Willow slung an arm around my shoulder. ‘Well, these ponies are all your fault as you gave me the idea so, it’s really the least you can do to help me look after them,’ she joked as gave me a squeeze.
I chuckled. ‘I think they might possibly be your best idea yet.’
‘Oh, I have plenty more up my sleeve,’ she replied with a twinkle in her eyes.
‘Should I be worried?’
‘Always.’ She winked and we both giggled, reminding me of when we were younger and carefree, not devastated by grief or scared about what life had in store. Maybe for this summer, we could be those girls again.
‘Well, I’m excited to hear them all,’ I declared.
‘And I need more from you too!’
‘I’ll do my best,’ I replied with a smile.
Maple barked then and we turned to see what she was looking at. Dylan and Blake were striding towards the barn together carrying hay bales. Both had shorts and T-shirts on too and I couldn’t help but notice the muscles in Blake’s legs and arms as he lifted the hay.
Willow wolf-whistled, earning herself a wave from Dylan. Blake looked over and I ducked my head, not wanting him to see I’d been looking too.
‘Blake told me he found out his girlfriend was cheating on him,’ I said. ‘It’s so weird we’re both here running from relationships.’
We turned back to the ponies, Maple running off to catch up with the men. Blossom and Jasmine wandered over to us, and we reached over the fence to pat them.
‘Yeah, I must admit, it’s a crazy coincidence,’ Willow said. ‘I don’t know what went wrong between them but Blake sounded desperate for somewhere to stay when he phoned Dylan. Thankfully, we had the cottage free for a couple of weeks. Who knew the farm would become such a sanctuary for people?’ Willow smiled and nudged me. ‘I’m glad, though. It’s so nice having you here. And Blake is already proving to be a great help too. I know there was a bit of awkwardness at the start but I’m glad that’s gone.’
‘Yeah, I think seeing me in a wedding dress gave him a bit of a fright,’ I replied with a wry smile although I didn’t want to share his secret that he had wanted to propose to Sarah. ‘I can’t blame him. He must be really crushed by what happened. I can’t believe his girlfriend cheated on him.’
‘God, yeah. If Dylan ever did anything like that…’ She shuddered at the thought.
‘He won’t. You two seem so solid.’
‘We made no sense on paper when he arrived at the farm but somehow, we fit,’ she replied simply.
‘You deserve it.’
‘So do you,’ she replied.
‘I just feel really guilty about leaving the way I did. Even if I do think I was right to leave.’
‘It sounds like Henry didn’t give you many opportunities to tell him how you felt, though.’
‘Yeah,’ I agreed. ‘I bet he’s so pissed off at me, though…’ I bit my lip. ‘I’m nervous to speak to him again.’ I used to feel so anxious back in the city. I was already feeling so much calmer out here. I didn’t want to let the anxiety back in just yet.
Willow looked worriedly at me. ‘You don’t need to yet. At least give yourself the rest of today? I can keep you busy if you want,’ she added with a twinkle in her eyes.
‘Yes, please,’ I said eagerly.
Willow stepped back from the ponies. ‘Shall we brainstorm how we’re going to create this summer trail?’
‘I’m in,’ I said readily.
Before I could follow, Blossom leaned in and nuzzled my chin before chewing on a strand of my hair.
‘That’s not for you,’ I said, yanking it away from her. ‘God, these ponies like to eat whatever they can get their hands on,’ I said, hurrying after Willow with a shake of my head.
I hoped they weren’t going to be too much of a handful for us.
* * *
