Missed opportunities
Three days later, the ordeal was finally over.
Lord Jonah Garbert-Smithe, Earl of Penningcard, and his minions had left, Faruk and Nihal in tow.
All mutual accusations had been ‘discreetly cleared up’, as they had put it.
Rupert had brought in a professional to track down and remove the cameras and install a new security system in the guest stable.
It had never been a priority until now, but given recent events, he felt he could no longer put it off.
Kendrick was impressed by how efficiently an outwardly unruffled Rupert navigated the whole miserable affair and could only guess that the older man wasn’t half as calm as he appeared.
But the best outcome was that Kendrick could indeed buy Azzedine.
For the symbolic price of two thousand pounds.
Given the horse’s current condition, it was far from a bargain, but Kendrick didn’t hesitate for a second when Jonah’s assistant conveyed the offer.
Now the four-year-old black gelding was his – and he had not the slightest idea what he would do with him.
Kendrick was not much of a rider. The last time he had mounted a horse had been in his early twenties, and even if he managed to nurse Azzedine back to full health, he would certainly not ride him.
His height and weight put him well beyond what the slender racehorse could carry.
Rupert had offered to take Azzedine off his hands and find him a new home, but Kendrick had politely declined, though he had no good reason to hold on to him.
Hailey, on the other hand, had smiled knowingly and remained silent.
Which had been more irritating than if she had made one of her typical flippant comments.
Those he could have ignored or dismissed.
But he suspected she had looked right through him.
Kendrick McIntosh had bought a severely impaired Arabian gelding because he reminded him of the woman who had dominated his dreams for weeks and fuelled his imagination even when he was wide awake.
In a way that he had never experienced before and that could not be healthy, given the situation.
That unspeakable evening in Inverness still stood between them, and he had no reason to believe that anything more would ever happen.
Well, he had come close to making a move on her there in Azzedine’s box, but that had most likely had more to do with the dramatic event they had just experienced.
The sight of her leaning against the black horse and her shimmering hair mingling with the animal’s mane ...
It was fortunate he had remembered the cameras, or he couldn’t have guaranteed anything!
Since that day, his favourite fantasies were of Shona riding naked and with flowing hair on a healthy, galloping Azzedine. He wondered if it was time to talk to a shrink. This obsession was starting to feel pathological!
But was there anything normal in his life right now?
Granted, he was busy and his work was all business as usual.
Everything else, not so much. The intermezzo with Lord Jonah and his horses had distracted him somewhat from his main problem for a while, but of course it hadn’t resolved anything.
And his family continued to terrorise him with constant phone calls.
He hadn’t heard from Glenna and Davina themselves in a while, and he was glad those two apparently respected his need for space, even if nobody else did.
But who knew? Perhaps they had simply changed their strategy and left it to the other family members to turn up the heat.
Not a day went by without a call from one of his two other sisters or his mother who asked him to please stop being so childish and selfish.
The audacity! As he sent calls from their mobiles straight to voicemail, they now withheld their numbers or used the landline at the animal hospital.
Unfortunately, many of his customers also didn’t have caller ID, so he couldn’t simply ignore all incoming calls from unknown callers.
What he could do, and did, was hang up the moment someone mentioned the subject of sperm donation.
Needless to say, the whole thing was really wearing him down.
Was it indeed selfish or childish of him that he didn’t want to become a father by wanking into a sterile cup for his ex-girlfriend and his sister?
He didn’t think so. Most recently, Glenna and Davina had offered a compromise: if he insisted, they were prepared to allow him to be officially recognised as the father and act as such instead of having to play the nice uncle.
Wow, what a compromise indeed! The fact that they called it that already annoyed the hell out of him.
Kendrick considered being recognised as the child’s father the least they could do.
His idea of fatherhood was to actually raise the child he brought into the world – ideally together with the child’s mother.
Perhaps he was old-fashioned, but that was how he felt, and he didn’t think he would change his mind about it.
Fortunately, there were two fun events to look forward to: the coming weekend would see the big harvest festival party at the Old School.
It was certainly a big deal for the locals, and speculations were running wild.
He had heard there would be a number of highlights, which the mayor planned to reveal only two days before the event.
The one thing that was confirmed was that all men, Kendrick included, would be wearing a kilt, as the tartan dress code was mandatory.
The other exciting event was tonight: Isla’s final in the big TV cooking show was being recorded and he was invited to take part as an extra.
The main focus in the dining room would be on the three testers, but the other tables needed to be occupied to make the whole thing look like any other night at the restaurant.
He was excited and looking forward to the food, as he hadn’t yet had a chance to eat at Isla’s.
To celebrate the special occasion, he shaved again and put on the dark blue suit he had bought two years ago for the wedding of a friend from uni.
When he looked at himself in the mirror, it felt like looking at a stranger – in a good way.
He had only worn this suit twice: once to the wedding, which had enforced a no-kilts dress code, and a year later to the funeral of a great-aunt he had barely known.
Overall, he was more of a jeans and shirt type of guy, but he had to admit that he liked what he saw.
Perhaps he could find more occasions to dress up in the future!
His thoughts returned to Shona. He knew that she would be at the restaurant tonight, albeit at another table.
The editor of the programme had decided to place the chefs’ families together at their own tables for the final episodes.
That’s what Jon had told him, who was apparently more nervous than Isla herself.
Well, it didn’t really matter who sat where, because the extras weren’t allowed to make much conversation anyway.
They had been asked to dinner to create a good background atmosphere, not to be a distraction.
But he would see Shona – and she would see him.
And maybe they could find an opportunity for more after the official part of the evening was over ...
Five hours later, Kendrick felt thoroughly disheartened.
Yes, he had indeed seen Shona, who looked spectacular in a shimmering silver-grey wrap dress and high heels.
He was sure she had liked his look as well, and her smile had momentarily impaired his ability to form coherent sentences.
He had been assigned to the table of Annabel Campbell, the young local doctor.
Over drinks, they had wondered if it was by design or simply coincidence that Kirkby’s medical professionals found themselves sitting together.
Things went downhill from there: he hadn’t so much as finished his starter when his mobile vibrated – another unknown caller.
Initially, he had sent the call straight to voicemail, assuming it was one of his sisters.
But when a beep indicated he had a message, he had realised it must have been someone else.
His family members preferred to make his life hell by talking to him directly.
After apologising to Annabel, he stepped outside to listen to the message.
It was from a farmer two villages over whose old mare was suffering from a severe case of colic, her third in two weeks, and of course Kendrick had no choice but to drive over immediately.
He had made his excuses to Anna, jumped into his car and driven straight to the farm – in his smart suit.
The whole thing sounded like there was no time to waste on changing.
Indeed, when he arrived, he found the mare in terrible shape and his examination indicated an intestinal blockage, a life-threatening event.