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‘Anyway, as I lay there in that hospital bed, I had a visitor. Ewan’s wife. She told me Ewan had been drunk and admitted everything to her. I thought she meant the fireworks, but then she produced a cheque for me. It was for the full amount of what I’d paid to him in instalments, to keep quiet about the accident and to leave you alone. She’d never known about what he was doing, the money he’d got from me, not until during divorce proceedings, anyway. She told me she’d never once blamed you or anyone else at the stables for the accident. She’d had no idea that her husband did either because at the time they were already in the process of separating. She looked devastated when she told me that one day she’d heard Levi boasting about how his dad had put the fear of God into the woman at the stables because she deserved it.
‘I can understand the divorce,’ Thomas went on. ‘She told me she was furious with Ewan because the focus should have been on Levi and his recovery, not on placing blame. She also said that she had no doubt that Levi would’ve been at fault that day because he’d inherited a lot of his father’s attitude.’ His eyes filled with tears when he admitted, ‘She sat at my bedside and cried, sad for her son, that his role model wasn’t helping him turn into the man that he should be.’
‘I can’t imagine being married to someone like that,’ said Hazel.
‘I expect she’s better off out of it.’
‘So you didn’t mention you’d seen him to the police because of that woman, Levi’s mother?’
He was unsure whether to answer but eventually told his daughter, ‘I thought I’d give her and her son a chance to avoid more trouble. She was getting out, that was what mattered, and she wanted what was best for Levi.’
‘Those fireworks could’ve killed you.’
‘But they didn’t.’
‘They could’ve seriously injured Franklin.’ Hazel felt panic rise, her whole body stiffen until her dad’s hand covered her own.
‘But they didn’t,’ he repeated.
‘Why did he show up again now?’
‘No idea. Not our business. Because now the police will charge him. And I will tell them everything that happened back then with the fireworks, everything.’
‘I told the policewoman about the time he confronted me in the stables and made threats.’
‘Then they will have all the facts. And they can take it from there. I should’ve gone to them in the first place.’
‘Hindsight is a wonderful thing.’
‘It sure is.’ Thomas took a deep breath. ‘Your fear of teaching breaks my heart, you know. I hate that you doubt yourself.’
‘My visitor today didn’t help.’
‘I’m sure it didn’t.’ His face softening, he asked, ‘Do you remember how Barney used to bring over the odd basket of apples from his trees?’
She managed a smile at the memory. ‘He brought them for the horses and I taught him how to put his hand flat to feed them. I remember his deep chuckle the first time he did it and the horse’s lips tickled his palm.’
‘And do you recall finding a bad apple one day and refusing to let any of the horses have it?’
‘I don’t.’
‘You were adamant. You marched off and threw it on the compost where it could rot away and disappear.’
‘Are you saying we should throw Ewan on the compost heap?’ The thought of doing so was enough to dampen the emotion of using his name. Thinking of him covered in soiled sawdust, dung, and food remnants was strangely satisfying.
‘If only we could. But don’t you see? He’s one bad apple in a bunch of apples that are perfectly fine. He’s one parent, one person who crossed your path and made life hard.’
‘He really did.’
‘Arnold told me a little girl fell off her horse here the other day.’
Hazel finished her tea. ‘It was terrifying.’
‘I know it must have been. It’s never easy to witness. But do you know what else? Arnold talked to the parent, explained what had happened, and that was it. The girl is perfectly fine. The parent accepts that horse riding is risky and has shown no sign they want to stop sending their child here for lessons. Let’s face it, Ewan’s problem wasn’t really what happened to his son, it was that he was out for trouble. Forget the bad apple, focus on the good ones.’
‘You’re so wise.’
With a grin, plucking another shortbread from the tin, he said, ‘I do my best.’
