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‘Yeah?’ Hazel grinned. ‘I’ll watch my toes, then.’
‘Dad always says he has two left feet,’ said Abigail, gently beginning to wet Denby’s feet with water from the hose Hazel had handed her.
‘Your dad or Denby?’ Hazel grinned, looking in Gus’s direction. He was watching her anyway, so she might as well involve him in the discussion.
‘Hey, I’m not that bad,’ he called over, ‘although it’s many years since I danced.’ When he tilted his head towards her phone as it pinged again, she wished she’d turned it off.
When Denby was used to the water, Abigail got involved, lathering up the sponge and washing his coat, moving on to his legs as Hazel lifted the bucket to within easy reach. And before they attempted to clean the horse’s face, Hazel showed Abigail the way she liked to hold the hose so the horse could play with it against his lips and try to drink.
Abigail laughed so hard she almost stood in the bucket of water.
And once Hazel had finished that game, she flicked the hose over in Gus’s direction, which made his daughter laugh all the more.
‘Hey,’ he said good-humouredly, his arm raised to banish the water coming at him.
Abigail took the hose and cheekily wet her dad a bit more, causing Hazel to put a hand across her mouth. ‘You’re in trouble now,’ she said to Abigail, her conspirator.
But Gus took it well and was laughing, backing out of the stable block and fanning his T-shirt, and when Denby softly whinnied, they knew he was enjoying the game as much as anyone else.
When Hazel saw a glimpse of Gus’s strong torso and bare stomach, as he lifted his damp T-shirt away while standing in a patch of sunlight, she knew she had to get her attention back on track. But she couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face, glad Gus couldn’t see her now.
Hazel showed Abigail a good way to wash Denby’s tail by standing to one side of him and putting the tail into a bucket of soapy water and lifting the bucket so it was fully submerged. ‘He’ll have a clean tail and you’ve kept yourself well away from his back legs,’ she advised as she felt Gus’s presence again.
‘And his bottom,’ said Abigail and she agitated the tail in the bucket to get it well washed. ‘He sometimes farts and I do not want to be standing there when he does that.’
The sound of Gus’s laughter had Hazel sharing another moment with him as much as his daughter, and it warmed her right through.
Between the two workers, it wasn’t long before Denby showed no sign of ever having rolled in the mud. His belly was clean, his legs, his shoulders, back, and face. They mopped off excess water from his coat and Hazel stood back with Gus as Abigail finished the job by combing Denby’s mane and tail after a good spray with the detangler Hazel found from her own kit.
‘What time can we go out?’ Abigail wanted to know.
‘You heard Hazel, Denby needs to be dry,’ Gus called back, ducking his head towards Hazel to add, ‘She knows that, she’s just keen to go riding.’
‘I was the same way as a kid, still am these days,’ she smiled and when she felt him watching her, she added, ‘When you come back, feel free to take him down the drive to the lane and beyond, or make use of the inside school – Arnold will take his lesson outside.’
‘What if he rolls again and gets muddy?’ Abigail asked.
‘We’ll put him in the closest paddock,’ said Hazel. Abigail’s question had at least broken some of the tension Hazel felt. She loved Gus’s company, but it was awkward when she realised how much she was beginning to fall for him. ‘He can graze while he dries and there are no muddy spots for him to explore this time, so don’t you worry.’
Abigail seemed happy with that and when Hazel caught a waft of Gus’s woody aftershave as he hovered close, she suddenly hoped she didn’t smell too horsey, which was quite ridiculous – they were standing in a stable block, she’d spent all day around the animals and shovelling manure. She almost began to laugh at the absurdity of it all. Once again, she ignored her phone and this time switched it to silent.
‘Someone you’re avoiding?’ Gus wanted to know.
‘Just busy, that’s all. No time to stop, not when I have beautiful horses to bathe.’ She went over to Denby to admire the job Abigail had done with his mane and tail. ‘We can plait it another time if you like.’
‘Yes, please,’ Abigail beamed. ‘Can I go and get his tack?’
‘Good idea. Pop it on the rack at the end of the stable block and then it’ll be ready.’
‘Thank you for all of this,’ Gus smiled when Abigail headed to the tack room and Hazel led Denby outside into the sunshine. When his arm brushed against hers as they walked, a jolt of electricity had her flustered.
‘It’s all an adventure at her age,’ she managed, ‘even the stuff that’s less fun, although for a lot of kids, they lose interest after the adventure passes.’
‘Not Abigail,’ he said before she could.
‘You know, I think you’re right there.’ She took Denby over to the paddock and by the time she closed the gate and left him to his grazing, Abigail had retrieved the tack and was busy putting it all onto the rack ready for when her horse was dry enough to ride.
‘Right, young lady,’ said Gus to his daughter, ‘what would you like to do now? We’ll need to give Denby a good hour or so to dry off.’
