Free Pathway to Tomorrow by Sheila Claydon Page B

calls, and the second is you meet Luke before you start making any plans for him.”
    “Done!  And I’m sorry I stopped talking to you.  I don’t mean to be so prickly. I guess Izzie just caught me at a raw moment.”
    “No she didn’t.  She scared you.” Having got this far he wasn’t going to let her shy away from the truth. “She made you face up to your feelings Jodie and they frightened you.”
    “You’re an expert are you, on other people’s feelings?” her reply was tart.
    “Yes.  I’ve had so much therapy I am about as much of an expert as you are ever likely to meet.  I know about scared too, because for years I was scared every single day. It’s why I gave up performing.”
     
    * * *
     
    Three weeks later Jodie urged Buckmaster into a gallop and then gave him his head.  He raced down the deserted beach, his mane and tail flying in the wind as he kicked up little puffs of sand behind him.  Laughing out loud, she reveled in the clear blue sky and the crash of the waves on the shore.
    “Marcus is coming home today, Bucky,” she told him.  “And guess what?  I’m not scared anymore…well maybe I am a little bit…but in a good way!”
    Buckmaster snorted, as he always did when Jodie spoke to him.  She tweaked his ears affectionately.  “You see he’s got hang-ups too, and responsibilities, so he understands how I feel.”
    “His wife died when Luke was two, and Marcus blames himself.  He says he went away a lot and left her to cope with Luke on her own. He says he didn’t even notice when she became depressed because he was too busy touring.  He had no idea she was taking anti-depressants as well as other drugs until she took an overdose.  He doesn’t think she meant to, not really, but he’ll never know for sure, and that’s why he can’t forgive himself.”
    Buckmaster slowed to a walk. He was breathing heavily.  Jodie leaned forward and pressed her face against his neck. “And it’s why he can’t perform anymore either. He’s scared that if he does, something bad will happen to Luke. It doesn’t make any sort of sense but I guess that’s what hang-ups are all about Bucky.  They don’t make sense…they just are!”
    They reached the bottom of the bridleway as she finished speaking and she slowed to a gentle pace so she could see the latest progress on Marcus’ house.  The studio was taking shape now and the builders were busy digging the foundations for another structure a few meters away.  Marcus had explained about the glass corridor linking the two buildings.  He had explained about the swimming pool too, and the gym, as well as the specially equipped ground floor suite for Luke. 
    “Swimming is good for him,” he’d said when she teased him about his grandiose plans. “And he needs the gym for his physiotherapy. He suffers from poor coordination and balance plus a whole host of other minor difficulties so regular exercise is an essential part of his routine.”
    She’d stopped teasing him then because she realized he didn’t like it…not when it was about Luke.  Instead she’d asked him about the rest of the design and been impressed with the comparative modesty of his own needs.  The studio and Luke’s pool and gym complex would dwarf the rest of the house.
    A huge covered truck was blocking the road as she approached the end of the bridleway.  Bill was talking to the driver but when he saw her he stepped forward and unlocked the gate. Smiling her thanks she guided Buckmaster through. 
    He nodded towards the truck.  “Those are for you.”
    The rear doors were open and Jodie stared inside in disbelief.  The interior of the truck was crammed with row after row of laurel bushes, each one at least eight feet tall.
    “They’re for the bridleway, to stop people looking in,” he explained, waving in the general direction of the driveway to where trench had been dug along the full length of the wire fence separating it from the path.
    She