‘Does it hurt?’
‘Every single day.’
She’d put her earbuds back in after that, conversation over.
I spotted Caleb running along the track between the pastures with Scampi scampering alongside him. I expected him to slow down as he approached and perhaps even stop to ask how I was faring after fainting this morning but he didn’t. He ran straight past with nothing more than a nod as a greeting.
‘That was a bit rude,’ I said, focusing my attention back to Athena. ‘Is he always in a grump?’
Athena rested her head against my shoulder and I took that as the affirmative. Oh well, Caleb was my tenant and we didn’t need to be friends for that arrangement to work, although I’d have preferred it if we were. I hated disharmony.
18
When I returned to the farmhouse, Mam was in the lounge watching TV and Nova and Skye were curled up together on the rug in front of the log burner. I could imagine that being their favourite place in the winter when the logs were lit. It was a big room but it somehow managed to feel cosy.
‘Any sign of Maddie?’ I asked.
‘I poked my head round her door earlier and she was in bed watching telly. I told her I was going to watch a film down here if she fancied joining me – even said she could choose the film – but she declined.’
‘Thanks for trying. I’m going to heat up my curry.’
While the microwave did its thing, I checked my emails. Willow had sent me a few so I opened the first.
To: Grace Coates
From: Willow Pickersgill
Date: 18 June
Subject: The info you need
Hi Grace, hope you’re feeling better now. Thanks for helping me poo-pick this morning. I’m so relieved that you know lots about horses and I loved hearing all about animal-assisted therapy. I’ve been online today reading more about it and am seriously impressed. I hope I can learn more from you.
You said Anna hadn’t given you the deets she promised so I’ve done you a spreadsheet. Shout if you need more info.
I opened the spreadsheet and released a whoop of joy. It was amazing. Willow had created a tab for each animal giving their name, breed, age, colour, what she knew about their medical histories and some additional information about their temperament and likes.
The second email included photos of each horse which had been annotated with their names and arrows directed at distinguishing markings. She’d done the same for the pygmy goats on the third email.
The microwave had pinged but I left my meal where it was while I tapped in a reply.
To: Willow Pickersgill
From: Grace Coates
Date: 18 June
RE: The info you need
Hi Willow, it was so lovely to meet you this morning and apologies again for fainting on you. Not the positive first impression I planned to make! The spreadsheet and photos you sent are fantastic. I can’t tell you how grateful I am.
You were eager to stay on at the farm and, having met you and seen your work ethic, Mam and I would be daft to let you go. We aren’t comfortable with you volunteering so I’d like to talk to you in the morning about your hours andresponsibilities and then we’ll pull together a formal contract of employment. Your pay will be backdated starting from this morning. Welcome to the new team! See you tomorrow.
I returned to the lounge with my food and a drink and passed Mam my phone so she could read through the information from Willow while I ate.
‘Willow’s just replied,’ Mam said. ‘She saysOMGfollowed by about a dozen exclamation marks.Dream come true. Thank you so very, very, very much. You’ve made my year.Oh, bless her. She sounds sweet.’
‘She is. You’ll like her.’
