Modern Romance January 2021 B Books 1-4 by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2020-12-18T22:01:11+00:00

CHAPTER ONE

‘ORLA, ORLA, THERE’S a helicopter circling the farm. Gerry just gave them permission to land on the back pasture. Gerry says it’s him, the sheikh who’s going to put us all out on the street.’

Orla Calhoun paused while mucking out Aderyn’s stall at her sister Dervla’s panicked shout. The sleek black stallion jostled her as he shuffled his hooves. She pressed her hand to his nose, to soothe him. Unlike most retired racehorses, Aderyn was placid enough for her to muck him out while he was still in the stall. He liked the company, almost as much as she did, but even so…

‘Shh, fella, it’s okay, she’s just stressed,’ she whispered, before leaving the stall. She propped the rake beside the stall, latched the stable door, whipped off her work gloves and glared at her sister. ‘For goodness’ sake, Dervla, how many times have I told you not to raise your voice around the horses?’ she hissed. ‘You could spook them and someone could get hurt, or, worse, the animal could get hurt.’

They only had six horses left now, but each one of them meant everything to her—and she still mourned the loss of the horses they’d been forced to sell in the last year. Each one unique, with a personality and a purpose that had always meant more to Orla than just winning races or accruing stud fees. Perhaps that was why she had ultimately failed in her attempt to keep Calhouns going, not because she hadn’t been good at training and caring for the horses, but because they had always meant more to her than just a business.

And now she was going to lose it all…

‘All right, all right. I get you,’ Dervla whispered back, grabbing her elbow to drag her away from the stall, and not sounding all that apologetic. ‘But what are we going to do about him?’

Orla heard it then, the sound of a helicopter powering down. It was far enough away not to disturb the animals, but the sound would never be quiet enough not to disturb her.

‘Are you sure it’s him?’ she asked. ‘He’s not due here till Friday.’

The liquidator had arranged to have Crown Prince Karim Jamal Amari Khan view the facility before the auction on Saturday. This must be a preliminary visit by one of his minions. Sure, it had to be. She wasn’t ready for him.

She glanced down at her work boots and dirty jeans, the sweat-stained camisole that clung to her breasts. She’d been up at dawn to take Aderyn out on the gallops and had been mucking out the stalls ever since, because they’d laid off the last of the stable boys almost a month ago.

‘Gerry said he spoke to him,’ Dervla whispered. As if the man was standing behind them. ‘He’s piloting the helicopter! He came on his own, Gerry says.’

The anxiety that had gripped her stomach ever since she’d been forced to face the inevitable took another vicious twist.

She’d had a plan to have the house and herself spotless when he arrived.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.