An idea started brewing in my mind and I couldn't let it go. I knew of Nelson from before me and Mum had our fall out. She had bought him for Tim, but he took to her. She adored that horse, and they had an incredible bond. From what I understood, he would do anything for her. So why would he kick her and kill her?

Even if spooked, which from what I remembered he was more than storm proof, that was an extreme reaction to a horse being scared. If he was with his handler that he solely trusted, he wouldn't act like that.

"Will you back me up?" I asked Ben, as we continued staring at the horses in their fields.

"With what?"

"I have an idea. I just need you to encourage Ash to let it play out."

He raised a busy eyebrow. "Dare I ask?"

I grinned. "Probably best not to."

He chuckled. "Sure. Let's see what you've got."

We headed back inside the house to see Ash still comforting Tim.

I stood in front of the table and folded my arms over my chest. "Take me to the barn," I said, staring at Tim.

"What?" he said, his mouth falling wide open.

"I want to see where Mum died. Take me to the barn."

"Kyra, not today," Ash said, his voice soft and pleading. "Please."

"Ash, just let me do this, please."

Ben cleared his throat and said, "It's just a barn, right? No harm ever came from seeing a barn. Just indulge her, Ash, stop fighting with her. This is all hard enough."

Ash let out a big sigh. "Ok." He turned to Tim and said, "Can you do that for us please? Take us to the barn?"

Tim nodded his head and grabbed a tissue. "Yes, of course. Follow me."

He put on his boots before leading us down to the red and white traditional barn. As Ash stuck to Tim's side, I dropped back a few paces, pleased when Ben matched my strides.

"Thank you," I whispered. "I really needed that."

"You're welcome. I'm curious what you're planning."

I grinned. "I think Tim has forgotten that I know horses."

Ben frowned, his eyes filling with questions, but he said nothing more.

As we entered the barn, my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, the familiar smell of horse manure, hay, and straw invaded my nostrils, taking me straight back to my fun filled horse days. My heart started aching for Scotch all over again and I pondered for a moment taking Rebecca up on her offer of riding Eloise.

On the left as we walked in were two wooden doors, one with a toilet sign, one with a sign that said 'Office'. Next to it and before the stables started, were bales and bales of hay, all stacked up right to the ceiling. Definitely plenty for several horses for the winter.

I could hear a horse pacing in its stable, the shuffle of the straw a constant noise. The horse blew through its nostrils, then started pawing at the floor, its hoof hitting the concrete.

"They all have rubber matting except for a foot space before the door," Tim explained. "They're not bedded down on pure concrete."

A concrete aisle split the barn in half, each side lined with a dozen stables. Every single stable was empty, save for the one unsettled horse at the bottom.

"Why is there one horse in on its own?" I asked, raising my voice.

The pacing in the stable stopped. Aside from the tragedy that happened in here, it was a picturesque barn and I knew Mum would have loved spending her days in here.

"That's your mum's horse, Nelson," Tim replied.

We carried on walking down the aisle. As we approached the last stables, a big black face with a white stripe pinged over the stable door. Bright, alert eyes and ears pricked, he started nodding his head up and down.

"Why is he in on his own?" I asked.

Tim cleared his throat, hesitating before replying, "I have mares in season."

"In December?"

Tim stopped one stable away from Nelson. The horse looked at the group of us, his interest in our presence more than evident. I brushed past Tim and Ash and went straight towards him.

As I came into his personal space outside his stable door, he stretched his neck forwards as far he could, blowing heavily through his nose as he tried in vain to reach me, desperate for some form of contact.

I held my hand out to him and let him sniff me. He nickered softly and banged his front leg against the door.

"Ah ah," I said, walking towards him so he didn't have to stretch so far to touch me. "Don't be naughty."

He lifted his nose to my head and snuffled through my hair, his top lip messing my hair up. I didn't care, I'd missed this aspect of horses with their funny little quirks. I peered over his stable door and recoiled back within a second.

"When did you last muck him out?" I said, turning to Tim.

"I...well, I've been a bit busy and haven't had chance since your mum died. Everything has just gotten on top of me."

I narrowed my eyes at him and looked into the stable next door to Nelson's. It was clean, the bed perfectly arranged, a mound of hay in the corner ready for the night-time occupant. I went to the stable on the opposite side of the aisle that faced Nelson's stable. It too was all clean and ready for the evening.

"Do I need to check each one of these stables before you tell me what's going on?"

Ash looked at Tim, questions forming in his eyes. If I could raise one bit of suspicion in Ash then I knew I was onto a winner.

Tim lifted his hand and ran it through his hair. The sudden movement of him lifting his hand made Nelson squeal and turn in Tim's direction. He pinned his ears back flat against his head and snaked his head up and down in an aggressive manner.

I'd only ever seen that behaviour in a herd of horses when a stallion would use this body language to move horses, primarily mares, in the direction he wanted them to go. It was a strong behaviour that only really occurred when dominance or order was threatened within the herd.

My gut churned and a voice in my head told me the obvious answer.

Nelson viewed Tim as a threat.

The million-dollar question was why?

Determined to dig further, I looked back at Tim who still hadn't answered my question and said, "Tim?"

"He doesn't like me. I can't do anything with him."

I raised my eyebrow. "So what were you planning to do? Leave him in here to rot?

"He won't even let me get near him with hay so I can feed him. What am I supposed to do?"

Alarm bells started ringing then. All horses were food orientated. Some more than others, but their natural grazing behaviour meant that food was their primary concern in life. What could make a horse dislike a human so much that they wouldn't let them near them with one of the basic things they lived for?

"You get someone in to help," I said, my voice full of disdain. "That's what you do."

"How am I supposed to live the rest of my life paying someone to come feed a horse that hates me?" He shook his head. "It makes no sense."

"Give me his headcollar," I said.

Tim widened his eyes. "Are you insane?"

"Do I look insane? Give me his headcollar. I will take him outside so you can clean this mess up."

Tim sighed and reached over to the hook next to him, picking up a leather headcollar and leather lead rope. Had it not been for Ash and Ben, I knew he wouldn't be giving in so easily. He walked towards me which only elicited more aggressive behaviour from Nelson.

Banging his legs against the door, he stretched his neck towards, snapping his teeth as he tried his best to get a hold of Tim. I had little doubt that if let go, Nelson would take a chunk of Tim's flesh and then some.

Tim threw the headcollar at me and scuttled backwards, visibly breathing a sigh of relief. As soon as he returned to his previous spot, Nelson settled down but still kept an eye on him.

"Ky, are you sure you should be handling this horse?" Ash said, his voice shaking slightly.

"Ash, trust me. I'll be fine."

I positioned the headcollar in front of Nelson's nose, smiling as he thrust his head inside it. The poor boy wanted out so desperately.

"So what happened, Tim? Where did you find Mum?" I asked, doing up Nelson's headcollar.

He pointed at me. "Literally in front of his door, where you are now. Her head was facing that stall," he said, pointing at the stable opposite Nelson's. "It was like she'd opened the door and he'd just flattened her in his panic to get out."

"But you said he kicked her in the head."

He nodded. "Yes. The coroner said her injuries were consistent with the shape of a horseshoe." He shrugged his shoulders. "Like I said, I wasn't here. I can only guess what happened. I'm guessing he ran out, your mum tried to control him, and lashed out and caught her."

"So her injuries were consistent with being hit with a horseshoe but no one saw Nelson, or any other horse for that matter, kick her?"

Tim glared at me. I knew I'd hit a nerve.

"Ky," Ash said. "What are you trying to say?"

I shrugged my shoulders and smiled, trying to appear innocent. "Nothing at all. Just clarifying the situation." I undid Nelson's stable door and said, "I'm bringing him out now."

Stallions had been known to become protective over their female owners, and knowing how my mum was with her horses, I would bet my last penny that this was how their relationship would have been. I wondered, if he viewed Tim as a threat, if he would feel inclined to protect me as well. My mum and I were very similar in our looks, height, and build, and I hoped that something in me reminded Nelson of my mum. My entire plan hinged on that fact.

I opened the stable door and waited for him to barrel over the top of me but he didn't. Even with an open doorway, he stood and waited for me to say, "Walk on," before moving a muscle. I let him get his front legs out before saying, "Woah. Stand." He stopped immediately.

I glanced at Tim and said, "Considering this horse has been in his stable for..." I looked underneath Nelson and between his legs, looking at the state of his stable. "...I'm guessing three days, maybe four, and desperate to get out, he still seems to remember his manners perfectly, despite going crazy with hunger and pent up energy."

Without doing anything else with this horse, I knew Mum had trained him to perfection. Stallions were hard to handle and a good relationship was the basic foundation of stallion handling. Mum wouldn't have had it any other way—for her safety and everyone else's. There was no way this horse kicked her in the head, scared or not.

"Your mum was an exceptional horse woman," Tim said, his voice weak and pathetic. "I'm glad to see the horse remains that way without her being here."

"Walk on," I said, clicking my tongue to Nelson.

He followed me like a little puppy. Until he got within six feet of Tim. An ear-piercing squeal left the horse before he lunged himself at Tim, swinging his hind legs out and kicking at his head.

Tim screamed like a little girl, a look of horror on his face as he backed up and ran for his life. Ash and Ben jumped out of the way as Tim fled to the safety of the office. I let the lead rope go and watched as Nelson chased after him, snaking his head and neck with his ears pinned flat back against his head.

It was then that I noticed the other key part to Tim's story.

Nelson was barefoot—no shoes.