10 Heartbreak In Heaton Valley - By Stephanie Poppins

Heartbreak at Heaton Valley Written and performed by Stephanie Poppins Have you ever noticed things never seem to happen when you're waiting for them?

And yet,

When you least expect it,

The most amazing things come along to remind you just how wonderful life really is.

Episode 10 Where are we going,

Auntie Ava?

I'm not supposed to take time off school,

Am I?

Ava turned the radio off and listened to the engine.

Her car was running smoothly,

Even if it was more than ten years old.

Laden with heavy bags and a nervous daisy,

This converted BMW had once been her pride and joy.

But not anymore.

The Lincolnshire Wolves ate up cars like this for breakfast and spat them out at dinner time.

All show and no go,

Her mother said,

And she was right.

World had it people did weird things after losing someone close to them,

And this BMW was nothing more than an impulse buy.

When this is all over,

I'll trade it in for a 4x4,

She told herself.

Something more fitting for this country life.

As if she'd still be welcoming Market Heaton,

But that was where Ava was determined she would stay in spite of everything that had happened.

We're going glamping,

She replied enthusiastically.

Heaton Primary were very understanding,

Actually.

When I told them we were broken into,

They said it would be good to have space to sort things out.

So that's what we're going to do.

Where?

Do you remember that leaflet that came through the door,

The one about special deals for small families?

Well,

I booked it.

We should have gone at half term,

Really,

But I moved it forward.

Is Nanny coming?

She's away,

But we'll go and see her soon,

I promise.

Ava ran her fingers through her long,

Dark hair.

She was getting used to having it down again.

It felt strange at first,

Uncomfortable almost,

But after watching the wild wind in Master's Mane,

It was a no-brainer.

I don't want to leave Mayleaf Cottage,

I like it there,

Persisted Daisy,

And Maisy knows where I am.

I know,

Love,

But we can't go back just yet.

Let's enjoy this break and use it to sort things out,

Okay?

Maybe I could stay at hers.

We could both stay,

I bet,

If you just asked.

Mr Gardner likes you.

Ava shook her head in amusement.

Daisy was trying every last trick in the book to make this happen,

But she hadn't been there when Ava last spoke to Martin.

That wasn't a conversation you could come back from.

I tried,

Love,

But it wasn't meant to be.

I'm sorry.

Now,

We're going to make this an off-grid adventure,

Okay?

That means no phones.

Slumping miserably in the back seat,

Daisy sighed deeply.

Why?

Because I've noticed you've been on it a lot lately.

I know you've got a lot of homework and this is a big year.

It'll be a great opportunity to catch up with what you missed at Mrs Lawson's.

This would do the trick.

Daisy wasn't stupid.

She knew she was getting behind.

And like her aunt,

She was naturally competitive.

Can I listen until we get there,

Then?

Yes,

Of course.

And on Daisy's headphones went,

Leaving Ava to her own thoughts once more.

The resort was a good few miles away from Market Heaton.

The roads leading up to it were long and undulating,

Snaking through the idyllic charm of the Lincoln countryside,

With low stone walls running alongside to protect the sheep and many wild deer.

It felt good to get away,

To leave everything behind.

And Ava had a lot to leave.

The sidelong glances from Mrs Lawson,

The disappointment on Paul Small's face when she spoke to him,

And that terrible conversation with Martin Gardner.

Why couldn't she get him out of her mind?

She'd never felt so vulnerable.

In spite of the resolution she made when Jessica died to concentrate on Daisy and not get entangled with anyone else,

She'd got used to the idea of him being around.

He'd been a stable influence in her and Maisie's life recently,

And she secretly liked the fact he didn't care what other people thought of him.

He was so different to other men she'd met.

Martin Gardner was happy to be on his own.

He didn't have any expectations and he certainly didn't stand on parade.

His thoughts were consumed with being a good father and staying true to the land and his farm.

He didn't care about keeping up appearances or impressing strangers.

It was torturing her.

Ever since that afternoon at the manse,

She'd fantasised about his strong arms around her,

His mouth on hers,

Even waking up with his warm body beside her.

But now,

Nothing.

It was all over before it even got started.

Of all the things that had happened,

Disappointing Martin Gardner was the worst.

Yes,

She hated herself for forcing Daisy to leave Mayleve Cottage behind.

Yes,

She tortured herself for letting Paul down.

But Martin Gardner,

She needed him.

She couldn't help it.

He was the only man who'd ever seen her for who she really was.

And as it happened,

He liked her the better for it.

Oh God,

What have I done?

But it was too late.

To Martin,

She was a liar.

She'd deceived him and he would never trust her again.

They'd been on the cusp of something amazing.

So close.

She rubbed at the pain in her stomach.

She always hit her here when she was sad.

And she was sad.

Silly,

Really.

She'd only known him a short time.

She wanted to run back and tell him it was all a misunderstanding.

That she'd been railroaded into doing things she would never have considered before.

She wanted to tell him she'd been scared.

She'd been stalked,

Intimidated and controlled.

She wanted him to know she found it hard to trust him because he was old friends with a monster that was Jack Riley.

But she must put all that aside for a moment.

There was something bigger afoot now.

It was time to make things happen.

Annabelle's journalist was waiting.

She just had to get settled,

Make the call and hide out until the story ran.

Then once all was revealed Jack and the Skinner brothers would be out of her life for good.

No one would mess with her after that.

All she had to do was get through the next 24 hours.

Flicking through his various bills and letters Paul Smart thought carefully about what to do next.

His solicitor would be there within the hour so he would have to think fast.

Ava Smith of all people.

He still couldn't believe it.

Doing such a thing in the first place was bad enough but concealing it then coming to Smart and Sons only to do the same thing again was unthinkable.

What was she playing at?

He trusted her.

Treated her like a daughter in fact.

Even rented his house to her at a bargain rate.

She was sorry for Lincoln Lakes.

He could see that.

And she was right.

She had tried to warn him more than once.

She was obviously terrified of that Jack but why didn't she speak about this before?

Before they'd sat in meetings together and signed papers.

He scratched at his stubble.

Ava Smith was driving him crazy.

What with the break-ins and the time off.

What was he supposed to do with a girl?

Things were meant to get easier when you got older not more difficult.

And they'd certainly been more difficult since she arrived and it seems brought the skinners with her.

He was getting too old for this.

He'd have to move fast and make things right with his investors before the story broke.

He had his reputation to think about so he should return their investment before word got out.

That would cover that.

He should have known this was too good to be true.

Representing a development that promised such high yields all on the say-so of one Jack Riley a wheeler and dealer who he'd allowed to sweet-talk him along with the rest of Lincoln Town.

He'd have to get his legal team to claw back the funds from Jack himself.

Having looked into it,

He and his wife had substantial assets and as for the skinners they would go down like dominoes.

Now he'd contacted his connections in the council to name and shame their mole.

He ripped the poster out of his window.

Ryegrass Meadow.

It was time to do this properly.

That meant no more tacky posters no more outside influences and if he spoke to his people in the planning department he could buy himself some time.

Maybe even avoid any connection between Lincoln Lakes and Ryegrass Meadow being made publicly.

Ava had certainly promised she'd say nothing to the press about that.

And what about his old friend Mary Manley?

She was relying on him to help her.

They'd known each other for years.

He had to make this right.

It had to be above board so he would personally take on the developing of it himself if it meant not letting her down.

Only Paul Smart of Smart and Sons could make sure the thing was done properly.

One way or another it was going to cost him but so be it.

Publicly taking down the skinners was payment plenty to begin with.

He checked his phone doing his best to fix his sullen expression.

It was time to make the call.

Jack Riley had no idea he knew anything yet so it should be easy enough to get his attention.

Jack?

Paul,

Good to hear from you.

I'm in the office going through a few details.

I'd be grateful if you could join me.

Ah,

Might be difficult today.

What time?

Paul's jaw clenched.

This morning?

As soon as possible?

He could hear the reticence in Jack's voice.

What was he up to now?

Another day of hounding Ava,

He guessed.

But little did he know this was the second demand for a meeting Jack had received in the last 24 hours.

The last one with Martin Gardner was a no-show.

I've got some great news about sales you need to hear,

Jack.

Everything's looking fantastic this end and there's a little bonus you might be interested in too.

Paul Smart was no novice.

He knew what Jack wanted to hear.

And sure enough he was right.

With an upbeat,

Sounds great,

I'll be there within the hour.

Jack did exactly what he wanted.

Paul closed his phone and got up.

How dare that man wheedle his way into Market Heaton and Smart & Sons,

The most reputable business around.

He obviously didn't know who he was dealing with.

Then he made his way to the coffee machine,

Catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror.

He should be spending more time on the golf course,

He considered.

He'd made his money.

He had a great life,

In fact.

But instead he'd foolishly dived into this proposal too soon.

That would teach him.

Nothing good ever came from being greedy.

Still,

It was best to look forward and put his strategy into play.

And that began with making sure Ava was forgiven.

Get away for a few days,

He'd said.

You make the call and I'll deal with the rest of it.

We'll make this right together.

He knew this was the last thing she'd expected to hear.

But poor Smart had never had a daughter of his own.

And as it happens,

He considered Ava Smith to be the next best thing.

It was later than expected when Ava arrived.

The light was fading fast,

Not that there had been much of it in the first place.

It was a dismal day.

There was no getting away from it.

After taking the wrong turn and ending up stuck behind a flock of sheep,

She and Daisy pulled into the muddy farm entrance as the rain beat harder still.

At least it's not camping,

She uttered,

Matching her sigh with the one coming from the back.

We'll be in one of those wooden pods over there.

She pointed to the domes scattered higgledy-piggledy behind the little stone farmhouse.

Ava was trying to be positive,

But if she was honest,

This looked nothing like the picture on the leaflet.

Then again,

She knew grey skies did that to a place.

She checked her watch.

The woman at the express was waiting for her call.

While she could wait a little longer,

Ava had Daisy to get settled first.

She dragged the Wellington boots across the passenger seat,

The ones from Martin's house.

Damn it.

What's the matter?

Nothing.

Have you got your boots on?

Yes,

I'm sorry,

Aunty Ava,

I've got some mud on the.

.

.

Don't worry about it.

We'll leave it to dry and brush it off later.

Now I'm going to run and get the key,

Okay?

Stay here and get wrapped up or you're going to get wet.

Then she opened the door to be greeted with an unexpectedly aggressive avalanche.

Oof.

She pulled her collar in tight and waded through the puddles to the farmhouse.

It was older than she expected,

With a dozen various-sized boots strewn in the covered stone entrance.

It smelled of damp dog,

And Ava did everything she could not to run straight back to the car.

But she had work to do and it was getting late.

She turned protectively to check on her niece,

Who was now shivering in the back seat.

Of all the things I've got wrong,

She's not one of them,

Ava said to herself.

And she knocked before she had a chance to change her mind,

Praying the pods were of a different standard altogether.

Although at this point,

She would have been grateful for a dry desk and a warm blanket.

Then round the corner trotted the sorriest excuse for a guard dog she'd ever seen.

Through the thick mud coating its fur,

He could just about make out the long grey hairs that covered his lean,

Gangly body.

This dog had been left outside,

And now he was getting wet.

Come in here,

She beckoned.

Come on boy,

Get out of the rain.

The tall dog looked at her from the side of his eye and cautiously obeyed.

He obviously wasn't used to being spoken to gently,

But once he realised this was a kindred spirit,

He sped up.

Then safely under the stone roof,

He leaned on her with all his weight to get warm.

This of course drew Daisy straight out of the car and up the path to greet him.

He's lovely,

Just look at his eyes,

She gushed.

Daisy,

I said stay in the car,

Moaned Ava.

But Daisy ignored her.

It's dry in here boy,

And there's a little blanket in the corner,

She pointed.

She wrapped it round him and he lay down next to her.

Then the door swung open and they were face to face with the stout,

Roughly dressed woman who owned the house.

She had colourless eyes and deep dark frown lines.

Miss Smith,

We've been expecting you,

She said before Ava had the chance to answer.

Come this way please.

She shuffled ahead to a tired looking kitchen that was mercifully warm.

Ava,

Daisy and the dog followed her in eagerly.

Only to come face to face with the last two men on earth they wanted to see.

George and Thomas Skinner.

I hope you enjoyed this episode.

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