Page 58 of The Jealous Girl

Two Years Ago – Mid July

‘I’ll put my boots on and get started then,’ Ryan said as he slipped out of the kitchen.

‘I’ll be right with you,’ I said, picking up my cereal bowl and carrying it to the sink.

Denise held out her hand to take it from me. ‘Ryan has a lot to deal with at the moment,’ she said her voice low. ‘Things that require his focus.’

I nodded. ‘I understand that.’

Her gaze narrowed. ‘Do you?’ She tipped her head. ‘I’m curious why you would come here now. It’s not really the appropriate time for us to be hosting guests.’

‘I came to help,’ I repeated my early assurance.

‘We don’t need any more help. We already have Charlotte.’ Denise smiled. ‘She’s like the daughter we never had.’

‘Are you ready?’ Ryan asked, poking his head round the kitchen door.

I nodded firmly. ‘Yes, definitely.’

We crossed the yard in silence, my encounter with Denise replaying in my mind. Part of me wanted to tell Ryan. To repeat everything his mum had said. To explain how uncomfortable I already felt here. But I couldn’t. She hadn’t explicitly come out and said I wasn’t welcome, had she? It had been more the way she said it than the words themselves. How could I explain that to Ryan without sounding oversensitive? Besides, it was his mother…

‘Well, this is it,’ Ryan said as he guided me into the building. ‘The centre of everything at Blackwater Stables.’

I stepped inside slowly, my gaze sweeping over the large space.

And that smell, even stronger in here.

‘You’ll get used to it,’ Ryan said, and I realised I must have been grimacing.

I smiled, trying to pretend that it didn’t bother me. But it did. And not just the smell – the whole place.

I’d never been an animal person. They made me nervous. So unpredictable. I wiped my sweaty palms down my jeans. And horses were huge.

‘This is the tack room,’ he said, pointing to a small room off to the right. Leather bridles and polished saddles hung neatly along one wall, while sacks of feed were piled high in the corner. Everything felt organised and completely alien.

He turned back to the main aisle. ‘We’ve got room for forty-two horses,’ he continued, indicating the wooden stalls that lined either side. Each one was occupied, the horses shifting and snorting softly as we passed. ‘About fifteen are liveries. We offer DIY, part and full livery.’

I frowned. ‘DIY?’

Ryan smiled slightly. ‘Basically, it means the owners do everything themselves. Feeding, mucking out, turning out, all of it. We just provide the stables and facilities.’ He jerked his head towards a sandy-coloured horse a little further ahead on the left. ‘That’s how Charlotte started here, actually. Her dad bought him for her when she was about twelve. He works overseas a lot. I think the horse was probably supposed to make up for him never being around.’ Ryan shook his head.

I studied the horse, a slight twinge of compassion lodging in my chest. Perhaps Charlotte and I had something in common after all. We both knew how it felt to have a dad who wasn’t really present. Even if mine didn’t have the excuse of travelling.

‘She took to it all immediately. Her dad paid for full livery, but Charlotte insisted on learning how to do everything herself. She pretty much became a fixture here. After school, weekends, holidays… she was always following one of us around.’ A soft smile tugged at his lips. ‘In the end, Dad hired her as a yard hand. Though she’s become so much more than that.’

‘There are a few other yard staff as well,’ Ryan added. ‘They help with the horses, mucking out, feeding, that sort of thing.’

I frowned. ‘So why did your mum make it sound like they couldn’t cope without you, if there’s other staff?’

Ryan rolled his eyes. ‘Dad doesn’t trust anyone else with the business side. Sales, customer relationships, breeding decisions, admin, are things only family handle.’

He started walking down the aisle. ‘Then we’ve got the trekking horses. Twelve of them. This is more Mum’s side of things. She runs beach rides and forest trails during tourist season. And gives lessons as well.’ We stopped beside a pregnant mare. ‘And over the last few years, Dad’s started running a small breeding operation.’

‘Wow,’ I said, my gaze drifting back around the stalls. ‘It’s a lot bigger than I’d expected.’

‘I haven’t even shown you the best part yet,’ Ryan said, a grin spreading across his face as he hurried to another stall.

‘This is Atlas,’ he said, sliding the bolt back and leading a large black horse out towards me.