CHAPTER 9
I HEADED FOR the hay barn first. Filling the twenty-four haynets that got hung up in the stables for the horses to eat would take half an hour. They got one in the morning, one at lunchtime, and another in the evening. It wasn’t my favourite job because of the dust, but at least it was quiet.
I was stuffing haynet number twenty when Susie and Hayley walked past, Susie pushing a wheelbarrow and Hayley carrying a mucking-out fork.
“What are you doing out here? Don’t both of you have the day off?” I asked, knowing full well that they did.
“Uh, we thought we’d give you a hand,” Susie said, carefully avoiding eye contact.
“I’ve been out here almost four hours. Nearly everything’s done. Now, tell me the real reason you’ve dragged your asses out into the cold to shovel shit.”
“Por
