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10
Hazel didn’t ride Cinnamon when Saturday came around. The equine vet, Stan, said it would be fine to, but she wanted to go on a long ride, and she couldn’t bear the thought that he might suffer, so this time she took Sherbert, who was a bit livelier. They had a good ride along the bridleway on past Heritage Cove and ventured down to the beach for a good canter. The rain had come last night and this morning the beach was practically deserted, the tide well out, allowing them a clear path along near the water’s edge.
The salty air against her face felt like a spritz of energy as she enjoyed the speed, the freedom, pulling Sherbert to a slow canter, trot, then walk when they spotted people in the distance. She looked behind them. ‘Never mind, Sherbert, we can go fast all the way back if you like. We’ll turn here.’
She was just pulling the horse around when she heard a young voice call out her name.
She turned Sherbert back again and sure enough, it was Abigail running towards them in a wetsuit. ‘Whatever are you doing? It’s miserable out today!’ Hazel laughed and lifted a hand to wave at Gus who wasn’t far behind his daughter.
‘I haven’t been to the beach yet. I couldn’t wait any longer to go in the sea.’
‘And I didn’t want her getting hypothermia,’ Gus grinned as he reached them, a sweatshirt on his top half, checked shorts that showed off tanned legs, his trainers paired and in one hand. He put a hand on his daughter’s head briefly, but Abigail was more interested in Sherbert, who was curious about her too.
‘Which one’s this?’ Gus asked.
Abigail tutted. ‘This is Sherbert, Dad. He got his name because he’s fizzy like the dip.’
‘That’s right,’ Hazel chuckled.
‘Not riding Cinnamon?’
‘I’m hesitant to push him. I’ll leave it this week, but next Saturday I expect I’ll be out on him again.’ She stroked Sherbert’s neck. When she’d seen Gus at the stables yesterday, he’d asked about Cinnamon and she’d told him their vet had done the ultrasound and that there was no more damage. ‘It’s good to give this one a turn on a long ride. You appreciate it, don’t you, Sherbert?’
The horse’s ears twitched in response.
Abigail might love horses but when she saw another girl heading down their way, she dashed over to join her. ‘Careful!’ Gus called over loud enough for her to hear but not so loud he startled the horse.
‘She’s making friends.’ It was good to see them settling in. ‘The cove is a beautiful place to swim, no matter the weather. And the water is nice and calm today.’ The waves at the water’s edge beside them rolled in gently, the foam frothing on the shore before the water receded again.
‘We came down from The Street, down what Abigail calls “the secret track”.’
Hazel laughed. ‘It stops too many tourists, we locals love it.’
‘It’s truly beautiful down here.’
‘It gets my vote.’ Despite the drizzle that had just started, it didn’t detract from the beauty of this part of the coast.
When Gus heard squealing behind him, he ran a hand across his face. ‘I told her not to climb on those rocks.’ He sounded exasperated.
‘The kids around here love the rocks. And it keeps them out of our way, doesn’t it, Sherbert?’
‘Did you get a good run along here?’ Gus asked with one eye still on his daughter and the friend she was with.
Those rocks could be slippery, she didn’t tell Gus she’d seen more than one kid hurt themselves. But then she’d also seen countless others have a whale of a time. ‘It’s a great run. With the tide out a bit further, I can see if anyone is around, I wouldn’t want to go at speed if they were.’
‘Very wise.’ He looked up at her and added, ‘I meant what I said, you know.’
Her hands steadied the reins as Sherbert moved his head, keen to appraise himself of his surroundings while they were stationary. ‘What was that?’
‘When I said that you did everything right for Cinnamon after he was hurt. You had the first aid kit, you comforted him most importantly.’
‘Thank you.’ She leaned to rub Sherbert’s neck to keep him content. ‘I was panicking inside but doing my best not to let Cinnamon feel my anxiety. It’s just the blood, you know.’
‘I know.’ His soft voice whispered towards her on the breeze.
‘Good to have a vet in the village, though, in case I can’t get hold of our regular next time.’
‘Happy to lend a hand whenever you need.’ He took a few steps away from the horse and waved over to Abigail. ‘That’s far enough,’ he called through open hands. They were climbing on the higher rocks now. ‘Abigail, off please!’ He turned back and rolled his eyes Hazel’s way.
