse being stolen that he feels the need to be here at all times. I wouldn’t blame him for that,” she said fairly.
“Do you think it will help, having him here?” Hayley asked, knowing it was dangerous territory.
Romani tugged on a curl and then let it spring back.
“I persuaded him that I needed upfront payment, so there’s enough to feed the horses for the rest of the month and to pick up a few building supplies so we can patch faster than the place falls. But I don’t want to be pushed into something with someone who’s just… not really very me. I’m sure to some women Russell would be great. He seems to like taking the initiative and just doing everything his way, like thinking giving me a horse as a present was a neat idea. I’m not that kind of girl. I want to do things the my own way and I want to do it myself. It’s like… I have something to prove, you know? To myself, more than anyone.”
“I get it,” Hayley said, nodding to the empty mug in front of Romani in a silent enquiry.
“God, no! Anymore chocolate and I'd pop. I’ll have to curb the cakes soon or I won’t be able to ride…” She trailed off as she remembered what had happened all over again.
“Tomorrow we’ll start looking properly,” Hayley promised, wishing she could be as confident that they would find something.
A flash of lightning lit the room and thunder boomed… followed by a long, loud rumble that seemed to shake the cottage. They both exchanged a look when it happened again a moment later.
“Was that… that’s not thunder, is it?” Romani said and Hayley shook her head in mute horror.
“Well, now we know why Jack has gone to stay with friends and Russell didn’t get an invite.”
Romani covered her ears as the snores only seemed to grow louder. “I’m so tired I think I’ll sleep through it but if Russell suddenly goes suspiciously quiet in the night, you’ll know I snapped. Promise me you’ll take care of the stables.” She flashed Hayley a thin smile before meandering up to bed, leaving Hayley to make her way to the sofa bed in the front room of the small cottage.
