Page 44 of Never Gonna Happen

Despite the riding boots, walking back to the house was still unexpectedly challenging. The paths and the road had entirely disappeared under a vast white tablecloth, making it impossible to know where to walk. The heavy skies didn’t help, providing a flat light that took away any kind of definition on the snow blanket and made Emily feel dizzy.

But she wouldn’t have given two hoots if there was a tornado on the driveway, because she was still buzzing after the best New Year’s Eve of her life. It had been everything a first night with somebody should be – romantic, intimate, fun. Neither of them had racked up scores of partners, so there was no pressure to pull out all their best moves. They’d taken their time, laughed a lot, taken breaks for food and more wine and messaging family to wish them Happy New Year. Emily felt like she was on cloud nine, with no immediate plans to come back down.

There was still no sign of Anna or Leon, but that was no surprise – nobody was due back until tomorrow, and even that was looking shaky with the weather like this. She felt the same elation you got when there was a school snow day, knowing she had at least another twenty-four hours with Jamie before she had to return to the real world.

Her phone rang as she picked her way across the delivery yard, and she wasn’t surprised to see it was Kelly. There were no lie-ins when you had a four-year-old, even on New Year’s Day.

‘Happy New Year!’ sang Emily as she answered the phone.

‘WOW,’ replied Kelly. ‘Somebody got some last night. Am I right?’

Emily giggled, looking around to check nobody could hear her. ‘Fine, you’re right. I definitely got some last night.’

‘YES,’ shouted Kelly. ‘Was Jamie Dornan any good?’

‘He was pretty fucking great, actually.’

‘Ah, shit. I’m so jealous, but also proper chuffed for you.’

‘Thanks, Kel. How’s the snow?’

‘Tons of it, and the sun’s out. Beth and I are going outside to build a snowman.’

‘Tell her to send me a picture, and I’m sorry I’m not there to help.’

Kelly chuckled. ‘To be fair, you had a better offer.’

‘Yeah, but I still love you guys.’

‘I know. Happy New Year, Em, let’s make it a good one.’

‘Definitely.’ She blew Kelly a kiss down the phone and ended the call, dreaming of a hot shower, some fresh clothes that didn’t smell of bonfire and sex, and a huge quantity of tea and toast.

Emily got back to the yard an hour later feeling fully revived, wearing two pairs of leggings over some tights and two pairs of socks, with a fleece headband and matching neckie covering her ears and chin. Jamie had tacked up Rupert and Luna as usual, but with an extra fleece-lined waterproof cover under their saddles. She stroked Rupert’s velvety nose and gave him a kiss as Jamie came out of the tack room, his face pink from the cold and his chin wrapped in his new scarf.

‘All ready to go?’ he asked. He was holding a double-sided canvas saddle bag over each arm.

Emily nodded. ‘What’s in there?’

‘Tools in one side,’ he replied, slinging it over Luna’s back behind the saddle, a bag on either side. ‘Just in case we need to bodge a fix on any of the fences or dig anything out. And some food in the other side in case Derek is marooned. Just bread and milk, stuff he can eat if his power has gone down.’

Emily strapped on her helmet and put on her new gloves, then jacked her left foot into the stirrup, pushing up as hard as she could and using a handful of Rupert’s mane to help her keep her balance as she swung her right leg over. She was determined not to use the mounting block again, even if the muscles in her thighs ached from a night of overuse.

‘Absolute pro,’ muttered Jamie with a smile, doing a quick check of the girth and stirrups. He leapt up on to Luna’s back and headed out of the yard, Rupert following close behind.

‘We’ll take it slowly,’ Jamie said. ‘It’s not icy yet, so they’ll be fine.’

‘I’m in no hurry,’ said Emily, feeling the pommel of the saddle push against the tender area between her legs and wondering if this was why women liked riding. Other than the creak of hooves on snow and the breaths and snorts of the horses, all the sound seemed to have been sucked away, leaving a muffled silence that echoed in Emily’s ears. It felt strange and unsettling to see nothing but monochrome for miles in every direction, and she could see how easy it would be to lose your bearings if you didn’t know exactly where you were going. Luckily Jamie had ridden this estate all his life.

After an hour of the main roads, following the ploughed path of the estate tractor, they picked their way down a lane to Derek’s cottage. Jamie dismounted on the snowy path to knock on the door, and a veiny-faced man appeared flanked by Bailey, Murphy and Lily, Mr Hunter’s three black Labradors. They all threw themselves at Jamie, barking and dancing in excited circles, then diving into banks of snow until Derek called them all back. Derek’s Norfolk accent was so strong that Emily could only work out every third word, but the general gist seemed to be that he was fine; he still had power and plenty of logs for the wood burner. He took the milk and bread with a nod of thanks and gave Emily a polite wave as they headed slowly back up the track.

By the time they were back on the main path it had started to snow again, an ominous darkness gathering despite it only being late morning. ‘The wind’s picking up,’ said Jamie, frowning at the heavy sky. ‘I think we should head back.’

Emily nodded, feeling a frisson of worry. It felt like they were at a distant corner of the estate and it had taken them well over an hour to get here; what if there was no shortcut back? She pulled the neckie over her nose and mouth as they turned into the wind on the path, the biting cold of it making her eyes sting. The two pairs of leggings had been warm and cosy when they left, but they weren’t remotely waterproof and already she could feel her thighs getting wet and itchy with cold.

Ten minutes later the weather had worsened to the point that Emily couldn’t see anything other than the back of Jamie’s jacket; Luna had disappeared into the white-out entirely. The snow was drifting at the side of the path, and it was clear the horses were struggling with the wind and the soft, fresh powder on the ground.

‘We need to stop,’ shouted Jamie, turning round in his saddle so she could hear him over the whistling wind. ‘There’s a shelter off to the right here, just stay close and follow me.’