Page 78 of Coming Home to Sturcombe Bay
“He seems fine. Try a canter?”
She laughed merrily. “I thought you’d never ask!”
The two horses seemed very happy to pick up their pace. It was exhilarating, moving smoothly with the horse’s rhythm —but more than that, it brought back so many memories of riding with Liam back in the day.
Was he remembering too? He had invited her to come riding — what was he thinking now?
They rounded the headland and rode along the clifftop for about half an hour, alternately trotting and cantering. Then Liam reined Hector in to a walk as they reached the end of the bridleway. The footpath here dropped down quite steeply to the estuary below, so steeply that in places there were steps.
“That was pretty good.” He leaned forward and patted Hector’s sleek neck. “Did you enjoy that, boy?” he asked the horse. The animal tossed his head as if nodding in agreement, and Cassie laughed.
“He’s breathing okay?” she asked.
Liam nodded. “Absolutely fine. Shall we head back?”
“If you like.”
“So go on,” he urged as they turned their horses’ heads back towards Sturcombe. “Tell me about Tanzania.”
“Oh, that was just amazing. If Montana is Big Sky Country, the Serengeti is even more so. Miles and miles of open grassland, and huge herds of wildebeests and antelopes. And the skies are just incredible, especially in the rainy season.”
“You got to see the big game?”
“Of course. Elephants and giraffes, zebras, hippos, lions and cheetahs. Sometimes you could get up quite close to them, if you were very careful. And if you were lucky, you could see a cheetah hunting a gazelle.”
“Was there a problem with poachers?”
“Always.” Her mouth thinned. “The rangers are really brave, the way they go after them — poachers wouldn’t hesitate to kill them. And sometimes the animals come into competition with the farmers over the land. Not really surprising — both are justtrying to survive. I climbed Kilimanjaro to help raise money for a wildlife reservation.”
“How did you meet your Australian friend?”
She slanted him a quick look from beneath her lashes. Was there a note of constraint in his voice? “Dougie? He was on the Kilimanjaro climb with me, and a couple of his lads from the Kalagooly resort. They were raising money for conservation work along the Great Barrier Reef. He offered me a job at one of his resorts — he owns three along the coast of Queensland, and one in New Zealand. I checked them out on the ’net and they looked amazing, so I decided to take him up on it.”
“He seems like . . . quite a guy.”
“He is.” She didn’t trouble to suppress the warmth in her voice. Let him make of it what he would. “And a great boss. Really generous, and never one to set himself apart. Unless anyone takes him for a soft touch — then they pretty soon find out their mistake.”
“So you moved to Australia?”
She nodded. “It was always my dream. Diving on the Great Barrier Reef is just out of this world. There are so many types of fish and coral.”
“And sharks?”
“Oh yes, some of those too.” She laughed. “Though most of the ones around the reef are pretty harmless — wobbegongs and white tips.”
“Wobbegongs?” Now he laughed too. “You’re kidding!”
“No, really, that’s what they’re called. In the local Aboriginal language it means shaggy beard. They have whiskers around their mouths, which help them sense fish that come too close. They’re pretty stupid looking, and they tend to just lie around on the sandy bottom. They’re often called carpet sharks.”
“They’re not dangerous?”
“Not if you don’t get too close. Anyway, most shark attacks happen further south, around New South Wales, or over on the West coast. Even then, you’re more likely to get struck by lightning or be killed by fireworks.”
“That’s good to know,” he conceded dryly.
Sturcombe had come into view again. They rode down the gentle slope and into the stable yard.
“Ah, that was good.” Cassie smiled as she dismounted. “Thank you.”
