Chapter 25 #2
‘Anna’s dream had been to run her own café and, to be fair to her, she was a fantastic cook and really good with the customers.
But she was envious of Doug’s holidays and decided she wanted to travel too.
She refused to pay anyone else to run her precious café so, every time they went away, she closed it – not exactly ideal when the café was part of the attraction. ’
‘Is that why the visitors stopped coming?’
‘It was a blend of that and the lack of staff. They paid Shelley peanuts and she worked crazy hours every day looking after the horses and trying to organise all the school and club visits. When Anna was away, Shelley was expected to do everything – take the entrance fee, look after the animals, clean the toilets, educate the visitors, be the first aider, gardener and God knows what else – which was impossible for one person on their own. She had to drop the group visits because she didn’t have time to organise them and that caused some grumbles.
The unreliability of the café being open caused even more bad feeling and it also caused a major logistical issue.
Visitors entered the farm through the café and paid there but Shelley couldn’t sit in there all day.
She tried an honesty box out but that didn’t work because hardly anyone carries cash these days, so most visitors got in for free. ’
Another piece of the downfall slotted into place. ‘With only a few entrance fees and no café takings, the business had to be running at a loss.’
‘Exactly! The bad reviews started coming in about the lack of refreshments, very little opportunity to speak to the horse expert, the place looking shabby, dirty toilets and so on. There were a couple of incidents with the toilets getting blocked but the final straw for Shelley was when the police were called after a parking rage incident. It was all over social media and it triggered a pile-on about everything else wrong with the farm.’
‘That must have been awful for Shelley.’
‘She was devastated. Everything she’d spent years building up was falling apart so she gave her parents an ultimatum – take on staff to help rebuild things or she’d walk out.
They kept promising they’d recruit but they never did and it was making Shelley ill.
Adam was worried sick about her and was desperate for her to leave.
The pair of us had to stage an intervention, getting her to see and accept that, even though she loved the horses, staying here with them was destroying her. ’
‘That must have been hard for you both.’
‘Awful. It’s something I hope never to have to repeat.
The upshot is she left and moved in with Adam after assurances from me that I’d look after the horses until her parents found a replacement for Shelley.
Leaving the farm has been such a positive move for her.
I met Adam at veterinary college and he’s got a practice in Scotland.
They’re currently setting up a heavy horse breeding programme and, of course, planning their wedding.
As for the Garstangs, they didn’t find anyone to take over from Shelley.
I don’t think they even tried. It felt like the dream they’d had of running their own café and farm hadn’t matched the reality – possibly because it was harder work than they’d realised – and they’d given up.
The farm was failing, Doug was drinking heavily, they were always arguing and they’d lost their only daughter – a scary lesson in careful what you wish for. ’
Although I was firmly on the side of Shelley, I couldn’t help feeling sorry for Anna and Doug for the way their lottery win had brought them misery in the long-term – the epitome of the saying money doesn’t buy you happiness.
‘They had no choice but to sell,’ Caleb continued.
‘I believe they’ve settled in Spain but I don’t have any contact details cos I don’t want anything to do with them.
They moved out a couple of weeks ago without saying goodbye and I got home from work that day to find Scampi tied to the outdoor tap. I’ve never felt anger like it.’
Any sympathy for them vanished. ‘They abandoned him?’
‘Yep. I’m just grateful they at least tied him up instead of letting him run free because…’ He shuddered, evidently thinking of the potential consequences of that. ‘So Scampi’s my dog now and I make sure he knows every day how much he’s loved.’
Caleb looked up at me. ‘I’m sorry if I wasn’t very welcoming when you arrived.
The Garstangs had shown so little care for the animals and land that I figured they’d sell to anyone without checking their credentials.
Anna made out that you were good friends and I unfairly assumed you were someone she’d met on one of her many holidays – the sort who wanted a second home in the country to show off to their mates rather than someone actually interested in the land and the animals – and it’d be left to me to sort out your mess. ’
So Anna had lied about us being friends.
After what he’d been through with the Garstangs, I could completely understand Caleb’s concerns and his less-than-friendly attitude across the past week made total sense.
It also reassured me that I hadn’t lost my touch in reading people – those negative vibes had definitely been there.
‘How do you know we’re not that?’ I asked, my tone teasing.
‘I’ve seen the changes you’ve made in just one week, how clean and groomed the horses are, how you were with Clemmie tonight.’
‘I promise you we’re extremely serious about making the farm work as a business with animal care at the heart of it.’
He nodded. ‘I can tell. I’m sorry I misjudged you. It’s not like me at all.’
‘It’s fine,’ I assured him. ‘From everything the Garstangs have said and done, I can see why you’d think that and, if it makes you feel better, I misjudged you too. If I promise never to confuse you with Dolly Parton again, can we start over?’
He laughed. ‘That’d be great. What was the Dolly Parton thing all about?’
I shook my head, grimacing. ‘I’ve no idea. Can we blame it on a nine-hour stressful car journey and never speak of it again?’
It seemed an appropriate time to explain that I’d been raised on a farm and give Caleb an overview of the collective knowledge and experience Mam and I had.
He was interested in my plans to offer animal-assisted therapy and agreed with my initial assessment that all of the heavy horses had the perfect temperament for it.
I also shared that the work being done on the barns was in preparation for our cows arriving.
Paula and Glen Naylor had got the new owners to agree to what they called a starter pack of all thirteen cuddle cows and twelve Highland cows, plus halters, leads, brushes and anything else they’d found useful when running their cow cuddling experiences.
‘We’re not announcing anything until they’re settled and ready, but I can’t wait to add cow cuddling experiences to our offering.’
‘It sounds like a brilliant idea and a good fit with your therapy.’
‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘But enough about me. You were going to explain the double role as vet and farrier.’
‘It’s actually a triple role – blacksmith too.’
‘Wow! A man of many talents. So how did you end up doing all three?’
‘I grew up near Durham and, all my life, all I ever wanted was to be a vet. I loved the training and I loved the work but my mid-twenties weren’t pretty.
I was living in Newcastle at the time and my two remaining grandparents – who I was really close to – died within a few months of each other, I had a big fallout with my parents, I split up with my girlfriend and basically went off the rails, drinking and clubbing and being a total dick.
I turned up at work late or hungover and clashed with the partners about our approaches to animal care, so they sacked me. ’
I winced. ‘I’m sorry to hear that.’
‘Don’t be. Completely my fault. Mid-twenties me was a nightmare and, in their position, I’d have done the same and probably sooner.
They were more than fair to me. Adam let me stay with him which was exactly what I needed cos he’d always been a calming influence.
He convinced the partners at his practice to give me a couple of days’ work and he helped me get my act together.
‘The work at my Newcastle practice had mainly been domestic pets but Adam’s was rural, predominantly working with farmers.
I hadn’t had much to do with horses but, as soon as I started, I was hooked.
I took riding lessons and did mountains of research.
Horses became a bit of an obsession for me – my drinking and clubbing replacement.
‘One of Adam’s clients, Fergus, was a farrier and blacksmith and he was looking for an apprentice.
I joked that I’d be interested, not thinking for a minute he’d consider training someone my age rather than a sixteen-year-old, but not only did he offer me the role, he was also willing for me to keep my hand in at Adam’s practice, recognising that it paid more than an apprenticeship.
‘Fergus was an exceptional teacher and a great friend. The plan was to take over his business when he retired, but he died several years before he got to that point.’
‘Oh no! When was this?’
‘Six and a half years ago. He had a cold at the start of the year and the cough lingered and got steadily worse. Then he collapsed at work early that February and was gone the next day. Pneumonia.’
‘Oh, Caleb, I’m so sorry. You were with him when he collapsed?’
‘Yeah. As a vet, I’m used to working with sick animals and end of life but that was the first time I’d ever seen a human take ill. Even though he was conscious when the ambulance took him away, I somehow knew it was the end. I was devastated.’
He nodded towards a framed photograph positioned in a small recess near the fireplace. ‘That’s Fergus and me on the day I qualified as a farrier.’