AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘I appreciate the compliment,’ came a voice from behind her, before she had a chance to open up Jigsaw’s stable door.
She turned and came face-to-face with someone who looked oddly familiar. She couldn’t quite deduce who the man was, as his body was outlined by the sunshine pouring in, making it hard to look directly at him. ‘May I help you?’
He extended a hand as his body moved out of the sunlight. ‘I’m Gus, I just spoke to your brother and he pointed me in your direction. I called and left a message about keeping my horse here.’ He hesitated. ‘Do I have the wrong person? You’re not Hazel?’
Hazel had lost the ability to speak. No wonder he seemed familiar. It wasn’t that many hours ago that she’d been attempting to draw the outline of his body, except he’d been sitting down and totally naked. Now he wore well-fitted jeans and a white T-shirt, neither of which detracted from the body she knew lay beneath, and she focused on Jigsaw to hide her face from him. It wasn’t that she’d seen him naked that was the worst thing, it was that after the class she’d seen him angry, threatening, and it had brought back terrible memories for her of a confrontation that had changed everything. Was this really the sort of man she wanted to have any involvement with, despite him bringing business their way?
‘Are you Hazel?’ he repeated as she grabbed Jigsaw’s halter and undid his stable door.
Jigsaw’s ears twitched at the conversation as she slipped his halter over his head before leading him out of the stable. ‘I’m Hazel, yes.’
The man, who she now knew as Gus, followed her down the centre of the stable block towards the outside. ‘Is now a bad time?’ When she said nothing, he sighed. ‘I should’ve called again, given you a time to expect me. It’s just, I have things to do later on this morning and I really wanted to sort the stabling today if I can. Youdohave space, don’t you?’
Hazel secured the rope to the halter and the halter to the wall, ensuring Jigsaw was comfortable. She had to put this man’s behaviour last night out of her mind, this was business, income, their livelihood. ‘It’s good to meet you. Always a busy time here, but we can still talk. Feel free to wander around while I get Jigsaw groomed and out into the paddock.’
‘Thanks, I appreciate it.’
She’d already grabbed the hoof pick and with a little coaxing of her hand running down Jigsaw’s hind leg, the horse lifted his foot off the floor so she could get on. She wasn’t sorry when Gus went over to look at the outdoor school before taking a peek into the stable block and then moved over towards the paddock while she worked. She wasn’t sure she wanted to do this with him as an audience, he made her jittery, which had plenty to do with seeing him naked but a lot to do with his temper too.
Before long, she led Jigsaw over to the paddock so he could join the others.
Gus’s brow furrowed as she closed the gate. ‘I’m sorry, have we met before?’
Unsure quite what to say, she led the way towards the office, indicating for him to follow, but before they got there, she turned to face him and, in that moment, she saw recognition dawn on his face.
