“You’re not supposed to be here until tomorrow!”
“I can go back to Yorkshire if you like!”
“Don’t you dare! Oh goodness, you’re thin. Are they not feeding you?”
“Hard work… Lots of it… And that Sally’s a real slave driver.”
I hugged him. Adam felt gaunt, I could feel his ribs beneath his shirt, but I had missed his touch and his reassurance. I wanted to hold him forever, but it was Sunday afternoon, I had to get back to lessons. Adam promised to take over for me later, to give me a break as soon as he had got everything settled.
I breathed a sigh of relief, I would never admit it to Adam, but I was struggling by myself. Not the work, the girls were amazing and worked so hard, it was the responsibility, the worry of having people’s horses in our care and the staff themselves, their livelihoods and safety. It sometimes just became too much when I was trying to cope by myself, but I couldn’t allow Adam to waste this opportunity and had promised myself I would put a brave face on it. The girls knew I was struggling, hell, I’d only been a working pupil myself a year ago and now I was running what was promising to be a successful equestrian centre.
If only I could run it without the people, I snorted to myself. The horses had their foibles, going lame and losing shoes at the most inopportune moments, but it was the human personalities on the yard that caused me real grief. I knew it was the same everywhere, every stable had its own cast of characters.
From ‘the know it all’ livery who would pontificate to everyone they knew better, the timid ones who would groom their horses for hours but had never been in the saddle and of course, the ones who just wanted to cause trouble. Whether it was stealing peoples grooming kit and equipment or just bitching and making a bad atmosphere. Whatever happened, in these stables the buck stopped with me and I was starting to buckle under the weight of this responsibility.
* * *
The farmhouse kitchen was untidy, this worried me as I knew Kate was always orderly and neat almost to the point of obsession, it was why she was such a great groom, her horses and stables had always been immaculate.
She had always told me she was coping; things were fine. She always moved on from the conversation to what I was doing when we spoke; however, it was clear from the state of the normally clean and tidy farmhouse I needed to pay her more attention.
I grabbed a cloth and cleaning solution and, starting with the filthy cooker, started to scrub and clean.
* * *
Honestly, I was a bit cross as I finished my last lesson. After promising to help me by teaching some of my lessons, I’d not seen Adam all day. My anger soon dissipated when I stepped back into the farmhouse. The flies and smell of stale food gone, replaced with the fresh smell of lemon-scented cleaning solution. I hadn’t even noticed how quickly the food and grime had built up. The kitchen was spotless, I kicked off my boots and saw the living room had been hoovered and tidied, the pile of receipts and invoices which had been scattered on the floor had been sorted and filed, the piles of boots had been arranged and my good leather riding boots had even been polished. Oh, God, I’d let things slip without even realising! I found Adam upstairs folding my, now freshly laundered clothes and placing them, neatly into the chest of drawers.
“Hello, babe!” He hugged me warmly. “Is there anything you want to tell me?”
Oh God, he could read me so well and, as I looked up into his eyes, I felt mine fill with tears. I started to babble about not coping. Adam sat me down, holding my hand and listened. Finally, I ran out of words.
“I am so sorry… Mostly that you felt you couldn’t tell me…”
Oh no… I blubbed again. Adam held me tight, how I’d missed his arms and his embrace. Here, in his arms, the world couldn’t get to me.
“Right… I have one thing I need to do before we discuss this properly…”
“What?” I wiped my eyes with my sleeve.
“This…”
I was caught unawares as he grabbed me, pushing me onto the bed. I squealed as he pulled my polo shirt from my body. Pausing for a moment, he laughed.
“Kate Louise Bishop. How much hay do you have in your bra…?” I blushed before he grabbed my bra and had deftly unfastened it, he leaned down, kissing me. Oh, the tingles ran through my body. “Oh… and you stink!”
I snorted about to say something insulting but found myself swept off my feet, I kicked and struggled but was unable to escape as Adam dragged me into the shower, switching on a flood of warm water. I protested we were both dressed, admittedly him more than me now. He shushed me, unbuttoning my breeches and slipping them down my legs before kicking them away. We embraced, kissing under the stream of water and I felt my worries wash down the drain with the soapy water. There is nothing better than having the man you love shampoo your hair, especially when he goes on to lather your body in suds, paying special attention to all your sensitive places.
Towelled off we dived onto the bed, and I properly welcomed my husband home.
* * *
“Right, we need to discuss this. It’s clear we cannot continue this way with you struggling to cope alone…”
We sat at the dining table, I’d cooked a meal which we had devoured and now we’re well into our second bottle of red wine. “There need to be
