Distraction

Chapter Nine

The first day at work - she'd had so many she didn't usually feel even the smallest of butterflies, but arriving at Low Wood Farm a swarm appeared to have invaded her stomach. She mustn't bugger this up. This place could be her perfect distraction.

Robbie met her at the door, giving her a blatant once-over, the corners of his mouth twitching as he fought a smile. Libby didn't bother. She'd dithered for ages over what to wear. A black polo shirt and cream jodhpurs would've been the sensible thing to wear, but after the Charges by the Hour comment, how could she resist something a little more fun?

The denim jodhpurs were bland enough, but her sleeveless Fame t-shirt allowed the straps of her hot pink bra to peek out and she'd layered on more eye make-up than she'd worn to the Mill. Harmless stable yard flirting? Bring it on.

'Morning,' he said, handing her a key, any humour now erased. 'For the tack room. It'll be in the kitchen, on the rack under the mirror. Just knock and come in.'

She toyed with the key. 'Sandra's pissed off.'

'Sandra's always pissed off.' He held out a list. 'That's the usual routine. I'm taking the girls out for the day, but if you need anything, my number's on the top.'

She nodded, a smile growing as she read the incredibly detailed list - tips on dealing with Dolomite's fragile nerves, which horses went in which paddocks, who she should school in the morning, who she should hack out in the afternoon.

'Tilly,' he called into the house. 'I'll be in the yard for five minutes.

'Stay here,' Libby said. 'I'll be fine.'

But he came with her, wandering through to the yard, the horses whinnying, eager for their breakfast. As if she'd worked there for years, she headed into the feed room, and flicked on the light. Robbie followed her, watching as she laid the buckets out on the floor. She leaned down to scoop nuts out of the bin but paused, smiling up at him. If she wasn't mistaken, he'd been looking down her top. He really was priceless.

'You don't have to supervise. Stable yards are the same the world over.'

He leant against the wall with his arms folded as she topped up the nuts with sugar beet, following his instructions perfectly.

'It's your first day.'

'Feeding horses isn't exactly rocket science. And you've put everything on here.' She consulted the list. 'Storm will be the one kicking her door.' She paused, listing to the rhythmic thud. 'That'll be Storm, then.' She went back to the list. 'Dolomite will try to bite you when you drop his bucket in. It's all here. Don't worry. I'll be fine. They'll be fine.'

But he didn't leave. He watched her say hello to each horse, his eyes narrowing as she avoided Dolomite's gnashing teeth by opening his half-door and nudging the bucket in with her foot.

'Tallulah said he'd been mistreated.'

Robbie leaned against the door. 'He was in a pretty bad way when we found him. Half-starved and terrified. Christ knows what they did to him.'

Something nudged Libby's hand, but when she glanced down, instead of seeing the old Lab as she expected, a little girl with long black hair and beautiful green eyes stared up at her.

'Daddy told Mummy you were a tramp, but you don't look like the smelly man in town.' The little girl turned to Robbie. 'Is she a pop star like Hannah Montana?'

Libby pressed her lips together as she tried not to giggle, but Robbie laughed, finally letting go of his reserved attitude and she joined in.

'Thanks for that, Tilly.' He picked up his daughter, tickling her. 'This is Matilda, she's nearly four and the munchkin in the sandpit is Pandora, but we call her Dora. She's two. In my defence, you do look like a tramp, but it's nice to see you've made the effort to match your nails to your bra.'