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At that moment, a truck rumbled its way towards the house and parking area and out climbed a man with a tweed cap on his head. ‘The equine vet?’ Gus guessed before beckoning to Abigail. ‘Come on you, bath and bedtime, school tomorrow.’
His daughter groaned. ‘A little bit longer, please.’
‘Come on,’ he repeated and to Hazel, ‘She’d sleep here if she could.’
‘I would’ve done at her age, too. I actually did try to sleep in the stables once, both Arnold and I thought it would be an adventure, until Mum caught us.’ When Abigail came over, Hazel told her, ‘You know, it’s almost bedtime for the horses as well. I’m just hoping they don’t run away from me tonight or bedtime will take ages.’
‘Running away seems to be a popular game for your horses,’ Gus laughed.
‘Actually, it does,’ Hazel mused, waving to the vet who was with Arnold and Cinnamon. ‘And some of them,’ she told Abigail, ‘get a double act going. Cinnamon and Jigsaw are the worst for that. I’ll go to grab the halter of one and he’ll jerk to the side out of my reach, I’ll turn to grab the other horse instead but it’s as though they have a secret code and have planned the game in advance.’
‘Denby might like that game.’
Hazel wagged her finger jokingly. ‘Don’t go giving him any tips.’ She nodded to Franklin, who’d come closer by now. ‘Franklin here is the easiest to get in if it’s windy and raining. He doesn’t mind the drizzle or a light breeze, all the horses are content in those conditions, but much more and Franklin will hover around the gate if there’s a decent patch of grass to graze on so that he’s the first to be seen to.’
Abigail smiled. She always liked hearing about horses’ different personalities. ‘Can I say goodbye to Cinnamon?’ she asked.
Gus was about to say no but Hazel took Abigail by the hand. ‘Of course, I need to get over there anyway.’ And she led her over to her horse and to where the equine vet was starting his examination. Abigail didn’t touch the horse, but Gus could hear her saying goodbye, telling him that he’d be all right. And when he heard her say, ‘Don’t worry, you’re not broken,’ his heart constricted. After her accident, when she was in hospital and panicking about what had happened to her, about how her face might never look quite the same, Joan had said the same to her. Joan had told her that she was still the very same little girl inside and that could never change.
When Abigail went to put Denby’s tack away, Hazel apologised to Gus. ‘I’m sorry this was the end to your ride today.’
‘Honestly, it’s not a problem. And thank you for what you did with Abigail just now. She was scared, you made her feel better.’
‘She talked to me while we were by the paddock.’ Hazel seemed unsure whether to go on until Gus’s expression must have let her know it was okay. ‘She told me she remembers how much it hurt when she had an accident, that there was a lot of blood. She said she didn’t want Cinnamon to feel the way she had.’
He took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. ‘Yeah, that sounds like my daughter.’
‘She’s a wonderful girl.’ And when Abigail emerged from the side of the stable block, Hazel asked, ‘What do I owe you for today?’
‘No charge at all. It’s just a few bandages and I was here anyway.’
She shook her head. ‘I’m still a little embarrassed at how much I panicked. I saw the blood. And Cinnamon, well, he’s mine, he’s been with me a long while and…’
‘He’s fine.’ He almost put his arm around her again and let her lean against him the way she had before. And he almost added that what she could do for him instead of pay him was to give Abigail a few lessons.
But for now, her smile and the relief and the way she’d looked after his daughter, with the care and attention that came naturally, would be enough.
