1
‘Hope you have a good last day of term,’ I said to my seventeen-year-old daughter, Maddie, as she crouched down by the front door fastening her trainers.
‘Last day ofhalf-term,’ she muttered. ‘Get it right.’
I sighed inwardly at the familiar, unnecessarily snarky tone, but kept my voice light as I corrected my statement. ‘Hope you have a good last day ofhalf-term, then.’
She stood up and glared at me. ‘Not a chance! It’s Friday the 13thandit’s the day before Valentine’s Day, but guess who won’t be celebrating with her boyfriend tomorrow?’
I gasped. ‘You’ve split up with Alfie? When?’
‘Last night.’ Maddie grabbed her coat from the peg and thrust her arms into the sleeves. ‘Not that you’ll care. You hated him.’
‘I didn’t hate him. That’s a very strong word.’
‘Well, you didn’t like him.’
I couldn’t deny that. Maddie had started seeing Alfie in September, shortly after returning for her second year of sixth form. I’d wanted to like my daughter’s first serious boyfriend and had desperately searched for some positives but all I couldsee was a cocky, arrogant teenager who was obsessed with his hair and a hideous but phenomenally expensive pair of red and yellow trainers which were apparentlyon trend. I’d never have matched him with Maddie. As far as I could tell, they had nothing in common and, much as I hated myself for thinking it, I’d longed for the relationship to end. But, equally, I hadn’t wanted her to get hurt, which she clearly was now.
‘What happened?’ I asked gently.
‘Carmen happened.’
I reeled back at that. ‘Your best friend?’
‘Myex-best friend and, no, I don’t want to talk about it.’ She hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and yanked the door open. ‘Two months they’ve been seeing each other. Two months of lying to me. Who does that?’
I winced. ‘I’m so sorry, sweetheart.’
‘Yeah, sure you are, cos you never liked her either.’
‘What I think of them doesn’t matter. I know they both mean a lot to you.’
‘Meant. Past tense. I wish I never had to see them again but I can’t avoid them – especially her. The teachers won’t let us move seats so I’ve got to sit next to that devious bitch for four hours today.’
I winced at the insult. It wasn’t like Maddie to use language like that, even though it sounded justified in this case.
‘So you can keep yourhave a nice daycrap,’ she continued, ‘’cos nothing about today’s gonna be good.’
The slam of the front door sent our three-year-old ginger tabby cat, Clemmie, scarpering down the hall and set the dogs off barking.
‘It’s all right, you two,’ I said, returning to the kitchen and giving some attention to Nova – my six-year-old golden retriever – and her two-year-old daughter Skye. ‘Just Maddie in a mood. Again.’
* * *
Maddie was on my mind as I drove the short journey to work – Langley Lodge Equestrian Centre a few miles outside the Berkshire village of Twyford where I’d lived for nearly twenty-five years. Losing both her boyfriend and best friend at the same time would be hard to deal with, especially when she didn’t have a wide circle of friends. A couple of years ago we’d have talked it over together, but now she barely spoke to me. I couldn’t bear the thought of her going through this on her own.
I arrived at work and parked alongside my best friend Jude’s car. I loved my job as an equine-assisted therapist and I used to love where I worked but we’d been taken over by our neighbouring equestrian centre in November and it had been downhill ever since. The new owner, Ross Langley, was incredible with horses, charming towards customers but horrendous to his staff. If there’d been other options locally, neither Jude nor I would ever have chosen to work for him.
As I headed towards the stables to prepare for my first client of the day, Ross’s assistant, Belinda, hurried out of the office block on my left.
‘Mr Langley wants to see you,’ she said.
‘After my first appointment?’
‘Now.’ She looked around her shiftily before adding in a hushed voice, ‘I’m so sorry, Grace.’
‘About what?’
