by Ruby Loren
Hayley couldn't shake the feeling of gloom that had settled over her, despite the warm September day. She’d come back to her stables, hoping that she’d finally feel as though she fitted in but so far her usefulness had been limited. She’d aided in solving a murder, but that wasn’t something to add to the horse psychologist CV. She rubbed the nose of a dappled grey, three day eventer, while she tried to pin point the problem. Perhaps she just needed another shot, another retreat to help out with - one that didn't end in death. But then, she wasn’t sure where she stood with Miles anymore. If anyone found out, her whole career could be called into question. It would only ever be rumour, but she knew how dangerous rumours could be in the horse world.
"Stay and figure it out, or start again… all over again," she said to the dappled grey who snorted in response.
“I hope you’ll be staying,” a quiet voice came from behind her and she turned to find Miles standing there. His mouth folded in a little as he looked at her. “I’m sorry for what I said before. I never meant to make you feel like any of this happened because… because of what I think about you. I know I can come to terms with you not feeling the same way and I know we make a great team working together. You may not see it, but all of these ideas and everything that’s happened to these stables, it has a lot to do with you. When I bounce thoughts off of you, you’re the one who turns them into something workable - something good. I need you, Hayley.”
He brushed his dark hair back from his forehead and reached a hand out to pat the horse Hayley had been talking to. Both of them found it easier to have a distraction. “The summer retreat season is pretty much over and I’m going to be letting Tara go. It’s not because of her money problems, I would never blame anyone for that, but her attitude throughout this whole thing has been wrong. I was wondering... hoping that you might want to run the retreats with me, in the future. I know we could come up with something amazing! Especially now that I hear some new competition might be about to find its way onto the market. We’ve got to stay ahead of our competitors,” he said, his eyebrows knitting together. “It’s the winter season and I’d love to take on and train more high class horses - racers, jumpers, event horses… the works. It would be great if we could offer something different - a connection between rider and horse that will make all the difference. There are a couple of event ideas I’m toying with too.” He laughed. “You know me, so many ideas I can’t sit still! It would be great to have someone to bounce them all off, just like old times?”
Hayley kept her eyes on the horse in front of her. "You want me to stay and work here?”
“I want you to be the main selling point of this stables. I have my big ideas, but you’re the one who can make all of this happen. You’re the one who can stick the Onyx and Argent Stables on the map for good, if you’ll just stay. You can forget about everything I said before, I know it was wrong to put you in that position and I’m sorry.”
“Miles, I’d love to, I really would. I just still don’t know where I belong. You’ve done so much for me, letting me be your business partner when I could never really afford it. You believed in me even when I didn’t and I really want to repay that. I just don’t know if I’m worthy of all this," she said, gesturing to the beautifully kept stables, home to some of the most expensive horses in the country. She didn’t have to mention that she was still having doubts as to his reasons behind letting her join him in the first place, no matter what he might claim.
Miles gave her a long, thoughtful look. “If you keep believing in yourself, I know you’ll be fine. I’ve seen the difference you make to both horse and rider. I know that anyone who might start out doubting you will soon change their minds after seeing what you can do. I just want you to stay. You make more of a difference here than you think,” he finished.
Hayley tore her gaze away from the horse and looked into Miles’ dark, serious eyes. “I have a lot to think about, but I'm willing to give this a chance,” she told him, managing to summon up a smile.
“That’s all I'm asking,” he said, his lips echoing the movements of her own.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Belonging
“Congratulations on solving the case,” Hayley said to Shaun as she caught him standing by his car, looking towards the fields where the sun was setting.
“Yes, quite… the CI actually shook my hand and everything. I must have done some of it right,” he said, but Hayley could hear the flatness in his voice. They both knew what wasn’t being said, but it was Shaun who broke first.
“I’ll, uh, still be local. There’s a robbery case a couple of towns over that I’m going to be looking into but I’m around, if you ever wanted to meet up, or anything," he said.
Hayley tilted her head, looking away from the sunshine to Shaun Rouen’s handsome face. “I think I’d like that. I’m going to be staying here for a while too. I may actually give this business partnership thing a real go and see what happens. After all, things surely can’t get any worse than they already have done since I’ve been back,” she added brightly.
“Yes, generally speaking, the fewer murders, the better,” Shaun echoed. "Although I'm very glad to have met you,” he amended and then pulled a face, clearly wondering if it was tasteless to say that in light of everything that had happened.
“I'm glad I met you too. I’m just happy I was able to help with the case a little bit, although it's too bad about the horse." She shook her head. “I should have spotted it sooner but his behaviour threw me off.”
“Which was exactly what our killer intended,” Shaun agreed, lacing his hands together as he leant on the roof of his car.
“For what it’s worth, I do know absolutely nothing about horses, but I've watched you work with them and their owners this whole weekend and even I can tell you know what you’re doing. You have a special way of seeing things that no one else does.”
Hayley smiled, feeling a little of the heaviness lift from her heart. “Now that’s a compliment I may just believe, coming from you, as it was your powers of observation and deduction that solved the case. I think you might be more like Sherlock Holmes than you know.”
“Oh no! You looked in my fridge?” Shaun said, feigning shock.
Hayley laughed and suddenly discovered that she’d moved closer to Shaun and their faces were only a few inches away. She looked down at his lightly stubbled jawline and those lips, which were already parting. She lifted her gaze to meet Shaun Rouen’s hazel eyes one last time and then gave into the moment, their lips meeting as she kissed the Inspector and felt the sparks light up behind her eyes.
“I’ll see you soon?” He asked and she nodded, feeling a flutter of hope dancing in her chest.
“Anytime you want to talk cases over pizza, I’m there,” she said with a lopsided grin. "In fact, I’ll be there even if you don’t have pizza, or even a case,” she stumbled, coherent sentences becoming more difficult as her head swirled in the aftermath of the kiss.
“I knew you were something special,” Shaun said, grinning back at her before he kissed her again as the final rays of sunshine streaked across the distant fields and the smell of autumn drifted past them on the breeze.
Perhaps I do belong here after all, Hayley thought.
END
Special Thanks
I don’t usually do this, but this book launch has been very different from previous books I’ve published. I’ve had a wonderful team of advanced readers who have read the book and given a lot of lovely feedback, including some in depth information about the plausibility of the genetics and even the first places that grey hairs would begin to show on a young horse who would eventually turn completely grey. A very special thanks goes to Angela, who helped me so much, both with proofreading, and by sharing her extensive knowledge of horses with me.
The Waxwing’s Winter
Ruby Loren
Copyright © 2017 Ruby Loren
INTRO
“I know a winter wedding is meant to be romantic,
but camping out in the woods is pushing it. I’m freezing my butt off!” A laughing, bottled redhead said as she sashayed towards her friends, who were already sat around the pine table, doling out a breakfast of fresh fruit and pastries. A wood burner heated the secluded outdoor eating area and it wasn’t long before the bride-to-be stopped shivering.
“We’ve got some questions for you, Kali!” A blonde woman in her late twenties with a slim face and eyes that were always on the lookout for trouble said. “We thought we’d better check how well you really know Chris, before you say ‘I do’!”
“Oh no, Becky! I’m so bad at things like this!” Kali protested, covering her face with a pain aux raisin. A woman with a short, dark bob laughed and then covered her mouth, her eyes dancing between the other three women.
“It’ll be fun! Just try it. Then we’ll go for our ride and hit the hot tub. Party all day, right girls?” The third hen’s freckles scrunched up as she smiled at the bride to be, who gave up hiding behind her breakfast.
“Fine, hit me,” she said and the other girls cheered.
“Okay, who is the better rider… you or Chris?” Becky asked.
“Me, of course! The man barely knew one end of a horse from the other when I met him,” Kali said and the bob-haired woman giggled again.
Kali extended her a smile. “You've known Chris longer than any of us, Jude, you know I’m right!”
Becky looked down at the list and shook her head. “I’m afraid that’s not what Chris said when I asked him the same question! He reckons he could take you and Snowflake cross country any day of the week.”
Kali choked in mock outrage. “We'll see about that! I’ll be letting him know I accept his challenge when I call him later tonight.” The hens whooped at the bride’s fire.
“Hey, Freya, you ask this one,” Becky said, passing the tablet over to the woman with the freckles who cleared her throat before speaking.
“Right! This one should be easy… when was your first kiss with Chris?”
Kali flapped her hands in the air. “Oh come on! Who really remembers a thing like that? I don't know. Was it at a party or something?”
Freya shook her head dolefully. “Chris says it was at your birthday party on midsummer’s eve. Aww, that’s so romantic!” She said and then frowned at the next line. “Oh, he says you had too much to drink and practically threw yourself at him, so he found it hard to refuse.”
A smile fluttered across Kali’s face and she wriggled her finger with the sparkling ring on it. “I think it’s pretty clear that his answer to that question is complete rubbish.”
“Oo! The next one is rather naughty. Where did you first… you know…” Freya blushed and Jude covered her mouth again.
“Oh no, this is my brother we're talking about! La la la, so not listening,” the dark-haired woman said.
Kali giggled with the rest of the girls. “That one's easy… it was in the hay barn back at the stables,” she said with Jude denying hearing it.
The day passed in a flurry of hacking through the beautiful (albeit icy) November landscape, before returning to camp for hot mulled wine and a dip in the large, outdoor hot tub. It wasn’t long before the darkness drew in and Kali started to yawn.
"I don’t know about you girls but I don't want to miss out on that amazing wood-fired bath tub in my cabin.”
“Don't forget to use the candles we got you!” Jude said and Kali smiled at her.
“Aww, I love you girls so much. I couldn’t have wished for better friends or bridesmaids. This mini-break is already the best hen holiday ever!” She reached out and grabbed a marshmallow from Freya’s skewer. “One for the road,” she explained with a tipsy smile before she walked off towards her private cabin.
“One more drink girls?” Becky asked and a fresh bottle of mulled wine was upended into the cauldron over the fire.
***
“Kali! We’re meeting the boys this afternoon for a ride, remember? We’re going to be late if we don’t leave now!” Freya knocked on the door of Kali’s wood cabin the next morning. The others had already tacked up their horses but Kali had yet to put in an appearance.
“She did drink a lot yesterday. She’s probably got her head in the loo,” Becky said, taking her turn to knock on the door and try the handle.
Jude frowned at it, her hand going to her mouth as she bit her nails. “I don’t know, girls, I think we should get someone to check on her.”
It wasn’t long before Miles Onyx, the owner of the Onyx and Argent Stables and the mastermind behind Luxury Equine Adventures arrived in the woods on horseback, riding a magnificent black pointed, dark brown mare. “I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone. Ember here needed some exercise, so I thought I’d give her a run on my way to give you the spare key.” He dismounted and loosely tied his horse to the western style horse post. Miles walked up to the entrance of the lodge banged on the door himself. “She's not answering? Well, we’d better go and check she's okay.”
“I’m sure she’s just overslept,” Jude fluttered, as the key turned in the lock.
Miles and the three hens stepped inside. The smell of scented candles was still heavy in the air as they looked around the bedroom and living area of the luxury lodge and found it deserted. Freya walked over to the bathroom, shooting them all a knowing look before knocking.
“Kali? Are you okay, love?” She called, gently pushing the door open.
She screamed, over and over again.
Miles rushed over, resting a steadying hand on the horrified girl before making his way into the bathroom towards Kali.
She was lying in the wood-fired, copper bathtub, the fire in the wood-burner still smouldering. Her nose was submerged beneath the water and Miles didn’t even bother to check for a pulse. He could see she was dead. His hand tightened on the side of the copper tub as he tore his eyes away from the body of the bride-to-be and watched the last of the scented candles flicker away to nothing.
CHAPTER ONE
A Done Deed
Hayley walked into the woods at the top of the rutted, dirt track, pushing her way past the cheerful, hand-sewn bunting and strings of fairy lights, which were draped from tree to tree. A lot had changed since the end of summer retreat where Dominic Marks had met his end. The tents had gone, replaced with two eco-lodges. One was a large building with multiple bedrooms where the main group of guests would stay on their retreat but there was another, solitary lodge, fitted with luxury trappings, such as a wood-fired bathtub, mini-bar, and a truly vast empress bed. This lodge was promoted as a secluded getaway for couples - or in this case, a treat for a bride-to-be.
“Hi Shaun,” Hayley said, walking into the luxury lodge through the group of police officers who were gathering evidence. Inspector Shaun Rouen was holding up a clear plastic evidence bag and frowning at the contents when he saw her arrive.
“Hayley! You shouldn’t… I mean, that is…” His eyes darted around to his colleagues nervously and Hayley tried to let her smile reassure him that she was going to be professional. She had met the Inspector the last time there had been an incident at the stables and they had been seeing each other since the early autumn.
He looked back at the evidence bag with a frown on his face. “Look, you wouldn’t happen to know what this is, would you?”
An oval shaped piece of black rubber with an oblong slot cut in the middle and two tapered ends was the total contents of the bag. “Yes, it’s a rein stop, used for martingale reins. They’re reins for horses who tend to throw their heads back so far that they hit the rider. You’ll have to ask, but I haven’t seen anyone around here using them. But then, there are any number of reasons why it could have ended up in the lodge. It might even have been left by a previous guest.”
Despite the lodges arriving past the end of the summer season, Miles had still managed to book several luxury retreats in at ‘last minute deal’ prices. He was already proving to Hayley how successful the venture could be.
Ha
yley tilted her head to the side, trying to subtly see into the room which contained the bath.
Shaun frowned at her. “We’re still collecting evidence. I want to interview everyone that was here, including Miles. Could you make sure he and everyone else is ready?” He asked and Hayley nodded, knowing she was being brushed off.
“Wait a second…” Shaun said, and Hayley turned back. “There’s one more thing I wanted to ask. We found some crystals by the bath tub but there aren’t any bath salts around. Any ideas?”
Hayley shook her head, starting to feel irked that while he wanted her opinion, he also wanted her out of the way. “No, there’s nothing horse related I could think of, if that’s what you mean.”
Shaun shrugged. “Worth a shot. I’ll be getting them analysed anyway, so we’ll soon know.” He looked down at the evidence bag, still in his hand. “Am I right in thinking you'd need two of these if you were using those reins?"
Hayley nodded and he frowned again. “Strange that there’s only one here, but I suppose it probably was just left here by someone else.”
A female police officer with ridiculously high cheekbones and almond shaped eyes materialised in the bathroom doorway.
“Sir, I’ve looked at the body and one eye is slightly bloodshot, which suggests there may have been a struggle. I also think she might have hit the back of her head.”
“Well, that settles it,” Shaun said, looking through the bay window with the view through the trees and across the field beyond. “Kali Tiana didn’t fall asleep and drown in her bathtub. She was murdered.”
