It was now dark and shadows crept around the hedgerows, she was sure she saw a movement and looked up to see a lone person walking slowly up the driveway dragging a heavy suitcase. Hilary squinted before gasping. "It's Susan!"
"I know, it is all about Susan." Linda cried.
"No, she is outside." Hilary opened the door and Susan stepped sheepishly into the office.
"Hello..." She looked down avoiding eye contact.
"You have a nerve showing your face here!" Hilary snarled.
"Hil's please." Linda wiped her eyes. "You are alive, we were worried."
"Linda she has made her father kick you out! Stop being so damn nice!"
Susan reached down and picked up the brown envelope that was still sitting, unopened on the desk. She passed it to Hilary. "Open it. Go on."
Hilary tore open the envelope dragging out the papers inside. She paused for a moment reading them before gasping and letting them flutter to the ground. "You..."
Susan smiled faintly. "I had to prove myself." She turned to Hilary. "I heard you this morning in the hospital." Hilary shrugged, embarrassed. Susan waved her hand at her mumbled apologies. "You are right; I was not to be trusted." She smiled. "I hope this proves it." She reached down collecting the papers and placing them in front of Linda.
"What is this?" Linda looked puzzled, reading aloud. "Transfer of ownership. Land at Redbridge, Dorset including stables and outbuildings and associated accommodation and cottage on Mill Street, Redbridge. Transferred from Thompson Construction Limited to..." Linda stopped dead. "This is some joke..."
"No, it isn't a joke." Susan smiled. "It's yours Linda. It is the only way I could think to apologise."
"But, but..." Linda stammered. "How?"
"I persuaded my father." Susan looked down. Hilary gasped as Susan's hair fell away from her face revealing a black eye and a number of cuts and bruises. "I do have a favour to ask."
"What, anything?"
"I need a job." She paused. "You have every right to say no. Tell me to piss off. But I sort of need somewhere to live and some way to get money." She held her chin up. "My father doesn't have a daughter now. He made that clear."
Chapter 10
"Hello..." Hilary stepped gently towards the person waiting in the shadows. "Are you okay?"
Susan turned round. "Yes..." She sighed.
"How long have you been out here?" Hilary waited knowing the answer. She had watched Susan waiting in the darkness every night for the month since she had returned to the yard. Susan shrugged.
"He's not here..." Susan wiped her eyes.
"Who?" Hilary stepped towards Susan, putting her arm around her shoulders.
"You wouldn't understand." Susan sobbed.
"Try me..." Hilary smiled. "Let's go somewhere warm." Hilary led the way to the tack room, unlocking the door and turning on the gas heater.
They sat for many hours as Susan told her story and how she was waiting for Adam. Hilary smiled. She didn't know how to reconcile the story, it seemed to be too much to be an hallucination or some bad dream.
"I don't think you have to wait for him here anymore." Hilary finally spoke. "If what you tell me is true, he would have wanted you to live your life, be better."
Susan looked across sadly to Hilary. "I think you are right..." She paused. "I would have just liked to say goodbye."
Chapter 11
Present Day
Kate woke alone and went downstairs, quickly showering while the kettle boiled. She stood beside the Aga drinking coffee from a chipped pink mug staring at the matching blue mug which hung from a hook under one of the kitchen units. She drained her coffee, placing the mug in the sink before getting dressed and stepping out into the crisp morning.
It took some minutes to scrape the ice off the windscreen of the Land Rover and almost as long to coax the cold engine into life, but soon enough she was on her way. The yard was quiet as she stepped from the car and on towards the stables. It was only now that she allowed the thought of Adam not being beside her to enter her mind.
Ramming her gloved hands into her pockets she walked across to the back yard, there she approached Magpie's stable and glanced in over the stable door. Magpie huffed at her and stood up stretching his limbs before approaching the door nuzzling in her pockets for mints. "You daft old thing." She patted his neck. "You seem to be fine now..." She slipped the bolt across and opened the door, closing it quietly behind her. "You know I just can't sleep alone..." She leant into the horses shoulder, hugging his neck. Pushing Magpie out of the way she approached the back of the stable. "But I see someone has no such trouble." Kate knelt down on the straw and reached over to the sleeping bag. "Wakey, wakey!"
Adam blinked, opening his eyes. "Oh, hello..." He sounded groggy.
"Now you were supposed to be keeping an eye on Magpie, not sleeping!" Kate slapped his shoulder playfully. "I see he is okay now."
"Yes, I walked him for most of the night." Adam dragged his arm from the sleeping bag glancing at his watch. "He settled about an hour ago and I thought I would get some sleep."
"Well, it is early..." Kate winked, unzipping the sleeping bag. "I don't suppose there is room in that bag for two?" She slipped into the sleeping bag beside him.
***
Caroline heard the giggling as she started to bring round the feeds. She leaned over the stable door. "Oh getting up to hanky-panky are we!"
Kate laughed. "Well for one, he is my husband. And..." She struggled to turn around in the zipped up bag. "Secondly, it is impossible to do anything in here. Could you help us, I think the zip is stuck!"
Caroline laughed, dropping the feed bowl in front of Magpie and relocking the door.
"Caroline..." Kate called out. "Caroline!"
Caroline laughed as she walked back down the yard, she would let them free eventually?. But she was sure they would appreciate some time together.
***
Adam had volunteered to carry out the late check, he relished the opportunity to have some quiet time alone on the yard. The evening was cold and his breath clouded the air before him as he checked each of the horses. As he approached the last stables he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw an older woman walking across the yard towards him.
"Hello, can I help you?"
"I do hope so." The woman smiled warmly.
Adam gasped. "Susan?" He stepped towards the woman, she was older than he had remembered, her once red hair was grey and her face was lined but her voice was as strong as he had remembered her. He rushed forward and embraced her.
"Hello Adam?." She smiled. "I have waited a long time to see you again." She chuckled. "I am so pleased to see that you are here. I wasn't sure after..." She stopped. "Well after what had happened." She paused. "I waited for you, in case you were..."
"No..." Adam sighed. "It was strange, as if it had not happened. I had no idea what might happen or even if I was alive?. But I stepped in Kate said hello and?." He looked up. "I am sure you can guess. I was alive and well, Caroline was normal." He laughed. "And you were the world's leading event rider!"
Susan blushed. "That was some years ago now..."
"But you won the Olympics, team and individual gold - twice. You are famous..." He voice faded away. "And..."
"Yes..."
"And I knew all about it?." Adam smiled. "When I went back to Kate I knew that you had done so well, I remembered watching you on the telly when you won gold in Sydney. It was all there." He gulped. "I was very proud of you! I don't know how that could even happen?"
"Well you were a bit harder to find Mr Bishop. At least until you were born." She laughed. "I have been watching you, at a distance for many years. I don't know that can have happened either. I didn't know if you would even know who I was, well at least until now."
"It's been a day for me..."
"Almost forty years..." She shrugged. "But as you say, I kept busy. Linda gave me Magpie, he was the first h
orse I rode competitively on, she taught me everything."
"Anyway, I have something for you." She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope. "You know you were the only person I was not able to say sorry to."
"You know you don't have to say sorry to me..."
Susan smiled. "Never the less. I appreciate all you did for me." She glanced at her watch. "I have to go. Thank you Adam."
"Please stay, Kate would love to meet you."
"I would love to, but I have to be somewhere." She smiled. "I am sure you understand. Goodbye Adam..."
Adam embraced her tightly. "Thank you, good bye..." She stepped back and walked back down the yard into the shadows. Adam paused for a moment before following her, he turned the corner back onto the main yard, it was quiet and he was alone. He shrugged his shoulders and walked back to his car.
***
"Hello..." Kate called out from the kitchen. "Good timing I am just putting dinner on the table."
Adam walked into the kitchen, hugging and kissing Kate. "Hi there. You would never guess who I have just met." He paused. "Susan Thompson".
"Susan Thompson the Olympic rider?" Kate laughed. "Stop lying!"
"The very same!" Adam smiled.
"Where?"
"At the yard."
"Wait, you met one of the most famous show jumpers in the world at our stables. What was she doing there?"
"She was there to see me.." Adam paused, noticing Kate's surprise. "We met many years ago."
"You never told me..."
"Ahh..." Adam frowned. "I will tell you the story someday..."
"So what did she say?"
"Very little. She wanted to say thank you and give me this." He pulled out the envelope and handed it to Kate.
"Thank you?" Kate laughed. "You dark horse, what has she to thank you for." She tore open the envelop pulling out a slip of paper. She looked in the envelop but otherwise it was empty. She turned over the paper, looking confused. "Is this all she gave you?"
Adam nodded.
"An old lottery ticket?" Kate frowned. "It is from last week." She paused and opened the lid of the kitchen bin.
"No..." Adam smiled. "Last week you say?" He took the ticket from Kate and walked into the sitting room.
"What are you doing?"
Adam handed her the ticket and opened the lid of the laptop. "Will you just check it for me." He passed Kate the laptop and walked back into the kitchen. He was just taking a bottle of wine from the fridge when he heard Kate's shouts. He smiled and stepped back into the sitting room. Kate was pale, sitting bolt upright on the sofa. "What's up?"
"T..t..the ticket." Kate stuttered.
"Yes?" Adam smiled.
"It's a..." She stopped pushing the laptop into Adam's hands. He looked at the screen and then back down to the ticket. His heart beat faster as he checked the six numbers each one matching.
"Oh..." He gasped sitting down heavily.
"We've won the lottery..." Kate sobbed, she embraced Adam.
The television was on in the background, the early evening news speaking quietly to the room but its occupants were ignoring the story.
"...she had been credited with making equestrian sports popular for the wider population and in her career she had won six Olympic gold medals both for individual and team events. Famed for always riding black and white horses she was known to be both a character and a great philanthropist with much of her winnings going directly to her own charitable foundation which helped disadvantaged children. - Susan Thompson who died last night after a short illness."
Epilogue
"Well if you have just joined us you do so at a pivotal time for the equestrian team." The commentator paused looking down at the arena, the coloured jumps had been arranged and it was obvious that everything was ready. "There is just one rider left and that is Caroline Gibbs, she has the chance for both the individual and team gold medals. All she has to do is to jump clear. This is truly a unique situation and what a lot of responsibility Caroline has on her shoulders right now as she prepares to ride."
Caroline was obvious to the commentators words as she sat on her horse in the collecting ring, she had Mozart playing in her earphones, an idea from Susan the team trainer to block out anything that could disturb her before she rode in such a nerve racking environment. She closed her eyes for a moment allowing the piano notes wash over her. She knew that she could do well, she had ridden well throughout the previous rounds and she had a wonderful horse, together they were unstoppable. She felt a hand on her knee and opened her eyes, her groom looked up to her. Caroline pulled the earphones out from under her helmet and handed her iPod to her.
"You can do it..." The girl was close to tears in just another couple of minutes it would be over. She paused, gulping. "Good luck!"
Susan stepped up beside her. "You remember what to do. I believe in you Caroline, you will do this." She smiled and patted Caroline on the back.
Caroline smiled taking up the reins and rode into the arena. If she had not been aware of the near deafening sound she was now, she briefly glanced up at the stands all filled to capacity and the many cameras which would be beaming the event around the world. It had been said that this had one of the largest audiences because of the unique situation that Caroline found herself in with the two gold medals in her grasp.
She cantered her horse on allowing the cheers and applause to bolster her, then there was the sound of the bell, a hush fell over the stadium and it was time for her to perform. She pushed the horse on and towards the first jump. It was a simple upright, she approached counting the strides before pushing on. There was a moment when she was hanging in the air, and then clear one jump cleared and ten more to go.
Caroline pushed on clearing jumps, she knew that she had to be quick but could not make a stupid mistake she just had to jump clear. She took a tight line into the next jump... 'Slow down' she said in her mind, she was showing off trying to trim strides on the approach, the jump was clear but it had been close.
It was now onto the last approach, it was towards a simple upright it ends as it begins. She pulled the reins checking her horses progress towards the simple fence, this was it, jump this clear... She put the thought from her mind.
Caroline counted the strides, four, three, two... Time stopped, there was a collective intake of breath from almost every member of the audience, the television commentators were silent.
The horse leapt, clearing the top pole with millimetres to spare, they landed. Caroline glanced back, it was clear. The crowd exploded with cheers and deafening applause.
"She's done it..." The commentator gulped back tears. "It's the fairy tale ending we all hoped for..."
Caroline pulled her horse up, patting it firmly. Susan ran up. "I knew you could do it..."
Caroline rolled over, pulling the duvet around her a smile on her face.
About the author
After a misspent youth riding and working with horses, Wilf has spent many years as an international event manager before spending a year working for the Olympic organisers at London 2012 he is now building on his extensive customer service experience as a customer service manager for a major supermarket chain.
Wilf lives in Royal Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire with his wife Jane, his son Sam and Stewie the dog
Connect with the author
Thank you for reading this book, I hope you enjoyed it!
I positively encourage feedback, you can drop me an email:
[email protected] – for more information about me and my writing you can visit my website: www.wilfvoss.me.uk
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