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From his black glossy hair, fashionably cut, to his sensual mouth, he was stunning, another gurgle of laughter rising within her. If he had not been born with a silver spoon in his mouth and made head of the Calle Corporation, he could most definitely have modelled for a living. Stirring the tea, she frowned. It seemed good looks ran in men of his circle, anger once more gnawing at her as she took another calming sip. Well, people like him had to learn that they could not run over those with less resources than themselves, certainly not those desperate.
Entering the offices of his legal team, she was aware that all talk ended, Joy holding her head high to not let them see the way her insides cringed. While the older lawyer might have been surprised at the contents of the document he handed to her, he said nothing, merely pointing to an area she could examine it, then waiting as she took a seat to carefully read over the words.
The contract was a perfect reflection of her previous conversation and as she closed over the final sheet, the lawyer stood, moving over to join her. Handing her a pen, he questioned if all was in order, Joy nodding, giving the man a ghost of a smile before adding her signature to the strong sure one already there. With the signing done, the lawyer shook her hand, Joy holding back the smile at his professionalism, before finally able to make her way home.
Driving up the long narrow road leading to her father’s old farm, she felt loss fill her. Parking outside the familiar farmhouse, she stood leaning against her old beat-up car, her eyes scanning the area, memories of the past filling her. Here she had been taught by her father how to ride a bike, drive a car. A tear rose to her eyes at the thought of losing the place. It was the last link she had to the man who had died only seven months earlier, the loss suddenly overwhelming as tears slid down her face. Dashing them away, she stood rigidly. She could do this... Her father would want her to do this. Her father would have done what needed to be done to save Ricco and so would she.
The sound of the other car moving up the dirt track mobilised her, she opening the old creaky door of the farmhouse, moving to the warm homely kitchen. Filling the kettle, she pulled out two cups. “JJ!”, the woman’s voice drifted to her, Joy smiling softly, “In here, Aunt Jan”, the sound of heels clip-clopping over the wooden floorboards soon heralding the arrival of the other woman.
Jan Walker rushed through the doorway, her features wary and strained. “How did it go JJ? What did he say? Did he agree?” Joy chuckled, only her aunt now calling her by the pet name given to her by her cousin when they were both children. At that time Lily had been unable to say Joy, instead managing JJ, the name sticking with Lily and Jan. Smiling reassuringly, she pointed to the table. “Sit and catch a breath... Tea is nearly ready. I will tell you everything in a moment” The older woman dropped thankfully into one of the chairs pushed under the beaten pine table, a pained moan leaving her, “It’s bad isn’t it?... Oh My God JJ... What will we do?”
Making a soothing clucking sound, Joy rushed over to hug the other woman, her arms wrapping around her thin shoulders. “It is not bad news Jan... It worked... Now catch your breath and wait for the tea” The strangled, relieved sob escaping the woman pulled a soft groan from Joy as she moved back to the cups, giving her aunt a chance to pull herself together.
By the time she placed the tea before the other woman, who was once more in control of her emotions, her expectant look fixed on Joy, she told her everything that had happened. When she finished, her aunt reached out, her hand covering hers. “I don’t know what to say”, her voice breaking slightly, “I am just sorry that you are losing your home” Joy squeezed her hand back, her lips turning down sadly, “I think that I would have lost it anyway”, her eyes rising, a softness deep within, “At least this way it will be for a reason Aunt Jan. This is what my father would have wanted. I can feel him telling me that this is the right thing to do”, a wavering smile coming to her lips, “Besides... I will get enough to buy a place in town... Be closer to my job... When I get one”, her aunt nodding slightly. “My brother was an amazing man JJ”, tears sparkling in her eyes, “And so is his daughter”
The small gurgle at her side drew Joy’s eyes to the car seat which the older woman had brought with her, the sleeping boy stirring as the two women looked adoringly down at him. In a voice full of love, Joy whispered gently, “Hi Ricco”
Chapter Two
Joy woke earlier than normal the next day, nursing her coffee on the porch as the first rays of sunlight lit up the morning. She loved this time of day. Silence reigned, then suddenly as if orchestrated, the dawn chorus of birds erupted, their shrill whistles heralding another day.
With a happy smile, she pushed to her feet, moving to the old barn. While the farm was small, now only about 30 acres – her father having over the years sold off the bigger fields – there was still much to do. When he died, Joy had kept some of the smaller livestock, having them there somehow keeping his spirit alive.
For the next two hours she fed the chickens, pigs and two cows which remained. Happily, she collected the eggs and milked the docile cows, knowing that Mrs Peters would enjoy the fresh milk for her cheese-making. Grimacing, she knew that soon she would have to find homes for all of them, fighting the sudden wave of loss before shaking herself, her lips lifting... But not today. With the chores done, she moved to the closest field, a bucket of oats in one hand, a bridle in the other, a hard-hat on her head.
Chuckling, she watched as Blaze, her horse for the past five years turned and trotted towards her, his tail held proudly behind him. Reaching her, his head pushed into the bucket, Joy laughing loudly as she fastened the lanyard around his neck. “You are so greedy Blaze... One day you are going to push that nose of yours right through the bottom... And then what?... No more oats for you” As though in answer, the large handsome horse blew through his nose, dislodging oats at the bottom which flew out like dust around her, Joy laughing even harder, her worries gone for that small time.
Carig Calle drove his sports car down the dirt track, his teeth gritting as the wheels jolted once again into a pothole. Looking around, he allowed himself a small smile, checking his watch. At seven he wondered if she would be up, not everybody the early riser he was, the thought of catching her off-guard making his lips curl with satisfaction.
Parking, he frowned when there was no answer to the door, Carig letting his look scan the area. Movement in one of the fields drew his attention, he carefully picking his way across the courtyard to the field, his decision to wear thousand dollar Italian shoes now not seeming to have been his best.
Reaching the field, his mouth gaped open at the sight that met him. There on top of a huge hunter, Joy sat majestically, the two moving fluidly, almost as one, as she pushed the horse to canter towards a series of jumps. Frozen, all he could do was stare as the horse took off, the woman on his back bending forward before snapping back as the graceful animal landed, the motion seamless and effortless for the two.
Mesmerized, he watched as horse and rider moved around the course before she pulled up, her hand slapping the horse’s neck, her body folding to wrap her arms around it, her soft voice wafting towards him, “Good boy Blaze... Good boy”, contentment and happiness in her tone, the sound making him wish he was the horse, her praise aimed at him. With a frown, he quashed the feelings, lifting his hands and clapping.
Instantly, she sat bolt upright, her startled eyes flying to where he stood, her shock at his being there evident on her flushed cheeks. With a visible effort to pull herself together, she twitched the reins, the horse moving in his direction.
“Mr Calle... I was not expecting you. I thought you would phone”, her voice cool, look wary as he grinned up at her, a small shrug of his shoulders his only answer. “You ride very well Joy... Oh and as my ‘girlfriend’, perhaps you should get used to calling me Carig”
Joy regarded him somberly for a few moments before nodding. “OK Carig... So what brings you here this early?... Or have you not been to bed yet?”, her telling look flicking down his suit, a playful smile flitting across her lips. “Were you grabbing that last night of fun before saddling yourself with some ugly duckling for the next couple of months?”
Her words made him flinch. “Ah... OK I deserved that. And... I’m sorry. I was out of line and I did not mean it”, a rueful smile on his lips. “I was... put out yesterday” With a loud chuckle, she inclined her head, a wicked gleam in the soft brown depths of her eyes. “Forgiven... And I guess that you could have said worse”, her lips once more breaking into the large smile which had so entranced him the previous day, “So very, very much worse”
With another flick of her wrist she walked the horse to the gate, Carig opening it for her as the large animal clip-clopped onto the cobbles of the courtyard. Letting the reins fall, Blaze dropped his head, searching for any wayward oats which might be found, her leg swinging around until she was sat sideways onto the tall creature. Moving forward he held his hands up, as one would to catch a jumping child. “Need help?”
