All the horses pricked up their ears at her coming, but only Rosie whinnied and trotted to the fence for a pat. The mare's unconditional affection tugged at Cassie's heart. If only people were like that.
Rosie had been eighteen years old, barren and in a deplorable condition when Cassie had saved her from the knacker's yard. People who saw her now could not believe she was the same bedraggled animal of eighteen months before. Not only was she blooming with health, but a foal was on the way.
'Hello, old thing,' Cassie said, running knowledgeable eyes over the mare's rump. There were no tell-tale hollows near the tail. 'No foal tonight, I see. That's good. You have to keep carrying that baby for another month, Rosie, so stick with it, my girl.'
Rosie nodded her head up and down as if in agreement.
Cassie sighed and curled an arm around the horse's neck. 'The man who gave me my baby has come back, Rosie. You don't know Dan. He was before your time. But I don't love him any more. In fact, I hate him! But that's not the problem. Or maybe it is. You see...'
She leant closer and pressed her cheek up against the warmth of the horse's mane. 'I have this ghastly confession to make,' Cassie whispered huskily. 'I detest myself for it, but...the truth is...when Dan kissed me in the library, for a moment I didn't want him to stop. After all this time...it felt the same. And how can that be? How can it, when I hate him so?'
As though sensing Cassie's distress, Rosie hung over the fence and nuzzled her mistress's hand. I'm here, the gesture seemed to say. Everything will be all right.
Cassie sighed and straightened. She gave the mare a farewell stroke then turned for the long walk home.
Half-way up the hill Cassie stopped and glanced over her shoulder. A lone figure was standing on the veranda of Strath-haven, and, though it was indiscernible from that distance and in the fading light, Cassie knew that it was Dan.
A shiver ran up her spine. He was watching her. Watching her and already planning his next move.
For, despite her warning him not to, Cassie knew that he would cross the river. He would come, if not for her then for his son. It was as inevitable as the sun setting that evening and rising the next morning.
The only question was...how soon?
CHAPTER FIVE
Roger turned from the dining-room window, a glass of port in his hand. 'I hear your new neighbour is quite a man,' he directed at Cassie.
She glanced up from the table to look squarely at her boss. Though almost sixty years old, Roger was still dapper, with short grey hair, a neat moustache and an insatiable curiosity about people.
It was this last facet of his character that had Joan frowning madly at her daughter. Roger knew nothing of the circumstances of Jason's conception, though he'd been living in Riversbend at the time. No doubt he imagined—like everyone else—that some local lad had been responsible. The only people who could have guessed were the van Aarks, but they'd been rarely at Strath-haven and Cassie had kept out of their way after Dan had left. She doubted they'd ever known of Jason's existence.
'Actually, I know him,' she said, standing up to begin stacking the plates. They'd been relaxing with a port after a long Sunday lunch. 'Met him years ago.'
'Really?' Roger's clear grey eyes registered surprise. And interest. 'Do tell.'
'Nothing much to tell,' Cassie shrugged, and continued to gather the crockery. 'He was a visitor at Strath-haven once, a few years back. I ran into him one day when I took some eggs down to Mrs Rambler. If you remember, she used to cook for the van Aarks sometimes.'
'Hmm...' Roger turned back to stare through the window again, down at Strath-haven. 'McKay's his name, isn't it?'
'Yes, that's right.'
'Big businessman from Sydney.'
'So it seems.'
Roger turned with a cheeky smile. 'Unattached, too, from what I hear.'
Cassie gave him a sharp look. 'Now, Roger ‑'
He held up his hands in mock defence, spilling a few drops of port. 'Oops! Joan, love, I...er...'
Joan swooped with a serviette, quickly wiping the brown drops from the dusky pink carpet. 'Men!' she said, but indulgently.
When she stood up, Roger gave her a squeeze and a kiss. 'You couldn't manage without us, though, could you?'
Cassie turned away from their display of affection, an uncomfortable sensation twisting in her stomach.
'Mum! Mum!' Jason appeared in the doorway, his face bright with excitement. 'There's a red car coming up our drive. One of those with the top down. I think it's Dan driving it.'
'Dan?' Roger asked, puzzled. 'Who's Dan?'
Cassie did her best to ignore her thudding heart. 'He means Dan McKay, the man we were just talking about.'
Now Roger was frowning. 'And Jason calls him Dan?'
Cassie sighed and turned to her son. 'You go out and meet him, love. I'll be there in a moment.'
The boy ran off.
'Dan and I were having a chat after the auction yesterday when Mum and Jason turned up,' Cassie explained. 'Dan seemed to take to Jason and didn't want to be called Mr McKay, that's all. No big deal.'