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Cramming the dried flowers into a tea infuser, Estelle put the kettle on. She was dying to ask Elyse about her relationship with James, to try and iron out the discrepancies between Elyse’s story and what she’d inferred from James and his mum. But Elyse seemed genuinely upset, so she kept her mouth shut.
‘I won’t stay long. I just need time to get back on my feet. I’ll be at work during the day, so only here in the evenings and on weekends.’
Well, that buggers up James’s visit to the stables on Saturday…
‘Are things okay then with Kev—your boss?’
Elyse’s eyes overflowed once more. ‘Not really.’
‘So, you need a new job as well?’
‘No, I love working for Kev, and he’s like a father to me. It’s just…’ She took a big breath. ‘James made him choose between me and him. And…’ She shrugged helplessly. ‘Kev was always going to put his son first.’
Estelle ground her teeth.
‘It’ll be okay. I can be professional. And staying here means I don’t have to see James.’
The kettle came to the boil. Estelle filled Elyse’s mug and placed it on the table along with a tin of biscuits.
‘Help yourself. I’ve got all the good ones—custard creams, Jaffa Cakes and chocolate chip cookies. I’m just going to clear out the spare bedroom for you.’
‘Can I help?’
‘No, it’s fine. You just sit here and chill. I won’t be long.’
Four hours later, after helping Elyse unpack, cooking for her, cleaning up afterwards, and allowing her to use the bathroom for an hour, Estelle went to bed, completely exhausted.
Is this what having children is like?
After long days interacting with people either at the livery or at Foxbrooke Manor, Estelle revelled in coming home to blissful silence. Her little cottage was her sanctuary, where she could decompress in peace and quiet. Now, however, she couldn’t even use BOB without Elyse hearing. How long was she going to stay? Estelle wasn’t going to turn her out, but she didn’t know Elyse at all, and what she’d said about James didn’t add up.
She took out her phone. Time for step two.
Estelle’s dating app was so under-used it took a couple of minutes to install updates. When it finally opened, her inbox was full. On first signing up for the app, she’d been excited. Then she’d read the messages. It seemed the majority of men hadn’t even bothered reading her profile and had no interest in anything more than a hook-up.
Message from: BeaverFarmer69
Profile picture: Shirtless man with his tongue out, holding an oversized chainsaw at crotch level.
Message: Hey…
Message from: Alf2008
Profile picture: Photo of shirtless man in his twenties with a baseball cap on back-to-front, standing in a gym and flexing.
Message: That body of yours is absurd. I may need to see the booty.
Message from: Cobra
Profile picture: Selfie of unsmiling man in his fifties with greasy hair, taken from a low angle.
Message: I am extremely well endowed. I do not want a woman who messes me around. Can I trust you?
Message from: Simple Tieman
Profile picture: Out of focus photo of an unsmiling man in his forties wearing a loose grey t-shirt and holding a piece of rope in his hands.
Message: Hey Country Girl. I’m Si. I’m into ethical non-monogamy and pushing boundaries. Shibari switch. You let me tie you up and I’ll be your slave. No cheating. Interested? Message me.
