At Long Odds (A Racing Romance) by Hannah Hooton Read Free Book Online

woman who, realistically, was probably approaching fifty, but had the youthful appearance of someone hardly forty. Kerry had described her aunt exactly as she looked now, with a brown gypsy shawl flung over long sweeping layers of rust-coloured silks and muslins. Three rows of wooden and amber beads bounced noisily on her generous bosom.
    ‘Darlings! Come in. You must excuse the mess, but I don’t want to give you any false impressions.’
    Once they’d stepped inside the warmth and removed their coats and boots, Kerry introduced them.
    ‘Wonderful to meet you, Ginny. Now, why don’t you both come through to the sitting room and I’ll make us some tea.’
    Ginny followed Kerry through to the cream and scarlet-painted lounge while Sally G went to prepare drinks and looked round in amazement.
    ‘Wow,’ she murmured. The soft golden lighting from a tall oriental lamp in the corner cast eerie shadows behind the small limestone statues and terracotta pots lining the shelves. ‘It makes me feel like I’m in a fortune teller’s house.’
    Kerry grinned.
    ‘She’s probably got some Tarot cards tucked away if you ask, but she’s more into hypnosis and herbal healing. I’m sure some of the herbs she has growing in the garden shed are illegal. But she’s harmless really,’ she added hastily, seeing Ginny’s look of uncertainty.
    Padding across a vast Persian carpet to a sofa and gazing about her, Ginny went to sit down but sprang up when the cushion squealed in protest.
    ‘Careful! I forgot to mention Sally’s cats. You nearly sat on…’ Kerry scrutinized the indignant-looking black feline who had now jumped down onto the floor and was frantically washing its back. ‘…Darius. I hope you’re not allergic to cats.’
    ‘Not as far as I know. I like cats. Sorry, Darius.’ She settled herself in Darius’ chair with a little more caution, just as Sally G returned with three steaming mugs, from which emanated an intermingling aroma of flavoured tea.
    ‘Mind now, it’s hot,’ Sally G warned, settling the mugs on wooden flower-carved coasters on the side tables. She then retired to a gloriously crafted mahogany rocking chair.
    Ginny couldn’t help but stare at this mystical, larger-than-life woman, who seemed to float above the chair, her sandaled feet placed evenly on a raised footrest beneath a long, colourful gypsy skirt.
    ‘Kerry was telling me you also work with horses?’ Sally G prompted, pausing to blow on her tea.
    ‘That’s right,’ Ginny replied, wondering how much Kerry had said. ‘My father owns the racing yard where Kerry works. I’ve just taken over there for a year until he gets better. He had a heart attack not so long ago,’ she added at Sally G’s raised eyebrows.
    ‘How exciting – I mean about you taking over. Is this a new job to you? God knows you don’t look old enough to be out of school.’ For once, Ginny didn’t take offence at people’s inability to see her as an adult. In Sally G’s case, she suspected not that she thought Ginny wasn’t capable, but as a compliment both to her youth and her courage.
    ‘I’ve been working as assistant trainer for a few years, here and in South Africa. But this is the first time I’m making all the decisions. Not always the correct ones, I might add.’
    ‘Of course not, nobody’s expecting you to be perfect. But, ah, South Africa.’ Sally G looked dreamily into the distance, which extended to the far wall. ‘A Rainbow Nation. How did you enjoy it there?’
    ‘Yeah, I enjoyed it a lot – well, for the most part, anyway.’ A fleeting memory of Charlie, laughing as he splashed her with water at Fish Hoek Beach, flashed turquoise and gold through her mind. She pushed it away before the hurt which had followed such happy times had a chance to surface again. ‘The heat becomes a bit unbearable in summer though. Have you been?’
    ‘Only once. To experience the new South Africa. Such a wonderful time, when everyone was filled with