Page 46 of Christmas at Sturcombe Bay
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.”
