The Whisperer. Elsa Winckler

      “Well,” she said on a laugh. “I’m not sure what your boss is going to say about that, but I’ll tell him. Come with me?” she said softly and opened the gate to the stall. “You’re not the bad-tempered one around here. Let’s show them,” she crooned, taking the reins lying over his body in her hands.

      A hand came down on Cameron’s shoulder and he looked around. Ken was pointing in the direction of the stables.

      “Give the woman a reasonable chance, will you? What is the worst thing that can happen? Bravo can hardly be more cantankerous than what he is at the moment. I’ve told you what she managed to do with the stray dog at school, let her at least try with Bravo.”

      “Yes, you’ve told me. But to calm down a stray dog is one thing. To try and find out what is wrong with a huge bad-tempered stallion is …”

      In the next minute, he lost his breath, his words and a little bit of his mind. Cilla and Bravo were exiting the stables, the horse’s head close to the woman’s shoulder, her hand against his face, the bridle in her other hand.

      Unhurriedly, horse and woman walked towards the middle of the big circle adjacent to the stables where they usually trained the horses. There, she stopped and waited. With her hand still against the horse’s face, they stood like that for long minutes.

      Everything around them stilled, the wind died down and for a brief moment, even the earth seemed to stop spinning. Then Cilla nodded, stepped back and while holding on to the bridle, she let the horse trot around her.

      Ken barked out an incredulous laugh and looked at Cameron.

      “Look at that! He wouldn’t let anyone else near him and now he’s flirting with this woman – can you believe it?”

      Cameron stared. Damn it, it really looked as if the damn horse was flirting with the long-legged beauty – his eyes were fixed on Cilla, he neighed softly and was bobbing his head up and down. Gradually, his movements slowed until he stopped moving altogether. Cilla walked up to him, the big horse moved closer to her and dropped his head against her shoulder.

      “I don’t believe what I’m seeing,” whispered Ken.

      Cameron was at a loss for words. He’d never seen anything like this before.

      Cilla led the horse out of the circle and they disappeared into the stables. Minutes later, she came out, smiling.

      Bewildered, Cameron put his hands into his trouser pockets. The smile softened her face, her eyes were shining even brighter than before. She was breathtakingly beautiful. And sexy. Unbelievably sexy.

      He had to say something but logical words failed him at the moment and he was incapable of getting out a single sound, let alone string a sentence together.

      “And?” Ken asked walking up to Cilla. “What did the stallion tell you – why is he behaving so badly?”

      Cameron crossed his arms in front of him. He was acting like a bloody teenager who’d seen a pretty girl for the first time. He didn’t need this kind of distraction in his life, damn it to hell! He had enough trouble as it was.

      Cilla opened her mouth to answer Ken’s question but then she closed it again. There was something else she needed to know first.

      “Have you always had horses on the farm?” she asked.

      “Oh, no. Only for the last two years,” Ken said.

      “Oh,” Cilla said and frowned. She looked towards the stables. “It looks as if the building has been here for some time …”

      “There used to be horses on the farm – a long time ago. I’ve renovated the stables and have been buying horses for the past two years. Why? Did Bravo moan about his accommodation?” he asked, not even trying to hide the sarcasm in his voice.

      Cilla tried to keep her face expressionless as she stared at the big man. She felt torn in two. The horse needed her help but she wouldn’t be able to do her work if the owner had this kind of attitude. And on top of everything else, he was also one of the rudest people she’d had the misfortune to meet. She honestly hadn’t thought men like this one still existed.

      “I can help your horse, but you don’t trust me. Your aggressive behaviour is obviously detrimental to your relationship with humans and will definitely not work in your relationship with Bravo. When you reach the point where you are prepared to investigate other possibilities and realize that what I do is one of the most natural, most instinctive things on earth, you let me know.”

      She turned to Ken and shrugged. “I’m sorry, but I can’t work like this. I really hope you can find help. Goodbye.”

      She ignored Cameron and quickly walked towards her car. When she disappeared behind the building, the two men started arguing again. Exasperated, she rolled her eyes.

      If only he’d given her a chance. But no, he was too damn skeptical, too damn rude and too much of a chauvinistic caveman to even consider asking for a mere woman’s help.

      She’d parked in front of the farmhouse. It was a lovely old building with a Cape Dutch cable and a huge veranda. A gardener was working in the garden, it looked as if he were planting bulbs in the ground. Strange, she wouldn’t have thought the grim man she’d just met would be interested in growing anything that didn’t have a monetary value.

      She opened her car door, talking to herself. Normally, she tried to see the good in everyone, tried to find at least one redeeming factor, but this man had rubbed her up the wrong way from his first swear word and trying to find anything redeeming in his behaviour would take more time than what he was worth.

      And on top of everything else, she hated the way he made her feel. Yes, he was attractive, but she’d seen attractive men before. Why her body went on red alert the minute she’d seen him, she had no idea. Her palms were sweaty, her breathing erratic and her heart was just about jumping out of her chest. She was behaving exactly like a panting heroine straight out of a bodice ripper romance. A good thing that she wouldn’t see him again. She’d always trusted her feelings, but this was way too intense, even for her.

      Shaking her head, she turned the key. Being intense was what made it possible for her to communicate with animals. The damn man had her questioning her feelings, damn it. And she had never had to do that before.

      She glanced in the direction of the stables again. And why did he look so familiar? Surely she would have remembered if they’d met before, not many people were this rude. Or had such broad shoulders and had eyes in that particular shade of deep blue. Aargh – what was wrong with her? The man was impossible.

      What a pity he was unable to get his head around something different. But she felt sorry for the horse. She could help the fiery stallion, but she’d learnt along the way that the problem very seldom lay with the horse. And this particular cranky owner was so full of prejudice, it was clear he was not going to be persuaded to listen to her advice.

      Fortunately, she’d realized a long time ago that she couldn’t persuade people to believe in what she did. And at this point in her life, it didn’t matter what other people thought. She was comfortable with her ability, albeit a little bit weirder than what was considered the norm.

      One of her most wonderful memories was the short period she’d taught in America right after she finished her studies. Over weekends she was able to work on a horse farm and nobody there thought it strange that she knew what animals were thinking. In fact, most of the people on the farm were able to communicate with animals on some sort of level. The principle used on the farm to train horses was one of respect and love of the horses.

      And to her, it was so logical, her own dad had always used the same ideas when working with his horses.

      Ever since she remembered, she’d been able to communicate with animals. When she was little, she’d thought everybody did. Her parents never let her believe that what she was able to do was abnormal. It was only when she started school that she gradually came to accept that other people found her understanding