The two were on the same wavelength. Dylan didn’t doubt they’d make a good partnership. ‘Come through to the office. There’s the yard staff to meet.’ Flora braced herself: this was the only part she’d been reluctant about. Taking a steady breath, she stepped into the office with Dylan behind her. Two girls and a boy who looked to be of a similar age to her stood up to greet them.
‘Sit down, please,’ Flora said, quickly joining them in the seated area where two settees faced each other. A coffee table stood in the middle with various horse and racing magazines on.
‘This is Abbey, Mel and Josh,’ Dylan introduced, ‘and this is the assistant trainer, Flora.’ Flora shook hands with them all. Keen to get going, Flora showed them her draft daily roster. They all looked happy with the arrangements.
‘Of course it’s flexible,’ she was eager to point out.
‘It all looks fine to me,’ Josh said, smiling widely straight into Flora’s eyes. His eyes then travelled lower to her cleavage, then back up to her face. Dylan caught the moment, however brief, and stared him out coolly. Coughing, Josh quickly turned to the two girls, ‘What do you say?’
‘Yes, it’s great,’ they trilled, clearly as excited to be there as Flora was. It must seem like heaven compared to Sean Fox’s regime, thought Dylan.
After sharing a coffee and a chat, Dylan asked Flora to show the girls Libby and Femme and prepare the stables for the rest of the horses being delivered, leaving him alone with Josh.
‘Just one thing,’ Dylan sat opposite Josh, ‘if you want to keep working here, then stay away from Flora.’ His eyes pierced into him like chips of ice. Josh blushed and shifted awkwardly.
‘Ah, I see. You and she are…’
‘Absolutely,’ stated Dylan forcefully, leaving no room for any misunderstanding.
Flora, Abbey and Mel gelled well together mucking out the stables and arranging the hay and water for the new horses arriving. Flora’s love of horses meant she would always be happy working in stables, but she knew giving orders instead of taking them would take some adjusting to. She yearned to saddle up and gallop through the fields, despite Dylan’s advice.
‘Don’t even think about it,’ he warned behind her, catching her reaching for a saddle in the tack room. She jumped at the sound of his voice.
‘Trust you to be there,’ she laughed.
‘Seriously, Flora, I’ll ride with you next week. Just wait a few more days. Remember, these are extremely valuable horses.’
‘OK, OK,’ she conceded with disappointment.
‘Come on, I need to see Tobias.’ He guided her out into the yard and together they walked up to Treweham Hall.
Flora had only been inside the Hall once before when looking at the plans for the training yard. Its sheer opulence filled her with awe.
Megan came dashing down the passageway. ‘Dylan, while you’re here, let me give you this.’ She handed him a cream envelope. ‘Invitation to the wedding.’ She beamed at Flora. ‘Tobias is in his study, go through.’ She ushered them in. Tobias was sitting at his desk working on his computer.
‘Come in, Dylan. Flora, what do you think then?’ He was, of course, referring to the yard.
‘Amazing,’ she gushed. Dylan put his arms round her shoulders.
‘I’m sure we’ll be very happy there, won’t we?’ Those striking blue eyes twinkled roguishly.
‘I’m sure we will,’ she answered.
