Page 109 of Blue Skies Ahead

When they’d finished browsing and making their purchases, the visitors returned to the Cow Café for their drinks and the Q&A session. I had a few items to show them that were vital to the management of the fold and herd such as the equipment used for double-tagging their ears with the codes needed for identification, traceability and disease control and the equipment used for artificial insemination – something we’d just done for our Highland cows in preparation for calving next spring. There’d been a lot of laughter when we’d chosen the sperm donors from a catalogue – or cowtalogue as Caleb called it – with Maddie later recording a video for the socials aboutTinder for cows.

‘I’ve got something for you all to take away,’ Mam said once the questions had dried up, drinks were finished and it was time for our first cow cuddling guests to say goodbye. ‘As you’re our very first cow cuddlers, I’ve made each of you a special cake.’

Maddie and Lindon handed individual cake boxes to each person. Mam had found a passion for decorating cupcakes and, across the summer, had been experimenting with increasingly complex fondant figures with great success. For today, she’d created an adorable red Highland cow sitting on a buttercream swirl and the detail was fantastic with a wavy dossan and even a nose ring, worn by the bulls for handling and control. I was so proud of her.

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Half an hour later, everyone had gone, the table had been wiped down and Mam, Jude, Maddie and Lindon had taken the crockery and cutlery through to the kitchen to be washed while Caleb and I straightened up the stock on the shelves.

‘I think we’ve earned our cakes,’ Caleb said, picking up the two cake boxes Mam had given us with our names written across the tops. ‘Fancy taking them outside so we can thank the farm for sending cow cuddling our way?’

‘That’s a great idea.’

Despite the sunshine and blue sky, the arrival of September had brought the slightest dip in temperature so I pulled on a jacket before heading outside with Caleb. The horses were in the back pastures now, giving the front ones an opportunity to rest and regrow. We settled by the gate to Barn View and stroked Athena and Hera when they wandered over to see us.

‘I think we can safely call that a resounding success,’ Caleb said. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘I’m on top of the world right now. This morning was better than I could have imagined and I’m so proud of what we’ve all achieved here but it’s not just the cow cuddling that has my cheeks hurting from smiling. It’s everything that’s happened since I moved here. It’s funny to think that this was the place of Doug and Anna Garstang’s dreams but it didn’t work out for them. It became the answer to my prayers and it’s fulfilled all my dreams – even the ones I didn’t know I was dreaming. It might have taken from the Garstangs but it’s given to me over and over and over again.’

‘You know what I think happened? I think it took from them because they took from it and gave nothing in return. It’s given to you because you gave yourself completely and unashamedly.’

I loved his use of Mam’s words. ‘There could be something in that.’

‘There absolutely is. This place is magical. As I said before, it’s hazel and rowan combined and they both have magical properties. Add in being owned by a mother and daughter team with magic in their hearts and souls and it was always going to be a winning combination.’

‘You say the loveliest things.’

‘I mean them.’

He kissed me slowly and tenderly and I felt those magical sparks flying between us.

‘I’d better give you your cake,’ he said, smiling at me. ‘The last time you presented me with some cakes, you’d added something special to them. We discussed what that meant on this very spot, shared our first kiss and the time I’ve spent with you since then has been the best of my life. So now it’s my turn, in the same place, to give you a cake with something special added to it.’

He placed my cupcake box on his outstretched palm and opened the lid. A fondant Highland cow sat on the top – just like on the visitors’ cakes – but slotted through its nose ring was a beautifully detailed fondant buttercup.

‘It’s perfect,’ I said, laughing. ‘I should have got her to add a cowboy hat to your cake.’

‘I love you,’ Caleb said, ‘and watching you today was amazing. When I found The Dovecote online and came here to heal, I knew this place was special. Last year, somebody laughed at me and took that magic away but you brought it back, stronger and brighter than I could ever have imagined and I see you day after day doing that for all the visitors. It’s an honour to work here beside you, looking after these animals and this land so that others can have their moment of joy, peace and recovery.’

‘You really do say the loveliest things.’

‘You deserve to hear them.’

I closed the cake box and placed it on the ground before hugging him tightly.

‘I love you so much, Caleb. Somebody took my magic away too, but you brought it back a hundredfold.’

On the day I waved goodbye to Jude and drove away from what I’d thought would be my forever home, she’d said,This is an exciting new start for you all. Blue skies are ahead. It hadn’t felt that way at the time, but I’d found my blue sky at Hazelwick Farm with my new forever home and my new forever person. Mam and I had thought that turning left off the A1 had been a spontaneous decision but it hadn’t been. All roads had led to this place and I was now happy and settled where I was always meant to be. The dark clouds had gone for all of us and I was so excited about the bright future that stretched ahead.

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