Page 41 of Christmas at Rachel’s Pudding Pantry

‘Well, I hope I’ll not get us into trouble.’

They weren’t to find out for a while, but the mystery woman did spell trouble, although not quite as either of them might have imagined …

17

The following day, after a quick bite of lunch in the Pantry, Rachel headed out to meet Simon and the vet in the yard. It was time for the four-yearly TB testing, and while the vet was in, they were going to get the cows’ pregnancies checked at the same time. One by one, the animals began to filter through. There was plenty of mooing and the odd stubborn antic from some of the cows, who Rachel treated gently but firmly, guiding them into position.

‘Come on, Ethel it’s fine,’ Rachel encouraged. Most of her cows had a name, especially the ones who’d been with her for a long time. There was Panda, with her black-and-white patch eyes, as well as Morag, Iona and Flora, to name but a few. Each of them had their own distinct personalities – and Rachel had loved getting to know them over the years.

Rachel’s mobile suddenly started ringing. ‘Sorry Ethel, bear with me,’ Rachel said to the cow who was now in place in the ‘crush’ and waiting patiently.

Caller ID: Jake. What the heck did he want now?

‘Hi,’ she said, rather tersely.

‘Hiya, Rach. How’s tricks? How’s Maisy?’

Bloody hell, Maisy’s dad calling for a little chat was all she needed right now. A yard full of cows, the vet in, and Jake on the bloody phone. His timing, as always, was impeccable!

‘She’s fine. Look Jake, this really isn’t a good time.’

The vet now had his arm right up Ethel’s rear end for the pregnancy check and she gave a disgruntled moo.

‘Well, yeah, just quickly; we were thinking that we want to come up and see her.’

We? Rachel was confused. But ah, maybe he wanted to visit with his parents, yes, Maisy’s grandparents, that would make sense.

‘Can I chat to her? Is she about?’ Jake asked.

Rachel really needed to get back to the task in hand, though Simon and the vet seemed to be managing fine for now. ‘Jake, she’s at school.’ She resisted the urge to say Duh! ‘She’ll be back in an hour or so. Look, I’ll give you a call back later. I’ve really got to go. We’re sorting out cattle and I’ve got the vet with me.’

‘Righto. Well, yeah, call me back. I want to talk to her.’

Rachel gritted her teeth and had to fight the urge to lob the mobile into the farmyard. Bloody Jake, as oblivious as ever.

After they’d hosed down the vet – yes literally – they herded the cattle safely back out to the field for their last week of freedom in the pasture before winter kicked in. Rachel had a quick chat with Simon, went back to the farmhouse to get herself changed, and headed over to the Pantry.

There was Maisy, back from school after being dropped off by Eve, happy as a lark and chatting away to Grandma Jill, who was wrapping up and covering the remaining cakes for the night. There were some customers in too; a couple who were sitting near the log burner, finishing off a pot of tea, and happily spooning away at what looked like a Sticky Toffee Pudding.

‘All been okay, Mum?’

‘Yes, fine pet. How did you get on?’

‘Job done. Fingers crossed on the TB results coming back all clear, but I haven’t seen any nasty signs, so I’m feeling hopeful.’ This was always a tense time, waiting for the results and hoping to goodness that the dreaded disease hadn’t hit their precious cattle herd. ‘And,’ she continued, ‘the good news is that fifteen of our sixteen cows are pregnant. Not sure what happened to poor old Panda this time, but that’s a pretty good result. Macduff’s still going strong, bless him.’

‘Hi, Mummy. Look, we’ve made some chocolate muffins ready for tomorrow.’ Maisy gave a big grin. ‘And I’m allowed to take one home for after tea.’

‘That sounds good. Did you help ice them?’

‘Yes, Grandma put the swirly icing on and I sprinkled them with the chocolatey bits.’

‘Lovely. And how was school? Did you do your reading check today?’ They’d been practising a lot lately, and Maisy’s reading was really coming on.

‘Yes, and I’m doing “brilliantly”, so Mrs Brown says.’

‘Great. Oh …’ Rachel suddenly remembered her promise to call Jake back. ‘Your daddy phoned a bit earlier; we need to call him back.’

Maisy’s face lit up. ‘Can we do it now? Do you think he’s coming to see me? He said he would soon.’ She was still desperate to spend time with him, however lackadaisical he was with her. It touched and burnt Rachel’s heart.