Puss 'N Cahoots (17 page)

A
s the smoke slowly dissipated, the horses calmed down. No matter what happens, even in war, horse chores must get done. Manuel kept everyone moving once the worst had passed, so Fair and Harry could attend to other things.

No sooner had Fair stepped out of Barn Five than Booty waved for him to come over to his barn. Miss Nasty, on his shoulder, waved, too. “Mare cast.”

Fair strode toward the barn, daylight so bright he squinted. “Harry, shouldn't take long,” he called over his shoulder.

A horse who is cast has laid down in his or her stall and can't get up again. Sometimes it's foolishness; they literally get stuck in a corner and then become frightened. Other times, they're down and appear cast but are sick, even though they showed no prior signs of illness. You didn't know until you got into the stall with the horse.

Booty, taking no chances, for it had already been a bad day from his point of view, hailed Fair.

If the horse was simply cast, the men could raise her up. Even then, Booty wanted Fair to examine her. She'd probably flopped down in a fit over the smoke, fire, and hollering.

Harry, left to her own devices, headed toward the practice ring, then noticed it was empty. Given the proximity of the incinerated van, that made sense.

People were working their horses in the main show ring with the blessing of the fairground officials.

In an impromptu meeting, the officials, some on a speakerphone, deliberated whether to cancel Saturday's events and send everyone home. After viewing this from every single angle, they chose to go forward. They deliberated more because the next proposed step was costly, but they finally agreed to hire extra security. Under other circumstances this might offend the sheriff's department. As it was, Sheriff Howlett was overstretched, so he felt relief. This had turned into one hell of a week for the department.

Harry observed the manager striding down to the parking lot, so she turned toward the show ring. Mrs. Murphy, Pewter, and Tucker tagged along. The sun high overhead encouraged her to duck under the covered arena on the eastern side of the ring. Sitting in the front was Renata.

“May I join you?” Harry inquired.

Harry, even though she was pretty sure Renata had “stolen” her own horse, liked her more each day. Renata wasn't silly, she loved horses, and, given all that had happened apart from Queen Esther, Renata stayed grounded.

“Please.”

The two women watched as three good horses, each with little dangling chains like bracelets on their long hooves, trotted.

“Hot. Hope those trainers have sense enough to shorten this.” Harry hated to see a horse ill-used or pushed too hard.

“Think they will.” Renata leaned forward, elbows on knees. “More than anything I think this was to give them a positive focus—you know, take their minds off the explosion.” She paused. “Charly swears it was a bomb.”

“He would know.” Harry leaned forward, as well, since the bleachers had no backs on them.

Mrs. Murphy and Pewter climbed to the top of the bleachers because birds made nests under the eaves. They couldn't reach them, but they could listen and dream. Tucker stayed with Harry.

“You're talking to Charly again?”

“Sort of.” Renata tugged at the ends of her cowboy neckerchief, which she'd tied around her neck.

Neckerchiefs proved useful when the dust kicked up. Slip one up over your nose and you could breathe better than without.

“I'm surprised you're not at Kalarama with Queen Esther. Don't you ride tonight?”

She turned her beautiful face toward Harry. “I'm chicken.”

“'Cause you haven't worked her much?”

“No. Too many terrible things going on around here. I don't want my mare hurt. I don't want to bring her back here.” She inhaled deeply. “And I don't want to get hurt, either. Publicity may be good, but I care about Queen Esther more than that.” Renata now regretted generating that publicity, although she couldn't say as much.

“Understand that.” Harry breathed in, the sticky air coating her throat. “You are the main attraction, though.”

“No.” Renata smiled disarmingly. “The main attraction is the five-gaited stake, Charly and Booty going head to head.”

“Don't forget Larry.”

“Point Guard should do well, but it really is between Frederick the Great and Senator. Point Guard is young. Lots of time.”

Charly came into the ring, with Carlos leading a light-brown gelding with a high head carriage. The horse possessed the desired Saddlebred attributes: long neck, good head set and carriage, longish strong back, powerful hindquarters. He threw his right foreleg out a bit to the side. This small flaw would in no way compromise his performance, but if in a class with a horse who was equal to him in presentation, he'd be pinned beneath that horse. Still, he'd be in the ribbons.

“Haven't seen that horse before.” Harry remembered horses, dogs, and cats the way most people remembered human faces.

“Charly brought him in from Indiana. He's just starting his career. He goes right back to the farm after this. But we agreed to meet here so I could watch him—easier for both of us today and, well, who knew?” She threw up her hands.

Charly tipped his Panama hat at the ladies while slowly walking the gelding around, giving the animal time to relax, stretch his legs. Even at the walk, the horse exhibited a big, fluid stride.

“Nice mover.” Harry studied intently.

“Charly says he's easy to ride.”

“How much?”

“Today, forty thousand. If he starts the bigger show circuit and does well, that will double fast enough.” She rested her chin on her fist. “I need more horses, horses I can ride. I'm not paying all this money to watch someone else ride my horses.”

Harry laughed. “You start out with one or two; two's better since horses shouldn't be alone, they need a friend. Next thing you know, you've got a herd.”

“I can do the job.”
Tucker could, too.
“I can move them in and out of the barn all by myself. You just get a herd.”

“He says he likes the horse.” Harry smiled at Tucker.

The youngster started his trot, extraordinary action, his knees about touching his chin.

Harry sat up straight. “Holy cow.”

“I know. That's why I need to buy him now.”

“Renata, if you've got the money, why not?” Harry couldn't imagine being able to dash off a check that large. “Guess you've patched it up with Charly?”

Sighing, Renata lifted her chin off her fist, exhaling loudly. “I don't know what to do with myself. Or with him. I'm embarrassed at the scene I made Wednesday, but he drove me to it. He sets me off, gets under my skin.”

“Some people do that.”

“But I can't stay away. He's so gifted, and when you spend time with him away from everyone else, he's funny and kind. Around other men he puts on a show.”

“I noticed.”

“Booty's as bad.” Renata half-laughed. “The two of them are like bulls in a china shop when they're together. Nonstop competition.”

“Two successful men with successful egos, hey.” Harry shrugged.

Renata blushed slightly as Charly winked at her. Now astride, he walked the gelding in front of her, then continued to the other side of the arena, where the horse would be silhouetted against the rail.

“Booty did get one up on him.” Renata smiled. “Charly still talks about the time Booty milked a rattlesnake. Booty called Charly a chicken since he wouldn't hold the rattler.” She wrinkled her lips in disgust.

“Joan told me he keeps snakes.”

“Too weird.”

“Useful, I guess. Fair said venom can immunize horses in the production of antivenin serums.”

“What's that?”

“I forgot to ask him.” Harry smiled. “But whatever it is, it's good. He did say that the venom dries into yellow crystals and can stay toxic for a really long time.”

“Well, I still don't like snakes and I think Booty's weird. Miss Nasty proves that.”

“Aptly named.”

“Fair seems to have his ego in check.” Renata returned to men and their egos.

“He's an amazing man. His love is his work, and he thinks about the horses, not himself. He doesn't really care if anyone pays attention to him or not, but I think maybe because he's so tall and powerfully built, he doesn't have to care. Who is going to challenge him?”

“That's a thought. Can you imagine if women worried about how tall we were? Stood next to one another and looked down, that sort of thing?” Renata laughed lightly.

“We compete in other ways, I expect.”

With an unexpected vehemence Renata said, “I'm over it. I'm sick of the A-list parties. I'm sick of the PR firm I had to hire to keep me in the news in a positive light. Harry, it's such utter and complete bullshit. I'm not a person, I'm a brand, a piece of merchandise. This may surprise you, but I actually like acting, although I hate the rest of it. I don't know how much longer I can do it.”

“Kind of what Alicia says.”

“She could walk back into a studio today and get a great role.” Renata thought a minute. “Not many good lead roles for older women, but if she'd play a supporting role, she could have anything she wanted. Look at the work Julie Christie gets when she wants it.”

“Alicia doesn't care. She made a lot of money and inherited a lot, too, from her first lover,” Harry said.

“Didn't she have three husbands?”

“Did. But her first lover, Mary Pat Reines, left her everything. I think she taught Alicia a great deal about being a lady and about life. Not that any of this came to light in Hollywood.”

“It's chic to be gay now.”

“I don't think so,” Harry countered. “A few get away with it, but—” She watched as the gelding stepped into a canter. “Smooth. Ah, well, as I was saying, our country is odd, you know. We go through economic cycles, fashion cycles, and, what would you call it, tolerant cycles? Right now we aren't exactly in a tolerant cycle.”

“I think all countries are that way. There are two opposing points of view, and they can never be reconciled.”

“Which are?” Harry turned to look Renata full in the face, enjoying a real conversation with someone, not idle social chat.

“The first is you take people as they are. Sure, you have laws to curb the worst excesses, but you go about your business and other people go about theirs. The other point of view is that humans are evil and must be controlled, watched, hammered. The real problem there is the definition of evil changes according to who is in power. However, they always claim they are following old laws or God's word or decency.”

“The twain shall never meet,” Harry replied.

“Never. Not here. Not in Iran. Not in China. Wherever people are, these two views are opposed, sometimes violently.”

“I'm glad I'm a corgi,”
Tucker rightfully said.

Harry dropped her hand on Tucker's head, stroking her friend. “I can see why you're sick of Hollywood, Renata.”

“Two more years, Harry, two more years, and if I'm lucky two good pictures so I can cash in and come home. I belong in Kentucky.”

“I understand.” She did, too. “Do you think you belong with Charly?”

New though Harry was to her life, Renata instinctively trusted her. She knew she wouldn't gossip. Better yet, Harry approached her as a horsewoman, not a movie star.

“He asked me to marry him.”

“Ah.” Harry didn't pry as to her reply.

“I don't know what to do. I said I'd think about it and I'd give him my answer at the close of the show. Tonight.”

“You'd never be bored.”

“No, but I might like to kill him sometimes.”

Harry laughed. “Renata, every woman feels that way about the man she loves.”

Renata frowned, then smiled. “Guess we do.”