Free Shadow on the Fells by Eleanor Jones Page A

heart tightened as she realized the milk hadn’t helped enough.
    â€œCome on, little one,” she murmured, picking it up again. “Let’s try a couple more hours in the warm.”
    Chrissie settled the lamb down in its box next to the stove, then headed out to check on the lambing sheep, feed the animals and milk the two cows. Tess and Fly were at her heels, as always, but the young trainee, Floss, leaped around her in crazy circles, thrilled to be out in the open with her companions.
    As she worked, Chrissie found herself questioning her lonely existence and wondering if maybe some of what Aunt Hilda had said was right. In all honesty, if Chrissie died tomorrow, who would there be to miss her? It was a sobering thought.
    Her thoughts went, unbidden, to Will. The fact that he’d kept his ownership of Craig Side from her made her blood boil. Then again, had he really made a secret of it...or had she been ignoring what was right in front of her? The way he behaved irritated her, too, but if she was being honest with herself, their spats made her feel...alive. Apart from making small talk with the postman and the occasional villager, she had so little interaction with other people. So the passion he invoked in her, even though it was generally based on anger and frustration, was kind of fulfilling. And there was something about him that intrigued her. She’d never met a man like Will before.
    At eight thirty, when all the jobs were finally done, Chrissie headed wearily back into the kitchen, satisfied with her evening’s work and looking forward to a nice cup of tea and a sit-down. Her sense of well-being faded, though, as she checked on the lamb. Milk trickled from between its small black lips, and the life had faded from its eyes.
    She placed her hand on its motionless rib cage and found the body cold and still. Her efforts hadn’t been enough, and now she needed to find a “pet” lamb to replace it. The ewe had milk, and her mothering instinct was strong; she needed another lamb to care for right away, or her milk would dry up and she would be good for nothing. A ewe without lambs was not worth keeping.
    Grabbing her phone, breakfast forgotten, Chrissie rang three local sheep farmers before finding an orphan lamb at Chris Bolton’s farm on the other side of the village.
    â€œCome on, girls,” she called to her dogs, pulling on her jacket. They ran eagerly out behind her to jump into the back of her Land Rover, excited to be going somewhere.
    As she drove along the main street in Little Dale, stopping for a duck to waddle across the road, Chrissie was reminded of the Runner duck killed by Will’s dog. Well, she may have been distracted by the lambing, but he wasn’t getting away with it. He needed to learn that here in the countryside, he was accountable for the actions of his crazy dog...and hopefully that would help him realize how irresponsible his plans for holiday rentals were.
    Come to think of it, though, it was strange that she hadn’t seen him in the past week. Maybe he’d decided to go back to the city after all, but she doubted it. During their last encounter, he’d sounded very determined to settle here. She would be glad if he was gone; he’d already caused enough problems for her. Yet, unbelievably, she realized she’d miss the way his silvery gray eyes sought to overpower her, the way they glinted with anger when their conversations got heated. The touching thing was that in an instant, that glint could disappear and reveal vulnerability. She couldn’t deny that her heart rate doubled when she glimpsed that unexpected softness... She shook her head out of the clouds. If he was still around, she needed to see him so she could give him the bill. He wasn’t getting away with not paying her back.
    Approaching the village store, it occurred to Chrissie that she might as well stock up on groceries while she was here. She’d used