Page 69 of Back in the Saddle

Isabelle was wearing a navy and teal dress with long slits up the side which revealed her legs and cowboy boots. Callum, on the other hand, was so casual his shirt was untucked.

“You take the kids,” Ciaron said to me. “I’ll go get Mam.”

“What about Nanna?” Callum asked.

“Dan said for this to be a real date he needed to pick her up and take her home,” I said.

“Probably so he can get a goodnight kiss,” Ciaron said.

“Do you think I can ask for an extra day’s pay if he gets a kiss?” Isabelle asked.

Ciaron chuckled. “I reckon you could.”

We left the house and went our separate ways. When I walked into the staff dining room with the kids, I gasped. There were fairy lights strung across the room and lanterns on the tables. The tables had colourful runners. When I looked closer, I recognised them as Isabelle’s scarves.

“It looks so pretty,” I said to her.

“It was Nanna’s idea.”

As we made our way to Mum and Dan, Ciaron and Mary arrived and joined us. Ciaron placed his arm around my waist, and I moved into him.

Dan’s blue-grey eyes twinkled. “It’s so good seeing you two back in the saddle. I didn’t think your split would last.”

“Oh really,” Mary said. She snapped her mouth shut as soon as it was out. Then she took a small step back and studied us.

Mum’s mouth dropped open, and she clutched Dan’s arm, whose eyes widened at her reaction.

Ciaron and I tensed. Until that very moment, Mary had no idea that we’d separated. I broke out into a cold sweat as I tried to find my voice. It should have been natural for us to say thank you and we would have in any other situation. We would have been glowing. But as Mary’s eyes narrowed, I wanted to be anywhere but here. I could never tell what she was going to latch onto to make my life more difficult.

“We’re going to check the punch,” Mum said before whisking Dan away.

I saw the moment she told him that Mary didn’t know because he clearly said “shit” while throwing furtive glances our way. Mary watched the scene intently and then spun to Ciaron and me. Her lips were in a tight line. Ciaron shifted from foot to foot. Mary opened her mouth, presumably to say something. I stood ramrod straight, widening my eyes at Ciaron, inviting him to speak.

“Wow, this is amazing,” Rachel said as she walked into the dining room. Thank God, it stopped Mary saying whatever she was going to say. Rachel made her way over to us and handed Isabelle a gift. “I love that dress, Isabelle. Happy birthday.”

Mary’s eyes were still pinned on us. My shoulders relaxed as I moved my attention away from her. Another person walked in. Someone I didn’t realise we’d invited—the American vet, Curtis. He saw Rachel and smiled. That man could have stepped out from a modelling magazine with his wavy blonde hair and square jaw. And his teeth were perfect.

“Mum invited him,” Ciaron said, loud enough only for me to hear. “She said, and I quote, Reason A- It would give Dan someone to talk to if their date fizzled out.”

Curtis waved to Dan and went over to say hello. Reason A seemed like it would be effective.

“B - it would be good for Isabelle to interact with him before going on work experience because when he’s working, he has resting bitch face.”

I laughed. “Ain’t that the truth.”

He’d been loosening up slowly. He’d even started to laugh at Australian humour.

“And C,”—his voice dropped lower—“which she seemed to think was pretty important, he likes Rachel, and she needs to date because she hasn’t since her husband died.”

Curtis made his way over to us. Rachel clutched her hands in front of her.

“That’s a lot resting on one man’s shoulders,” I said.

“Lucky he has no idea.”

All the while, I could feel Mary’s eyes boring into me, even while she had a conversation with the remainder of the group. Great. The longer she had to think, the worse it would be.

Two teen girls and boys turned up. Ciaron took my hand and led me over to the mother who’d dropped them off.

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