Little Miss Sunshine #2
“No doubt about that,” Isla replied, but her eyes narrowed as she glanced at the alpaca.
“But she’ll be a lot less happy if she doesn’t stop chomping on my Thai basil.
” She let out a sharp whistle, which did nothing to impress Nessie but roused Polly from her slumber.
The Newfoundland jumped up, shook herself and immediately caught on.
She had learnt the hard way a few months earlier that Isla’s raised bed of exotic herbs was strictly off-limits.
Ever since, she had been defending it with astonishing vigour.
That was exactly what she did now. Running over, she growled at Nessie who promptly flinched back.
“Good girl,” Isla called out to Polly and threw her a treat from her trouser pocket.
“Wow, it’s hard to believe how good you are with her,” an impressed Shona commented, forgetting that she should probably complain on behalf of the ever easily scared Nessie.
But the alpaca didn’t seem too upset and had found herself a less offensive spot for grazing. “Wasn’t Polly Jon’s dog initially?”
“Aye, but she prefers to hang out here during the day. Not my fault that my garden is nicer than the pub’s, is it?” Isla stood up and stretched. “As much as I’d love to keep chatting, I’ve got to go back to work. What else are you up to today?”
“I don’t know yet,” Shona replied. “Maybe I’ll drive down to Inverness to go out later. If Hailey and Kristy are up for it.”
“I doubt it. Cameron and Lila are coming today.”
“Who?”
“That famous equestrian, Cameron Sinclair. His mare is Artemis, I’m sure you’ve seen her at Rupert’s. She had her foal on Tuesday. And Lila is Cameron’s girlfriend. Haven’t you met them? They were the talk of the town last summer.”
“Not my town. I was still in London then,” she reminded Shona.
“Oh, right! Well, it doesn’t matter. Kristy and Hailey know them well, so I doubt they’ll want to go to Inverness tonight. But if you do, have fun.” With that, Isla gave her sister a quick hug and disappeared back into the kitchen.
Shona contemplated for a moment what to do and then decided to walk over to the stables to see for herself what was going on there.
“O-M-G, I’m obsessed! She’s so cute,” Lila Harper squealed.
While Kendrick agreed with her on the foal being adorable, he found Cameron Sinclair’s girlfriend a little intense for his tastes. What was it with the high-pitched voice women developed around babies of pretty much any species?
He looked back to the pasture where Artemis stood with her three-day-old foal. The two were really a sight to behold: the beautiful bay mare and her almost completely coal-black foal. And seeing the cheeky little thing explore so wildly and curiously warmed his heart.
“I’m glad we went through with it,” said Cameron, his smile wide enough to think he himself were the father. “It’s great how well Artemis is handling it.”
“I told you she wanted a baby,” Lila reminded him, her voice still at an unnaturally high pitch.
“And I reckon you were right,” Cameron replied and kissed her on the cheek.
“Artemis is very self-assured,” confirmed Kendrick, who had come out to the stables to brief Cameron on everything to do with Artemis and the little one.
“She was very nervous when the labour started and we were worried she might panic, but she calmed down quickly enough, and she has been an exemplary ma ever since. And the filly is developing splendidly. She is very active and healthy. Have you decided on a name yet? Or will the owners name her?”
“No, that’s up to me. I have a purchase option for Artemis’s first foal, and I definitely plan to exercise it,” said Cameron, his chest swelling with pride. “The sire’s name is Luther, so we need a name that starts with L.”
“How about Lila?” suggested Hailey, who had just joined the group and heard the last bit.
“No, that would be weird if you named her after me,” Lila disagreed, her cheeks a flaming red.
Kendrick whole-heartedly agreed, though he knew better than to share his opinion.
What if the relationship went down the drain at some point?
Then Cameron would be stuck with a horse that would always remind him of his ex.
What a nightmare! He would hate that, given that there were too many reminders of his ex in his life as it was.
“I think it’s a sweet idea,” said Cameron, glancing at his girlfriend with eyes in which even Kendrick could imagine little red cartoon hearts.
“Absolutely not!” Lila put her foot down. “But I have an idea. What do you all think of Little Miss Sunshine?”
On hearing the name, Hailey and Kristy squealed in delight, and one look at Cameron told Kendrick that it was a done deal. Well, Cameron would probably accept even the strangest name as long as it was suggested by his beloved. Though Little Miss Sunshine did sound charming.
“That’s a sweet name,” said Kendrick, already sounding to himself like the spoilsport he was about to be.
“But there are two things you might want to consider: firstly, given her lineage, she is likely to grow very tall. And secondly, her genetic potential predicts she is more than likely to become a talented show jumper ... Imagine a horse called Little Miss Sunshine competing for an Olympic medal!”
“I can imagine that perfectly well,” interjected Shona, who had just joined the group unnoticed by Kendrick.
“Me too,” agreed Lila, Hailey and Kristy in unison.
“And I don’t see how that’s a problem.” Shona glared at him. “Why shouldn’t an Olympic champion be called Little Miss Sunshine? Is there a law that requires martial names for sport horses? Or is that just another male ego thing?”
Male ego thing? Kendrick had been accused of a few things in his life, but never of having much of a male ego.
He would do better simply to ignore the comment.
Along with the fact that the alpaca was wearing a glittery pink halter today.
Ridiculous! But somehow, this woman had a way of pushing his buttons until he couldn’t stop himself.
“It has nothing to do with being male. Names simply convey a certain message. The name Artemis, after the Greek goddess of the hunt, instils a certain awe. Which has the psychological effect that people expect her to be special ...” He fell silent as three women started to giggle.
Only the fourth woman didn’t laugh but rolled her eyes.
“Maybe deliver a divine miracle?” asked Shona, voice dripping with irony, as she shook her head.
Then she turned away from him and addressed the others.
“Sorry to drop by like this. I’m Shona, Hailey’s and Kristy’s cousin.
And you must be Cameron and Lila.” She smiled politely and held out her hand.
“Hi, nice to meet you,” Lila replied cheerfully. “Is that an alpaca? Can I pet it?”
“Of course, go ahead. She’s a girl, and her name is Nessie.”
While Lila petted the little camel’s soft fur, Cameron’s mind seemed to be working overtime.
Finally, his face brightened, and he snickered.
“You wouldn’t happen to be the woman from the distillery?
” he asked Shona before turning to Kendrick.
“Which makes you the vet who ran over the pet alpaca, I assume?”
“How did you hear about that?!” Hailey exclaimed cheerfully. “I thought it was only in the local paper.”
“As well as in a gazillion social media posts,” Shona added.
“My ma told me about it,” Cameron explained. “You know my parents still live in Kirkby, right? So they heard about it somehow. So of course, I had to look it up. I’m glad your alpaca is okay, or it wouldn’t be such a funny story.”
“Things aren’t always as they are portrayed in the media,” Kendrick grumbled and struggled to stop himself mentioning that someone had let Nessie get drunk.
He was fairly certain this juicy bit of the story would not clear his name but cause even more laughter and shift sympathy even more in Shona’s favour.
“That’s right. Usually, it’s worse,” Shona sneered, clearly without any scruples or regrets.
“Ah, sounds like I led us straight into a minefield,” Cameron observed.
“Back to the name for the foal! I do like Little Miss Sunshine. Kendrick is right that names can conjure up very specific images and create expectations, but I can live with that. If the little one turns out to have inherited her parents’ talent, nothing, not even a cute name, will stop her from winning. ”
“So you’re set? Her name’s Little Miss Sunshine?” asked Lila.
“Yes, I’ll have it entered in her papers,” Cameron confirmed.
“But don’t we need a little celebration? A proper naming ceremony with a reception?”
“Absolutely,” Hailey agreed. “How long are you staying?”
“Only until tomorrow,” said Cameron regretfully. “I’m competing in a tournament on Sunday.”
“Well then, let’s have a barbecue tonight, right here. We can baptise the little one and hang out.”
“Sounds great,” exclaimed Lila enthusiastically. “How about we invite a few more people? Your parents, my aunt and uncle – and you have to come too,” she turned to Kendrick and Shona.
Kendrick gave Shona a furtive glance. Did he fancy spending more time around this irritating woman? Then again, a lonely evening at home didn’t sound all that appealing either. “I’d love to come,” he replied politely.
“I ...” Shona hesitated. “I was thinking about going to Inverness tonight but ...”
“We can still go out tomorrow,” Hailey interrupted. “Of course you’re in!”