Shadow Horse (5 page)

DOUBLING OVER, JAS DROPPED INTO THE
rocker. She covered her mouth, stifling a moan. She had to tell someone that Hugh knew Miss Hahn.

Could she trust Ms. Tomlinson?

No way
. The social worker would think Jas was making it up. Besides, Hugh had mentioned Ms. Tomlinson’s name. Maybe they were
all
in it together. Stanford was a small town, and Hugh’s family had been its original founders. Not only did he have connections, he knew everybody.

Oh, Grandfather
, Jas whispered.
What should I do?

A sudden thought struck Jas. If Hugh needed to spy on her, it meant that he had
definitely
killed Whirlwind. But why would he want to kill his own horse?

Whirlwind had been in her showing prime, worth over a hundred thousand dollars. Even if she’d injured herself, Hugh could have bred her and made lots of money off the foals. It just didn’t make sense that he would want her dead.

Until she had proof, Jas knew she couldn’t tell anyone her suspicions. Maybe being at Second Chance Farm was actually to her advantage. Maybe Miss Hahn would somehow lead her to the answer to why Hugh had killed Whirlwind.

Footsteps. Without moving, Jas directed her gaze toward the kitchen. Miss Hahn stood in the doorway, her large frame filling it.

“How’s your grandfather?” she asked, her voice so sincere Jas almost doubted her ears. If she and Hugh were in cahoots, she
had
to have known it wasn’t a doctor on the phone.

“He’s doing better,” Jas replied, surprised at her composure. “Dr. Aladdin—”

Jas caught her breath. Dr.
Aladdin
. Aladdin was the name of a horse that died the year Jas and her grandparents came to High Meadows Farm. She was only eight years old, and the sight of the dead horse lying in the stall sent her crying into her grandfather’s arms.

Why would Hugh use that name?

With an effort, Jas refocused her attention on Miss Hahn. “The doctor said that from now on, he would be communicating through Ms. Tomlinson,” Jas explained calmly. “He was just checking to see if I had any other relatives.”

Miss Hahn leaned against the door frame, her head cocked. “Oh.”

Jas could see the question in her eyes. But there was no way she was saying anything else. She would
never
give Miss Hahn anything to report to Hugh.

Abruptly, she stood up. “May I borrow a hair dryer? Until Ms. Tomlinson brings my things, I’m going to have to use yours. If that’s okay.”

“Help yourself. Everything’s under the bathroom sink.”

“Thanks,” Jas said as she dashed up the stairs.

“Chase is here,” Miss Hahn called after her. “He said he’d be happy to show you around. It’s about three forty-five now, so you have some time.”

“Okay,” Jas called back, controlling the quiver in her voice. Sprinting into the bathroom, she slammed and locked the door.

Sitting on the toilet seat, Jas cradled her face in her hands, squeezing her fingers against her temples.

Aladdin. Whirlwind. This doesn’t make sense
.

But one thing Jas knew for sure: no matter how nice Miss Hahn acted, she couldn’t trust her. She couldn’t trust
anybody
.

Loud whistling suddenly made her freeze. Someone was in the backyard, walking up the sidewalk to the porch.

“Hey, Tilly, hey, Angel. Where’s Lassie? Good boy, Reese.”

It was a guy’s voice. Lifting a slat in the shutter, Jas peered out the window, catching a glimpse of the top of a baseball cap. Then the cap disappeared from view, and she heard the slam of the screen door.

Chase, I guess
.

Bending down, Jas took the dryer and brush from under the sink. When her hair was dry, she stared in surprise at her image in the mirror.

Her brown hair had grown. She’d always worn it short so she could cram it under a riding helmet. Now it fell softly against her cheeks, framing her face like a shimmery curtain.

“Jas! Chase is here!”

Quickly, she put the dryer back, hung up the towel, brushed her teeth with toothpaste and a finger, and combed her hair one last time. She knew she had to act normal. She couldn’t let on to Miss Hahn that she knew what was up.

Hurrying into her room, she put on clean socks and sneakers. As she walked down the hall, she glanced at her ankle. The transmitter was bulging out.

Miss Hahn was still in the kitchen putting food away. A guy about Jas’s age was leaning against the counter, his legs crossed at the ankles, talking with Miss Hahn as if they were old buddies.

“Blue’s broken his halter again,” he was telling her, and when he launched into the tale of trying to catch the horse, Jas had a chance to study him.

He was tall and lanky, wearing a tank top tucked into faded jeans slung low on his hips. His arms were tan and sinewy with muscles, as if he worked outside a lot. But what Jas really noticed was the laughter in his voice when he talked about Blue. She could tell that he loved horses, too.

“Here’s Jas,” Miss Hahn said.

The guy straightened and turned to look at her. The bill of his baseball cap shaded his face, but Jas could still feel his gaze.

She flushed, suddenly feeling awkward, as if he were a date. Not that she’d ever had one before. He was probably staring at her because she was the freaky foster kid.

“Hi,” he finally said.

Nervous, Jas shoved her fingers in her jean pockets. “Hi.”

“I’d go with you on the grand tour, but I have to make a few phone calls,” Miss Hahn said. “Chase can explain the chores. I’m not sure who’s on the schedule to help feed.” She directed her statement to Chase, who was ready to head out. “I hope Jas will want to help,” she added. “She has lots of experience with horses.”

“I think Lucy’s working,” Chase said as he strode across the kitchen. He pushed open the screen door, holding it for a second, then letting it go, as if he didn’t want to appear too polite.

Jas noticed the gesture, then hurried after him, the dogs following behind. Chase was about a foot taller than she was, and his stride
was long. Jas lengthened her own stride, cursing when she tripped over Angel, who zigzagged in front of her.

When they reached the edge of the yard, Chase didn’t even glance over his shoulder as he silently headed up the drive.

So much for friendly conversation
, Jas thought, glowering at his back. Not that she cared. She was glad to get away from Miss Hahn’s spying eyes. And she’d rather see the horses than talk to some kid.

Still, she couldn’t help but wonder if Chase rode. If Miss Hahn bred and raised horses, he might help start them under saddle, something she’d just started doing before …

She pushed the thought out of her mind, concentrating instead on her growing excitement as they approached a heavy metal gate set in stained three-board fencing. Chase wound through a pass-through built in the fence. It was designed to let humans in and keep horses from getting out.

Jas followed, her underarms sweating from the heat and anticipation. When she got to the other side of the fence, she stopped in her tracks.

Before her stood barns, sheds, patched-up fences, makeshift paddocks, and wandering
animals. There were burros, goats, geese, cows, chickens, llamas, peacocks, and pigs.

Her mouth fell open in disbelief. This wasn’t a horse farm. It was Noah’s Ark.

As soon as the burros saw Chase, they ambled over, their long ears flopping. Ignoring the animals, Angel and Reese bounded off into an overgrown field. Lassie trotted toward the geese. A goat appeared and thrust his muzzle into Jas’s palm.

“Little devil’s looking for treats,” Chase said as he patted the burros, then continued toward a small metal building. Jas hurried after him, trying to keep from stepping on the geese who waddled around her legs while Lassie barked behind them.

Suddenly, the goat grabbed the hem of her T-shirt with his teeth. “Hey!” Jas pushed him away. Lowering his head, he butted her in the thigh.

Chase grinned. “He won’t hurt you,” he said as he went up two concrete steps and opened the door of the ramshackle building. “He just gets frisky sometimes.”

Only the goat’s friskiness
did
hurt. Jas rubbed her thigh, then leaped up the steps after him.

“This is the office.” He waved his arm around the small room.

“The off—whoa!” Suddenly, the two burros climbed up the steps, forcing Jas backward. She collided with Chase, stepping on his toes.

“Whoops, sorry!” Embarrassed, she jumped sideways and knocked over a desk chair.

“That’s all right. Heckle, Jeckle, get out of here,” Chase scolded the two burros. Shooing them off the steps, he shut the door halfway.

Jas grabbed the chair at the same time that Chase reached for it, and they bumped heads. “Oh, gosh, sorry again!” Jas jerked upright, horrified. How could she be such a klutz?

Chase grinned. “No damage done. See?” He rapped on the top of his cap-covered head. “Actually,
I
should apologize. Heckle and Jeckle usually have better manners, but it’s dinnertime and they get rowdy when they’re hungry. Plus, this weekend we had a bunch of kids from a day camp, and they spoiled them rotten with treats.”

“Day camp? I don’t understand.” Confused, Jas looked around. The small office had two desks overflowing with papers, manila folders, half-empty soda cans, and books.
Three file cabinets lined one wall, folding chairs were on the other, and photos and posters of animals were tacked everywhere.

Jas tried to compare this dusty, disorganized room with Phil’s immaculate office in the barn at High Meadows. So far, Second Chance Farm was nothing like any horse farm she’d ever seen.

She looked questioningly at Chase, who was slouched against one of the file cabinets. He held a clipboard in one hand, but his eyes were watching her.

“Isn’t this a horse farm?” she asked.

“We do have horses. Twenty of them.”

“But what about all the other animals?”

Chase snorted. “You mean you thought this was a
horse
horse farm like the fancy Thoroughbred places on Mill Road?”

High Meadows Farm was on Mill Road.

“Well … yes.”

“Ha, that’s pretty funny.” Chase smacked the clipboard against his thigh.

Jas didn’t think it was funny at all. “So then, what kind of a
horse
farm is it?” she asked mockingly.

“Well, it’s not
that
kind of a
horse
farm,” he replied, his tone just as mocking. “It’s a
farm for rescued animals. You know, like the Humane Society. The animal shelter.” Chase leaned forward, gesturing with one hand as if he were talking to one of the little kids from the day camp. “We take in animals that no one else wants.”

“Oh.” Jas nodded once, her blood beginning to boil because of his tone. “Rejects. Now I get it.”

And did she ever
. No wonder he’d been studying her so intently.

Cheeks reddening, Jas stepped toward him. “Now I know why you’re staring at me like I’m a sideshow freak,” she said, her fists clenched by her side. “You’re thinking how I fit in perfectly with the animals at Second Chance Farm. The only difference is, I’m a
person
no one else wants!”

JAS GLARED UP AT CHASE, HER BODY BRISTLING
like a mad cat’s.

“Wrong,” Chase said as he dropped the clipboard on top of the file cabinet and glared right back. “We don’t think of the animals as rejects. They’re here because people are stupid and greedy and cruel. I was staring at you because—” Suddenly, he flushed bright red. “Never mind.”

Turning abruptly, he picked up the clipboard, flipped back a page and busily scanned it.

Jas felt her cheeks grow hot. Was he about to say “because you’re cute”?

Jas stopped to think for a second. She knew it wasn’t his fault she was here. She shouldn’t have gotten so mad at him. “Oh, well, I’m sorry I got so mad,” she said.

Chase looked over at her. Jas dropped her gaze to the floor, feeling totally stupid.

Suddenly, Angel, Lassie, and Reese shoved the door open and charged into the office. Their tails thumped against the desks. As Jas bent to pat them, she blew out a shaky breath.

“Hee-haw!” An ear-splitting bray made her twist around. The two burros, Heckle and Jeckle, stood in the doorway, front hooves propped on the office floor, hind legs on the bottom step.

“All right, we’re coming.” Chase checked the clock on the wall. “Lucy should be here any second to help feed. It takes a while with all the different animals.”

“I’ll help,” Jas said, immediately wondering why she was volunteering to work. She didn’t owe Miss Hahn and her farm anything.

“Good, we need all the help we can get,” he said. Pushing past Heckle and Jeckle, Chase bounded down the steps.

Jas followed, but immediately slipped in something gray and squishy. Lifting her foot, she checked the sole of her sneaker.

Great. Goose poop
.

“We’ll start with the horses,” Chase called, striding ahead.

Jas hurried after him. Okay, so she’d acted like a dork. But she was thirteen and had zero experience with guys. It wasn’t so unusual.