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‘This space is for Denby.’ Hazel had her hand on an empty hook ready for Denby’s bridle and then moved over to show him the space for the saddle, where his saddle pad and girth would go.
She waited beside him and he moved out of the way when he realised she wanted to get past. ‘I’ll grab Minstrel’s tack while I’m in here,’ she explained. ‘He’s in the lesson this morning.’
‘That all looks heavy.’ He eyed the saddle, the girth she’d laid across, the bridle she’d looped onto her shoulder and the saddle pad she laid on top of what was in her arms. ‘I can help.’
She hesitated but then said, ‘Actually, if you wouldn’t mind, could you bring out Peony’s tack?’ She indicated the spots where it was kept.
Gus picked up the bridle from its hook on the wall and looped it over his shoulder the way she had, then found the saddle and the girth from a shelving unit at the end, and the saddle pad from a big wooden organiser. He followed Hazel outside, where they put the tack onto a rack fit for the purpose.
After he’d helped her, Hazel seemed happier to be with him and even stood less than a couple of metres away, less wary of him, perhaps. She took him to see the indoor school, all the while talking about other horses they’d had here who were working livery and how their owners had enjoyed the experience, taking away a lot of the responsibility for them. ‘I get what it’s like,’ she said, ‘people have jobs, kids have school, and looking after a horse is a massive commitment.’
‘But worth it,’ he said.
She briefly considered his words before she led him to the outside school and towards the paddocks. He looked over at the main house too, impressive in its proportions. ‘Growing up here must have been a blast. All this space to run around. Imagine the games of Hide and Seek.’
She laughed. ‘We did have a few of those games and yes, it was a wonderful place to grow up. Still is.’
‘You’re still growing up?’
Her cheeks reddened slightly, and he realised it had sounded like flirting when he hadn’t meant it to be. ‘Something like that,’ she said as Arnold came out of the paddock, leading one of the horses.
Hazel took the horse while Arnold went back for another. ‘I think you and your daughter will love being here in Heritage Cove.’
‘I’m hoping so.’
‘It’s the sort of place people come to and never want to leave.’ She said it while looking at the horse, one hand on his halter, the other running down his long face.
Gus looked over to the paddock, where Arnold was trying to grab another horse, who was playing a bit of a game with him. It was fun to watch.
Hazel had already made a start with grooming the horse she had.
‘I assume this is Minstrel?’ Gus checked as she finished scraping out the remaining hoof and dropped the pick into the tidy box in exchange for a brush that she began to run across the horse’s glossy brown coat.
‘It sure is.’
‘Cool name.’ He approached the horse from the front so his touch didn’t take the mare by surprise and once he’d run a hand down her nose, he did the same down her neck, her coat smooth on the side Hazel had just been brushing, clean and gleaming in the sunshine.
‘Minstrel, I think you’d be a lovely horse to ride.’ When Gus spoke, he felt Hazel watching him, taking in his almost soppy undertones, but she looked away when he met her gaze.
‘Minstrel would be good for you to ride in a lesson.’ Hazel finished brushing the other side of Minstrel’s body. She picked up the saddle pad from the rack and positioned it correctly. And with a smile, she told him, ‘I still remember one of the first men I taught, years ago now, was only here because his girlfriend loved horses and he wanted to impress her. He ended up loving riding so much he bought a horse.’
Gus nodded his approval. ‘I hope he got the girl.’
‘They married soon after,’ she grinned.
‘Talking of lessons, I need to sign my daughter up before myself, really. She’s more important.’
‘Actually I’m not sure I do have space.’ She cleared her throat. ‘Arnold is your man to ask about lessons.’
Arnold? What happened to her teaching?
He let the query go for a moment while she carried on tacking up the horse. Gus tuned in to the far-off whinnying, the sound of hooves as Arnold brought the other horse from grass to concrete, the sigh from Minstrel as she was attended to. He inhaled the freshness of country air that made him feel as though they were in the middle of nowhere and his mind drifted to his daughter and the way horses were not only her passion, but her need. Horses had been Abigail’s focus in life when everything around her seemed to be falling apart.
‘You’re very comfortable around horses, even though you don’t ride,’ Hazel observed, her voice bringing him back to the present.
‘It kind of comes in the job description. I’m a vet.’
Things seemed to click into place for Hazel. ‘Ah, then you must be the new vet in the village.’
