Hannah froze. ‘What? Hold on. She was at the stables?’
Damien nodded. ‘It was her first afternoon working at the stables. She was lucky to get the opportunity. Although she won’t be able to do it now, so they’ll have to get someone else to replace her.’
‘Let me get this straight. Amy was at the stables where she now has a part-time job?’
Damien nodded. ‘Where did you think she was?’
‘At basketball training. She lied to me. Why on earth would she do that?’
A small smile played on Damien’s lips. ‘You have to ask that question?’
‘But, as much as I hate it, she’s doing equestrian at school. I already know that. She didn’t need to lie about this.’
‘She probably didn’t want to listen to another lecture.’
Anger welled inside Hannah. ‘And now she’s been hurt. You told me she’d be fine doing equestrian, that I had nothing to worry about.’
Damien placed his hands on either side of her shoulders. ‘Han, she tripped over a piece of wood. She didn’t fall off a horse or anything dramatic. She did something she could do in the back garden.’
‘But she did it at the stables. If you’d gone along with me from the start, she wouldn’t have been there, and she wouldn’t have tripped.’
Damien shook his head and sighed. ‘You need to let up, Han. She had an accident and she’s going to be fine. These things happen.’ He sat back down in the chair, his eyes locked on hers. ‘You need to stop trying to protect everyone all the time.’
Hannah took a deep breath, reminding herself that Amy was fine and yes, this could have happened anywhere. She sat in a chair next to Damien.
‘I can’t believe she felt the need to lie to me. I need to change, don’t I?’
‘Just let go a little. Let us all deal with life and make our own mistakes.’
Hannah nodded. ‘I know you’re right, it’s just hard when I love you both so much. I want to protect you from anything that could hurt you.’
Damien’s face softened. ‘And I love you for it. And, Han, I’m sorry.’
Tears instantly filled her eyes. ‘You don’t need to be sorry. I do.’
He shook his head. ‘I’m sorry for the way I reacted; for taking off and not contacting you. I didn’t handle it very well.’ He reached for her hand and took it in his. ‘I want you to promise me something.’
‘Anything.’
‘That from now on, you share everything with me. We never have any secrets, especially not secrets that are to protect me. I’m old enough to deal with anything that comes my way. I might need help, like I do right now, from you and the psychologist, but I’ll get through it.’
Hannah nodded. ‘I am sorry. I know I should have told you. I was worried about your mum as well as you, but I was thinking last night that there was no reason your mum would have had to know anything while she was sick. We could have left telling her until later.’
‘Mum’s the one who made me see sense. She’s a smart woman.’
‘Did she tell you we had coffee yesterday?’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘No, she didn’t mention it.’
‘She wanted to talk, see how I was doing. She did admit to being scared of where it would leave her if you end up meeting your mother.’
He nodded. ‘She told me the same. Hopefully I convinced her that she was my mum and that no one could ever take her place. I told her I was hoping to meet Janine. I contacted the adoption agency yesterday to make sure it’s clear on my file that I would like contact to be made.’
‘Did they tell you I’d been in touch with them?’
‘Yes. I confirmed everything you’d already told them to ensure Janine knows about Zane Fox and doesn’t give him any money.’
‘I don’t think we need to worry about that.’ She went on to tell him about Zane showing up at the office and her contact with the police.
Amy was wheeled back into the room partway through their discussion.
Hannah jumped to her feet as soon as she saw her pale, scared face. ‘Oh, hon, are you okay?’
‘Am I in trouble?’ Amy’s voice was barely a whisper. ‘I’m sorry I lied to you.’
Hannah’s eyes filled again. She waited until the orderly moved the bed back into place before gripping Amy’s good hand in her own. ‘Of course you’re not in trouble. I’m sorry that you felt you had to lie to me.’
‘Will I ever be allowed near the horses again?’
Hannah gave a small laugh. ‘As much as I’d like to say no, of course you will.’ She glanced at Damien. ‘I need to get over my fears and let you live your life.’ A young female doctor entered the room, and Hannah’s eyes blurred with more tears as colour returned to Amy’s face and her mouth broke into a wide grin.
‘Amy has a broken wrist. It’s a clean break so no surgery will be required. We’ll need to put a cast on it, but I’d like to wait a couple of days for the swelling to go down. She’ll have a temporary splint in the interim. We’re pretty busy tonight so there might be a bit of a wait for the splint, but once it’s on you’ll be able to take her home. We’ll provide you with some painkillers and a report for your GP. They’ll be able to put the cast on.’ She looked over to Amy and winked. ‘And no more tripping over sticks. At least fall off the horse next time and make it sound more dramatic.’
Hannah closed her eyes, willing herself to laugh at the doctor’s joke. She wasn’t able to do that, and probably never would be able to joke about accidents around horses, but at least she could let it go and say nothing at all. As the doctor retreated from the room, Hannah opened her eyes and looked at Damien.
He smiled at her, the understanding in his expression made it clear that he knew how difficult this was for her.
The painkillers had begun their magic, and the shock of the ordeal had Amy’s eyes closing only moments later.
‘She might as well sleep while we wait for the splint.’ Damien moved his chair closer to Hannah’s. He took her hand in his. ‘I love you, Han. Promise me we’ll be open and honest from this moment on.’
She nodded, the relief that he was beside her more significant than she could ever have dreamed. ‘I promise.’
He leaned forward and kissed her, gently wiping the tears from her cheeks. ‘With the Zane Fox situation, it sounds like you’ve had a lot going on while I’ve been gone.’
Hannah nodded. ‘That’s only part of it. Let me fill you in.’
Chapter Twenty-Six
Nat apologised to her father and Sue so many times that in the end they were the ones comforting her.
‘Nat, it’s not your fault,’ Sue said. ‘It was an amazing opportunity which we chose to take a risk on with the hope of some good luck. It wasn’t to be.’ She’d smiled, her eyes filled with love. ‘It gives your father and me a challenge to work together to solve. We’ll be absolutely fine. Look at this house for a start! It’s not like we’re roughing it.’
After hugging both of them, Nat left. She’d like to believe Sue’s words, but she couldn’t. It was her fault.