Climbing Fear

by Leisl Leighton

  ‘It’s embarrassing,’ she whispered out of the side of her mouth. ‘I’ve never seen her behave like this before.’

  Barb was laughing. ‘Don’t worry, Nat. As he said, he’s used to it. You should have seen the girls in the group of German tourists who were here last week when they clapped eyes on my Reidy-boy. They were making noises I think only dogs could fully appreciate.’

  Tilly had stopped jumping around and squealing and was now standing there, hands clutched in front of her whispering, ‘Oh my god!’ over and over again.

  Reid stepped around Nat and held out his hand. ‘It’s nice to meet you, Matilda.’

  Tilly didn’t move, simply stared at his hand as if unsure what to do with it.

  ‘Tilly!’ Nat snapped. ‘Don’t be rude. Say hello to Mr Stratton.’

  The little girl still didn’t move. Smiling, Reid squatted in front of Tilly. Bos nudged his shoulder and he reached out and fondled the old dog’s ears as he said, ‘It’s not Mr Stratton. You can call me Reid.’

  Tilly looked down at the hand held out to her again, eyes widening even further. ‘H … hello, Reid.’

  Reid took one of her hands and shook it. ‘It’s nice to meet you, Matilda.’

  She shook his hand solemnly. ‘Everyone calls me Tilly.’

  ‘Tilly it is then.’

  She blushed and giggled.

  ‘Oh my god.’

  Reid looked up to see Nat roll her eyes.

  ‘This is ridiculous. He’s just a man, Tilly, like any other.’

  Seeming to lose her shyness, she turned to her mum with a theatrical groan. ‘No, he’s not, Mum. He’s Reid Stratton from Climbing High. Have you seen what he can do? He’s like Spiderman—he can even climb upside down. He’s AMAZING!!!!’

  Reid couldn’t help but chuckle. ‘I don’t think I’m quite as good as Spiderman, but I appreciate the comparison, Tilly.’ He stood up to face Nat again. ‘So, you’re our new expert on marketing and social media and events?’

  ‘I don’t know if I’m an expert,’ Nat said, shifting from one foot to the other. ‘But before I gave up work I did marketing and events for an events company. I’ve had to brush up on what I’ve missed in the last few years being out of the game and there are still some other short courses I’d like to do, but I have lots of ideas to put in place over the next number of months as we work on your social media presence, your website and the events and functions you have here.’

  She had plans? That had to mean she had been working on ideas for a few weeks at least. ‘When did Barb offer you the job?’

  ‘About a month ago.’

  He had to stop himself from growling at his gran. Bloody Barb. She’d known Nat was coming here when he’d called to say he was coming back home for a while and she’d never mentioned it. Not once when she knew what had happened between them all those years ago. Not that it would have stopped him from coming home, but a heads-up would have been nice.

  Conniving grandmothers really needed to be watched like a hawk. Especially when it came to their god-daughters and rescuing those who needed rescuing—a Barb specialty. She probably hadn’t even checked out Natalia’s credentials. Could she even do the job?

  His eyes narrowed on his gran but she looked away. Well, he wasn’t going to get anything out of her, obviously. Might as well go straight to the horse’s mouth. ‘What exactly are your qualifications?’

  ‘Reid, that’s rude.’ Barb slapped him on the arm.

  He looked down at her. ‘I’m not being rude. And I think I have a right to know the qualifications of someone I’m bound to end up working with.’

  ‘What do you mean working with?’ Nat asked, her voice a little breathless.

  ‘I’m here to help Flynn, to take some of the day-to-day responsibilities from his shoulders and give him more time to spend with Aaron. So, given I have the most experience of marketing and publicity, I’m the one who’s going to be working with you. So, it would be good to know what background you have—if any at all. Or are you just another of Barb’s rescue projects?’

  ‘Nat is nobody’s “rescue project”.’ Another smack on his arm—they were starting to hurt. ‘And you need to apologise for saying such a thing, Reid Findlay Stratton!’

  Nat held up her hand. ‘No, that’s okay. I understand why he’d say that.’

  ‘Well, I don’t,’ Barb huffed, crossing her arms and looking at him with a deep frown, a look that would have made him quail in his boots when he was younger, and still had the power to make him feel like a naughty school boy called up in front of the principal.

  ‘He’s undoubtedly seen the newspaper reports that chronicled every nasty bit of my life with Andrew before and after the shooting. But surely you should know better than anyone not to believe everything you read—they make up lies to sell papers and magazines.’

  The shooting? What the hell? He became aware then that Tilly, who’d been looking up at him with wide eyes, was now looking upset and uncertain, and had stopped jigging and retreated to put her arms around her mother.

  Nat wrapped her arms around Tilly, any fear in her gaze gone now as she stared at him, chin tilted in what he recognised as anger. ‘It’s true that Tilly and I have been through a lot, but we’re nobody’s rescue project.’ Her voice had firmed, and yet, there was something brittle about it. ‘If I thought that’s why I got the job, I wouldn’t be here.’

  ‘Exactly right.’ Barb looked daggers at him. ‘We’re lucky to have Nat working for us. I actually think she’s wasting her talents here.’ Her gaze, done with shredding him to bits, became soft as she turned to Nat. ‘But I’m hardly one to look a gift horse in the mouth and I’m so happy to have you back home with all of us. Now, perhaps I can take young Tilly here and we can go and look at the horses again and decide which one she’s going to ride.’

  ‘I don’t ride,’ Tilly said, peeking out from hugging her mother again, her face sad, uncertain.

  Barb brushed her hand over the young girl’s hair. ‘That’s okay. As I said before, we can take care of that. Reid will teach you.’

  ‘I will?’ Barb scowled at him. ‘Of course I will.’

  ‘That’s not necessary,’ Nat said coldly. ‘I’m sure you have lots to do.’

  Christ, she thought he didn’t want to do it. He’d just been shocked, that was all, when Barb volunteered him. ‘Nothing more important than teaching Tilly here how to ride.’ He smiled down at Tilly. She smiled tentatively back. ‘But it’s up to Tilly. Would you like me to teach you how to ride?’

  She paused for a moment to look up at her mum.

  ‘If you’d like Reid to teach you, Tilly,’ Nat said softly, brushing a stray hank of hair behind her daughter’s ear, ‘that’s fine.’

  ‘Was he being mean to you?’ she whispered loudly.

  Nat’s lips twitched as she looked up at Reid whose face had just heated uncomfortably. ‘No. I’m used to Reid having a bit of foot-in-mouth disease—he used to ask inappropriate questions all the time when he was a young boy.’

  ‘You knew him as a boy?’

  ‘Yes. He used to tag around behind me and Flynn every time he visited and then when he came to live here, we could barely get rid of him. He was like a bad smell.’

  ‘He doesn’t smell now, does he?’ She leaned away from her mother, sniffing.

  Reid choked on a laugh. ‘No. Maybe of horses, but I don’t think that’s a bad smell, do you?’ He could see Nat’s lips twitching, humour replacing the uncomfortably cold look that had frosted her eyes moments before. She’d never been one to hold a grudge—thank god.

  Tilly shook her head. ‘No. I like the smell of horses. Except when they poo.’ Her little face screwed up.

  ‘You get used to it.’

  She looked at him as if he was a little crazy then asked her mum, ‘Was Reid a good rider when you knew him?’

  ‘The best. Even though he was younger than me, he could teach me a thing or two.’ Their gazes met and a flush spread over her face,
and he wondered if she was remembering the thing or two she’d taught him. She coughed and shifted another step away. ‘About horses and riding,’ she amended. ‘He was a natural.’ He smiled his cocky smile, gaze capturing hers, just to see if he could make her blush again. She did. Then looked away. ‘He’d be a good teacher … of horse riding,’ she said to her daughter.

  Tilly turned to face him. ‘Then I’d like you to teach me.’

  ‘Great. When do you want to start?’

  ‘Now?’

  Nat put her hand on her daughter’s shoulder, stopping her from starting the jumping-up-and-down-excited-girl-thing again. ‘Barb was taking us on a tour, Tilly, and then we were going to have some lunch. Maybe after that.’

  ‘Oh, but, Mum …’

  Just then Ben came trotting down the path past the cafe and yelled, ‘Barb, there’s a phone call for you. It’s Eric Moran.’

  Barb sighed. ‘That man! He’s such a worrier.’ She called back to Ben, ‘Run back and tell Connie I’ll be right there, would you?’ Ben waved and loped back down the path as Barb turned back to Nat. ‘Sorry. Eric’s a concerned parent. I sometimes wonder why he sends Trina here when it stresses him so much. Not that she’s a problem—how such an uptight parent could have a gem like her!’ She shook her head. ‘I feel sorry for the poor girl. Come on, Lisa. He’ll want to give instructions to you too.’

  Lisa groaned.

  ‘Reid, can you finish giving Nat and Tilly the tour? I’ll be back as soon as I can.’

  Crap, she was going to leave him alone with Nat and her daughter. Reid wasn’t sure he was ready for that. He opened his mouth to tell her he was busy, but instead, said, ‘Not a problem, Gran.’

  Chapter 6

  Not a problem, Gran? Why the hell had he said that?

  ‘Gran?’ Barb’s insulted tone snapped him out of his shock. ‘That’s Barb to you, young man.’ She jabbed her finger in his chest. ‘I’ll have none of that “Gran” rubbish. Makes a woman feel old when it’s coming from a grown man. And I’m not. Only sixty-nine last birthday.’

  Playing along, Reid sighed dramatically. ‘Sixty-nine years young,’ he said in a tone that mimicked Barb’s, one he’d perfected when he was a teen wanting to get a rise from his usually imperturbable gran.

  She waggled her finger at him. ‘No more of that cheek from you.’

  ‘Yes, Barb.’ It was said contritely but when Nat made a choking sound, lips twitching, he had trouble not laughing out loud.

  ‘Take care of Nat and Tilly or there’ll be hell to pay.’ She poked him in the chest with a nobbled finger.

  ‘I’ll be the perfect guide,’ he managed with a straight face. As she turned to Nat he winced and rubbed his chest, mouthing, ‘ouch’.

  Barb ignored her grandson and touched Nat on the cheek. ‘I’m so glad you came back.’

  ‘I’m glad too.’ Her voice sounded a little thick. ‘I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into things.’

  ‘Good. But after Christmas is soon enough to start all that. For now, get to know the place again.’ Barb patted her shoulder before striding away, Lisa scurrying to catch up.

  ‘She hasn’t changed,’ Nat murmured.

  ‘No, she hasn’t, and thank god for that.’

  She looked up at him. Christ, those eyes. They were enough to fell a man on the spot. Reid’s heart stuttered and he had the urge to rub his knuckles against his chest.

  What the hell? It was probably just shock. He hadn’t expected to see her ever again. She’d run away from here—and him—into the arms of her then-ex. There was no reason to expect her to come back, even if things didn’t turn out. He so wanted to ask her what she meant when she’d mentioned a ‘shooting’ but with Tilly standing there, now wasn’t the time.

  Speaking of which, he had to stop staring at her. Tilly was looking, wide-eyed, between them, her expression curious, speculative. Hell, he didn’t need her getting ideas in her head about her mother and him. The past was the past and he wanted it to stay there. He certainly hadn’t come home to make his life more complicated. He cleared his throat and gestured at the stables. ‘Shall we keep going with your tour? What has Barb shown you so far?’

  ‘We’ve been down to the cottage and seen the new foal—I suggested calling it Rey—and then we saw the bunkhouse and I helped make scones in the kitchen and saw the dining and lounge areas,’ Tilly said, ‘and then we came here.’

  He shared a smile with Nat over Tilly’s head as the girl gestured in the directions of the things she’d seen, speaking so fast the words were running into each other. He blew out a breath when she stopped. ‘Okay, so you’ve seen quite a bit. I’ll show you the stud and farm side of things, shall I?’ He gestured for them to walk with him.

  Tilly fell in on one side and Nat moved to the other side of her daughter, keeping the girl between herself and Reid. An awkward silence fell between them as they walked, only the sound of their footsteps on the dry grass and the snuffling snorts and shuffling of the horses in the corral filling the silence. Tension began to prickle along his back, itching at his bad shoulder. He rolled it a little.

  ‘Is that where you hurt yourself?’ Tilly asked suddenly into the silence, her eyes following his movement.

  He let his hand drop to his side. ‘Yes. But it’s getting better.’

  ‘I’m sorry about your friend,’ Nat said quietly.

  ‘Thank you.’ He itched again to ask her about the shooting and what it had to do with her husband, but with Tilly between them, he just couldn’t do it. Whatever had happened had obviously affected the little girl as well and he didn’t want to upset her more than he already had.

  ‘Do you miss him?’ Tilly asked in that way kids had of doing—an innocent arrow to the heart.

  ‘Yes. Every day. But being back here helps.’

  ‘How long have you been back?’ Nat asked.

  ‘Just under a month.’

  She nodded. Swallowed hard. ‘You’re planning on staying for a while then?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘What about your show? Aren’t you filming a new series?’ Tilly asked, worry written all over her face. ‘I know you don’t have Luke anymore, but I read you wanted to get back to doing the things you’d planned with him. Isn’t that true?’

  ‘Tilly!’

  He shook his head as Nat shot him a glance that had ‘sorry’ written all over it. ‘It’s okay.’ He stopped walking and hunkered down in front of Tilly. ‘I will get back to all that, but now isn’t the right time. I …’ He stopped himself before he said more than he was comfortable with, but couldn’t stop his eyes from flickering up to Nat. She had a little furrow in between her brows and sorrow shadowed her eyes. He glanced away, uncomfortable with her sorrow, her pity. He hated the pity the most and was sick of seeing it.

  Instead, he smiled brightly at Tilly. ‘I also need to let my shoulder heal properly before I kick into my adventures again.’ He stood. ‘Besides, I’ve got important duties now—showing you around, helping you to get settled in and teaching you to ride.’

  Tilly beamed up at him. ‘And helping Flynn and Mum.’

  ‘And helping Flynn and your mum.’ His eyes lit on Nat again, a smile softening his lips.

  She returned his gaze for what seemed an endless moment, then looked away, out over the corral to the paddocks beyond. ‘I’m sure Mr Stratton’s got better things to do with his time than helping me.’

  ‘Mr Stratton?’ Reid said, bewildered by her sudden stiffness. ‘Do you have a problem with me being here?’

  Nat took a step back and made a sound that he was sure was meant to be a laugh but came out more like a squeak. ‘A problem? Me? Why on earth would I have a problem with you being here?’

  ‘I can think of a thing or two.’

  Her mouth worked and her jaw squared and he was sure she was going to bite back, but her gaze skittered to Tilly. She smiled stiffly. ‘Tilly, see that bucket over there? It’s got cut apples and carrots in it if I remember right
?’ She glanced at Reid.

  Taking her cue, he said, ‘It sure does. Why don’t you go and grab a few pieces and feed Aladdin there—the red with the white blaze down his nose. He loves apple in particular. Just make sure you keep your hand flat when you feed it to him.’

  ‘Lisa showed me how.’ Tilly raced over to the bucket, the dogs trailing close behind.

  ‘She’s found some friends there.’

  Nat rolled her eyes. ‘Yes. I think we’re going to have permanent house guests.’

  Reid laughed.

  ‘Mum, look! Like this.’ Tilly had pulled out some apple and was holding it out to Aladdin who snorted and nibbled it off her palm.

  ‘That’s great, Tilly. Some of the others want some too.’ She gestured at the other horses who had come over to see what they were missing out on. Tilly ran back to the bucket and got some more apple.

  They watched her for a moment, but then Reid, who’d never been able to stop himself from poking a fire to see it spark, leaned close to Nat and whispered, ‘I know you have a problem with me being here.’

  She met his gaze, her arms crossed over her front. ‘Well, you’re wrong. I don’t have a problem. Besides, even if I did, it wouldn’t matter, would it? This is your family home. You belong here and I—’

  ‘Don’t?’ He longed to reach out to her, but instead, shoved his hands in his pockets. ‘You always belonged here and you know it.’

  Nat shook her head. ‘That’s not what I was going to say. I’m here to work. That’s all.’

  ‘So, you’re not running away?’

  ‘No. Of course not.’ She glared at him. ‘Won’t your empire suffer if you stay here for too long?’

  Reid laughed at her blunt attempt to change the subject. ‘I’d hardly call it an empire.’

  ‘What would you call it then?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ He shrugged. ‘A kind of accident? I never aimed for fame. I just wanted to …’ He couldn’t seem to stop from meeting her eyes or stop the words from spilling out of him. ‘… to have some fun.’ Something he desperately needed after Grandpa died and she left. ‘Climbing was one of the only things I was ever truly good at.’