by Holly Martin
Gabe took her hand, distracting her from her thoughts. ‘You don’t make things easy for yourself, do you? The man is crazy in love with you. He’s angry, of course he is, but he’ll come around. Just give him some space.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Pip said. ‘I genuinely thought he might be a bit miffed about the lie, I didn’t expect him to react like this.’
Neve sighed as she picked away at her pancakes. She had known that he would react badly to it, which was why she had been so worried about telling him. One of his big fears was that he wasn’t a very good actor, that he had simply got where he was because people thought he was good-looking. Whenever he asked the directors, crew or other actors if the scenes he had filmed were OK, whether they were good enough, he said they always told him how wonderful he was. He’d often said the only person he could trust to be honest with him was her and now she’d let him down too.
She finished her pancakes and stood up. ‘I have to go, I promised Poppy she could ride Knight. Oakley was going to ride Shadow alongside her. As Oakley is probably licking his wounds somewhere, Poppy will just have to make do with me leading Knight around the meadow instead.’
Gabe caught her hand. ‘You’re not going to ride Shadow, are you?’
‘No, it’s probably best that I don’t.’
Neve wrapped herself up and walked down the track towards the stables. When she got there, she was surprised to see Oakley riding Shadow round the meadow at full pelt and Boris watching him as if Oakley were a god. She leaned on the fence next to Boris and joined in the ogling.
Oakley knew horses. She knew he’d first ridden one when he was only two years old. He could meet any horse and within seconds they were putty in his hands. He had this natural way with them. He was skilled as well – he could gallop, canter, jump, and do all those things bareback too. She watched him speeding across the meadow on the back of Shadow, twisting and turning with barely a nudge of the reins. He was truly magnificent to watch.
‘Oakley said he wanted to burn off some of Shadow’s pent-up energy before Poppy’s lesson,’ Boris said, not taking his eyes off the man himself.
Neve smiled that Oakley had turned up to do Poppy’s lesson even though he was still angry. He really was a man of his word.
‘I have Knight ready for you, as you asked,’ Boris said. ‘I’ve left the back on the saddle for now so she feels safer. Once she is more confident, we can always take it off.’
Just then, Poppy and her mum arrived. Poppy had the biggest grin on her face at the prospect of riding again. Or maybe it was the prospect of riding with Hollywood superstar Oakley Rey.
‘Hi Poppy, are you ready to get started?’ Neve asked, turning away from the meadow and leaving Oakley to attempt to tire Shadow out before the lesson started. She nudged Boris and he quickly dragged his attention away from Oakley and went to retrieve Knight from the stable.
‘I can’t wait. It’s been so long since I’ve ridden, I hope I can still do it.’
‘I’m sure you’ll be great. How long has it been?’
‘Three years.’
‘OK, so we’ll just go really slowly to start with. Get you used to being in the saddle again. We might spend a few minutes on the lunge, just so you’re comfortable, and then hopefully you can ride on your own and maybe we can even have you trotting by the end of the session. Now I don’t have a hoist, I’m afraid, so are you OK if Boris lifts you into the saddle?’
Neve knew how important it was for paraplegic riders to be independent and not babied, but she hadn’t anticipated offering lessons this early into the opening of the hotel and hadn’t got everything she would need just yet.
‘No, that’s fine. I’m just so happy to be riding again.’
Boris lifted her carefully into the saddle and Poppy immediately grabbed the pommel to steady herself as she rearranged herself and her legs into the right position.
‘So, we have several straps on the saddle and stirrups to ensure your legs are in the right place. If I do one side, can you do the other?’
Poppy nodded, visibly shaking with excitement. She watched carefully as Neve attached the strap around her foot and the stirrup, fastened a Velcro strap just below her knee and across her thigh and then did a belt up around the waist, anchoring her to the back of the saddle. Poppy repeated the process herself on the other side and Neve checked they were all done up correctly. Knight stood patiently throughout the whole thing, but he’d had many paraplegic riders on his back and for him this was the norm.
‘OK, do you feel safe?’ Neve asked.
Poppy nodded.
‘I’m going to lead Knight for a little while. We’ll go for a little walk inside the meadow, just so you can get used to it again. Let me know if you want to stop. Just keep a hold of the pommel for now, don’t worry about the reins.’
Neve took the reins and led Knight slowly into the meadow. Knight plodded along carefully, clearly conscious that Poppy was nervous. Oakley came trotting over on Shadow and fell into step on Knight’s other side. He didn’t say anything and she appreciated that he was letting her take the lead on this, even though he was more than capable of teaching Poppy himself. Neve looked back at him but his eyes were on Poppy and Knight, not even acknowledging she was there. She glanced up at Poppy, who was sitting perfectly in the saddle as if she had been riding all her life and had not had a break for three years or no longer had the use of her legs.
‘You have a great seat,’ Neve observed.
‘It feels so weird to be walking again, it feels like I have my legs back,’ Poppy said.
‘Do you want to pick up the reins?’
Poppy nodded and picked them up, holding them perfectly.
‘That’s great,’ Oakley encouraged.
Neve carried on leading Knight across the length of the field but slowly loosened her hold on the harness slightly, letting Poppy take more control.
‘OK, when we get to the corner of the field are you happy to turn Knight yourself and we’ll walk along the top of the field?’
Poppy nodded keenly. Neve took a step away from Knight but continued to walk alongside him. Poppy held the reins tighter.
‘You won’t need to pull too hard when you get there, Knight will respond to the gentlest of touches,’ Neve explained.
As they approached the corner, Poppy pulled gently on the right rein and sure enough, Knight responded beautifully. They continued their slow plodding path through the snow as they walked along the perimeter of the field towards the top corner, where Poppy’s mum was waiting, ready to take some pictures.
‘Mum, I’m riding again. Look at me, I’m riding,’ Poppy cried.
‘You’re doing great, Popstar,’ her mum called back.
They turned through the corner again as her mum fired off a couple of shots and as Neve passed right in front of her, she heard her whisper, ‘Thank you.’
Neve smiled at her, her heart soaring. It felt so good to be doing this again, she wondered why she had spent so many years putting it off.
Neve leaned on the fence and watched Poppy ride. She had spent a while letting Poppy walk, correcting her where necessary, though it was very obvious she knew what she was doing. Neve had taught her a few voice commands and they had spent a while on the lunge, alternating between trotting and walking at Poppy’s command so she could get used to the feel of it and taking control of Knight. Poppy had been a complete natural. After that Neve had asked if she wanted to trot Knight around the field and handed the lesson over to Oakley, as he could trot alongside Poppy on Shadow and offer instructions where Neve would be unable to keep up. They had been trotting backwards and forwards, chatting and laughing, for the last half hour. Boris had set up some cones and Poppy and Oakley were currently racing each other up the small slalom course.
Her mum, clearly having taken over a thousand photos, came to stand with her.
‘How much do I owe you for the lesson, by the way? I asked at reception about it last night and the receptionist said
you weren’t offering lessons at the moment.’
‘We’re not,’ Neve said. ‘Consider this a bit of an experiment. I’ve trained Knight with paraplegic riders, so I know what I’m doing and it was something I wanted to do here, but we haven’t started doing it yet. And please don’t worry about money, I’m just happy to see Poppy having so much fun.’
‘Well, you’re very good with her. I definitely think you should offer more of it in the future. There are many people that would love to ride up here. And if you offer Oakley Rey as part of the lesson, I’m sure it would be very popular.’
Neve laughed. ‘Sadly he’ll be going back to California in the New Year.’
‘Well, thank you again for today, you have no idea how much it means to her.’
Neve looked over at the huge grin on Poppy’s face and thought she might have some idea.
Oakley and Poppy came trotting over and both slowed to a walk as they came through the gate. Poppy started unstrapping herself from the saddle and Oakley dismounted and then carefully lifted her down and placed her in her wheelchair.
‘Here, I’ll take care of the horses,’ Boris said, appearing from the shed where they kept the snowmobiles.
He led them both away, disappearing into the stables.
‘Thank you so much, I had the most amazing time,’ Poppy said.
She and her mum said their goodbyes and disappeared back up the track, leaving Neve alone with Oakley.
‘Thank you for coming today,’ Neve said.
Oakley nodded and then walked up the track after Poppy.
‘Wait, Oakley, can we please talk?’ she called after him.
‘There’s nothing to talk about.’
Neve caught up with him and he stopped. ‘You have every right to be angry with me. What I did was horrible but don’t let this silly lie ruin our whole relationship.’
‘You’re the one who did that, Neve, not me.’
Anger flared up in her. ‘So you’re walking away? You were prepared to stay and look after the baby when you thought he wasn’t yours, but now you know he is, you’re going to turn your back on him?’
‘I have every intention of being a part of my son’s life, I just don’t think I can be part of yours.’
He turned and walked away again.
Neve stared after him, feeling like she had just been slapped.
‘OK, go back to California. We’ll be fine here without you. I can raise my baby on my own, we don’t need you.’ She yanked the engagement ring off her finger and threw it back at him. It landed in the snow and Oakley barely glanced at it as he turned around, he didn’t even stop walking.
‘That was exactly the plan all along, wasn’t it? You had no intention of letting me be a part of his life. You pushed me away and I was an idiot for thinking that we could ever make this work again. You wanted everything perfect and there was no way I was ever going to be good enough to meet those high standards, no matter what I did. Well, you got your wish, Neve. My helicopter is coming to pick me up tomorrow. I’ll be back for the twenty-week scan and I’ll be back for the birth, but for him, certainly not for you.’
With that he turned away.
Neve stared after him in shock. She had ruined everything. They’d broken up. It really was over.
Up ahead on the track she could see the press photographer lurking in the bushes and taking more pictures of them. She hated that they had just inadvertently given him more ammunition.
She took a few steps forward and stared down at the ring that sparkled in the snow. She picked it up and held it in her palm. It felt heavy, filled with a life of love and laughter that she had carelessly thrown away. She slipped it in her pocket, a reminder for herself when for the briefest of moments everything in her life was good and perfect and wonderful before she had destroyed any chance of being happy again.
Chapter 18
Ivy wiped clean yet another painting she had messed up and sighed. She was thinking about this too much. Adam was good and kind and patient in the face of all her craziness, not to mention amazing in bed. She would just talk to him, she would be honest and tell him what she felt and then she would know where he stood once and for all. If he decided to walk away from her then it was better it happened now before either of them got too deeply involved.
She glanced out at the street where Audrey was standing on the doorstep of her shop opposite, looking as if she was waiting for someone.
Abandoning the sheet of glass, Ivy walked across the street towards her.
‘You OK?’
Audrey nodded and opened the shop door for Ivy to follow her back inside. Her shop was empty of customers and Ivy noticed a load of boxes stacked up by the door.
‘I’m just waiting for Luke to come and collect me and these boxes to take to the ice palace. He’s obviously running a bit late.’
Audrey made the most gorgeous lamps, fairy lights inside jars of glittered water in all manner of different colours. She called them ‘Aurora Jars’, after the Aurora Borealis, and they were a big hit with the tourists. Ivy knew Gabe had commissioned her to make lots to adorn the inside of the ice palace, which were going to look great for the ball.
Ivy noticed that Audrey was pacing nervously across her shop.
‘What’s wrong?’
Audrey turned to face her. ‘I... I was going to ask Luke to go to the ball with me but I’ve talked myself in and talked myself out of it several times in the last few minutes.’
‘You like him?’ Ivy smiled. She liked the idea of Audrey finding happiness even if her own love life was a big fat mess.
Audrey sighed. ‘I’ve fallen in love with him.’
‘Oh.’
Ivy didn’t know what else to say. Love was such a complicated, terrifying and wonderful thing. She wanted that with Adam as much as she wanted to run away and hide from it.
‘It’s crazy,’ Audrey continued. ‘I don’t think he is ready to fall in love again. He was hurt so badly by his ex-wife and I don’t know whether he will ever open himself up to the possibility of a relationship again. The man is grumpy and rude to everyone around him, even his own family, but with me... I don’t know, he’s not exactly cheerful but he seems different with me. I wonder if he likes me too. We’ve spent so much time together in the months leading up to the grand opening and he came round here on Christmas Eve to give me this present.’ She held up the necklace that had the marcasite and opal star hanging from it. ‘And he said I was his light in the darkness and then got all embarrassed and left. Then I saw him on Christmas Day just before Neve fell, and he kept on talking about how much he liked having me as a friend, that he would never want to do anything that would damage our friendship and lots of other stuff about being mates and I got the impression he was warning me off, that he didn’t want anything more from me than friendship. And now I’m contemplating asking him to go to the ball with me and I know I must be stupid or crazy because if he says no, I’ll be devastated and maybe it’s better that I just don’t know.’
Audrey finally fell quiet.
‘Well, I think I’d rather know,’ Ivy said. ‘A marriage ending is heartbreaking regardless of the reason and Luke has more reason than most to be upset over how his marriage ended. I was destroyed when mine came to an end but I wouldn’t shy away from the possibility of love again.’
Ivy stopped because that was exactly what she was doing with Adam. Hinging her future happiness on the prospect of not having children or even Adam’s feelings towards that was stopping her from ever moving forward. If she could never have children then she needed to accept that and move on. And although that was easier said than done, she couldn’t be sad for the rest of her life either. She quickly changed the subject before she could dwell on it any longer.
‘Let’s have some chocolate before Luke comes. Chocolate always makes any situation better. Do you have any of that big box left the hotel gave each of us?’
‘Yes, it’s in the small cupboard by the fridge,’ Audrey said, sta
ring out onto the street again.
‘I’ll get it,’ Ivy said, and wandered out into the kitchen. There were several small cupboards by the fridge and it took her a few moments to locate the right one and when she did, she realised she couldn’t reach the chocolates as they were placed on the very top shelf out of reach of temptation. She grabbed a chair and stood on it to grab the chocolates just as the shop door swung open. Still standing on the chair, she peered round the edge of the kitchen door to see that it was Luke, towering over Audrey like a giant bear.
‘I’ve been thinking, I was wondering if you wanted to come to the ball with me?’ he blurted out and Ivy nearly did a little dance of happiness for Audrey, though she would have probably fallen off the chair if she had.
Audrey stared at him in disbelief before she finally spoke. ‘You’re asking me to go to the ball with you?’
‘Yes.’
‘I was just about to ask you to come to the ball with me.’
Luke stepped closer, a rare smile filling his face. ‘You were?’
‘Yes, but then I got scared that you probably wouldn’t want to go with me and now you’re here, asking me to go with you,’ she babbled and Ivy couldn’t help but smile at them.
‘Well, will you?’ Luke said.
‘As friends?’ Audrey asked.
Luke hesitated. ‘Yes. No, not friends. Well, maybe. . .’ he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. ‘Maybe very special friends.’
Ivy watched Audrey break into a huge grin. ‘I’d love to.’
Luke smiled too and then he took a step back. ‘Let me give you a hand with these.’
It took a few minutes for them to load the boxes into the back of the car and, as Audrey came back to close the shop door, she gave Ivy a discreet thumbs up. She jumped in the car and it sped off in the direction of the hotel and the ice palace.
