by Cindy Baker
Matt served everyone drinks with aplomb before taking a seat next to Livi on the sofa. Ben installed himself opposite them in a copious armchair and explained the purpose of his visit.
It transpired that Team Spirit, with himself as the guiding force, had for some time been considering purchasing two farms they could use for lay-ups and breaking and bringing on young stock they purchased; one on the east coast, the other in the west. Coincidentally, he’d recently heard of a property located close by in the Santa Ynez Valley which ideally suited this purpose.
“And,” he said earnestly, “If we go ahead and buy this farm, would you accept the job of part-time, consultant veterinary officer?”
Livi took a sharp breath and regarded Matt in consternation. He met her gaze thoughtfully.
“How would this work Ben? As I’ve explained I’m more than two weeks into another job where I’m very happy and they seem pleased with me. I can’t let them down.”
“You won’t have to. You’d just need to commit to a few hours a week to take care of general veterinary procedures. If an emergency arises the manager can call your practice and accept the first vet available – that’s good sense. If it happens to be you, so much the better. Over several years, the job could develop into full-time, but at the moment that’s pure conjecture.” Ben then mentioned an extremely generous retainer.
Matt stood up and crossed to the drinks table. Previously he’d poured himself a small glass of spring water, but now he added a slug of Balvenie and proffered the bottle to Ben who held out his glass for a top-up.
“At face value,” he said, “I’d be thrilled to accept, but I owe it to my new employer to explain everything to him first. When I tell him it will also provide his clinic with new emergency work, I honestly can’t see him objecting, but I feel obliged to give him the opportunity.”
“And I respect that,” Ben replied. “But I’ll need a firm answer as quickly as possible.”
He turned to Livi. “In the meanwhile, I need your help too. One of our horses here on the West Coast injured himself last week. He’s got a hairline fracture of his pelvis and needs at least six weeks of stall rest, possibly longer. At present he’s still in the trainer’s barn, but I’d like to move him away from the track. Normally we send all our lay-ups to a farm at Bradbury, but if we’re going to get our own set-up here, I’d like to bring him to this area right away. So, would you take him?”
It was Livi’s turn to be lost for words. “Me? Do you think our facilities are suitable?”
He contemplated her with a smile. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have asked. You’ve got a nice barn and other amenities, well fenced grass paddocks – although in his case, they won’t be a factor -- and your small staff strikes me as excellent. Plus --” he chuckled “— you have a vet on the premises.”
For a moment she considered confessing that Luis was only temporary, but in this instance, decided it was a detail he didn’t need to know. Luis would, after all, be working there for at least another six weeks. She acquiesced with a knot of excitement in her stomach. It unexpectedly appeared Edward had actually done her an enormous favor in his efforts to extract money from her. After all, he was the reason Sam Nichols had put her in touch with Ben Veiga.
♠ ♠ ♠
Matt promised Livi he would talk with the senior partner of the practice first thing on Monday, and true to his word he called her before ten to tell her all had gone well, Dr. Priest, the senior partner, had been completely amenable to the arrangement.
Early in the afternoon, a transporter delivered Effervescent, the Team Spirit colt, to the farm, and Luis quickly took charge of him. It came to light he had nurtured several other horses with similar injuries during his time at Dry Gulch.
The next morning, two letters arrived, both containing checks. The first, addressed to Matt, was the initial repayment installment from his old partnership in Florida. He waved it triumphantly in the air. “Three more of these beauties and my ties with them will be severed completely.” The second, addressed to Livi, was from Edward’s San Francisco attorneys and as well as a letter abnegating him from any further actions, included a check reimbursing her five thousand dollars.
Over the next couple of weeks Matt spent a lot of time on the phone with Ben Veiga and on one occasion he and Livi paid a visit to the farm Team Spirit was in the process of buying. It was around fifteen miles from Walnut Grove, and only a short drive from the clinic where Matt now worked. It was already vacant and they spent more than an hour poking around the barns and ancillary buildings.
It was an attractive equine setup, designed with a predominantly Spanish influence, but the twenty stalls in the barn were capacious and airy. The house, which they presumed would eventually accommodate the manager, was single storied with red roof tiles, cream stucco walls and green window shutters. Initially they couldn’t see any other staff dwellings, then Matt spotted two mobile homes, partially obscured behind a stand of eucalyptus trees.
Livi noticed that the paddocks were in dire need of irrigation and they went hunting for the sprinkler controls, but the box, when they found it, was securely padlocked. Matt tried phoning Ben but was routed to an answering machine, so he left a message.
“So, what do you think?” he asked as they drove back to Walnut Grove.
“It’s very pretty, and I think it’s a slightly bigger acreage than I’ve got. It should suite Team Spirit well.” She grinned, “But it doesn’t have the same beautiful views. When is the purchase going to be final?”
“Not for another couple of weeks. Ben needs to insist the sellers take care of the irrigation or the grass in the paddocks is all going to be dead.” Matt glanced at the clock in his SUV. “Shall we stop for a bite to eat?”
Livi readily agreed, so in keeping with the erstwhile Spanish influence of the farm, they made for a small Mexican restaurant in Los Olivos and were quickly seated in a quiet booth, each with a margarita to sip.
Matt reached across the table to take Livi’s hand in his. “We’ve come full circle, haven’t we? I already feel as if I’ve put down deeper roots here than I ever did in ten years in Florida. My life’s changed so much in less than four months.”
“And in less than a year, my life’s changed twice,” Livi answered reflectively. “The first time in the worse way possible, and the second time . . .” she spread her hands, “you arrived in the barn. When you asked for Mrs. Leonard, I was a million miles away, trying to think good, positive thoughts about having to muck out eight stalls, on my own, seven days a week. I was worn out both physically and mentally.”
“Well, Isidoro changed that for you, and his cousin’s overseeing the yearlings . . .”
“And Katia’s become good friends with Chrissy, and Rosa’s as happy as a lark helping me with the house . . .” The solemnity of the moment was all of a sudden eased by their shared summation.
Matt took advantage of her change of mood and steered their conversation back onto the path he’d originally intended. His pressure on her hand increased. “Sweetheart I want to talk to you about you and me. I’m sure by now you understand how much I love you, and I know you feel the same way about me. I think Chrissy likes me too. So why don’t we make it official and get married?”
Livy fiddled with her margarita glass for several seconds before replying. “Yes, I love you, and you’re right, Chrissy adores you. But . . .” Her eyes met his, which were full of love and tenderness. “Marriage is a huge step. You’re more than forty and it’s something you haven’t committed to yet. You’ve probably been doing very nicely, playing the field as the eligible bachelor. Are you certain it’s what you want?”
“I’ve never married because I’ve never met anyone I wanted to marry. It’s as simple as that. You make me want to commit. I see you as my best friend, my confidant, my comrade, my lover, and I truly want you to be all of those things to me for the rest of my life.”
Again Livy hesitated, and then the glimmer of a smile tugged at the c
orners of her mouth. “I long ago accepted that life without you was something I didn’t want to contemplate. The three weeks you were away in Napa felt as if you’d torn my heart out and taken it with you. But I need to think of Chrissy too. When Will died both our hearts were broken, shattered into pieces. I don’t think either of us could survive a breakup if you decide you’ve made a mistake.”
“Sweetheart, the only mistake I could possibly make would be to let you go. Please, say yes.”
A waiter hovered for a moment, then perceived something monumental was taking place at his table and he silently moved away.
“You’re very convincing.” Livi gripped both his hands tightly. “What can I say Matt? You’ve made me so happy over the past four months. I want nothing more than the two of us to get married.”
Matt realized he’d been holding his breath. He exhaled deeply and gazed at her across the table without speaking. His heart was too full. “Is that a yes?” he eventually managed to ask.
“Yes, yes it is.”
“Oh, Livi . . .” His first reaction was to reach across the table and embrace her, but he swiftly recognized such behavior in a restaurant would embarrass her, so with great difficulty he restrained himself. “Let’s do it soon,” he entreated.
“When Will and I got married, it was a very quiet ceremony,” she said. “We didn’t expect our parents to spend a fortune, and neither of us liked weddings that turned into big overblown productions. I remember him saying, the major impediment to getting married was the wedding, and I understood exactly what he meant. We were already totally committed to each other; we just wanted to formalize that commitment. So, our wedding was with a just a few friends and family, and a retired judge, a friend of Will’s father, performing the ceremony. We did have a wonderful week’s honeymoon in Hawaii though.
“Second time around, I really don’t want to do anything more than that. Do you mind?”
“Sweetheart, we can do it as simple and unadorned you want. The least fuss the better as far as I’m concerned. We’ll just invite our families and one or two close friends and plan something really quiet at Walnut Grove, how does that sound?”
“It sounds perfect. Of course getting married is special, but I don’t see it as a huge event involving months of planning and constant discussions with friends and strangers about rings, dresses, tuxedos, venues, bridesmaids, guest lists, showers, and registries.”
Sensing that he could interrupt at last, the waiter appeared again at their side. Neither of them had so much as opened their menus, and after he’d departed they couldn’t remember what they’d ordered.
Livi picked up the conversation where she’d left off: “Anyway, I see a wedding as a private thing between two people who just want to be together; nothing more, nothing less.”
Matt held up his hands, laughing. “And I agree with you; the quieter the better. My folks will just be over the moon I’m getting married at last.”
♠ ♠ ♠
Later that evening, Livi broke the news to Chrissy, who was delighted for her mother, then she phoned her parents.
Her father was completely supportive and summed up her news in one sentence: “We’re just so excited you’ve found someone else to spend the rest of your life with.”
She put down her phone with a contented smile.
Author’s Note:
This was the first book in my ‘Walnut Grove’ trilogy; I hope you enjoyed the read. Please watch for the next two titles, coming soon to Kindle.
Table of Contents
We Can Laugh Too
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE