Page 20 of Christmas at Sturcombe Bay (Sturcombe Bay Romances #3)

“Okay, to fit the bit, coax the horse to open her mouth with your left thumb,” Cassie went on. “Guide the bit in gently and be careful not to let it knock against her teeth. Then you lift the bridle with your right hand. See how it moves the bit up into the corners of her mouth?”

“Oh, yes. I always thought it looked a bit cruel, putting that piece of metal in their mouths.”

“They don’t mind it,” Cassie assured her, “so long as you’re gentle with them.” She went on fitting the tack, explaining as she went. “Now, check that it’s all straight, then tuck the reins up while you put on the saddle, so she doesn’t tangle her foot in them.”

She went back into the tack room to fetch a saddle.

“Pad first, then take the saddle and hike it onto your hip like this. Then swing it up and lay it gently over the pad. Never, ever, just dump it on her back.” She huffed out a sharp breath as she hoisted the saddle over the horse and lowered it carefully.

“It looks heavy,” Jess remarked.

“This one weighs about twenty pounds. English saddles are a lot lighter than American ones.” As she spoke, she continued demonstrating how to adjust the saddle and tighten the girth.

“Right, all done. Take her over to the mounting block. She only needs a light hand on her bridle — she knows what to do. One foot in the stirrup, a hand on the pommel, then up and over. And lower yourself gently . . . perfect.”

Jess laughed. “It’s pretty much like getting on a motorbike.”

“Feel okay?”

“Yes.” Jess couldn’t help smiling. “Fine.”

“Good.” Cassie adjusted the stirrups to the right length. “Now, let yourself relax. Don’t squeeze her with your knees, just give her a gentle nudge with your heels to coax her forward. Walk her slowly round the yard to get used to it while I saddle up Missie, then we can get going.”

Jess found that Cassie had been right. She felt comfortable on the back of the big horse, accustomed as she was to using her sense of balance and her core muscles to maintain her position. After walking Bella round the yard a couple of times she followed Cassie out onto the lane.

There were several walkers strolling along the bridleway, some in sensible walking shoes and carrying rucksacks and Nordic walking poles, others in shorts with small children and dogs in tow. They shared greetings as they passed.

“We’ll just go out for half an hour today, or you won’t be able to move tomorrow.” Cassie laughed. “You’re using muscles you never knew you had.”

“It is a bit like riding a bike, though a lot wider. And nicer.” She glanced around, over the hedges that lined the path. To her right the golf course spread up the gentle slope towards the main road, giving way a little further on to ploughed fields.

The trees were showing gold, the leaves beginning to fall and drift along the path. To her left the sea glittered in the cool October sunshine, silver-blue far out to the horizon. “You can see so much more, going slower and being higher up.”

“Yes. I’ve ridden motorbikes too, but I do prefer horses.”

“Jools said you worked at a water-sports resort in Australia.”

“That’s right. I started out in Florida, then I worked on the dude ranch for a year. But my work visa for the US was due to run out so I went to Africa — I worked in a water-sports resort and safari park in Tanzania for a year.”

“Wow, that sounds exciting!”

“It was. The Serengeti is just amazing — miles and miles of open grassland, and huge herds of wildebeests and antelopes. And the skies are just incredible, especially in the rainy season.”

“Did you see many elephants and giraffes?”

“Of course, loads. And zebras, hippos, and lions and cheetahs. And I visited Victoria Falls, and climbed Kilimanjaro to help raise money for a wildlife reservation. But now I’m home.” She smiled, and there was no mistaking the happiness in her eyes. “And that’s the best.”

“You’re getting married soon, aren’t you?”

“Yes, at Christmas.”

“Oh, that’ll be lovely.” If she felt a fleeting regret for her own abandoned wedding, she dismissed it impatiently. Better no wedding than being married to a sleazebag like Glenn. Dick pics — the memory still grated.

“And we’ll be kind of in-laws,” Cassie pointed out. “Your sister will be my sister-in-law. She’s really nice. It must be fun, being twins.”

“It is. We used to have a great time when we were kids, winding everybody up by swapping clothes. Mum and Dad could tell us apart, but most other people couldn’t — not even our aunts and uncles.”

“I think I can when you’re together, but when you’re apart it’s quite difficult. As my dear brother discovered, to his cost.”

“Yes . . .” Jess paused to decide whether to continue down that line of conversation, though if she was completely honest with herself that was why she had come down to the stables. “I went out with him last night.”

Cassie’s eyes glinted with amusement. “So I heard.”

“I didn’t intend to say yes,” Jess admitted. “I’m actually rather off men at the moment. But he’s very . . . persistent.”

Cassie laughed. “He’s certainly that. When we were kids he could talk you out of your last red jelly baby.”

Jess laughed too. “I can just imagine! Lisa said he’s had a lot of girlfriends.”

“He has, but don’t let that put you off. Oh, I know I’m a bit biased because he’s my brother, but I love him to bits.”

Jess smiled. “It shows.”

“Will you go out with him again?” Cassie asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t intend to, but I said that before.”

“Well, all I’m saying is, if you want someone to help you get over your ex . . . Well, Paul’s the perfect guy to have fun with.”

“Nothing serious, no strings?”

“That’s right.”

Jess’s mouth quirked into a wry smile. “I’ll think about it.”

They turned and began to amble back.

“You’ve done well today,” Cassie remarked. “Would you like to ride out again?”

“Yes, I would. Would it be okay?”

“Of course. Mornings are the best time, if you’re on a late shift. I’d be able to ride out with you then.”

“That’s great.” She patted Bella’s sleek neck. She was already growing fond of the big, placid horse. “Thank you.”

But her mind was still drifting back to the conversation about Paul Channing. Someone to have fun with — no strings. Maybe. But . . . she was already far too attracted to him.

She needed to be very careful. Not let him talk her out of her last red jelly baby.

* * *

“Hi.” Paul strolled into the stable yard and greeted his sister with a cheerful grin.

Cassie glanced over her shoulder. “Good afternoon, brother dearest. Have you just come to pester me, or are you planning to go out for a ride?”

“That’s the general idea.”

“Good.” Cassie held out a shovel. “You can help me muck out first.”

Paul rolled his eyes, but took the shovel. “Okay. Which one do you want me to do?”

“You do that one, I’ll do this one.”

“Right.”

He pulled off his jacket and hung it over one of the half-doors. He really didn’t mind helping his sister with the chores. He liked the horses, and he knew that caring for them required a lot of hard work.

And oddly, he quite liked the rich organic smell as he heaved shovel loads of old straw into a wheelbarrow and trundled it to the compost heap where Tom Cullen would come to collect it to use as fertiliser for his organic crops.

By the time the job was finished he was breathing hard. “Phew! That’s warmed me up. Are you coming out?”

“Yes.” Cassie took the two shovels and scraped them clean with a piece of wood. “I want to give Cody an outing.”

“How’s he doing?”

“Pretty well. He’s putting on weight and he likes a good canter. Do you want to take Smudge?”

“Okay.”

The two horses were very happy to come out of the paddock and have their saddles put on. Hobo came hirpling out from the back door of the house, eager to join them.

They let themselves out through the gate and set off along the bridleway at an easy trot, Hobo snuffling happily along the hedgerows beside them.

The sky was a pale, cool blue, drifted with white cotton-wool clouds, and a cool breeze was blowing in from the sea. Paul was glad he’d put his jacket on again after saddling Smudge.

The big bay gelding was inclined to be wayward. A string of owners had found him too difficult to manage, which was why he had ended up with the Horse Rescue Society. But he seemed to like Paul and the feeling was mutual.

“So, did you have a nice time last night?” Cassie enquired, eyeing him sideways with a look of sardonic amusement.

Paul laughed dryly. “I’m not sure if ‘nice’ applies. She’s got a very sharp tongue, that lass. I suppose I should have been forewarned.”

His sister raised a questioning eyebrow.

“The red hair.”

“That’s a terrible cliché,” she dismissed scornfully.

“It’s easier than thinking that it’s just me she doesn’t like.”

Cassie thought for a moment. “I don’t think she doesn’t like you.”

“You think she does like me?”

She laughed. “Who wouldn’t?”

He grinned mischievously. “Ah, but you’re my sister. You have to like me.”

“It’s not compulsory,” she countered with a touch of dry humour. “You like her, don’t you?”

“Yes.” He gave the question some consideration. “She’s . . . interesting. She’s got a sharp sense of humour, gives as good as she gets.”

“And great legs?”

“That goes without saying.”

Cassie chuckled, her eyes teasing him. “You know, you could have met your match . . . at last.”

He returned her a look of sardonic humour. “We’ll see.”

She held up crossed fingers. “We will. Fancy a gallop?”

He grinned. “Race you to Spiney Point.”

“You’re on.”