Reckless Runaway at the Racecourse

by Ros Clarke

  me.'

  They brought him in and settled him in his box. Luke produced a slice of apple but Chrysanthemum turned his head away in disinterest.

  'Can I try him with a mint?' asked Fliss.

  Luke shrugged. 'Can't do any harm.'

  She pulled out the half-empty packet that she always carried around with her and extracted a couple to lie on her palm. Fliss patted Chrysanthemum's neck and stroked his nose, murmuring nonsensical endearments as she did. Then she offered the mints. He sniffed first and for a moment, she thought he was going to refuse. But his long, rough tongue came out and licked.

  Fliss grinned and leaned up to plant a kiss on the horse's nose. 'Good boy,' she told him. 'You're going to be all right, aren't you?'

  Gently, she began to stroke his mane. A sudden tremor ran through the stallion. Fliss repeated her action.

  'Luke.' She kept running her hand over the horse's neck. 'Come and look at this.'

  He came to stand beside her and placed his hand where she indicated.

  'It might not be anything,' she warned. 'I don't really know what I'm doing.'

  Luke ran his hand gently over the lump Fliss had found. Each time he touched it, however lightly, Chrysanthemum flinched. 'Infected cyst,' he guessed. 'Good call.'

  'Will he be all right?'

  Bright blue eyes smiled warmly down at her. 'Almost certainly. Charlie can whip this out, stitch him up, and stick him with antibiotics. Should be back to normal tomorrow.'

  Fliss grinned back at him. 'That's wonderful.'

  'You're wonderful.' He bent and kissed her. Only briefly, but it was the first time he had shown her any affection in front of his staff. Someone let out a wolf whistle. Fliss made a sharp hand gesture behind her back in the general direction of the offender.

  Half an hour later, Charlie's jeep rolled up. He examined the horse closely, gentling him when he reached the cyst. 'Yes, I see it. Well spotted, Luke. This one would be easy to miss, right up against his mane.'

  'Fliss found it.'

  The vet gave her a look and nodded. 'Well spotted, Fliss. Do you want to come and hold him for me?'

  She glanced at Luke who gestured for her to take the bridle.

  'Just keep him calm,' Charlie instructed. 'Stroke him, talk to him, whatever works for you.'

  Fliss stood with Chrysanthemum while the vet worked swiftly on the other side of his neck. Sooner than she expected, he stood back and announced that he was done.

  'I'll fetch the antibiotics. I'll inject him now and leave you with instructions for the next three days.'

  'You do the rest of the injections?' Fliss checked with Luke.

  'It's cheaper than getting the vet out every time,' Luke explained. 'And it's not that hard.'

  'Show me?'

  He grimaced. 'I would. But...'

  'Not on Chrysanthemum three weeks before the Derby.'

  'Exactly.'

  'That's fine. Is there anything else I can do to help?'

  'You've done enough. Why don't you head back to the office now? Have a cup of tea and a slice of whatever Mrs Ricks has made today.'

  'Are you coming?'

  'In a bit. I'll wait for Charlie to finish up.'

  Fliss came out of Chrysanthemum's stall but she didn't return to the house. She leaned against the corner of the building and waited for Luke and Charlie to finish. There were lengthy instructions for the stable lads about feeding and watering schedules, and for Luke about the course of injections. Chrysanthemum's temperature would need to be checked and recorded even more regularly than usual. Finally Luke asked about training.

  'Walk him around a couple of times this afternoon. Tomorrow, you can put him through the exercise pool for half an hour or so. After that, he should be recovered enough to get gradually back into training. He won't have had time to lose much form.'

  'No.' Fliss could see the concern clouding Luke's eyes and knew exactly what he was thinking. Even an inch or two could be the difference between a Derby winner and an also-ran.

  'He'll be okay.' Fliss joined Luke after Charlie had driven off and slipped her hand into his.

  He pulled her against him and slid his arms around her waist. He didn't say anything. He didn't have to. She knew just how mixed up all his emotions were: relief, worry, fear, gratitude. So much for the cold, business-like façade he’d claimed.

  Eventually Luke pulled away. 'I'll have to phone the Zhaos. Let them know what's happened.'

  'Invite them to come and see him. On Friday, maybe? That'll reassure them it's not serious.'

  He shook his head. 'I haven't got time to deal with an owner's visit on top of everything.'

  'I'll deal with them. You'll only need to give them half an hour down at the stables.'

  'You were great, by the way,' Luke said later, when they were sitting at the kitchen table with tea and carrot cake.

  'I didn't do much. Charlie would have found the cyst.'

  'I didn't,' he pointed out.

  'Well, it was in an awkward place.' She’d just been lucky, she knew that.

  'I didn't just mean that, anyway. You were great with the horse. Keeping him calm. Getting him to eat your mints.' Luke sounded genuinely impressed.

  Fliss shrugged. 'I like him.'

  'Yes, it shows. Didn't you ever think about working with animals?'

  She cut herself a second slice of the irresistibly moreish cake. 'Not really. I didn’t have a lot to do with animals as a kid. We never had pets at home. Besides, I didn't have anything like good enough grades to be a vet..'

  'That's not the only option. What about a vet nurse? You'd be brilliant.'

  Fliss frowned. She didn’t need Luke to plan her life for her. She didn’t need anyone to do that.

  She was grateful for the distraction when Marshmallow climbed onto her lap, angling for a chunk of cake. Fliss shook her head at the cat. Then she shook her head at Luke. 'Dunno. Never thought about it.'

  'What did you want to be when you were growing up? I mean, temporary secretary isn't usually a childhood ambition.'

  He really wasn’t letting this go. Fliss shrugged and kept her answer as vague as possible. 'I didn't know. I never thought much about the future. I just knew that I wanted to be independent.'

  'Why?'

  'It feels safer. If you're not relying on anyone else, they can't let you down.'

  'We're back to your mother again, aren't we?'

  Fliss shrugged again. That was the way the world was. People let you down. She was just glad she’d worked it out early enough to save herself from any more heartache. 'It works for me.'

  'You could be independent and have a regular job, you know. The two aren’t mutually exclusive.'

  'I know.'

  'But you don't like to commit to anything.'

  'It suits me.'

  It always had. She found her comfort in the freedom of knowing she could always up sticks and leave. The temporary nature of her life was what gave her security. But that was something Luke, with his deep roots in the community, the family home passed through the generations, and his settled career in the stables, was never going to be able to understand.

  ‘I’m thinking of going travelling for a while,’ she told him, hoping that would change the subject. ‘Now that I’ve got some spare cash.’

  The best part of three thousand pounds was sitting in her bank account from their win on Dancing Queen, and by the end of her six weeks working for Luke, she hoped to have saved even more. That should buy her a round the world ticket and some spending money. She could easily pick up temporary jobs to eke her funds out a bit more if she wanted to.

  ‘Like a teenager, backpacking around the world to find yourself?’

  Fliss couldn’t help but laugh at the utter disdain with which Luke spoke. ‘Not quite. I already know who I am. But it would be fun to see new places, meet some new people. That sort of thing.’

  ‘Is that really what you want?’

  'Why not?'

  'Well.�
� Luke’s blue eyes narrowed and Fliss had an uncomfortable feeling that he could see straight into her head. ‘If you had a regular job and your own home, you could have your own cat, for instance. Instead of relying on my generosity.'

  Instinctively her hand curled around Marshmallow. 'You wouldn't get rid of him.'

  Luke put his head to one side and surveyed the orange kitten. 'No, I probably wouldn't. But he should be yours, Fliss, not mine.'

  'There are always compromises,' she offered.

  ‘There are. But you have to be sure you’re making the right ones.’

  ‘Are you?’

  His lips twisted. ‘We’re not talking about me.’

  Luke watched Fliss across the kitchen table. She was stroking the kitten, her face alive with happiness. Over her work clothes she’d pulled on one of his sweaters, with holes around the cuffs and under the arms, yet somehow she still appeared effortlessly glamorous. Even with muck under her fingernails.

  Fliss had fitted into his life in a way that Luke could never have imagined. The calm, sensible, puffa-wearing woman that Luke had once vaguely anticipated meeting and marrying suddenly seemed like a compromise too far now that Fliss had burst into his life and turned it upside down so efficiently.

  Each day, as Fliss burrowed deeper and deeper into his life, Luke was finding it harder and harder to remember why he couldn't have it all. Why couldn’t he have a woman who dealt with his paperwork, who charmed his owners, who loved his horses, and who set his pulse racing when she looked up at him with that knowing smile and invitation in her eyes? What did it matter that she had so many designer shoes that they kept falling out of the wardrobe, providing she was happy to chuck on a pair of wellies when he needed her down at the yard?

  Luke’s mouth twisted. He'd assured Fliss there was no emotion involved. That wasn't true. It hadn't ever been true, but he'd only just realised it. Because of Fliss. Because she wasn't afraid of her emotions. She wasn’t afraid to let her heart rule her life, rather than her head. Luke couldn’t help admiring the way Fliss wasn’t afraid to make her own choices, even when he found the outcome intensely frustrating.

  She was afraid of lots of things though. Heights. Commitment. Ambition. She'd freaked out when he suggested she move in with him and only agreed when they fixed a firm deadline. She ran a mile whenever Luke made any comments about her future or her temporary lifestyle. He knew it had been hard for her, growing up with all those men moving in and out of her life. It was going to be tough to persuade her to give him a chance.

  Luke shook his head. Since when did he need Fliss to give him a chance? She was gorgeous and fun and great in bed. But he'd only known her a couple of weeks. By the time the Derby was over, he'd be as glad to say goodbye as she would be to leave.

  Probably.

  By Friday, Chrysanthemum was well enough to be ridden out with the rest of the string, though Luke was careful not to push him hard. A gentle canter out on the heath was enough to get his heart pumping and his legs moving. They would take the weekend slowly and start to move back onto the full training plan next week.

  Fliss had arranged for Mr and Mrs Zhao to arrive at eleven o'clock. Mrs Ricks had conjured up a special selection of mouthwatering cakes and biscuits and even been persuaded to hoover for the second time in a week. Luke warned Fliss that he wouldn't be able to sit and chat with his owners but she brushed him off with an easy smile.

  'It's fine. I'm looking forward to meeting them. When we're ready, we'll wander down to the yard and you can show us that Chrysanthemum is well and happy. Okay?'

  Luke wasn't thrilled about it but he nodded. 'Fine.'

  'Fine.' Her eyes twinkled as she teased him.

  Luke couldn't resist that impish grin. He bent and kissed her briefly. 'Thanks for doing this.'

  She cocked her head. 'That's what you're paying me for.'

  And it was true. Under Fliss's competent touch, Luke's office had been subtly transformed. She had made a wall chart that he could check quickly and easily to see which races each horse was entered for, with a corresponding file containing their veterinary records, registration documents, owner's details, invoices and so on. When an owner called demanding an update, he no longer had to flick through half a dozen different files; all the information was at his fingertips. The owners loved her, too. More often than not, they were happy enough just to talk to Fliss without Luke being bothered by them at all.

  On the second day, she had informed him that she was overhauling his filing system.

  'I thought you hated filing.'

  'I do. That's why I'm giving you a new system, so that it will take half the time to do it. I promise you'll be able to find everything.'

  Luke wasn't sure that it was a great idea to let a temporary secretary rearrange all his systems. What would happen when the next person came in and he had no clue how anything worked? But Fliss had been as good as her word. In five minutes, she had explained the system to him and challenged him to find a couple of documents, which had both been in the first places he looked.

  If he thought she would stay, he would offer her a permanent contract.

  A permanent contract would be the quickest way to send her flying off to the other side of the world, though. She might agree to a six week extension, he thought, if he chose just the right moment to suggest it. Luke’s mouth twisted. He’d never had to work so hard and walk so carefully to keep a woman with him on any terms. But Fliss was worth it.

  A large, sleek car with darkened windows drew up outside the house. Fliss went out to greet the Zhaos, smiling and holding out her hand to them. She had spoken to Mr Zhao several times on the phone and he greeted her as a trusted colleague, returning her smile and shaking her hand before he introduced her to his wife.

  'I know you must still be anxious about Chrysanthemum,' Fliss said, 'and we'll go down to the yard later so you can see for yourselves that he's as right as rain. But first, would you like to come in for a cup of tea?'

  They laughed. Fliss gave Mr Zhao a questioning look.

  'So very English, my dear. We had a little joke between ourselves on the way here that you would offer us a cup of tea.'

  Fliss grinned. 'I'm happy not to have disappointed you. Would you prefer coffee? A cold drink?'

  'Coffee, please,' said Mr Zhao.

  'Of course. I'll just go and ask Mrs Ricks to prepare a tray.'

  She shepherded them into the shabby sitting room and made sure that neither chose to sit on the armchair with the dodgy spring.

  'Is that your dog we can hear?' asked Mrs Zhao. Benjy was protesting loudly at being shut up in the kitchen and not allowed to greet the new guests.

  Fliss shook her head. 'It's Luke's. Would you mind awfully if he came to say hello? Benjy loves meeting new people.'

  Ten minutes later, Luke felt that his point had been made to Fliss and that it really would be polite to welcome the Zhaos. He opened the sitting room door to a scene of total uproar. Benjy had got in somehow and was terrorising Mrs Zhao with his paws on her silk designer skirt and his wet nose sniffing all over her. Fliss had retrieved Mrs Zhao's coffee cup but managed to spill some on the sofa in the process. Mr Zhao was offering his hanky to clear up the mess. Marshmallow was curled up by the fire, watching the whole proceedings with disdainful interest.

  'Benjy!' Luke called the dog off in the sternest possible tones. 'Off! Now!'

  The spaniel, recognising the voice of his master, crawled sheepishly off Mrs Zhao's lap and slunk out of the room, hoping to avoid further chastisement.

  'What on earth is going on?'

  He’d trusted her to look after his most important owners with appropriate deference and decorum. In the midst of the chaos she’d caused, Fliss didn't even have the grace to look abashed when Luke confronted her.

  'Benjy just wanted to say hello. He's a bit enthusiastic with new people sometimes. Do you want a coffee?'

  He shook his head curtly. 'Please allow me to apologise,' he said, encompassing both th
e Zhaos in his glance. 'And of course, you will allow me to cover the costs of any cleaning required.'

  Mrs Zhao started laughing. 'I see what you mean,' she said to Fliss, cryptically.

  'No apology required,' Mr Zhao assured Luke. 'We are enjoying meeting your new assistant and the rest of your family.'

  Family?

  Oh, the animals.

  Luke breathed again. He nodded to Mr Zhao. 'Nevertheless, this is hardly a professional environment. I thought you were going to show them into the conservatory,' he admonished Fliss.

  'I thought this would be more comfortable,’ she explained.

  Mr Zhao was on his feet, waiting to shake Luke's hand. 'You will tell us about Chrysanthemum, now?'

  Reluctantly, Luke turned his attention from Fliss. 'Yes, of course. The vet came out again yesterday to check him over but there is no sign of the infection returning. He's been eating well and we've taken him out for exercise again today. There's one more day of the antibiotics course and he should be back in full training on Monday.'

  They questioned him for several minutes about the horse's welfare and prospects while Fliss discreetly replaced Mrs Zhao's coffee cup and handed Luke a cup with a slice of lemon cake on the saucer.

  Eventually, they seemed persuaded that no harm had been done and when Luke let slip that it was Fliss who had located the cyst, they were all smiles and congratulations for her.

  'Shall we go and see him?' Luke suggested.

  'Yes, yes, of course. Felicity will join us, yes?'

  She caught Luke's eye. He was still irritated with her but he indicated that she should come. Anything to keep the owners happy.

  By the time the Zhaos left, they were very happy indeed. Mrs Zhao kissed Fliss on both cheeks and then her husband did the same repeating his wife’s personal invitation to their ball. Luke watched on with mingled pride and irritation as he watched Fliss work her charm.

  'Are you going to flirt with all my owners?' he muttered as they stood together waving the Zhaos goodbye.

  Fliss turned to him with wide, innocent eyes. 'I wasn't flirting.'

  'Could have fooled me.'

  'With Mrs Zhao?'