Chapter 22 #2
Ryan smiled slightly. ‘Basically, it means the owners do everything themselves. Feeding, mucking out, turning out, all of it. We just provide the stables and facilities.’ He jerked his head towards a sandy-coloured horse a little further ahead on the left.
‘That’s how Charlotte started here, actually.
Her dad bought him for her when she was about twelve.
He works overseas a lot. I think the horse was probably supposed to make up for him never being around. ’ Ryan shook his head.
I studied the horse, a slight twinge of compassion lodging in my chest. Perhaps Charlotte and I had something in common after all. We both knew how it felt to have a dad who wasn’t really present. Even if mine didn’t have the excuse of travelling.
‘She took to it all immediately. Her dad paid for full livery, but Charlotte insisted on learning how to do everything herself. She pretty much became a fixture here. After school, weekends, holidays… she was always following one of us around.’ A soft smile tugged at his lips.
‘In the end, Dad hired her as a yard hand. Though she’s become so much more than that. ’
‘There are a few other yard staff as well,’ Ryan added. ‘They help with the horses, mucking out, feeding, that sort of thing.’
I frowned. ‘So why did your mum make it sound like they couldn’t cope without you, if there’s other staff?’
Ryan rolled his eyes. ‘Dad doesn’t trust anyone else with the business side. Sales, customer relationships, breeding decisions, admin, are things only family handle.’
He started walking down the aisle. ‘Then we’ve got the trekking horses.
Twelve of them. This is more Mum’s side of things.
She runs beach rides and forest trails during tourist season.
And gives lessons as well.’ We stopped beside a pregnant mare.
‘And over the last few years, Dad’s started running a small breeding operation. ’
‘Wow,’ I said, my gaze drifting back around the stalls. ‘It’s a lot bigger than I’d expected.’
‘I haven’t even shown you the best part yet,’ Ryan said, a grin spreading across his face as he hurried to another stall.
‘This is Atlas,’ he said, sliding the bolt back and leading a large black horse out towards me.
I instinctively stepped back.
‘It’s okay,’ Ryan assured me. ‘He’s gentle. He won’t hurt you.’
I nodded, resisting the urge to back away further.
A soft laugh behind me made me flinch and I swung round to face the entrance.
‘Don’t tell me you’re scared of horses?’ Charlotte asked as she stepped into the stables. She walked towards us and casually leaned against the opposite stall, one eyebrow raised questioningly, even though the answer was already apparent.
A guy around our age followed her in, his sandy hair flopping in his eyes as he busied himself lifting a pitchfork from the rack, graciously pretending not to have noticed my fear.
‘I’ll get used to them,’ I assured her, though my words lacked conviction even to my own ears.
‘Kirsty, this is Ben, he helps out here at weekends and during the university breaks.’
Ben paused and gave a small friendly nod. ‘Hi.’
‘Hi,’ I replied, grateful for the lack of judgement in his expression.
At least his role here was clear. Unlike Charlotte’s…
‘You won’t be much help until you can be around the horses,’ Charlotte said tersely. ‘They’re kind of the whole purpose.’
Heat crept up my neck. ‘I’m going to help in other ways,’ I said quickly, turning back to Ryan. ‘I’m good at admin. Accounts. That kind of thing.’ I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to convince him of my usefulness. After all, he’d already vouched for me to his mother.
Ryan’s expression brightened. ‘Yeah, Dad normally handles that side of things himself, so it’s going to be great having you take some of that on while he’s out of action.’
Relief washed over me. ‘Just point me in the right direction and I’ll get started.’
Charlotte snorted, but I ignored it. Ryan was happy, that was all that mattered.
‘Come on,’ he said, as he led Atlas back into his stall and slid the bolt. ‘I’ll show you the office.’
Ryan led the way to a door tucked at the end. He pushed it open and flicked on the light.
I pasted on a smile, trying to hide my disappointment that the office was a cramped space in the stables instead of a room in the house.
A battered wooden desk filled the small space, its surface covered with stacks of paper. A bulky old computer sat wedged to one side and disorganised notes were scattered on top of the keyboard. A rusty filing cabinet sat in the far corner.
‘Sorry, it’s a bit of a mess,’ Ryan said, rubbing the back of his neck. ‘Dad’s system isn’t the most organised.’
I nodded. ‘Yeah, I see that.’
‘If it’s too much—’
‘No,’ I said quickly, despite my own reservations. ‘I can handle this. It’ll just take a bit of time to…’ My words trailed away.
‘Sort through the mess?’ he offered helpfully.
I laughed. ‘Yeah, something like that.’
He jerked his head towards the computer. ‘There are some spreadsheets on here… somewhere.’ He leaned over, brushing the notes aside as he reached for the keyboard. ‘I’ll get you logged in.’
I nodded. This was something I could do. Something useful.
I picked up one of the notes, squinting as I tried to decipher the handwriting.
Maybe.
‘Ryan!’ Charlotte’s voice called from the stable outside. ‘The new liveries have arrived. Can you give me a hand settling them in?’
Ryan straightened his back. ‘I’ll be back in a minute,’ he said, already moving towards the door. ‘Just have a look around, get a feel for things, for now.’
‘Sure.’ I nodded, a flutter of unease rising in my chest.
He disappeared through the open doorway and I turned back and stared at the desk. Where on earth did I even start?
‘It’s a bit of a nightmare, isn’t it?’
I turned to find Ben peering in the doorway behind me.
‘No, it’s fine,’ I said, determined to sound like I had it under control. ‘I was just…’ I turned back to the chaos surrounding me.
‘Debating what you volunteered for?’ he asked with a soft chuckle.
I shrugged weakly. There was no point pretending otherwise. ‘Something like that,’ I admitted, smiling back at him.
He pulled the chair away from the desk and signalled for me to sit. ‘I can’t promise I know exactly how it all works, but I can run through the basics to get you started.’
I glanced up at him. ‘Are you sure? Do you have time?’
He nodded. ‘Yeah, it’s fine. Charlotte and Ryan have everything under control out there.’
My shoulders relaxed. ‘In that case, thank you, that would be amazing.’
Ben pulled up a second chair and sat down beside me. For the first time since I’d arrived, I felt like maybe not everyone here resented my presence.
I smiled faintly at the memory. After that day, he’d become the only real friend I had at Blackwater. Until, one day, he disappeared too.
‘I promised Dad I’ll give him a hand tomorrow,’ Ryan said, breaking the silence that had hung between us as we drove back towards Swanage.
My back stiffened. ‘Tomorrow?’
‘He was only expecting me to be gone for a couple of weeks,’ Ryan said. ‘He wasn’t expecting me to move out and bail on him.’
‘Sure,’ I said slowly. ‘But we were going to the registry office tomorrow.’
Ryan exhaled. ‘It doesn’t have to be tomorrow, does it? We can go another day.’
I turned away and stared out of the passenger window, as a lump rose in my throat.
It felt so familiar. Small changes. Reasonable ones. And then…
‘I just think it might be better to ease them into it,’ Ryan continued. ‘Let Dad get used to the idea of us.’
I swallowed as his words prickled my skin. What was there to get used to? Our relationship wasn’t up to anyone else but us.
‘I can help out for a few days, see about hiring someone to take over. Make sure they’re sorted.’
I nodded. ‘Right.’
A few days. I’d heard that before. It was never just a few days when his family was concerned.
‘Then we can tell Dad about the ceremony,’ Ryan continued. ‘Maybe they could come to the registry office…’
I flinched. When had that become the plan? Our wedding, our lives, were supposed to be ours this time.
Not something to explain.
Not something that needed approval.
Not something to be fitted around everyone else.
Again.