“Did you tell him about nugget?” Sasha says, referring to Tabi.
I shake my head as Tabi beams like it’s Christmas morning. “I will on Monday. I’m nervous. I’ll have to deal with his judgement. You remember what happened when I was interviewed at the football club. They acted like I had two heads!”
“You could sue them for that.”
I shrug as Tabi rushes to us, her wellies waggling. “I petted Mr. Grumpy Horse. He was funny.”
“Was he moody like Grandpa?”
Tabi giggles. “Yes. Last night, Grandpa told me I needed to learn to wash dishes ‘cause I…”
“Should be earning your keep,” I reply, rolling my eyes.
“He was grumpy because I won hide and seek.”
Sasha raises her eyebrows.
“He managed five seconds behind the door before she found him. He huffed all night.”
“Grumpy, grumpy Grandpa,” Sasha says. “Let’s feed the chickens.”
Tabi sings, “Grumpy Grandpa,” as she runs ahead. I glare at a grinning Sasha.
As I grab the feed from my rucksack, Sasha whispers, “Why are you really nervous about telling work about Tabi?”
I sigh. “I’m considered a struggling single mum everywhere in my life. My parents despair of me, I can’t affordto do nice things, and I’m useless compared to the other mums I meet at preschool events.”
“But—”
“Don’t deny it. I can’t even dress like them. They’re all yummy mummies who fit work around their kids and have it all. For once, I want to be seen as the capable woman who didn’t get knocked up by a man whose name she didn’t know, who enjoyed herself at university. Who orgasms during sex.”
“You didn’t tell your interviewer you’ve never orgasmed during sex, did you?”
I ignore her as I explain, “I wanted to be Rosie rather than Mummy.”
“So it’s unrelated to the fact you kissed your boss.”
“No,” I squeal. Sasha dead-eyes me as we reach the chickens, who cluck loudly around Tabi’s feet while she stares at them with a wide smile. “I’d tell him if I was dating him, not that I date. He’s just my hot boss.”
“Who you gave your knickers to,” Sasha says under her breath.
“Which I told you never to mention again,” I hiss as I tuck the feed into Tabi’s palm. She opens her fingers wide, and it falls straight out.
I show her how to cup her hand and give her more. Her eyebrows dive together, and she sticks her tongue out as she concentrates. This time, she takes the seeds and drops them one by one. It’s all I can do not to pull her into my arms and smell her shampoo. My girl’s growing up, and I want a good life for her. I want her to achieve her dreams. If her dad were around, maybe that would be possible.
“I read up about Niki, which he encouraged me to do, as he didn’t want to tell the full story of the accident.” Tabi’s out of earshot, walking around the chicken pen, still dropping the seeds as the chickens follow her like she’s their pied piper. “He could have been killed, and that takes a lot to come back from.Before that, he was famously called a ‘feckless playboy’ because of his reputation with women and for partying hard.”
“That explains the ring he let you borrow that night. Has he asked for it back?”
“Not yet. I’ll return it soon.” I like that it keeps creepy men away from me at the supermarket. “His sister gave it to him. I’m relieved it wasn’t from a dead or living wife.”
“Because you fancy him.”
I glare. “Because I didn’t like the idea I’d kissed a married man or seduced someone in the throes of grief.”
“Fair,” Sasha says as chickens crowd around Tabi.
“He had a girlfriend, a model, before the accident, so he might date her again. His dad made it very clear I wasn’t the woman for him. Not that I want to be. He’s my boss.”
