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He nodded to the two adjoining paddocks. “I see you have some ponies.”
She shoved her hands in her pockets and tried not to laugh. “You’re not a horse man, are you? They’re not ponies, they’re foals, and they’re in my care for the next month.”
Josh let out a sigh. “Sorry. I remember now.”
His amused gaze slid across to her and her stomach fluttered together with a kick of nerves.
Josh looked about. “The property’s looking good. It’s green.”
“Thanks, but they all look good first thing in the morning.”
Josh walked down to the nearest paddock. “I take it you went into the tree business to help fund your horse business? Is it working?”
Kristy let out a big long sigh. “I hope so – this year is the real first test.”
He leaned against the fence. “How many acres under tree? I mean, could you earn more from those paddocks with the foals?”
Stunned by his questioning, she shook her head. “Josh, I needed a second income – end of story. Besides, they’re more work than I thought. I thought I could plant and forget.”
“How so?”
Her cheeks flushed. Nobody ever asked her about the trees or really showed much interest in either of her small businesses. She hesitated. The guy dealt with high-roller business people with deep pockets. What harm could it do to share her motives?
“I rushed things. I couldn’t wait to start my pre-training clinic for horses. They come here as foals for a month before they go into full training. I get them ready for riders, races or shows. But it takes time before there’s a return.”
Her dream had begun the minute she’d sat on a horse as a child. She loved the horse business and loved being around horses. Now she had her own business, but nobody had warned her about the exhaustion, the worry, the sacrifices, the marketing or the endless paperwork. She’d half expected it, but thought maybe a year or two, not eight hard years.
“And?” Josh prompted.
Kristy joined him at the fence. “I couldn’t wait to get started and bought this land. It was as cheap as chips. You can see why: everything’s on a slope, the soil’s not the best and the main arena that I work in is the flattest piece of land on the property, although it does have a slope.”
“But you’ve got yourself a house.”
She rolled her eyes. “Cheap. The government was selling old and dilapidated housing commission homes in western Sydney and you could take one provided you paid for transportation. That’s how I got a home. It’s okay. I thought selling Christmas trees would give me a financial hit once a year to help pay the bills. I still had to build stables.”
Josh ran up ahead, pulled out his mobile and took some photos. He jogged back to her, his expression thoughtful.
“Is it working for you?”
Kristy frowned. “Is it working for me? What do you mean? I couldn’t imagine another life.”
He cocked his head, his lips curving into a knowing smile that brought goose bumps to her skin. “I was thinking along the financial lines.”
Again, Kristy could feel herself blush.
“There’s nothing left to take a holiday if that’s what you want to know.”
She didn’t like his line of questioning. Stepping closer to him, she said, “I have twenty acres and two acres represents one year’s growth. A tree takes about eight to ten years to reach maturity. It all takes time.”
Josh put away his mobile. “The idea of going into business is to make money, not just living money, but something extra you can build on year after year.”
Kristy’s jaw dropped at his unexpected words. She snapped it closed. They were skirting around the real struggles with her paperwork. Her struggles to find the time to get her act together were a daily issue.
“Josh, I hear you, but right now I’m a one-man band, paying an elderly couple to help me out once a year. I call in all the favours I can and try to make it work. It just takes time.”
Why was she so upset? She should welcome his interest in her businesses; he might even offer some tips to keep her paperwork on track.
Be honest, Kristy!She was attracted to the guy, had been from the moment she’d laid eyes on him, but – and it was a big but – he’d made his choice. If she was to survive through the next two weeks with him in Bindarra Creek, she really needed to keep her cool.
