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She huffed a laugh. Her old life seemed like a distant memory now. After her email, the new firm returned with a better offer, but she had no problem turning them down a second time.

“We should have a glass of something to celebrate! I’ll grab a bottle while I’m out,” Thea said as she nipped to the kitchen to grab her keys. “I’m going to see the feed supplier, then I’m going to pick Ammy up from school.” Thea walked back into the office. “The forecast said it would rain. Finally! The sky looks grim. Can you make sure the animals are all in?”

“Will do,” said Kitty.

“Can you imagine what Josh will say when he hears?” Thea’s smile dropped as soon as the words came out. “Sorry, Kitty.”

“You can still talk about him. It’s okay.” In fact, she preferred it. Hearing news from Thea was the only connection she had to him.

“As long as it’s not too weird for you,” Thea said, touching her arm.

“It’s fine. I’m a tough cookie, I promise. Now go! But negotiate us a good deal on the feed.” Kitty rolled her eyes internally. A tough cookie? She was more like a soggy mush where Josh was concerned.

Once Thea had left, quiet descended on the farmhouse. Kitty sat, staring at the same spreadsheet she'd been looking at all morning. She’d already made an early start and completed most of the outdoor jobs on her list.

The office was a welcome relief from the thick, muggy air outside. As she glanced out of the window, dark, angry clouds hung on the horizon, promising relief. But their ominous colour meant Kitty needed to get all the animals inside.

The nerves at the end of Kitty’s fingers prickled under her skin. ‘All of the animals’ included the horses. She still relied heavily on Thea to look after them. She and Simon, the copper-coloured gelding, had developed a kind of mutual tolerance.

Still, Madonna, the piebald mare, was another story. She shied away from Kitty whenever she was near, her large eyes bulging and her thick tail swishing as she reared and stamped.

Distant thunder rumbled as Kitty worked in the yard to bring the residents of Small Oaks inside. Its booms echoed like distant cannon fire. As she secured the animals, leaving them with feed and water, lightning cracked above and around her, streaking a vivid pattern across the sooty sky. Just as she had as a child, she counted the seconds between the lightning and the thunderclap, the methodical action calming her nerves.

She was down at the meadow, encouraging a trembling Simon to follow her to the stables. He seemed to understand she was trying to help him, and once Kitty had him inside, she threw a blanket over him and tenderly stroked his nose.

With Simon safely tucked away, Kitty returned outside to retrieve Madonna. She stepped out into the yard as a huge boom of thunder echoed overhead. Her skin tingled at the electricity in the air, and large, icy raindrops began to fall. Slow, plodding beads gave way to a relentless onslaught, and it wasn’t long before Kitty’s clothes and hair were saturated.

With her wet hair threatening to blind her, Kitty ran, sloshing along in her polka dot gumboots to the paddock. There was no sign of Madonna at the gate where she’d last seen her. Kitty squinted her eyes tightly, trying to see through the thick curtain of rain across the field. It was no use. She couldn’t see more than ten meters in front of her.

Her heart sank. She’d have to go in.

Kitty’s fingers were too wet and slippery to grip the locking mechanism, so she clambered up and over the gate, dropping into the mud on the other side. The ground was a quagmire already, and the water was pooling in areas where the rain had been unable to penetrate the crusted, parched earth.

Not knowing what else to do, Kitty began to shout for Madonna. A voice nagged in her head. Madonna wasn’t going to come running to her just because she called. She wasn’t Thea, and she wasn’t Josh. The horse hated her.Nevertheless, Kitty continued to wade across the paddock, calling out over the thunderous deluge. She neared the end of the field, and Madonna's bold black and white markings stood out in the rain by the fence line.

The horse frantically paced up and down the wooden pickets, kicking against the rain and bucking each time the thunder rolled around them. What the hell could she do? She couldn’t catch her, and she wouldn’t come to her.

Trying to remember the Horse Whisperer videos she’d seen as a teenager, Kitty moved slowly toward Madonna, carefully using non-threatening body language. She managed to get within five meters of the panicky mare, but every time she tried to close the gap, she reared away and resumed her laps of the fence. Kitty wiped more water out of her eyes. There was no choice. Shehadto catch her.

As if the storm had other ideas, Kitty felt the air around her jolt as a blinding flash split a nearby tree in half, and a deafening crack of thunder rocked the field. It proved too much for Madonna. She turned on a penny, completed a tearaway dash around the field and flew over the fence to disappear in the haze of rain.

“Shit, shit, shit,” screamed Kitty. She had no choice but to follow her. Madonna was Josh’s favourite, and there was no way she would lose her. Kitty was determined to keep her safe for Josh.

58

JOSH

Josh droveinto the village just as the storm broke, the relentless rain slashing the desiccatedstreets of Tottenbridge. Negotiating deep puddles, he reached Small Oaks and parked outside his cottage. A feeling of nausea bubbled in his gut.

After Thea’s call yesterday and a lot of soul-searching, he’d come home to see Kitty. To apologise for being such a fool. He couldn’t bear the thought of her last week at the sanctuary being spent upset. He desperately needed to see her face. To look into her eyes and find the answers to the questions burning in his heart. It was too much to hope she’d give them a chance, but he had to try.

The noise of the rain hammering on the roof of his truck threatened to burst his eardrums. So, he sprinted out of the door, followed by an anxious Wendy, and ran towards the farmhouse. The front door was wide open, and as Josh entered, he headed straight for the office.

There was no sign of Thea. Or of Kitty. Josh scanned the scribblings on the jobs board for a clue. Where would they be? A thunderclap to end all thunderclaps ripped the air, and grimacing against the sound, he took the phone out of his pocket and called Thea.

Within three rings, she picked up.

“Joshie! Where are you?”