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‘I don’t think my probation officer would see it like that,’ Rick tried to mollify.

‘So don’t tell him. Duh.’

Angela actually felt bad for Rick. And incredibly awkward, trapped watching the conversation — and partly involved, thanks to him — unable to figure out how to extricate herself from it without drawing Yvette’s attention and putting herself in the line of fire.

‘It’s not really that simple,’ Rick argued, sounding tired.

‘If you loved me, you’d drive me.’

Youch. If Angela had thought she’d felt awkward before, she needed a new word to describe how horrifically embarrassed she felt now. She wished she could freeze and disappear into the foliage like so many of her birds could. Or that the ground would open up and swallow her whole. Either would do, she just really wanted the conversation and situation to be over with.

* * *

Rick stared at Yvette, struggling to figure out how to placate her this time. Usually he gave in to her demands — it was easier than arguing and putting up with her sulks — but he wasn’t willing to break the law for her and give the judge a chance to make good on her threat to have him locked up. It would be so easy to give in to Yvette — like he had done a thousand times before — but this time he could feel Angela’s eyes on him, and knew she was waiting to see what he was going to say and do.

And much to his surprise, he found himself caring about what she thought. She wasn’t just another Rickhead, following his videos and posts, or a sponsor paying to tell him what to think, or at least what to say publicly. But Angela? Despite how badly he’d hurt her, she trusted him with her precious animals. With Ernie, who was loving and trusting despite the background Angela hinted at but wouldn’t discuss. Oh crap, he really hoped Yvette — and he, by his own hesitant inaction — hadn’t done anything to hurt his grinning, gentle donkey friend. Oh, he really might have screwed up.

He felt awful. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had trusted him with anything more important than some product they were flogging.

‘Well?’ Yvette stared at him, her foot tapping on the floor.

He looked at her — so, so beautiful and perfectly made-up — and looked back to the now-empty space where Ernie, with all his scruffy smelliness, had bolted from. Ernie, who trusted him and asked for nothing more than clean bedding, food and water, and the occasional itch, and in exchange gave him so much love. The way the little dude would whinny and whistle and race to the fence to meet him did something funny to his stomach. Oh shit, he hoped he’d be forgiven.

‘Well!’ Yvette’s tapping grew louder and more impatient as she folded her arms, pushing her tits up as she did so. ‘Did you hear me?’

Something inside him snapped. ‘Yeah, I heard you,’ he answered coldly.

‘So, let’s go. Take me home.’

‘You know what, Yvette? No. I’ll happily call you a ride, and make sure you get to your place safely, but afterwards I need to come back. I’m working here.’

‘It’s not like it’s real work.’ She pouted. ‘And she said you could go.’

‘But she still needs help and, actually, I think this might be some of the “realest” work I’ve done in years.’ And he still had to work out how to apologise to Ernie, but he highly doubted that would be a smart thing to say.

‘If you loved me, you’d drive me home now.’

How many times had she done that to him? Brandished the phrase “love” around as if it was a weapon? And, more to the point, how many times had he let it work? So desperate to please her and not upset her, he’d done things that were against his better judgement, often causing him trouble. It had been Yvette who begged him to stay out the night before the accident — not that he blamed her, it was his fault, and he was willing to take responsibility for that, but this time it was all on her.

‘Then I guess maybe I don’t. I’m sorry, Yvette.’ As harsh as the words were to say, they felt incredibly true. ‘If you loved me, you wouldn’t ask me to break the law,’ he told her mildly. ‘And you’d respect my decisions. As I said, I’m happy to call a ride and make sure you get home safely, but afterwards I’m coming back here. To work.’

The screeching noise Yvette made was hideous and filled with anger. A few weeks ago he might have called it animalistic, but even a scared cat screaming for rescue hadn’t sounded so awful as she did. ‘You have no idea what you’re doing. This is your last chance, Rick,’ she snarled.

‘Actually, I think I do.’ Rick stood firm. ‘I think it’s best if you leave here.’

‘Oh, believe me, I’m going.’ She stormed out of the gate, sending it crashing back against the wall.

Rick let out a long breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding. He turned to look at Angela, suddenly feeling incredibly embarrassed. She shouldn’t have had to witness any of that, and he worried what she was going to think of him. He was pretty sure her opinion of him was already far from the best.

‘Are you OK?’ She watched him with wary eyes, like she was approaching an animal she hadn’t had time to win over yet.

‘Huh. I think I might have just broken up with my girlfriend.’ Saying the words aloud just sounded weird.

‘I . . . um . . . hate to say it, but I think you might be right.’ Angela pulled a sympathetic face.

Rick winced as he heard his car, with all its beautiful, expensive engineering, screech out of the road. Maybe he should have demanded the keys back, but he wasn’t that much of a bastard — regardless of what Angela probably thought of him.

‘I’m really sorry you had to see that.’ He shook his head, feeling embarrassment scorch his cheeks.