Shadow on the Fells (15 page)

* * *

W
ILL
WATCHED
THEM
walk across the yard with the pretty little black-and-tan collie trotting behind them: the elderly farmer, stooped from years of hard, honest labor and the tall woman with her head held high, both knowing exactly who they were and where they were in their lives. They had a real place in the world, whereas he... Where was his place? He used to think it was in the courtroom, but now...now he had to admit to himself that he was lost.

To his amazement, after Chrissie disappeared into the house Tess and Fly remained totally still, heads on paws and bright eyes watching for their mistress's return.

Will reached down to scratch Max's broad head. “Will you be like that soon, boy?” The labradoodle looked up at him, smiling and wagging his tail. Will laughed. “I guess that's a no, then. Well, I for one am excited to learn this dog training stuff.”

As the rusty blue car struggled out of the yard with blue smoke pouring from its exhaust, Chrissie strode purposefully over to where Will stood with Max.

“Well, I really am sorry to see that little dog go,” she said. “She's been one of the easiest dogs I've ever had to train.”

Will grimaced, peering at Max. “Unlike this one, then,” he said. “He's probably going to be the worst.”

Chrissie shook her head, brushing a tendril of long blond hair behind her ear. “If you think like that then it will never work,” she insisted. “We have to look at Max fairly and be totally objective about his behavior in order to decide why he acts the way he does. After that, we can work out how best to make him learn.”

“No magic tricks, then.”

She shook her head determinedly. “No magic tricks. Just a lot of common sense and determination.”

“So, what's the plan?”

Chrissie sighed. “It's easy to work with collies—some are sharper than others, more aggressive perhaps, or more nervous. But they have certain instincts I know how to build on. I'm not as familiar with labradoodles, obviously, but the principles are the same. The first thing I do when I get a new recruit is to get to know its nature so that I can decide which approach to use. With Max...well, let's just say that I already have a good idea about his nature.”

Will leaned forward, all ears. “And that is?”

“Well...” she began, “we have to take into account what he is. Labradors are bred to be working dogs. They tend to be very trainable and are usually loving, easygoing and generally happy, with strong instincts to retrieve and naturally soft mouths. Poodles, however, have a reputation for being highly strung, excitable and nervous. So a mixture of the two can go toward either end of the spectrum.”

“And which way has Max gone, do you think?”

Chrissie smiled, warming to her task. “No, which way do
you
think he has gone?”

Will shrugged. “I guess he swings more toward the Labrador. A client of mine used to have a chocolate Lab, as I remember. She was a bit dopey and daft.”

“There you are, then,” agreed Chrissie. “So Max is daft and dopey rather than nervous?”

“He isn't nervous about anything.” Will smiled. “Or
of
anything.”

“So, would you say he lacks respect?”

“Absolutely. He thinks the sheep are just playthings.”

“And there lies your problem,” Chrissie told him. “He doesn't even respect you.”

Max looked from one to the other as if he was aware they were talking about him, and they both laughed.

“So how do we go about teaching him respect?” Will asked.

“Well, as I mentioned, some farmers around here like to rule by fear, and while you do have to be firm, sometimes they can take it too far. The first thing I'd like to do with him is to teach him to respect the sheep, and maybe that will change his attitude to us a little. We will be there to protect him, you see.”

“Protect him from what?” asked Will with a puzzled frown.

“From the sheep.” Chrissie smiled secretively. “No more questions—let's just see if it works.”

“You've tried it before, right?”

She shook her head. “Not exactly. At least, not on purpose, although I know people who have and I've seen it happen often enough in a normal working situation. Come on—nothing ventured, nothing gained. All training works like this to a degree. We read the situation, decide what approach to take and move on from there, learning all the time.”

Before they reached the Runner ducks' paddock, Chrissie spent some time teaching Max basic commands. “I want to try and get his attention without the distraction of the ducks or anything,” she told Will. He wondered what the “anything” was but decided not to ask. No doubt he'd find out soon enough.

Chrissie's plan worked to a degree. That is, it worked when Max could be bothered to listen.

“To him, life is just a game,” she explained. “And he is still quite young, isn't he?”

“Almost eighteen months,” Will offered.

Giving a firm command to sit, Chrissie backed away slowly, holding up her palm. “You need to use body language,” she said. “Animals understand that—horses as much as dogs, actually. I had a pony right through my teenage years, and I used to love playing around with horse-whispering techniques. Everything to do with animals is a learning curve, and you have to stay open-minded.”

“So why did you stop? Riding, I mean.”

Chrissie shrugged. “Oh, I don't know. I outgrew my pony, Sunny, and always intended to get another, but...” Her expression grew wistful. “After my parents died, I just seemed to be so busy all the time. I was—and still am—determined to keep this farm going for them, but it's tough sometimes, on my own.”

Will placed a hand on her arm. “I heard about your parents, and I'm so sorry. You must still miss them very much.”

“Every day.” Chrissie sighed, and her eyes filled with tears. “Anyway...” She seemed to be making an effort to pull herself together. Not one of those tears fell. “I couldn't afford to buy a horse even if I did have the time.”

“You could use the training money I gave you,” Will suggested, and she shook her head, smiling at him. Somehow, in that moment, he felt closer to her than when he'd kissed her.

“I don't think there will be much left once I've settled the bills.”

Max still sat obediently and she leaned forward, patting her knees. “Here, boy,” she called, and he ran toward her eagerly. “You see?” she cried. “He's enjoying being given something to concentrate on.”

Observing the animation in Chrissie's face, Will was flooded with an unfamiliar emotion. She was just so...so sure of who she was. Losing her parents must have been devastating, but she'd been strong. She'd never wavered and never let them down. He hadn't met anyone like her before, a woman who was motivated by the love she had for her life here, by her dedication to the creatures in her care. Her independence was admirable, yet her solitude also made him kind of sad. She had so much to give, so much love; he could see that in the way she treated her animals. So why was she alone? Perhaps she just hadn't met someone she wanted to share her life with. Or maybe she didn't want to share it at all.

“How come you are on your own?” he asked, regretting the question the moment the words left his lips. It was way too personal.

She stiffened. “How come you are?”

He grinned. “Touché. I guess I deserved that.”

“You need to do this kind of training with him constantly,” she said, ignoring his question and changing the subject. “Come here, sit, stay and lie down—basic commands are the whole way forward. Just spend time with him, and have some small treats in your pocket initially if it makes it easier to get his attention. Be firm and strict but never lose your temper—that is negative. Praise him when he gets it right and never let him off until he's done what you've asked. He will learn to
want
to please you if you persevere. That's why I don't think you should leave him with me, as Floss's owner did. It's important to build up your relationship with him. Right now he sees you as just a friend, not a master.”

“And what about the sheep-chasing?” asked Will, already enthusiastic about the prospect of training Max. “What is it you've set up to solve that?”

Chrissie smiled. “All right, I'll show you. But first I want you to tell Max to sit. Then attach the long leash and repeat the command every now and then until he does what you want without thinking about it.”

* * *

A
S
C
HRISSIE
WATCHED
Will's attempts to control the big, boisterous dog, a warm glow spread inside her. His awkward but determined efforts were surprisingly touching.

“So, tell me again,” she said. “Exactly why did you buy a dog like him?”

He glanced up at her before turning his attention back Max, who had decided to roll over instead of sitting. “I don't really know,” he said, shaking his head and smiling at the dog's antics. “I've never had much to do with dogs, but when I set my mind on moving to the country and bought Craig Side it just seemed like a good idea. I saw him advertised online and he was so cute, I called the seller and bought him.”

“What?” Chrissie couldn't believe what she was hearing. “You mean you never even went to see him?”

“No...the man delivered him for me and I gave him the cash.”

Will looked sheepish, but Chrissie found his embarrassment and vulnerability endearing. “I don't think I have ever met anyone who knows as little about animals and the countryside as you,” she told him, amused. “So, whatever made you buy yourself a farm, especially one as isolated as Craig Side?”

Gathering up Max's leash, Will shrugged. “You're going to think I'm even more stupid now. I stayed in Little Dale once with my parents, when I was just a kid. When I walked out of the courtroom and out of my career that day, I remembered loving it here. It seemed so far away from everything I was used to. So I just got in my car, drove here and booked into a guesthouse. I saw Craig Side advertised in an estate agent's window and loved its isolation. I put in an offer as soon as I'd been to look at it, and here I am.”

“I don't think I know anyone as difficult to understand as you are,” Chrissie said.

Will was immediately on the defensive. “What do you mean?”

Chrissie hesitated, unsure if she should admit to Googling him. “I found you on the internet,” she eventually admitted. “Not to be nosy, I promise, but you could have been a serial killer or something for all I knew—I just wanted to feel safe.”

Will's face darkened. “And?”

“And I found out that you had a huge and very successful career in law—I mean, you'd told me you were a lawyer, obviously, but I didn't realize quite how big your reputation was. There was a headline, too...”

His jaw tightened. “Don't tell me...Criminal Lawyer or Just Plain Criminal?”

She nodded, her cheeks heating up. “Something like that.”

“Listen...” He let go of Max's leash and took hold of both her hands, forcing her to meet his gaze. “I've already told you. I'm not proud of what I was. It's true that I was successful, very successful, but it was for all the wrong reasons. Maybe all I've done is run away, but whatever happens, I will never go back to where I was.”

Chrissie let her hands sit in his as she studied him with curiosity. “It's just such a huge step to take from where you were as a city slicker lawyer to this isolated existence surrounded by sheep and dogs...”

“And good neighbors,” he cut in with a small smile. “Well, one good neighbor, at least.”

“I just wonder if all this will be enough, though,” she went on, ignoring his attempt at humor. “You are so far out of your comfort zone...”

Will's eyes glittered and he stared intently at her hands, kneading her knuckles with his fingers. “I stepped out of my comfort zone on that day in the courtroom,” he said. “I looked at my client's face, the man I was defending. His smug expression held so much arrogance, so much deceit and cruelty that it made me sick. It seemed that a veil had been lifted from my eyes and I was ashamed...ashamed of all my previous successes...ashamed of the man I had become. If that's what it meant to be in my comfort zone, I don't ever want to be in it again.”

Chrissie stayed very still, acutely aware of his vulnerability. “Then learn from your mistakes,” she urged him, closing her fingers around his. “Become a better man.”

He smiled. “That,” he said, “is exactly what I am trying to do...with your help, of course.”

“But do you think that's really the answer? Hiding yourself way up here with dogs and sheep?”

His eyes were intense and piercing, and she couldn't pull hers away. “And with you,” he murmured. “Life here feels honest, Chrissie, honest and true and real. I want to go with it, to find myself again. That's enough for me right now...especially with you to help me.”

“And now you're making me feel guilty for taking your money,” she cried. “You've paid me way too generously.”

Will shrugged. “Don't worry about it. It's well worth it to me.”

“Well then, just pay me for training Max. I was way out of order making an extra charge for you to be involved, anyway.”

He shook his head. “I told you, it's just money...although...” He raised his eyebrows, lightening the mood. “It seems to me that you're not doing your job very well so far.”

Chrissie bristled, all traces of guilt fading. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that you aren't doing your job very well because your charge is currently hightailing it off up the fell.”

With a horrified cry, Chrissie turned to see Max racing off across the meadow. “Max,” she yelled, hurrying after him and calling him back with as much calm and determination as she could manage. Despite her best efforts, her voice rose with frustration when he ignored her.