A Roll in the Hay, стр. 22
Susannah pinched the bridge of her nose. Why was she always at her worst with people lately? This was Robin’s influence. The last thing she wanted to do was be as hateful as her sister-in-law had turned out to be. Time to nip that in the bud.
“Sorry, sorry. I meant no stain on your character. I’m sure you’re beyond reproach.”
“Okay, Jane Austen. Apology accepted,” Tess replied with a deep chuckle. It was a surprisingly pleasant sound. She bent down to inspect Billie Jean’s leg, patting and soothing her the whole time, with just as much care as Susannah would show herself. Not a bad start. Thorough too.
After that initial examination, she didn’t just take Susannah’s word but inspected all four legs with the same laser focus. Then the hips were subject to very careful prodding, and there was the requisite general check of heart, eyes, ears, and nose. Maybe it was to prove a point. Either way, there was a certain diminishing of the tension in Susannah’s shoulders when nothing was rushed or skimmed over.
“Well, your fancy vet might see something I’ve missed, and if you really want, we have the portable X-ray back at the surgery. But I’m confident from how she’s holding herself and how she’s distributing the weight that we’re not looking at a break.”
“How sure?”
“Sure as I can be. I’d be confident walking her back at a trot too. You might prefer the horse box, if it doesn’t stress her too much. Every horse is different.”
“She’s not bothered by it,” Susannah said with another pat for Billie Jean. “She would have been in and out of them daily from a foal. Just muscle memory to her now, no stress.”
“That’s usually the case with racehorses, unless they’ve had a bad experience stuck in the box for too long. She really is a beauty. If you’ve got stables full of horses like her, then I really am kicking myself that we missed out on your business. I’d be quite happy in with her all day. We’d do some good work together.”
“Yes. Well. I can call someone to bring the horse box down to take it easy on her. What can I do for her in the meantime? She’s clearly hurting.”
“I’ve got some support bandaging here and an anti-inflammatory that will bring the irritation right down. She’ll need cooling treatments for a few days—compresses for a while, then the bandaging goes back on. Total rest for a week, then gradual return to exercise. Think your grooms can handle that?”
“I need to hire a new one, a specialist, but the existing staff are good,” Susannah replied, trying not to go on the defensive. “And, of course, they’ll have a dedicated vet.”
“Lucky horses,” Tess said. “Right, can you keep her occupied up front while I work my magic, for now? She’s much less likely to kick or try to bolt that way. Then, once you cross the road and go up a bit, the signal comes back so you can call your staff.”
Right. Phone reception. Why hadn’t Susannah thought to check for that when she set off to get help? Amateur hour, honestly. “Come on, Billie Jean,” she coaxed. “The vet here is going to fix you right up, and we’ll be out riding again in no time.”
“That’s right,” Tess agreed, and for some reason, while she was down on the grass spraying something cold on the horse’s leg, she glanced up at Susannah and smiled.
It had to be said, it was a very nice smile indeed.
Chapter 7
Tess didn’t mean to grin up at Susannah like an idiot, but there was something about the moment that dragged a smile right across her face. Perhaps just that it was the first moment between them that hadn’t felt like the start of a fight, or just because calm was the best environment to treat good old Billie Jean in. Whatever the reason, it worked.
Treatment didn’t take long, and Tess waited patiently with the horse while Susannah went across the road to place her call. In all the time they’d been working together, not a single car or tractor had passed. Apart from the farm she’d just visited, only a few empty buildings dotted the landscape—barns no longer used in fields that no longer yielded a crop to store.
This really was one of the more remote parts of the area, the kind of place Tess only uncovered as a child by walking much farther than she was allowed. They hadn’t had a car for a long stretch, and when they did make that purchase as a family, it had been one failing rust bucket after another. It was part of why she liked her new, flash car with all the bells and whistles. There was security in being able to buy the best of stuff, and Tess had thrown her whole life into getting that security for herself.
“I can follow you up to the estate and check on her once she’s stabled,” Tess said once Susannah rejoined her. The sun was actually getting to be warm, beating down on them. Tess pulled herself up on the nearest stretch of wall to sit and properly bask in it.
Susannah joined her after checking in on the horse. “Don’t you have other clients to visit? Sheep stuck in fences, that kind of thing?”
“Nobody around here would call a vet for that. A labourer, maybe.”
“You sound like you would know,” Susannah replied. “Because you’re local, I mean,” she added when Tess shot her a confused look.
“Sort of, yeah,” Tess said. “I grew up about thirty miles from here, but I was off to Glasgow and London as soon as I could get there. I’m sure you know the story—running off to the big city to make a name for yourself and all that.”
“That wasn’t quite how I did it,” Susannah replied. “And you shouldn’t believe everything you read in the papers.”
“I wasn’t— I didn’t…” Tess knew she shouldn’t have opened her mouth. Just when