‘No! Okay, yes, but nothing’s happened. He’s nice.’
Jude raised her eyebrows at me. ‘Nice?’
‘Lovely, gorgeous, caring, kind. But the hug was platonic. We’re friends and neighbours. He’s my tenant and I’m his client.’
Jude nudged Maddie. ‘She’s not very convincing, is she?’
‘I like Caleb,’ Maddie said. ‘If you decided to be more than friends, neighbours, tenants and clients, I’d be okay with that. Just sayin’.’
I smiled at them all. ‘We’ll see. I don’t know if he likes me and I don’t want to make things awkward. If it’s meant to be, it’ll happen. No rush.’
But I hoped it would happen and preferably in the not-too-distant future. I finally had the closure I’d so desperately needed and I was now ready to move on with every single aspect of my life.
* * *
Mam fancied a bath and an early night with her book and Maddie wanted to watch TV in her bedroom, so Jude and I took Nova and Skye for a walk round the farm.
‘I’m still reeling about the Adrian news,’ Jude said. ‘It breaks my heart that he felt the need to mask his real feelings with humour and to spin tales about an amazing life in Hong Kong that he wasn’t living. I wish I’d known he was struggling.’
‘Me too. I’ve been reflecting on our time together and searching for clues that I might have missed, but I can’t think of anything. From the moment we met Ade, he was a storyteller prone to exaggeration so I guess his version of his time in Hong Kong was an extension of that.’
Jude slipped her arm through mine. ‘Remember when he had us going that he was the eighth duke of somewhere-or-other and lived in a stately home? He was so convincing about it.’
‘But he really lived in a three-bed semi in Slough,’ I said, laughing.
‘And there was that time when he bigged up that he was on a reality show and we all sat down to watch his TV debut, thinking he was a contestant…’
‘…but he was really just a passerby during one outside shot. That was so funny.’
I loved that Jude had come to stay but at no moment was I more grateful than right now, wandering round the farm together with the dogs and sharing our memories of Adrian and his tall tales while reassuring each other that there was nothing we could have done to change the tragic outcome because Adrian hadn’t wanted us to.
‘It does make you think about how fragile life is,’ Jude said as we paused by the Highland cows.
‘It certainly does.’
Young fluffies Dougal and Tulip were near the gate and we reached over to give them chin scratches.
‘It’s so easy to get in your own head,’ Jude said. ‘We can waste so much time worrying about things instead of grabbinglife by the horns, saying the things we want to say and doing the things we want to do.’
‘Are you talking about Ned?’ I asked, giving her a gentle smile.
‘There are two things on my mind and Ned’s one of them. I think I should tell him how I feel. When I told you what happened, you saidWhat if he didn’t regret it? What if he just needed a moment to gather his bearings?You said it again the other night and it’s kept nudging at me ever since. What if you were right? I need to ask him. It could be the most awkward, embarrassing conversation of my life, but it could be the best one I ever have, so I’ve got to give it a try, haven’t I?’
‘Absolutely. I think it’ll be the best conversation – I really do. But if he isn’t on the same page as you, I don’t think he’ll make it awkward. This is Ned we’re talking about. He’s like a big cuddly teddy bear, oozing with kindness. You wouldn’t have fallen in love with him if he wasn’t kind.’
She squeezed my arm. ‘Could you invite him here like you suggested? Next weekend maybe?’
Jude would have originally been going home tomorrow but we’d already agreed that she’d stay for at least another week.
‘I’ll ring him tonight,’ I said. ‘What’s the other thing on your mind?’
‘It affects you and it’s a biggie.’
Dougal’s mam, Mooana, appeared so I gave her some attention while Jude continued fussing the two young ones.
‘I’ve made no secret about how much I love this place,’ Jude said. ‘I loved Silvervale but that was because of the horses and the chance to work with you. The setting was pretty but it was nothing compared to what you’ve got here. This is spectacular and it’s not just the surroundings – it’s the feel of the farm too. I can’t think of any other place where I’ve felt so calm andinspired. Being here for the past fortnight and helping with the animals and customers has spoilt me for all other jobs.’
She put her hands out, palms up, as though they were weighing scales. ‘Any other job in Berkshire,’ she said, nodding towards her left hand as she dipped it down. ‘Hazelwick Farm.’ She raised her right hand high in the air before holding both hands on a level again. ‘I can’t go back, Grace. You’ve joked before that I could have a job here in a flash if you had the money. I know it’s going to take the business a long time before it turns a profit and that it’s too big a financial risk to take on another horse expert, but what if I took that financial risk away? What if I sold my house and became an investor?’
