The Hayley Argent Mysteries, Books 1 - 4

by Ruby Loren

  “Progress indeed!” Ollie concluded, moving away again before Waxwing could change his mind. “I'll definitely have a think about it. Of course, I don’t know if I'll be able to persuade Miles to let him stay here, as I hear you’re taking on a lot of new clients.”

  Hayley looked in at Waxwing who flicked his ears forwards and pushed his nose out to touch her shoulder. “Well, you could always reapply to stable your horses here. You may find that the answer is different,” she said, wondering if that was being too cryptic. She was officially one half of the stables now and, pending being drawn up and approved, she was signing on for a twenty year, mortgage type agreement, with options to speed it up if they were more profitable than expected. It wouldn’t be long before she really did own half of everything.

  “Well, I’ll be sure to do that,” Olli said and Hayley narrowed her eyes for a second.

  “Of course, you’d do yourself more favours if you let us do our jobs without feeling as though we’re looking over our shoulders for your spies all the time.”

  “But surely that shouldn’t matter if you aren't doing anything wrong?” Ollie said with another infuriating smile.

  “It’s hardly polite,” Hayley told him.

  “Okay, maybe I’ll just pop in a bit more myself. I think I’d enjoy that anyway,” he admitted, his eyes straying to her lips.

  Hayley felt a warm blush of colour rise to her cheeks but she turned back to Waxwing who snorted in derision. Quite right, Hayley thought. Ollie may have his charming moments, but she wouldn't trust him as far as she could throw him! Perhaps one day he’d prove himself to be a friend, but until then, she would be happy to continue to work with Waxwing - a young horse with so much potential to become a star.

  CHAPTER TEN

  All’s Well That Ends Well

  Hayley found she was half-expecting the knock on the door that came later that evening. All had been quiet around the stables since the remaining innocent hens had left and the police had finished tying up all of the loose ends in the case. Miles had contracted a cleaning company but Hayley had also seen him try and cover up plans on his desk for even more development in the woods. No matter what Miles might have said earlier, he was getting on with things and so should she.

  “Hi Shaun,” she said, opening the door to the Inspector. She looked down and realised he was carrying a bunch of flowers. Her mind snapped back to her worries that morning that he'd come to break up with her but this felt... different.

  “I’ve been the worst boyfriend ever,” he said, handing her the flowers. “I have chocolates too! I thought I’d go all out and beg your forgiveness.”

  “Come in, it’s freezing outside!" Hayley said, her heart already telling her to forgive him, as she remembered the way her thoughts had strayed that afternoon. She was falling for Shaun Rouen, despite his flaws.

  “I should never have worried about Jasmine. Looking back, I’m not even sure if the chief asked her to keep an eye on me or if she didn’t just do it to try and win some points with him. She’s been sulking ever since this morning, so whatever it was, I don’t think it worked.”

  The ghost of a smile crossed Hayley’s lips. “I think she was hoping that I did it.”

  Shaun laughed. “Gosh, I think you may be right! She did keep dropping hints…”

  Hayley reached out and socked his arm.

  “What? I didn't say I listened to them! Anyway, all’s well that ends well, am I right?”

  “Yes, apart from the awful murder,” Hayley reminded him and he grimaced. “You and Miles should be friends…” Hayley said and then had to explain.

  “I’ve got something to tell you,” she and Shaun said at the exact same moment.

  “You first,” Hayley said, before Shaun could say it.

  “Okay, well… I just wanted to apologise again for how distant I’ve been. A job should never come before the people you love.” He gulped and made eye contact with her. “That’s what I’ve come to realise anyway. Hayley, I love you.”

  “I love you too,” she told him, the words falling easily from her mouth, the same way the thought had from her mind earlier that day.

  While she hadn’t tried too hard to dissect her feelings for Shaun (a pitfall of thinking like a psychologist!) she thought it was a lot to do with the way he liked her for who she was, without having any ulterior motive. He didn’t know horses like the back of his hand and she wasn’t even convinced he understood what she did for a living, but she could tell that he was proud of everything she did all the same. That was what mattered the most. He didn’t know her reputation, or want to win her professional favour, he loved her just for being her, and she loved him right back.

  “So, what did you want to say?” He asked a little while later, when they were both sat down with yet more cake. It was turning out to be quite a day for celebrations.

  “I’m really a partner in this stables now,” she said and quickly explained what she and Miles had agreed. “Pretty soon, this place will really be mine,” she said, gesturing to the rented apartment, which was really half a very large house. Miles had been generous right from the start. “We’re planning to run more luxury retreats in the summer and I was wondering… how would you like to stay on here as our in-house murder investigator?” She joked and then shook her head with a smile. “Seriously though, did you perhaps want to move in with me? There's plenty of space. I'm sure you wouldn't even have to come face to face with me at all if you didn’t want to. It’s a big enough place…”

  "I'd love to," Shaun said with a smile, silencing her words with a kiss. “I’ll pack my bags tomorrow.”

  Hayley found she was grinning ear to ear and couldn’t do a thing to stop it. “Hopefully with your watchful presence at the stables, no one will even dare think about murder.”

  “I’m thinking about murder right now,” Shaun admitted, his eyes straying to the table where temptation beckoned. “I’m going to murder the last piece of that chocolate cake.”

  “You are not!” Hayley cried, seizing her fork and making a dive for it, collapsing into giggles, as she duelled with Shaun for the final piece.

  It had been a cake to die for.

  END

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