‘Hey,’ I say, cradling her head against my chest. Her hair is flattened and hot from wearing a riding hat, and I send up a whisper of thanks that she had the foresight to put one on.

‘It’s OK,’ I soothe. ‘Don’t cry – we’ll find him.’

‘But what if he drowned in the river?’ she wails, quite distraught now.

‘Dogs are very good swimmers,’ I assure her, hoping I’m right where Beavis is concerned. The water is moving alarmingly fast, and it would be very deep for a little mutt like him.

‘He chased a rabbit,’ Tui tells me, tears all over her cheeks.

‘So you followed him?’ I guess, and she nods.

‘I thought he would get lost, that’s all.’

‘And then you got lost?’ I ask, and she shakes her head.

She must have been calling for me and Kit back in the yard to help her with Beavis, I think with a stab. She did the right thing, but nobody came.

‘I’m so sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me,’ I tell her, smoothing away the matted hair that is stuck to her wet cheeks. ‘I promise that will never happen again – not ever.’ And I mean it, too, even if I have no clue how I can keep the promise. If Bonnie decides that she doesn’t want me in her life, how can I remain in Tui’s?

‘Uh-huh.’ Tui starts biting one of her fingernails, then, as if noticing Ekara for the first time, she says in surprise, ‘That’s Allie’s horse.’

‘I thought you wanted me to ride her,’ I say with a grin.

Tui looks at me with bemusement.

‘You forgot your hat,’ she states, bellowing with unnaturally forced laughter as I put a hand on my head and feign shock.

‘So I have,’ I exclaim, untucking my T-shirt so I can use it to wipe my face. At least my nose has stopped bleeding. ‘Silly me!’

‘Silly Genie,’ Tui crows with delight, rocking from one foot to the other. She clearly didn’t have time to change for our planned ride, because she is dressed in shorts and her Snoopy T-shirt, and I wince as I see the red weals on her bare thighs from where Keith’s saddle must have rubbed.

‘How about we walk back to the yard?’ I suggest, but she nods her head in furious disagreement, moaning loudly.

‘B-B-Beeea,’ she croons, her voice cracking as she remembers that her dog is missing.

‘Beavis!’ I call, my voice far louder than hers. Getting Tui back to the stables without him is going to be difficult, if not impossible, and I also have two horses to think about.

‘Can you wait here and be in charge of Keith and Ekara?’ I ask Tui, offering her both sets of reins. She looks unsure, so I put a hand on her shoulder.