Nothing but Trouble

Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

“WE ALL TEND to eat together,” Jenny said as I helped her to set the dining table that evening. “I’m a big believer in teamwork. We’ll be working together and riding together, so it makes sense to share a table as well.”

I looked around for the Ugly Sisters, conspicuous only by their absence. I’d christened them with that moniker because while they may have looked perfect on the outside, their souls weren’t pretty. I doubted they’d bought into Jenny’s togetherness concept either.

As I set out napkins, I counted up the place settings. Seven plates, seven sets of cutlery. With the Uglies, Jenny, and I, that made four. “Who else is coming for dinner?”

“Marion and Lenny for sure—they’re two of the trainers who’ll be doing the one-on-one lessons. Connor’s the third, but I’m not sure whether he’ll be back tonight. He had to pop into London for a couple of days, and he wasn’t sure what time he’d finish there.”

Ah well, if he didn’t turn up, maybe I could get an extra portion—the tantalising aromas drifting in from the kitchen were making my tummy rumble.

“Do you know what’s for dinner?” I asked.

“No, but June hasn’t cooked a bad meal yet. Don’t forget to save room for dessert.”

Marion and Lenny turned up a few minutes before seven and introduced themselves before they sat down. Marion fitted the picture I’d had in my mind for Jenny—older, with a vaguely stern expression and her hair scraped back in a bun. Lenny couldn’t have been more than twenty, and his ginger hair flopped over his eyes as he greeted me with an easy smile.

We were well into the main course and chattering away when the two Uglies turned up. A sideways glance saw Lenny turn to Marion and roll his eyes. Annabel and Felicity were like a dam across a river. Free-flowing conversation slowed to an awkward trickle, interspersed with the clink of cutlery on plates.

“Is there any low-sodium salt?” asked Annabel, picking at her chicken.

“Sorry, just normal salt,” Jenny said.

Annabel huffed and pushed her dinner around with her fork, occasionally taking a bite, before she gave up and shoved the sorry remains away. Felicity fared a little better but left all her potatoes, citing the evilness of carbs in general and roasted ones in particular.

When Annabel laid down her cutlery, I struggled to hold in my smile

“Want to catch a movie on Netflix?” she asked Felicity.

“That new rom-com’s out now.”

The pair of them walked off, leaving their dirty plates on the table, and Jenny gave the sigh of a condemned woman.

“It’s going to be a long two weeks.”

At least with the pair of them out of the way, there was extra trifle for the four of us. I ate two helpings. Okay, two and a half. At this rate, I’d either need to take up jogging or buy bigger clothes.

“That was amazing, June,” I said, as I helped stack plates into the dishwasher. I covered my mouth to burp discreetly then turned to find her beaming at me.

“It’s good to see a young girl with an appetite. We had one here a couple of weeks ago who would only eat orange food. There’s only so many things you can do with carrots and sweet potato.”

Wow, that must be boring. “The only thing I’m not keen on is mushrooms. I don’t know who thought it would be a good idea to start eating those.”

“I’ll remember that. No mushrooms.” She dried her hands on a tea towel and hung it on one of the cupboard doors. “I’m done for the day, so I’ll see you tomorrow for lunch. Breakfast is fend-for-yourself, I’m afraid.”

“I’m sure I can do myself a slice of toast.”

It really wasn’t that difficult, but from the Uglies’ reaction, you’d think they’d been asked to harvest their muesli rather than just pouring it out of the box.

“I wouldn’t do this at home, so I don’t see why I should have to do it here,” Annabel said.

“And there’s no soy milk for my tea,” grumbled Felicity. “I’m lactose intolerant.”

“Would you like me to make you a slice of toast?” I asked. Anything to stop them from moaning.

They both stared at me, and Annabel shook her head. “I only eat organic bread, and that isn’t.”

“And I don’t eat carbs before twelve,” Felicity said.

Why did I bother offering when all they did was complain? I spread a thick layer of jam onto my own slice and took a bite. It may have been inorganic but it tasted pretty good.

According to Jenny, our course would start today at nine. She’d explained last night we’d ride twice a day, and the rest of the time would be spent learning to care for the horses and doing chores on the yard. The Uglies had looked most unimpressed at the “chores” part.

“What made you come here?” I’d asked them. Surely they could have found somewhere more suitable, a place where the butler brought fancy drinks while somebody rode the horses for them.

“Because everybody knows that if you want to ride the horses movie stars ride, you come to Jenny,” Annabel said.

Everybody except me, it seemed. I didn’t want to ask for more information in case I sounded stupid. I mean, I already knew I sounded stupid, but I didn’t want to sound even thicker.

At nine o’clock, the butterflies started as I walked to the tack room with the enthusiasm of an inmate on death row. I kept my fingers crossed I’d get paired up with Lenny. He’d been cheerful and talkative last night, whereas I found Marion a bit intimidating.

Except when I got to the tack room, the only person there was a stranger leaning against the windowsill. His back was to me as he looked towards a couple of horses in the paddock, running around as the first rays of sun peeped through a gap in the cloud. I cleared my throat and he turned slowly, reluctant to tear his eyes from the scene outside. And that was when I stopped breathing.

From the back, he didn’t look like much in his tatty jeans and checked shirt, but from the front… A whole different story. The black beanie hat shoved low over his forehead and a day’s worth of stubble suggested a lack of care about his looks, but they did nothing to hide his strong jaw and chiselled cheekbones. But those weren’t what got to me. No, it was his eyes. The moment they met mine, they sucked out my soul and replaced it with party poppers.

He stalked towards me with the confident manner of a man who knew women would fall at his feet. I nearly did as well. My knees started to buckle, and I stepped backwards until I hit the wall, thankful for its support.

A couple of feet out, he stopped and gave me the kind of look people reserved for their shoe after they’d trodden in something squidgy. Disgust mixed with mild curiosity.

“I’m Connor.”

My mouth opened but no sound came out, so I closed it again. What should I say? My name. I should tell him my name.

I sucked in air and prepared to speak, but Annabel saved me the trouble. She strutted through the door with Felicity in tow and headed straight for Connor like a homing pigeon. A homing pigeon in designer breeches, spotless leather boots, and a white—yes, white—jacket.

He saw her coming and took a step back from me. She didn’t hesitate and got straight in there, pulling him towards her to kiss him on both cheeks, European style.

“I’m Annabel,” she said, still holding onto his upper arms. “It’s lovely to meet you.” Her saccharine voice made me long for a pair of earplugs. If it got any higher, passing dogs would stop in to see what was going on.

Felicity gave a little wave from behind her. “I’m Felicity.”

“Connor,” he said, grinning at the pair of them. His beaming smile would have lit up a small town. If scientists harnessed its power, it would go a long way towards solving the energy crisis.

Jenny arrived at just the right moment. “Right everyone, I’ll pair you up, and we can get started.” She eyed up the connection between Annabel and Connor. “Connor, could you come this way, please?”

He extricated himself and took his place beside Lenny. My heart was thundering by then, a combination of nerves about horse riding and Connor’s mere presence.

“Annabel, I think we’ll put you with Marion.”

“I want to go with Connor.”

Jenny smiled through gritted teeth. “When you signed up, you said you wanted to improve your dressage. Marion’s a world-class trainer. She used to work with the Olympic team.”

“But...” She tailed off, but we all knew what she wanted to say. Marion didn’t have eyes that smouldered or butt cheeks that could crack walnuts.

“I think you’ll make a great pairing,” Jenny said firmly, then turned to the second of the Uglies. “And Felicity, you said you wanted to work on your jumping technique, so Lenny’s the guy for you. He’s been competing since the age of ten.”

I gulped, only my mouth had turned into a desert and my tongue suddenly felt too big for it so I ended up having a coughing fit.

Lenny leapt forward and walloped me on the back. “You okay?”

Jenny handed me a bottle of water from the mini-fridge next to the sink, and I sipped gratefully. “I’m fine, just a dry throat.”

“Good, good,” Jenny said. “Anyway, Ella, that leaves you with Connor.”

Yes, I’d worked that part out, and it terrified me.

It didn’t take a genius to see that Connor was dangerous. He was the type of guy who could take a girl’s heart, put it through a mincer, then chargrill the sorry remains. The only saving grace was that he kept making eyes at Annabel and not me.

I perched on the edge of a trunk while a pissed-looking Annabel and a resigned Felicity filtered out with Marion and Lenny, and Jenny gave my shoulder a squeeze.

“You’re a bit nervous, aren’t you?”

I managed a strangled laugh. “How did you guess?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve picked out a lovely horse for you to start with. She’s really kind to beginners.”

It wasn’t the horse I was worried about. “Thanks.”

She walked out, leaving me in the bear pit. Connor gave me an arrogant smile as he walked over and stopped in front of me once again.

“So,” he said.

I didn’t respond. It was either stay quiet or open my mouth and say something really, really stupid.

“You ready to get started?” His American accent sounded West Coast to my untrained ears. I wished he’d go back there, because then he wouldn’t be squeezing my chest in a vice and slowly, slowly turning the handle.

But I could hardly say that. Instead, I nodded to him, dreading the first task.

“We’ll start with the fun part—mucking out.”

Hurrah.

He demonstrated first, and that was something I could have watched all day. Each time he leaned forward to fork up another pile of the unmentionable, his jeans tightened across his buttocks and the view had me licking my lips before I gave myself a mental slap.

Then it was my turn. Connor left me to it as I started clearing “my” stable.

How people did this every day, I had no idea. My back ached and my thighs were burning by the time I’d finished. Not to mention the fact I smelled disgusting. The only consolation was the two Uglies had to do this as well. No butler, no slave.

When Connor came back, I’d turned into a sweaty mess, with bits of straw stuck all over me and dirt on my hands. I wished I could teleport myself to the shower and, following that, back to Edith’s. But no such luck.

He looked over what I’d done with a critical eye. Emphasis on the critical. “You need to add more straw to Folly’s bed.”

A groan escaped my lips. I’d thought I was finished. With Connor watching, I tried to ignore the pain in my wrists as I picked up the wheelbarrow and headed to the barn again. I’d just finished shaking out the fresh straw when Jenny came back, right on time to witness the coughing fit as dust got up my nose.

“Are you ready for your first lesson?” she asked brightly.

No, I was ready for a massage, a brightly coloured cocktail, and an afternoon on the sofa with a good book, but I saw by the saddle Jenny was carrying I wasn’t going to get that.

“This is Folly,” she said, without waiting for my answer. Connor had tied the horse outside earlier, and she was still standing patiently as I did my best to ignore her. “She’s an old girl now, but she’s safe as houses.”

I hoped she was safer than my house. Had Terry given up and found himself a new place to sleep yet? Had Mike been round again?

“Are you sure? I mean, she’s got four legs and a will of her own.”

“She’s a sweetheart, honestly. Connor’ll show you how to tack up, then I’ll start teaching you the basics.”

Great. I could hardly wait.

Connor looked as enthusiastic as I felt as he fiddled with his phone. In terms of priorities, it appeared I came somewhere between Candy Crush and mucking out. Welcome to my life.

Eventually, he looked up. “You need to groom her first, then I’ll show you how to put her saddle and bridle on.”

He handed me a brush and our fingertips touched. A flash of heat ran through me, while Connor seemed unaffected. Blooming heck. If I didn’t build up an immunity to his presence sooner rather than later I’d be a shivering mess by the time I left here.

At least brushing Folly was therapeutic. Something about the repetitive motion calmed my nerves, and when Connor disturbed my trance I almost told him to go away.

He held up the saddle. “Time for this. You need to lower it gently onto her back,” he said as he demonstrated. “Then smooth out any wrinkles in the saddle pad. The strap that goes under her belly is called the girth, and you need to do it up tightly enough that you can get four fingers under it, no more.”

He worked too fast for me to take in the details, but at least he seemed competent.

“Next time, you try. Now for the bridle. You need to hold it like this.” He grabbed hold of a random leather strap. “Then when the bit’s under the horse’s lips, you put your thumb in their mouth to get them to open it.”

“Hang on. You put your thumb in its mouth? What if it bites it off?”

He laughed then showed me how to do it. “Horses have a gap in their teeth at the top of their lips. It’s where the bit sits, and they can’t hurt you if you put your finger there.”

Folly opened her mouth wide, and what he said was true. Who knew? He put the top part of the bridle, the headpiece he called it, over Folly’s ears then buckled up the noseband and throatlash to keep the thing on.

Before I knew it, it was time for my first lesson.