Page 48 of Wild Horses

The storm had passed, leaving the air redolent with the scent of rain and damp earth.

Tyler watched as the police and medics swarmed around Callan, who lay shivering and half-conscious on the wet grass under a horse rug Tyler had thrown over him. It had taken all his self-control not to kick the bastard instead.

The ambos worked quickly, stabilising Ricky Callan and preparing him for transport. The police stood by, stoic and watchful. A deep weariness crept over Tyler, the adrenaline surge that had carried him through the confrontation now leaving him drained.

He turned to a shivering Leo, who was staring down at Callan with a shell-shocked expression. ‘You need to change into dry clothes, son. But first I want the ambos to examine you.’

A nearby paramedic overheard and introduced herself to Leo. ‘Now let’s have a look at you.’ She asked him to follow her finger with his eyes. He did, but his gaze seemed unfocused. She gently explored his arms, shoulders and ribs. ‘You don’t seem to have any major injuries. How do you feel?’

‘I’m fine,’ he muttered, though his pale face and trembling hands told another story.

She gave Leo a blanket, draping it over his shoulders as she glanced towards Tyler, her expression heavy with unspoken concern. ‘Shock’s a sneaky thing.’ She patted Leo’s arm. ‘Just let yourself breathe, mate. You’ve been through a lot.’

She turned her attention to Tyler, and to Christy who stood beside him. ‘You both need to be checked out too.’ Her skilled fingers probed the wound on Tyler’s upper arm, eliciting a small cry of pain. ‘Good news. There’s no bullet in there. Looks like it just grazed you.’

The woman turned to Christy. ‘How about you, love?’

‘I’m okay.’

The medic looked sceptical. ‘I’ll be the judge of that.’ She turned to Tyler. ‘Let’s get you down to the ambulance. Can you walk?’

Leo turned to leave. ‘Whoa,’ said Tyler. ‘Where are you going?’

‘To check on Lofty.’

‘Well, make it quick, then put on some dry clothes. I’ll meet you at the rec room.’

‘And you’ll tell me about that man?’

‘I will. It’s something I should have done a long time ago. Now go and get changed.’

Tyler made his way down to the ambulance with Christy. He winced as his bicep was bandaged with quiet efficiency and he received a barrage of injections. ‘Antibiotics, pain relief and anti-inflammatories,’ the medic explained. ‘Hop in the ambulance and we’ll take you to Dalby Hospital.’

Tyler exchanged a glance with Christy and shook his head. ‘I can’t leave my son,’ he said. ‘I’ll get someone to drive me to the hospital later.’ He’d already called a stunned Clare, who was on her way back from the festival.

The medic frowned. ‘All right, but don’t delay too long. That arm needs an X-ray.’

They watched as Callan was stretchered into the ambulance under a police guard. ‘I wouldn’t go in the same ambulance as him anyway,’ Tyler whispered with a shudder. The doors closed with a heavy thud, and the ambulance drove away, lights flashing.

Tyler gazed at Christy – her bedraggled hair, her dishevelled clothes, her mud-smeared face – and he felt a gush of love so powerful it left him weak. ‘What do you need?’ he asked gently. ‘Shall I take you to your room for a lie down?’

She managed a small smile. ‘Only if you lie down with me.’

A police officer standing nearby overheard them and introduced herself. ‘We need statements from you two and your son. Could you meet me inside with Leo – say, in half an hour?’

Tyler nodded and took hold of Christy’s hand.

When they reached the rec room, Leo was stepping onto the verandah. He took in his father’s bandaged arm. ‘Are you okay?’

‘We all are,’ said Tyler, ‘thanks to Christy here.’

Leo pressed his palms together and nodded in her direction. ‘Infinite respect and thanks,’ he said. ‘You’re a hero, Miss P – a goddamned hero.’

‘How’s Lofty?’ she asked, clearly embarrassed by the praise.

‘He’s fine, but only because of you,’ said Leo. ‘That fucking prick nearly shot him.’

Tyler automatically went to protest Leo’s language but stopped himself. His son was entitled to call Callan anything he liked.

Leo pinned him with a searching look. ‘Why did you say that man killed Mum?’

Time for some home truths. ‘The police need to take our statements first,’ said Tyler. ‘And after that I owe you an explanation.’ His voice broke with emotion. ‘I don’t expect forgiveness, but I’d appreciate if you’d listen.’

Detective Sergeant Hunter’s call interrupted him.

Tyler stepped outside and filled Hunter in, the details spilling out in an oddly dispassionate account.

When he checked the time, a wry thought flickered through his mind – three-thirty.

If he’d stayed in Brisbane, he’d be finishing his sugar-glass dome dessert.

The absurdity of the thought brought a brief, humourless smile to his lips.

Life sometimes had a harsh way of making you reassess your priorities.

Later, after the police had interviewed them and gone, Tyler sat with Leo in the rec room. Clare had arrived back some time ago and was delivering mugs of hot chocolate and plates of grilled sandwiches. Tyler caught her eye and Clare sensed his need for privacy. ‘I’ll leave you guys to it.’

Christy stood to excuse herself as well.

Tyler shook his head. ‘No, I want you to stay, so long as it’s okay with Leo.’

‘Are you kidding?’ Leo managed through mouthfuls of toasted cheese. ‘Miss P has scored a lifetime membership to the family. Sounds like a booby prize to me, but it is what it is.’

Christy smiled at Leo and sat down nearby.

Tyler took a deep breath, his voice wavering as he began to speak. ‘Leo, there’s a lot I need to tell you. Things I should have shared as soon as you were old enough to understand.’

Leo blinked hard, bracing for he didn’t know what. Tyler’s heart ached, the burden of self-reproach pressing down on him. He’d kept the past to himself for so long, fearing the consequences of opening up. But instead of protecting Leo, his secret-keeping had put his son directly in the firing line.

‘I’ve always had doubts about the night your mother died,’ Tyler started, his words slow and measured. ‘The fire at the Club Kitchen ... I suspected it wasn’t an accident. But to my shame I never told a soul ...’

Tyler swallowed hard, guilt tightening like a vice around his chest. ‘I had a business partner back then – Enzo Fontana. I became suspicious that he was involved in some shady dealings, things I tried to ignore. People coming and going, private rooms with bodyguards. I turned a blind eye because I was too caught up in my success. If I hadn’t, I might have seen the danger coming. ’

Leo’s eyes narrowed, his posture rigid, his arms crossed. Tyler could see the mistrust in his gaze, the scepticism. ‘Dad, exactly what are you trying to tell me?’

Tyler’s voice was fading to a whisper. Speak up, you coward , he told himself.

Leo had a right to hear this. ‘The night of the fire I’d stayed back late talking to a gasfitter who’d told me there was a leak he needed to sort out.

While I was on my way home your mum went back to the restaurant looking for me, and . .. she was caught in the blaze.’

Leo’s face twisted with emotion, a mixture of anger and sadness. ‘I already know that.’

‘What you don’t know – and what I didn’t know until recently – is that there was no gas leak.

’ Tyler’s throat was so tight he could barely spit out the words.

‘And the person I met with that night was no gasfitter. It was Ricky Callan, an enemy of Enzo Fontana, part of a rival gang. The same man who Christy shot today.’

Leo’s hands balled into fists. ‘How do you know?’

‘Remember how we heard the case was reopened? I spoke to the investigating detective. He asked me to tell him everything I either knew or suspected.’ Tyler looked down, unable to look Leo in the eye. ‘I eventually agreed.’

‘Eventually?’ gasped Leo in disbelief. ‘You mean you didn’t jump at the chance?’

Tyler’s heart broke at the pain in his son’s voice. ‘Until the detective came to my apartment again a couple of weeks ago I wasn’t sure what had happened. I was trying to protect you. But I realise now that keeping secrets only made things worse. It made me a stranger to my own son.’

Leo’s eyes filled with tears – eyes that held a lifetime of hurt. ‘So the nannies, the boarding schools, the summer camps ...?’

Tyler finally looked properly at Leo. ‘Deep down I was ashamed to face you. I should have protected your mother. I should have gone to the police with my suspicions and the fact that I didn’t haunted me.

’ Tyler reached out to touch Leo, then thought better of it and withdrew his arm.

‘I’m sorry, Leo,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry for everything.

For not being there for you, for being such a coward .

.. And yet you still risked your life for me today by galloping towards Callan instead of away from him. ’

The room went quiet as the import of Tyler’s confession settled over them. Nobody spoke. Nobody moved. Leo’s gaze was fixed on a point far beyond the rec room’s walls as the silence yawned between them.

And then something amazing happened. Leo’s posture began to soften, his arms uncrossing slowly. The anger and pain in his eyes were replaced by something else – understanding, perhaps even empathy.

‘I wish you’d told me before,’ he said at last. ‘But at least this explains why you were always so cold and distant.’ A tear ran down Leo’s cheek, and he scrubbed it away. ‘I thought it was because you didn’t love me.’

An audible intake of breath came from Christy.

Tyler reached out tentatively, placing a hand on Leo’s shoulder.

He could feel the tension in his son’s muscles, the hesitation.

But then, slowly, Leo relaxed, allowing his father’s touch to offer some comfort.

Tyler felt a surge of love for and pride in his son as they embraced.

Truth was tearing down the wall between them, leaving a raw but real connection in its place.

‘From now on,’ vowed Tyler. ‘I’ll be the father you deserve.’