I wanted to stay, this was my family and again I was being orphaned, this time by my choice, but to protect my new mother and sister. I left instructions, any contact should be made via Raj’s News on Clapham High Street, I would check in regularly with my old friend and he could be trusted to pass on a message anonymously. So there I was, my holdall in hand, it contained my life. Some photos, a couple of horseshoes, my leather riding boots, breeches and blouses and little else. Forever the nomad it was time for me to run again.
Eventually, the time came. I hugged May, telling her how sorry I was. I hated to see the tears in her eyes. Annie wouldn’t let go and I wished she didn’t have to, the smell of the horse shampoo in her hair took me right back to our first meeting.
“I love you, Annie…” I had never said it, I’d wanted to, but the time had never seemed right, it was unspoken. “I will never forget you and maybe, just maybe I can see you again.”
I didn’t look back as I walked down the drive and onto the main road. It was dark, but I was taking no chances, I would catch a bus on the Marlborough road and then… Well, then where? I would see where the wind would blow me.
21
New Ventures
A guest house in Yorkshire, a small family hotel in Glasgow, an Airbnb in Manchester. I moved about for some time, unsure where to go or what to do. I was sat now in Manchester Central library, maps surrounding me looking for a place to be free. Maybe the Highlands of Scotland, perhaps the dark moors of Dartmoor, but finally my eye was drawn.
I had always dreamed of owning my own stables, of course I had known that it was nothing more than a pipe dream. The chances of me ever getting the money together to even put a deposit down on a suitable premises. Now that had changed. With money in the bank I had the opportunity to live my dreams, albeit under uncertain circumstances.
I had tussled with the thought, I was on the run, maybe I should go far away, but I knew that it would be inevitable that I would be found eventually. Perhaps, my foolish mind told me, if I could show I had invested at least some of the money, kept it safe for when Edwin was released. No that was a stupid thought, I was selfishly doing what I had always wanted to do. From the days at school when I had drawn plans of ‘my perfect stable’ in my exercise books, now I could do this. And, I reasoned, if I found somewhere off the beaten track and was careful to keep my head down, I thought I could probably get away with it for at least a while. If they were going to come and get me, I had at least better try and achieve something tangible with my life first, if not for me, maybe for Adam. If nothing else I was planning an inheritance for him. The thought made me sick, so planning for a future I thought I may not have at least kept my mind off the inevitable.
A quick search on an internet cafe computer found a perfect place, a property which was isolated yet could afford me the opportunity to start a small business to keep me busy. The long days and nights, times when I was free to think were the worst. Thinking of who could be around the next corner, what fate might be waiting for me when they discovered that I couldn’t pay them their money.
I sent an email, I wanted to purchase, sight unseen the land and buildings. The agent advised that I should see what I was buying, get a solicitor. I just told him that I would pay twenty per cent more for a rapid and silent purchase, and, as always money talks.
***
The sea air was bracing, it was a short walk to the estate agent. I pushed open the door.
“Hello Miss, can I help you?”
“I am representing the buyer of Glebe Farm. I’m her…” I paused. “Groom, she’s asked me to collect the keys. I believe everything is in order.” I had signed the required documents and returned them via a post office box in Blackpool, I just needed the keys. He reached into a box and pulled out a Jiffy bag. “There you are Miss, please wish your employer all the best.”
I stepped out into the cold air, with a short drive ahead of me. I had taken the time to take an intensive driving course and pass my test before buying a cheap, second-hand car. I knew where I was heading, Glebe Farm, a solid farmhouse, barns and stables with an outdoor arena.
I had arranged with the agent to ensure that the utilities were connected and he had even arranged basic furnishings and food in the refrigerator. No doubt they had seemed like bizarre requests, however, I was paying him well over the odds, therefore, he was more than happy to oblige.
I unlocked the farmhouse door, it was basic, clean and warm. I would soon have a fire going in the grate and it would feel like home to me, the stable rat who had lived beneath a railway arch. The kitchen was small, but the cupboards had been filled with staple foods and there were fruit and veg. I smiled.
“Welcome home…” I said aloud to the empty room.
22
Notes From a Stranger
Adam
I hope you are well, I appreciate that this is unusual, however, I received a letter through the post and I believe that it is supposed to be for you, therefore, I am forwarding it on to you.
I hope that you will be competing at the summer event, it would be good to see you defend your class.
All the best
Susan Green
I looked at the sealed envelope, the looping handwriting for my name and then the efficient writing of Susan, the super-efficient show secretary. I turned it over in my hands, apprehensively before tearing open the envelope. I pulled out the sheets of paper.
Adam
You have every right to hate me. I ran away and left you, but I have to tell you that there hasn’t been a day when I haven’t thought of you. You won’t remember, but I had been in the hospital when I was told that you were going to foster care. They made it sound nice, I hope that it was and that you have had a better life than me.
I ran away, it was a cowards option but, at the time I felt it was the only one open to me. The moment I did that I couldn’t look back, there was no way I could contact you. Maybe it was selfish of me, but I couldn’t go back to the care home, I had no life there.
I have made so many mistakes, but finally have found some stability and, dare I say it a family. Please, make contact, I have so much to tell you, so much I want to hear from you. I can only hope that you have been happy and that you don’t hate me too much.
Your forever loving sister,
Amanda
***
The train pulled into the station, I stepped off onto the platform and into the sunshine, there was a queue of taxis waiting on the forecourt so I was soon on my way, out of the busy town and into the lush countryside. I watched as the miles passed, I could see why Amanda had chosen to come here. After an uneventful journey, we arrived I paid the driver and stepped out of the cab. The surroundings reminded me of my foster home, the solid farmhouse with paddocks beyond.
I walked round to the back of the farmhouse, there was a tidy brick stable yard arranged in a horseshoe shape. A girl, about my age, was sweeping down the yard and looked up as I approached, she gave me a cheery greeting before doing a double-take and dropping her broom.
“Adam?” She rushed towards me, pushing open the gate and grabbing my shoulders. “Oh my God, it is you! Mum! Mum!”
She didn’t relax her grip on me as if I would run away if released. An older woman stepped out of one of the stables, carefully bolting the door after her.
“My goodness.” Wiping her hands on the back of her breeches as she approached me. “You came…” She held out her hand. “I’m May, this is my daughter Annie.”
“Adam Bishop, however, it seems you know who I am.”
Annie giggled. They ushered me through the back door of the farmhouse. It was warm and comforting, I sat down at the worn dining table while May gathered mugs and filled the kettle. Annie sat opposite me staring, she must have seen my amused gaze as she looked away, blushing.
“I’m sorry… I’ve heard so much about you.” She paused, looking down. “I just wish…” Her mother put her hand on Annie’s shoulder.
“Here.�
� May placed a steaming mug in front of me, I tipped sugar in and stirred whilst being watched closely by both of them. “Adam…” She smiled. “It’s lovely to see you, but, I do have some bad news for you.” My heart sunk, May quickly took my hand. “Oh no, not like that… She’s okay, it’s just complicated.”
I listened to both of them telling me what had happened. I must have sat there with my mouth open at times as my sister’s life seemed to be more like a soap opera and now she was on the run. It took me a few moments to take it all in. “So where is she now?”
“Adam, I’m sorry, I don’t know. She said it was for the best that we didn’t. I have a way to contact her through a newsagent in London. We can see if we can get in touch.”
“Okay… If you would.” I sighed, I’d been so close but missed her by such a short time.
“Would you like to stay here overnight?” May smiled. “Or longer if you wish, it’s very late for you to travel home. We can send a message, I have to be honest I don’t know how long it would take for a response…” She paused. “Do you have somewhere to go?”
I smiled. She’d seen I had arrived with a large holdall packed with my clothes as well as my riding boots and a schooling whip sticking from the top. I had left the farm and my foster parents. It was clear I was always welcome to stay, however, it was also clear that I was now an adult and it was time to spread my wings, therefore my sister’s letter had come at an opportune time, I thought I may have been able to find some work down South, and perhaps stay with her until things were settled.
“Look… You’re welcome here.” May smiled. “You’re family to us so why don’t you stay. Amanda told me you were a horseman so if you are willing to help us out around the yard you can have food and board and then you can decide what you want to do. We’ll try to contact Amanda and get you in touch with her if we can.”
“That would be amazing!” I smiled. I didn’t know these people yet they had made me feel welcome. Annie walked with me to the flat above the stables, explaining that Amanda had lived here before. She invited me for dinner later that evening and said that her mother would try to make contact with the newsagent.
***
“I called him.” May smiled waving me towards a chair at the dining table. I hadn’t eaten all day and the smell of fresh bread and whatever was in the lidded dish on the table was intoxicating. “A gentleman called Raj, he owns a newsagent near where your sister used to work. He has said that she calls every so often to see if there are any messages for her, and he will pass on our message. So, I am afraid it’s a bit of a waiting game.”
I thanked her smiling, waiting politely as May revealed a full roast chicken, roast potatoes and vegetables. Annie leapt forward grabbing a spoonful of potatoes before getting a stern glare from her mother. She dropped the spoon, mumbling an apology. “No please, ladies first” I smiled and handed the spoon back to her. She blushed deeply but still ensured that she had nabbed a large selection of the steaming potatoes before going on to fill her plate with the rest.
The food was amazing, the chicken melted in my mouth and I was soon satisfied, sitting back in my chair just as May placed a deep pie in the centre of the table. “I hope you left room for pie.”
After dinner we sat in the soft sofa’s of the front room, I glanced around at the photos, a selection mostly made up of horses and riders, a framed picture caught my eye and I gasped. I stood up slowly and picked up the picture. There she was, she was older but I would recognise my big sister anywhere, sat on a huge piebald horse, leaning down towards the camera a natural smile on her face.
“She’s beautiful…” Annie stood beside me. “I can see the family resemblance.” I glanced across to her and she looked down, blushing and averting her eyes. “Sorry…”
“No, please don’t be, it’s a compliment. My sister is very beautiful.”
***
I was soon yawning so May suggested that Annie walk me back to the stables flat. We strolled through the cool night air. “Thank you, Annie. I’ll see you in the morning.” I walked up the stairs, pausing to find the key she had given me earlier. I watched as Annie paused at the foot of the stairs. “Would you like to come up for a brew?”
She blushed. “I had better get back. Mum will wonder where I am.” She waved and quickly went in through the back door. I smiled to myself and closed the door, looking forward to a night’s sleep.
***
The sound of my alarm woke me with a start and I had to think where I was, I recognised the surroundings and started to get myself going. Annie and I soon fed and mucked out the horses, she said how this was like how it had been with my sister. We naturally fitted into a routine and the day passed with us developing our friendship.
The days passed, I enjoyed the hard work and the good horses, however, I missed my show ponies and showjumper I had left behind to start my new life. Annie would often join me for dinner and we could sit together in the flat enjoying simple pizza’s or casseroles. It was clear she was infatuated, but we were work colleagues rather than anything else and that made the relationship somewhat less strained.
It was almost a month before May came out and told me that there had been a letter delivered to me. I took it, turning the envelope in my hands. I recognised my sister’s handwriting from the first letter. I took the envelope and pushed it into my jacket pocket.
“Aren’t you going to open it?” Annie gasped.
“I will, soon…” The truth was that I was not ready for the answer that it contained, whatever my sister had written would likely see the end of my bucolic life here. If she asked me to join her wherever I would have to leave. If she didn’t I would feel that I would potentially outstay my welcome.
Annie was fit to burst by dinner time and virtually pushed me up the stairs, sitting me down and demanding that I read the letter. I slowly took it out and placed the single sheet of paper on the table. “What does it say?” I showed her. She glanced down. “Oh…”
***
I waved as the cab took me away, Annie had tears in her eyes but I’d promised I would keep in touch and return someday soon. She hugged me warmly, telling me to pass it on to Amanda. I felt her body in my arms and the drip of tears soaking my shoulder as her mother touched her arm and told her that it was time for me to leave.
The envelope had contained a single railway ticket, nothing else. The ticket had been dated for three days after the day it had arrived. It was a single ticket to somewhere called Kent’s Bank. I had never heard of it and it took some searching to find that it was a tiny country station in Cumbria. I had all too soon arrived back at Swindon station, and, after much scratching of the head of the ticket office clerk had a set of connections which would allow me to travel across the country to my destination.
It took many hours as I changed trains at Cheltenham, Birmingham and Manchester, each time lugging my holdall from the train and seeking out the next connection. Eventually, I was on my last train, watching rain lash against the windows as we crossed a bay and started to run alongside the foaming sea, the train started to slow, I stood up, pulling my heavy holdall down the carriage towards the door. Finally, we pulled to a halt.
Stepping down from the train I was at a tiny station, I watched as the train pulled away into the distance and then there was silence apart from the sound of the sea and the pouring rain. I glanced at my watch, there was no note saying that I would meet someone at a specific time so I looked for some shelter.
There were very few options as the tiny waiting room was locked and there was little else. I walked outside the station placing my bag beside a wall under a tree before I sat down on it. The train I had arrived on had been the last train of the day so I was in for a long wait to return if I had been stood up.
Despite the rain, I was tired, sat on my holdall, leaning back against the wall. I was sheltered from the worst of the downfall, pulling my coat around me and my hat down over my eyes. The rain falling, dripping on my wax cap was soporific and
my eyes were soon closing. Before I realised it I’d fallen asleep.
***
I woke with a start, my boot was being kicked gently. I slowly opened my eyes, the evening had drawn in and it was becoming dark. There as a tall person standing before me. I looked up, unable to see their face as the lone street light was behind them. I staggered to my feet.
“Hello?” The voice was faint, tentative and instantly recognisable to me.
“Oh God, it’s you!” I leapt forward, grasping my sister in my arms. I had spent my journey wondering how I would greet her. Should I be cold and restrained as she had left me, or perhaps aloof? In the end, emotions overtook us both and we were soon sobbing in each other’s arms never wanting to let go of each other. “Oh, sis! I’ve missed you so much.”
She grabbed my bag and showed me to her car, I got in and we drove through the village and along the coast. She was quiet as she drove, constantly glancing in the rearview mirror.
“We’re not being followed… May told me…”
“The feeling doesn’t go away Adam… Sorry.”
After a while we drove through a thick forest and down a rough track, the road opened up and in the moonlight, I could see a farmhouse and beyond a stable yard. “Come on in.”
County Lines Rider Page 12