“And that was Jake Maynard getting his arse handed right to him.” Jonny, Jake’s brother-in-law, commented across the bar. “First time we’ve seen that happen in a while, ladies and gents. Savour the moment.”
Jake shook his head and decided not to argue back. “I was only trying to stop that dick from putting his hands on her.”
There was another whoop around the bar. Zack gestured as if he was picking up a handbag and about to fight with it.
A tap on Jake’s shoulder made him turn around. Scott raised a brow. “You need to go round there tomorrow with some form of apology.”
Jake shook his head. “Nope. I tried to help her tonight. Didn’t get any thanks. I’ve no intention of being neighbourly now. She can look after herself.”
Scott scowled. “You might still be pissed off that she bought the farm, but you’ll need to work together at some point.”
“No, we won’t. Let her try and set up her therapy thing. See how long she lasts. I give her four months before she runs back to the city and signs that place over to me.” Jake took a long drag of his beer.
Scott shrugged. “Think you’re going to lose that one.”
“Want to bet?”
Scott nodded. “A grand. She’s still here in five months. And I’ll chuck an extra grand in to say that she’ll have you on your knees.”
“What do you mean?”
Scott grinned. “We’ll see, won’t we? We’ll see.”
Chapter Two
“Talk me through the routine you’d have in place for the evenings?” Lainey tried to fix her face into ‘interested’ mode.
This was the sixth interview of the afternoon and she was pretty sure she was about to slump into a pile of bored slush. Before moving up here, she’d debated starting with appointing a general manager, someone who would take the responsibility of the day-to-day grunt work, which included managing stable hands. This would’ve left Lainey to concentrate on her client base, both therapeutic and for show jumping, which would’ve been ideal.
Especially after today.
She tried to listen intently as the twenty-two-year-old continued to talk about exactly what the routine would be, even detailing the sort of horses that might be in her stables.
His answer was a carbon copy of the ones she’d already heard today: full of sincerity and knowledge, and passion for the animals. Lainey forced herself to listen more carefully, trying to steady her concentration on what he was saying, and not on the banging she could hear coming from outside. Or what might be for dinner, which wouldn’t be something out of her fridge as it was still empty.
“Tell me what you’ve done since graduation.” Lainey filled his silence with a question she was proud of remembering. He’d been one of two applicants who’d studied at university and were now scratching around for a job in their chosen field, where posts were scarce.
His grin was almost over-enthusiastic. “I worked with John Rockley, the horse trainer who won Cheltenham Gold Cup last year after graduating, and then I’ve helped Jake Maynard out while I’ve been back here.”
Lainey sat up a little straighter. She’d heard far too much about Jake Maynard in the last few days. Some described him as a community hero who’d helped put Severton on the tourist map. She’d been told about his part in rescuing people stranded or injured on the peaks, how he’d carried a child to safety. All of that was very noble, but so far, all Jake Maynard had managed to impress on her was irritation.
A whole manure sized pile of irritation.
“What did you do for Jake Maynard?”
Josh Barnes looked even more enthusiastic at her interest. “General farm hand, but mainly with his horses.”
“How many horses has he got?” Lainey leaned forward across the desk that she was pretty sure had been here in eighteen-ninety-seven when the farmhouse was built. “And what does he use them for?”
There was a quick flash of confusion across his face, a slight twist to his mouth at the unorthodox question. “He has five. Three are rescues – one’s old. He’s got a really gentle nature. They’re kind of allowed to retire, like. Jake rides the other two. He’s really good with them. I went out for a ride with him after Christmas; he’s a really talented horseman. I heard my dad say he could’ve set up a stable, and trained racehorses.” Josh paused and looked sheepish. “I came home to Severton because we thought Jake was buying here, and I thought he might be expanding his stables.”
“Why don’t you want to carry on working for him? I mean, he’s obviously a great employer.” Lainey just about managed to keep sarcasm out of her tone. Just.
Josh blushed, making himself look at least five years younger and leaving Lainey feeling old enough to be his aunt. Definitely not his mother.
“I want to work with horses. Jake’s farm is great, but my degree was equine science and that’s my, well, like, passion.” He gave her a smile that was shy and slightly embarrassed. “I know everyone will’ve said that to you, but I genuinely think that I’m the best person for the job here. You won’t find anyone who’ll work harder or put more graft in. I wanted to work with racehorses, but what you’ll be doing here, I think that’s amazing and…”
The banging outside grew louder. A loud curse rebounded through the open window. Lainey wished she could get out of her seat and slam it shut, loud enough for the man outside to realise he was being far too unneighbourly.
