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As the kids talked about horses, Gus leaned back on his elbows and Hazel did the same next to him. ‘Get her on the subject of horses and she’ll be talking for hours,’ he said quietly.
‘It’s a good focus.’ She sounded as though she was talking from experience. But she changed the subject. ‘Are you enjoying having your own practice?’
‘It’s early days, but it’s been a long time coming and I know it’ll be worth it.’ He looked around them, not that you could see much now the sun had had enough for another day. ‘This all helps: the village, the beautiful surrounds with the cove, finding the stables, the eateries we have to choose from, all within walking distance of home.’You, he wanted to say but didn’t because he suspected she’d run a mile.
‘Are you getting a steady flow of patients?’
‘I am. I have quiet times because I’m so new, but I need those at the moment. Eventually I’ll have to employ a receptionist, but for now the admin is manageable with such a gap between appointments. I could advertise the position, or I could just tell Barney and have him do the honours.’ He explained how a few clients had already come his way because of Barney.
‘Barney will make sure anyone coming here to live soon feels a part of it, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without any of us.’ She met his gaze and the moment between them hung in the air until she began to laugh.
‘What’s so funny?’
‘I bet you couldn’t believe it, when you posed naked for the art class, that two of the students would be living in the village you were moving to.’
A deep laugh rumbled through him. ‘No, I couldn’t. I didn’t think I’d see any of those art lovers again.’ He waited until she looked at him. ‘I’m glad I did, though.’
Coyly she didn’t reply, just watched the kids as they attempted swing ball in the fading light, laughing that they couldn’t see the ball properly.
Without Hazel focusing on him, Gus felt able to carry on talking and share more about himself. ‘The night of the art class, Abigail went outside to the car before I did. She wasn’t gone for long, but by the time I got outside, there were some teenagers hanging around and one of them was asking about her scars. He wasn’t asking in an interested way, either.’ When Hazel’s eyes begged the question, he added, ‘He was insulting her and calling her names. I don’t even know why kids have to do that. What do they get out of it?’
Hazel shook her head. ‘I really don’t know. They probably do it to look big in front of their friends, try to get a bit of a laugh, some do it when they’re jealous, others might do it if they’ve been bullied themselves.’ She shrugged. ‘You’d think they’d know how it feels, but sometimes it makes a victim feel better to be the antagonist.’
‘Joan is always telling me to lead by example, but that night, I lost my temper. I think the summer heat, the exhaustion of the move and then the art class all got to me, and I was so angry for Abigail. That night was the beginning of our fresh start and there they were putting a dampener on it by being spiteful.’
‘You’re a good dad.’
He looked at her then. ‘I like to think so, but that night? You saw me. I’m ashamed of how furious I was. The teenagers looked afraid at least and who knows, maybe it’ll make them think twice about doing it to someone else, but I couldn’t sleep that night, thinking I might have scared them witless.’
Hazel didn’t speak straight away but when she did, she told him, ‘They deserved to see repercussions for their tormenting. And you’re right, it could make them think twice. It might not, but hopefully something of what you said to them might have got through.’
They were interrupted when someone called out that it was cake time. ‘I guess that’s our cue to move.’ He looked over to see Daniel emerge from the back door with an enormous yellow cake and too many candles to count from this distance.
‘Jade from the bakery made that and it looks delicious,’ smiled Hazel, taking Gus’s hand to pull her up from sitting when he offered.
Gus hadn’t really thought about his gesture until he was actually doing it and judging by her reaction now she was standing almost against him, neither had she.
‘Grab the rackets, you two,’ she said to the kids. ‘Cake!’
Both Abigail and Peter came over and Hazel took the rackets from Peter.
As they walked over to rejoin the party, Peter queried, ‘I know I said I was scared of horses, but Abigail says Denby is a nice horse, Hazel.’
‘He’s a beautiful horse.’
‘Would I be able to have a lesson on him, do you think? If I ask my mum or Daniel?’
‘I don’t see why not. I’ll talk with my brother, see when he has a space.’
‘Or you could teach me,’ Peter suggested.
It was as though her persona completely changed and already Gus missed the Hazel who had begun to let her guard down tonight. ‘Arnold is the better teacher for you, Peter. I’ll let him know you’re interested.’ Her tone friendly but firm, they walked on, and she left the rackets by the back door to the waffle shack before coming over to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Lucy.
Gus watched Hazel as everyone launched into the final line of the song. So it wasn’t just Abigail she refused to teach. And yet she had a wonderful rapport with kids, an affinity with horses, so surely putting the two together worked.
As their eyes met over the candlelight from the birthday cake, Gus had to wonder what Hazel was hiding. What was it that made her so afraid?
