Playing by Heart: Summer Beach Vets, #3

by H. Y. Hanna

  Pippa caught her breath as she saw Matt’s eyes darken, his gaze dropping to her lips. Her heart bumped wildly in her chest. She felt his other hand come up and clasp her waist, then he pulled her gently towards him. The laundry basket was still wedged between them, but Matt leaned across it and bent his head, brushing his lips against hers. Once. Then again. And again. Teasing at first, then bolder and bolder, until he was kissing her hungrily, his mouth at once tender and demanding.

  Pippa surrendered to the kiss, her senses whirling. She had been kissed before, in several different places, but never anything like this—she knew she would never forget this moment, in the warm, humid laundry with the fragrant smell of clean, fresh linen enveloping them and Matt’s arms around her, his lips warm on hers.

  When they finally broke apart, they were both breathless. Pippa’s lips felt slightly bruised, but she had never felt more alive in her life. Every nerve ending was tingling and every sense heightened. She looked at Matt, wondering if he was going to suddenly withdraw again, but he smiled at her and said:

  “You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do that.”

  Pippa returned his smile shyly. “That makes two of us.”

  He burst out laughing. Then he said, “I’d better get these back to the clinic. Then I need to finish off a couple of reports. But listen... would you like to come out to the Hunter Valley with me tomorrow? I’d like to show you my winery.”

  “I would love to,” said Pippa, delighted. “This sounds crazy—with me growing up here and living so close—but I’ve never actually been wine-tasting in the Hunter Valley... And isn’t that supposed to be one of the top things on the tourist checklists for Australia?”

  “Well, we’ll have to fix that then,” said Matt, smiling.

  CHAPTER 8

  Pippa had been worried that the rain wouldn’t stop, forcing them to cancel their trip to the Hunter Valley, but the next day dawned bright and sunny, with blue skies stretching across the horizon and not a cloud to be seen. Pippa smiled as she slathered sunscreen on her face, arms, and shoulders, and then dressed in pair of white capris pants and a baby-blue strappy linen top. She had only been back in Australia a couple of weeks, but already she was developing a strong tan and the soft blue brought out the warmth of her skin. A quick brush of her hair and a dab of make-up later, she was ready.

  She checked herself in the mirror before she left the house. Her cheeks were flushed pink but she knew that it was more from excitement than from an over-enthusiastic application of blusher. Her blue eyes were sparkling. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so giddy before a date.

  Because it was a date, wasn’t it? She hadn’t misunderstood Matt this time. That kiss had said it all. Surely he couldn’t have made his feelings more clear? Briefly, Pippa remembered Charlie’s warning about being a rebound fling and something stirred uneasily in her chest, then she quickly pushed the thought away. No, Matt wouldn’t do that. Things were finished with Justine and she wasn’t going to worry about it anymore.

  The drive to the Hunter Valley was quick and they were soon cruising past rolling hills and acres of vineyards, all planted neatly with rows upon rows of vines. As Australia’s oldest wine-growing region, the Hunter Valley was home to around a hundred and fifty wineries. It was summer and the harvest season, so the vines were heavy with fruit and Pippa could see people in some fields, picking the grapes. Other fields held cows and horses, separated by belts of trees, and dotted between them were historic old homesteads, many of them housing boutique wineries. In the distance, lining the horizon, she could see the long ridge of the Brokenback Mountains, almost purple in the hazy sunshine.

  Pippa turned to look out a different window and saw something she wasn’t expecting to see: large, furry brown bodies with pointy ears and long tails, hopping across a field.

  “Oh my God! Look! Kangaroos!” she cried, pointing out the window. “Look! Look!” She tugged Matt’s arm in her excitement.

  “I see them,” he said in amusement. “You’ve really turned into a Pom, getting so excited about a couple of roos.”

  Pippa laughed. “Well, it is quite exciting when you haven’t seen them for a while. We take it all for granted when we grow up here in Australia, but when you go overseas, you realise just how unique our native animals are. There’s really nothing like them out there.”

  The Range Rover turned off Wine Country Drive, the main road through the Hunter Valley region, and into a narrow side road. Pippa was surprised. She had expected Matt to drive them straight to his winery, but she hadn’t seen the PEARSON ESTATE sign and this was obviously a much smaller property. Finally, the car pulled up in front of what looked like a farmhouse. She tried to ask Matt what they were doing, but he only gave her a wink and ushered her from the car. As they rounded the side of the farmhouse and came into an old courtyard, Pippa was delighted to see two horses saddled up and ready to go.

  “I thought you’d enjoy a tour of wine country by horse before we went to my vineyard,” said Matt with a smile. “I really should have asked first if you can ride, but Ruskin assured me that his horses are so gentle, even beginners should have no problems.”

  “I do ride,” said Pippa with a grin. “I’m not a brilliant rider, but I can sit on a horse. This is a great idea!” she added excitedly.

  Ruskin turned out to be a weathered, middle-aged man with skin like old leather, a twinkle in his eye, and a strong Aussie accent. He showed Pippa to her horse—a beautiful grey mare named Breeze—and helped her up into the saddle, while Matt mounted a big bay gelding named Dancer. Then Ruskin led them to the back of his property where a gate opened into an adjoining vineyard.

  The horses seemed to know the way, plodding slowly down the avenue between the vines, stopping every now and then to munch on some tender vine leaves. Pippa hadn’t ridden in years so she spent the first few minutes trying to remember all the things her riding instructor had taught her: keeping the heels pressing down in the stirrups, sitting upright in the saddle, holding the reins lightly in both hands, letting her arms move with the motion of the horse’s head...

  Gradually she began to relax as the movements came back to her and she found herself able to look around and enjoy the scenery. It was incredibly beautiful, riding through the vineyard, surrounded by the curling vines. They were far from the main road now and the only sounds she could hear were the faint clop-clop of the horses’ hooves on the ground and the occasional twittering of birds.

  Next to her, Matt rode in a companionable silence, sitting easily astride his big gelding. He looked so at home in the saddle, he could have been a cowboy, with his faded jeans moulding to his strong legs and the blue checked shirt rolled up at the sleeves and open at the collar to show his tanned, muscular torso. All he needed was a cowboy hat, thought Pippa impishly and smiled to herself.

  “What’s so funny?” Matt asked.

  “Nothing,” said Pippa, still smiling. “Just enjoying the ride. This was a fantastic idea—thank you for organising it.”

  “You might not be thanking me tomorrow,” said Matt with a wry smile. “If you haven’t ridden in a while, I imagine you’ll be pretty sore when you wake up tomorrow morning.”

  “I don’t care,” said Pippa, tossing her hair back. “This is worth it. And in fact, I’m going to see if I can remember how to do a rising trot.”

  Giving Breeze a little nudge with her heels and clucking her tongue, Pippa urged the mare into a trot, feeling herself start to bounce in the saddle. Biting her lip in concentration, she tried to watch the horse’s gait and ease into the rising action on the correct diagonal. After a couple of attempts, she felt herself settle into the right rhythm, moving her hips in time to Breeze’s legs, and smiled in satisfaction. She remembered how to do it!

  Pippa looked around and realised that she had gone quite a distance ahead of Matt. Maybe it was time to rein Breeze in and turn the mare back. She tightened the reins slightly and was just about to guide the horse
around when a large brown shape burst out of the vines next to them. It hopped right across their path, brushing under the mare’s nose.

  “Oh!” Pippa cried.

  Breeze whinnied in fear and reared up, tossing her head. Pippa fought to hang on, her heart pounding. She heard a scream—was that her?—and then it seemed like the world was tilting around her. She felt herself falling backwards, sliding, and she panicked, scrambling in a tangle of reins and loose stirrups to stay on the horse. Then she pitched forward as Breeze came down on all fours again. The breath was nearly knocked from her lungs as Pippa slammed onto the horse’s neck.

  The mare snorted, gave another whinny of fear, then bolted.

  CHAPTER 9

  Pippa wrapped her arms around the horse’s neck, all thoughts of correct riding form forgotten now as she clung on for dear life. The mare’s grey mane was streaming back, whipping into her eyes, so that she could barely see. She could feel the wind stinging her face, hear the horse’s breath coming harshly beneath her. She groped blindly for the reins and her legs gripped the horse’s body desperately, stirrups lost now. Faintly behind her, she thought she heard her name being called, but all she could think about was hanging on.

  She felt the mare change direction slightly and looked up in horror to see a wooden fence in the distance. Beyond it, she could just make out the straight lines of the busy main road. The fence must mark the edge of this vineyard. Would Breeze stop at the boundary or would the frightened mare jump the fence and keep going, running out into the highway traffic?

  Pippa groped desperately again for the reins. She was hunched so far forward over the mare’s neck, it was hard to get her balance and sit back properly into the saddle. The reins flapped loosely on either side.

  “Pippa!”

  She turned her head to see that Matt had ridden Dancer up alongside, both horses galloping now, neck to neck. His face was taut with concern for her. He tried to ease the big gelding closer, reaching out with one hand to try and grab her reins, but Breeze whinnied shrilly and veered away, the motion nearly throwing Pippa from her seat.

  Matt cursed in frustration and moved his own horse back slightly. “Pippa! Can you grab your reins?”

  Pippa wanted to just shut her eyes and hang on and hope that the mare would stop—but Matt’s voice forced her to make another attempt. This time, she felt her fingers brush a leather strap. A minute later, she caught hold of the reins in one hand.

  “Good!” Matt shouted, keeping pace. “Try to sit back in the saddle. Lean your weight back.”

  “I... I can’t!” Pippa cried, afraid to let go of the mare’s neck and sit back up.

  “I know it’s hard but you’ve got to try and get back in control. You can do it. You’ve got the reins now.”

  Pippa gulped and shifted her weight back, feeling the saddle beneath her buttocks again. She took a deep breath and pushed herself up from her hunched position around the mare’s neck. She clutched the reins in both hands and pulled hard on them. Breeze snorted and tossed her head, fighting the pressure, and Pippa’s stomach lurched as she felt herself bouncing wildly on the horse’s back.

  In front of them, the wooden fence was coming closer and closer.

  Pippa pulled desperately again on the reins, feeling panic beginning to overwhelm her. Then from the corner of her eye, she saw Matt move Dancer closer once more and reach out towards her. This time, he caught the reins easily as she was already holding them taut. She let go and he grasped them firmly with one hand while steering Dancer with the other.

  “Whoa...” Matt called in his deep voice. “Whoa...”

  Pippa gasped as the fence loomed suddenly up ahead of them. They were never going to make it! The horses’ hooves pounded in unison, heads tossing, mouths foaming.

  “WHOA!”

  Just as they reached the fence, Matt swung Dancer around to the side, pulling Breeze with him. Both horses curved their bodies and veered just as they reached the wooden barrier. Pippa felt her right leg smack painfully against the fence, then scrape along the wood as Breeze turned sharply. Then they were riding parallel to the fence.

  But the horses were slowing down now. Matt was talking soothingly to Breeze and, gradually, the mare’s steps slowed. Both horses dropped to a canter, then a trot, and finally a walk. They were puffing heavily, their sides covered in a sheen of sweat.

  Pippa tried to relax in the saddle. Her heart was still pounding and her fingers felt stiff from clutching the reins so tightly. Vaguely, she was aware that Matt had stopped the horses and dismounted, then come round to her side and was reaching up for her. She felt his hands around her waist and then he was lifting her off, sliding her down to the ground. She leaned against his body, her head resting against his chest, and felt his arms come around her. She was trembling all over and her legs felt like jelly.

  “Pippa? Are you okay?” he asked gently.

  She nodded, not able to speak. She just wanted to stay there, with his arms around her, his solid chest against her cheek and feel the warmth of his body soothe her. Next to them, Breeze whickered and Dancer responded with a snort.

  Pippa pulled herself together and pushed away from Matt, straightening up. “I... I was so scared,” she said, her voice still trembling.

  “I know.” Matt brushed a strand of hair tenderly from her temple. “But it’s okay. You got things under control—”

  “Me? No, if you hadn’t managed to grab Breeze’s rein and slow her down—”

  “I’m sure you would have stopped her,” said Matt reassuringly. “I just helped things along.”

  Pippa took a deep breath and let it out. “I was stupid—I should have known that I couldn’t ride well enough to—”

  “That’s not true, Pippa.” Matt looked at her sternly. “Breeze was spooked by a roo jumping out from behind a vine—that could have happened to anyone and even an experienced rider would have struggled to control their horse. You did really well, considering that you hadn’t ridden in a long time. So don’t knock yourself.” He turned her gently towards the mare. “Come on, I’ll help you mount up.”

  “What?” Pippa stared at him. “I’m not getting back on again! I can’t!”

  “Pippa...” Matt said gently but firmly. “You know how important it is to get straight back in the saddle after you’ve had a scare. It’s the golden rule of horse-riding. Otherwise you’ll never get over it and it’ll blow out of proportion in your mind.”

  “I can’t,” whispered Pippa.

  “You can,” said Matt. “You have to. Come on, we’ll go back at a slow walk.”

  “What if she spooks again?”

  “She’s unlikely to. What happened to you was really rare—there are roos around but the chances of them jumping out in front of you are pretty slim. You were just very unlucky. But it’s unlikely to happen again.”

  Pippa looked pleadingly at him. Matt’s brown eyes were kind but serious. She turned and looked at the mare. Taking a deep breath, she put her foot up in the stirrup and heaved herself up, swinging her other leg over. She could feel her heart rate speeding up as she sat back into the saddle. She saw Breeze’s ears flick back and remembered what people said about horses picking up on your fear. She took another deep breath, trying to calm herself.

  “Good onya,” said Matt with a smile. “I’ll lead you for a bit, if you like?”

  “Yes,” said Pippa gratefully. She would feel so much better if Matt was helping to control the mare.

  They started back with Matt walking between the two horses, one of his hands under each of their chins, holding their reins and guiding them. Slowly, Pippa began to relax as she felt her body once more settle into the rhythm of the horse’s movements. After a while, Matt encouraged her to take up the reins herself again while he swung back into the saddle on Dancer, and then the two of them rode slowly back to the farmhouse.

  Pippa winced as she dismounted in the courtyard. Never mind tomorrow, she was already feeling sore now! But she was grateful that
Matt had insisted that she get back in the saddle. He was right—she would probably have never found the courage to ride again if she hadn’t forced herself to confront her fear immediately. It was still a terrifying experience, but she had regained some of her confidence on the ride back.

  “Ready for some lunch?” Matt asked as they got in his car.

  Pippa realised that her stomach was growling. “Yes!”

  Matt stopped off at a beautiful bistro café that was attached to a larger winery and they found themselves a shady table under some olive trees. Pippa winced again as she sat down. She was really starting to feel the after-effects of riding now!

  “What will you have?” asked Matt.

  Pippa looked down at the menu. “Everything!” she laughed. “It all looks so delicious and I’m starving.”

  In the end, she couldn’t order everything, but she certainly made an attempt to. They started with an anti-pasto platter of marinated roasted vegetables, stuffed Spanish onions, quail eggs, chargrilled capsicums, and salty prosciutto, accompanied by home-baked sourdough bread. Then Pippa had a plate of chorizo and garlic prawns, flavoured with smoky dried chillies and a dash of dry sherry, followed by a main course of crispy-skin duck leg, with duck-fat-roasted chat potatoes, and a hazelnut-and-watercress salad.

  By the time she was finishing the last of the duck, Pippa was starting to feel slightly sick. She could see Matt eyeing her, his lips twitching in amusement, as he ate his own main course of slow-roasted lamb shoulder with sweet potato mash, minted garden peas, and herbed butter.

  “Dessert?” he asked, his brown eyes laughing, as the waiter cleared their plates away.

  Pippa felt her stomach groaning but she eyed the dessert menu longingly.

  “We can share if you like,” Matt suggested with a smile.

  Pippa smiled back, touched at his thoughtfulness. She tried to be more restrained this time but still succumbed in the end to a six-layer chocolate cake with mocha rum sauce and cocoa nibs. When the concoction arrived, she stared at it in wonder. It looked almost too beautiful to eat. The first mouthful melted on her tongue—it was cool and moist and bittersweet, and absolutely heavenly. Pippa was glad, though, that she was sharing this dish with Matt. Delicious as it was, her stomach was really protesting about her putting anything else in it!