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‘And you did. I remember you taking on some of the lessons, you and Mum being here for me and Arnold, to support us and encourage us.’ Their parents had allowed a good handover period for the business, staying in the Cove to ensure that their children knew the day-to-day running of the place before they moved further away.
‘I also went over to Ewan’s house,’ Thomas admitted.
‘When?’ Tabitha picked up on the shift in tension and leapt off Hazel’s lap to go and find a more comfortable surface that wouldn’t move, most likely the cushion of the sofa.
‘After Arnold told me Ewan had come for you at the stables.’
She would never forget it. She’d dulled the memory ever since and unfortunately now had a fresh one to keep it alive. ‘What did you do?’
‘Not a lot. I hadn’t really worked out what I was going to say. I was mad at him coming at you, threatening you, but your mum and I talked, and we both knew it must’ve come from a place of sheer terror when he thought his son was seriously hurt. I don’t know why we excused it, I suppose we wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he was like any other parent.
‘I got to the house and I could see the young boy, Levi, through the window, slumped in front of the television but otherwise alive and hopefully getting better with every passing day.’ Thomas set down his piece of shortbread. ‘Ewan came to the door and I started off by saying how sorry I was that the accident had happened, thought I’d give him a chance to apologise for turning up at the stables and scaring you out of your wits, but there was no reasoning with the man. He told me that this accident would finish you for good. You’d never teach again, your stupid riding school – that’s how he phrased it – would be as good as dead. He ran on and on about your neglect, that he was going to make an example of you.’
‘I remember when he said the same to me.’ Hazel gulped. ‘Until today, I thought maybe he’d decided the biggest focus was that Levi was all right, that that was all that mattered.’
Thomas shook his head. ‘I didn’t know his game that day, but he had one for sure. He wasn’t all about his kid’s welfare, it was more about how much trouble he could make. I’m afraid I panicked.’
‘You didn’t hit him, did you?’
Thomas chuckled. ‘Since when have I solved a problem with my fists?’
‘Good point.’ Her dad was far too gentle for that. ‘So whatdidyou do?’
‘I always believed in you and Arnold when it came to this place. I knew you could both make it work.’ He paused. ‘But with his threats, I saw him making it difficult for the business, especially you. And my fatherly instincts came out to play, rightly or wrongly. I didn’t want that man to take anything from you. I didn’t want your name in the newspapers, as he was threatening to do. I didn’t want you to have to go to court.’
‘But we had insurance, so we were covered legally, and that cover would’ve seen to Ewan’s bills too if they were genuine.’ It hadn’t been the first thing she’d thought of when the accident happened, far from it, but Arnold had taken charge to check the particulars.
‘I wasn’t thinking straight or practically, Hazel. All I was thinking about was keeping you from harm, protecting you. You and Arnold loved horses as kids – growing up here at Heritage View was quite a life.’
‘You don’t have to remind me…’ She looked around the four walls of the kitchen, the place that was home.
‘In all the years we’d run the stables and the riding school, all those horses and all those riders, we’d never come up against a man like Ewan who was out to cause trouble. I wasn’t stupid in that respect, but I should’ve been stronger. I wanted to come to some agreement with him that would see him leave you and Arnold and the stables well alone. I listened to him rant about lost wages, physio bills, and compensation for stress. You name it, he listed it. I don’t think it mattered to him whether it was true or not.’
It dawned on Hazel with painful clarity. ‘You paid him off.’
‘I gave him a sum, he asked for more, I told him I could do it in instalments as I didn’t have cash lying around, not to mention I might have to explain it to others. He obviously realised if that were to happen, he might not get his money at all because others in my life might not be quite so stupid.’ For the first time since he’d arrived today, her dad looked tired. Always strong, forever dependable, he showed his vulnerability in having to recount the story. ‘There were twelve instalments in total, and I felt such relief when I made the last instalment. But then he showed up after I’d put the final cheque through his letterbox. He was drunk, he was angry, he was looking for you.’
‘You never said anything.’ Her voice came out small at the realisation of all the trouble behind the scenes when she hadn’t thought anyone other than her was struggling to move forwards. ‘How did you get rid of him? Don’t tell me you gave him more money?’
Thomas shook his head. ‘I knew that if I did, it would never end. And over those twelve months, I regretted my decision as it was. It felt deceitful, no matter whether I was protecting you or not.’
Hazel realised something else. ‘You never did gamble that money away, did you?’
He shook his head. ‘I made up an excuse when you questioned the invoices I had to use to cover my tracks. I hated the lies I told, but I admitted everything to Sally after we moved away. She understood, and I think she was just grateful that man had gone off the radar. Or at least that’s what we assumed.’
‘I wish he had.’
‘Do you remember my fall?’
Thomas had been out on a hack with Franklin, taking the bridleways that bisected two of the largest fields beyond Barney’s home and barn. It was quite a trek that way, but one he was used to. It hadn’t even been dark or anywhere near bonfire night, but someone had launched fireworks across the bridleway in Franklin’s path, causing Franklin to buck and Thomas to come off. Whoever the idiot had been had run off the second they’d done it, leaving Thomas lying on the ground, injured. A dog walker had found him and called an ambulance. And Franklin was by his side; he hadn’t bolted, as though he knew his master was hurt.
‘How could I ever forget? You were lucky, it could’ve been worse.’ And then she gasped. ‘You think it was Ewan who set off the fireworks.’ His name left a sour taste in her mouth.
‘I know it was him. I saw him about five minutes before the accident happened. I assumed he was going to head to the stables and so I was on my way back there to warn you.’
‘Why did you never tell the police what he did? When they asked questions in the hospital, you said nothing.’
‘I’d seen him that day, but I couldn’t actually prove it was him. Believe me, I thought about letting the police go question him, but then I had to consider the ramifications for you if he tried to finish the business by mouthing off about Levi’s accident the way he’d said he would.
