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Estelle: No need. All good. No drama. See you tomorrow
James lay back on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Had he blown it?
30
Balancing the weight of the wheelbarrow, Estelle ran it across the yard, the pile of manure steaming in the early morning air. It had been two days since she’d had sex with James and she’d spent most of her time avoiding him.
When in doubt, muck the horses out.
She’d been with her family at the riverbank the previous evening celebrating Midsummer’s Eve. It should have been a reprieve from thoughts about love and relationships, but then Henry had proposed to Libby…
Estelle was happy for the two of them, especially for her reserved and often far too uptight brother, but a tiny part of her was wailing ‘what about me?’
So she’d come back to the livery and done what she always did when she didn’t want to lie awake in bed, thoughts churning through her mind like a washing machine with no off-switch. She’d started mucking out the stables.
A car pulled into the yard and Molly got out. ‘Things that bad, boss?’
Putting the wheelbarrow down, Estelle straightened with a grimace as her muscles protested. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’
Molly looked from Estelle’s sweaty figure to the dung heap. ‘Have you been at this all night?’
She shrugged. ‘It needed doing.’
‘By us, not you. What happened?’
Where to begin? ‘Henry and Libby got engaged a few hours ago.’
Molly’s face lit up. ‘That’s amazing news!’
Estelle smiled. ‘Yeah, it is. It means I don’t need to worry about him anymore.’
‘He is thirty-one.’
‘He’ll always be my younger brother.’
‘And never as badass as you.’
They stood in silence. Estelle’s back was beginning to scream at her and she was feeling nauseous from lack of sleep.
‘So, what else is going on?’
Estelle dropped her gaze to the dirty concrete of the yard. ‘He’s going to London today for a job interview.’
‘Oh.’ There was no need for Molly to clarify who ‘he’ was. The saga between Estelle and James had been playing out for nearly a year now.
‘What about the festival?’ Molly continued. ‘It starts at the end of next week. He’s not going to ditch you at the last minute, is he?’
Estelle internally winced at the word ‘ditched’. James may have fancied her, but he certainly didn’t fancy staying in Somerset any longer than he had to. She was an idiot to have hoped he’d go back on what he’d always said and stick around.
‘I don’t think so, but as soon as he can, he’ll be off.’
‘But what about next year’s festival?’
Estelle’s laugh was hollow. ‘I love your optimism, but we don’t even know if we can pull off this one. If a miracle happens and we do it again next year, I’ll just have to work with James’s dad.’
‘Is he taking over BDE Entertainment then?’
She shrugged. ‘I suppose so. It was his money that bought the company. Or he’ll bring in someone new. Who knows?’ She stretched and glanced at her watch. ‘Anyway, I’ve got to get cleaned up and back over there to start the day.’
