Paycheque (43 page)

Later Claire was having a shower when she heard her mobile ring again. She turned off the water and rushed to it. But she was too late. She was still standing dripping on the tiles in the kitchen when her home phone started ringing beside her. Bernie's number was on the screen. She picked up the phone and stared at it, but couldn't make herself press the button to accept the call.

Claire didn't think she'd be able to sleep with all that was going through her mind. But she woke to the radio beside her, signalling her alarm had gone off. She lay there for a few moments thinking back over the day before, and went to let Bill and Ben out while she had breakfast and got ready for her day at the farm. She felt refreshed and keen to get physically busy with the horses.

As she waited for the kettle to boil, Claire congratulated herself for insisting they put their arrangement with Derek about Maddie in writing. A handshake would have been enough for Jack. And now where would they be? Then she remembered her carefully worded letters to her insurance company and the Insurance Ombudsman, stating her case. Even if it came to nothing, at least she'd done something. And she was proud of her effort.

Claire was feeling good when she got into her car, but that changed when she saw Bernadette's jumper still on the passenger seat beside
her. She wondered when her friend would call again. Would she? Bernie was definitely the more easygoing of the two of them. Derek she wasn't so sure about. She imagined him calling again and her answering. He'd say he'd just called to say hi and then go on as if nothing had happened. They'd take up where they'd left off.
Which was where, exactly?
Claire groaned. Him wanting sex and her not being ready. Part of her hoped he wouldn't call. Maybe that would be best. But another part of her wished he'd call and stop the torment.

From the second she approached Paycheque, Claire sensed his foul mood. He made a half-hearted effort to bite her as she walked past to get the pooper scooper and rake. No teeth were bared, but it was enough to make her leap out of his way.

Normally she'd operate on autopilot and use the time to think about other things. Today she cleaned his stall with one eye on him, fully aware of where the rake was in case she needed to hold it up in defence. He was now standing quite steadily on all four legs so his back end was a potential source of danger as well. She couldn't really blame the horse. He hated being confined and his injury meant he couldn't lie down and stretch out to sleep, which was his preference. If he did, he wouldn't be able to get up again. Thankfully, he'd had the sense not to try.

‘Not long now, mate,' she said. Tomorrow they were planning to take him out for the first time and see how he coped. Will had been adamant that a sound recovery depended on taking it slow. As hard as it was to be patient, they just had to be.

Jack and Claire held their breath as Maddie opened the gate to lead Paycheque out. Claire crossed her fingers as he peered about, looked down, and took his first step into the grey day outside. He stumbled slightly but recovered as he went from the soft sawdust up onto the paving. He walked with a pronounced limp but was stable enough on his legs. He snorted, tossed his head and snatched at his lead rope. He held his head high and, with his nostrils flared, took in the sights, sounds and smells around him, as if experiencing them for the first time.

‘So far, so good,' Jack said.

‘Hmm,' Claire agreed absently. She was thinking that she'd like the trigger-happy vet to be here seeing this.

‘I'll let him have a bit of a graze,' Maddie said.

‘Good idea. Take your time,' Jack said. ‘Then we'll see how he goes with the spa.'

Claire hummed as she made dinner. She was excited at Paycheque's progress and couldn't wait for Will to see him at the end of the week. Hopefully he'd be ready for being led on a proper walk rather than just grazing. The gruelling schedule of massage and acupressure, which was now starting to taper off, had really made a difference. Claire felt a little guilty at her suspended friendships with Bernie and David, and Derek. They'd had a hand in it and should really be sharing the joy, too. She was surprised neither Jack nor Maddie had mentioned any of their names at all.

‘I declare the wee chappy well on the road to recovery,' Will announced late Friday evening. They all shared grins. They'd done it: they'd saved Paycheque. Now they just had to get him back racing. Claire thought of sending Bernadette a text to tell her, but didn't. They hadn't been in touch for a week.

By the middle of the next week, Paycheque was being led on soft ground for an hour a day, followed by spa treatment. A couple of times he'd got a fright and darted sideways. But he always recovered fine. His limp was becoming less pronounced. The bandages supporting his other legs came off.

He was starting to pull at the lead, jog, try to break into a trot. It was a sign he was ready to get more active. Soon they could reduce the acupressure to once or twice daily.

Maddie was tasked with Paycheque's slow return to training. The following week she planned to start leading him from the ute, and hopefully by the end of the month he'd be strong enough to again have her on his back. It was amazing given the original vet's diagnosis.

Claire really wished she had someone to share the excitement with other than Jack and Maddie. She thought about Bernie a lot when she did Paycheque's massage and acupressure. They hadn't gone this long without speaking since they'd met.

A couple of times at night she'd picked up the phone to call her but found she couldn't do it. She'd gone to David's café for their usual weekly lunch, all set to apologise and beg forgiveness. But someone else had been at their table and she'd left without a word to anyone. She'd driven past the nursery to see if Bernie's car was there. It wasn't. Her heart was heavy as she made her way back home.

She still hadn't heard from Derek, either. Claire decided she was a little old-fashioned when it came to men – would rather he was the one to do the chasing, the contacting, if there was any to be done. Anyway, he was in Sydney. No doubt too busy with meetings and dinners to call.

It made it worse that Derek's cats Terry and Sandy were now living permanently at the farm with Maddie and Jack. Every time she saw them she was reminded of the lovely day they'd had sitting in front of the fire, eating frittata and drinking wine. Her heart ached for him more with each passing day.

Claire was standing outside Paycheque's stall, about to leave for the day, when Jack and Maddie approached. They stood side by side. Claire looked from one to the other.

‘We need a word,' Jack said.

‘About what?'

‘This tension, Claire. It's got to end.'

‘Tension? What tension?'

‘This fight you're having with Bernie and Derek.'

‘It's none of your business.'

‘It is when it's affecting your work here.'

‘What do you mean?'

‘You're distracted, you're making mistakes.'

‘What mistakes? I haven't made any mistakes.'

‘You gave Howie the wrong feed last night,' Maddie said quietly. ‘I noticed just in time.'

‘You packed the wrong bridle for Larry to go to Strath.'

‘I did not!'

‘You did. There's no point arguing! This fighting with Bernie and Derek has to stop.'

Or what?
Claire wanted to ask. She inspected her boots as they scratched at the pavers.

‘Bernie's practically family. I saw her in town the other day and she's as miserable as you. And Derek seemed pretty keen on you.'

‘He is,' Maddie said. ‘And he's a mess – but you didn't hear that from me.'

‘They could call me.'

‘They've tried – you didn't take their calls, remember?'

‘Or call them back,' Maddie added.

‘I would have if they'd left a message. So you've
both
been discussing me behind my back – with both of them? How could you?'

‘Because someone has to sort this tiff out and you're clearly not going to.'

‘I was going to phone them both tonight as a matter of fact. And anyway, it's a little more than a tiff, Dad.'

‘They tried to take the pressure off you – give you a nice day out away from things. It's time to admit that you completely overreacted, Claire. And quite frankly, it's a little late for phone calls.'