“Hell yes.” I grab my sunglasses from the hallstand and slip them on as I follow her outside.
The temperature is perfect at this time of the morning. The lower garden and its adjoining paddock are mostly still in shade, but the sun has risen above the mountains to cast the high terrace in warm light. Green grapevines pour over the waist-height walls around us, lit from behind so they look almost otherworldly, and the hills in the distance are muted and hazy, the sky still its palest shade of blue.
“So why are you excited?” Mellie asks from under the shade of her hat. It’s so old and battered that it looks as though it’s been in with her donkeys.
As if reading my thoughts, Rudie and Bennie canter past the hedge that separates the garden from their enclosure. Rudie brays loudly as Bennie tries to nip his tail and a moment later he spins around and gives chase to his friend, who hee-haws his furry head off as he runs away.
Mellie and I laugh at the distraction. They must be getting on for twenty years old, but they still frolic with each other like foals.
“I’m excited because I’m here. With you,” I reply to her question. “And them.” I nod at the donkeys. “For the whole summer.”
“And Jackson too, of course,” she adds, her blue eyes twinkling. “I won’t mention that you listed the donkeys first.”
“You can if you like. He needs to know his place,” I say with a grin.
She looks amused. “What did your mum say when you told her you were quitting your job and coming here to work for him?”
“You haven’t spoken to her lately?” I ask.
“The last time I called, she was on her way out.”
Mellie and I both know how hard it is to pin my mother down. Even at this age, I tend to wait for her to call me rather than risk her not answering. I always have to psych myself up before I reach out to her, as often she’s just not available. I mean that in an emotional sense as well as a physical one.
“She encouraged it,” I reply. “You know what Mum’s like when she gets going, she’s all about listening to your gut.”
“Listening to your gut is fine, but there’s a lot to be said for keeping your head,” Mellie replies bluntly.
“Do you think I’ve lost my head?” I ask with surprise.
“No, I can see why this is a great opportunity, but it’s still a leap of faith. What will you do come September if you can’t find another job?”
“I’ve got some savings in the bank—I’ve had next to no social life for the past three years—and with what Jackson and Albert are paying me, I could probably get by until the spring.”
“Well, that certainly takes the pressure off,” she says heartily.
“It does,” I agree. “But I still plan to look for another job while I’m here. I’d like to have something to go back to.” I can fly homefor an interview, if necessary, but chances are a prospective employer will be willing to do one online.
“Did you rent out your room in the end?” she asks, taking a sip of her coffee.
“No, my housemates are covering my rent. They’d actually been gearing up to tell me that they want to move in together, so they figured they’d have a trial run, just the two of them.”
I was gutted when I heard this a few weeks ago. The thought of returning home and starting a new job is bad enough without throwing in the stress of having to find new housemates. No one could be as lovely as Tasha and Ryan.
“So what’s your game plan for this summer?” she asks.
“In what respect?”
“Jackson.”
I sigh. “I don’t know yet. You do like him, don’t you?” Her opinion matters to me.
“Of course I do. I just don’t want you to fall hook, line, and sinker again.”
“I don’t want that either. If, at the end of August, I’m still not clear about where we stand, I promise you that I will go home and get on the dating apps.”
“Surely there’s no need to go to those lengths,” she replies with distaste.
“Plenty of people find love online.”
