Wild Horses (10 page)

“D
ID
you get what you needed?” Attila asked Clarisse as they waited for her girls to untack their horses and take care of them.

“Yes, most of it. First we’ll request a copy of his birth certificate. We’ll use that to request a copy of his Tennessee driver’s license, which can be done online. Those can be used to obtain a replacement Social Security card. After that, he better get Pennsylvania documents with his current address on them. He’s lucky—his driver’s license is due to expire in six weeks. That would have complicated matters.”

“Thank you, Clarisse.” Attila noted her guarded expression. “What is it?”

“You may want to get a background check on him. He just about fled the room when he found out I’m an attorney.”

Attila shrugged. “We’ll see.”

The seed had been planted, though. He had a stranger living with him, a man he didn’t know very well. He stopped this train of thought and corrected himself—he did know some things about Kai and about the way he was likely to behave, but… was he really the only person around who trusted Kai Alewright? Even after all that had happened? After all, the man had picked his pocket, stolen his money clip, and his cell phone. On the one hand, that was pretty underhanded. On the other hand, he did bike all the way out here to return the phone when he found out how badly Attila needed it, and he did show remorse. His behavior since then could not be faulted. Attila’s jaw tightened along with his shoulders. Bipeds were so much harder to read than horses. Had Kai been a horse, Attila would have certain knowledge of his character; he’d know for sure whether or not to turn his back on him.

“It’s just a thought,” Clarisse said, detecting the man’s internal struggle. “I am thinking like a lawyer right now, not like a friend.”

“Yes. Thanks. Let me go check on the horses.”

“Y
OU
sat Zorro like a sack of grain today,” Mona scoffed, her voice dripping with scorn. “Seriously, Lindsey, I’ve been paying for your riding lessons for six years already and I would have expected you to be winning ribbons at every show by now!”

“Like you, Mother?” Lindsey snapped back.

“Well, somebody has to, and if you won’t, I will. We started riding together and I simply cannot comprehend why you fail to pay adequate attention to detail and perform!”

Kai sat up in the hayloft, not daring to move. The two had been at it for at least ten minutes. They looked alike and dressed alike, but their characters mixed like oil and water. They were mother and daughter, but the mother just pushed and pushed. She had covered every single point by now: grades in college, miniscule weight gain, lack of fashion sense, messy room, careless posture while riding, and Lindsey’s failure to take Zorro over a jump higher than two feet. And the younger woman just stood there and took it, her lips pressed together, her face pinched into a tightly controlled mask.

“I’ll go talk to Attila about all this. Your lesson plan needs to be revised. You can ride an extra day a week if necessary.” Mona Putney shut her horse’s stall and stormed out.

As soon as she was out of sight, Lindsey pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and wiped her eyes. She produced a treat from another pocket and clicked her tongue at Zorro. The horse came, giving her chest a brief poke with his nose as he honed in on the round cookie in her hand. That’s when she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face.

Kai stiffened, watching her shoulders give an occasional shake. He was resolved to stay up there and let her exit with her dignity intact, except the dust he had already stirred up was making his eyes tear up and his nose twitch in irritation. The more he tried to hold his sneeze in, the more it was building up. He pressed his finger under his nose, but even that failed to forestall the inevitable explosion. His sneeze broke the silence. Lindsey turned around, alarmed and red-faced, tears pouring from her eyes. There was no point in hiding.

“Ah… sorry ’bout that. I was up there already, tossin’ hay for tonight.” He climbed down the ladder and, having nothing else, wiped his eyes on the hem of his shirt and tried to keep his nose from dripping.

“You may as well wipe your nose, too. Your shirt’s a mess anyhow,” Lindsey said, resigned.

“You won’t tell?”

“No.” She smiled. “I guess you got an earful, right?”

“It was kind of hard to avoid. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.” Kai gave the girl a sympathetic look. “Does she always compete with you?”

“Is it that obvious?” Lindsey asked in a pained voice.

“Yeah. My mom and sister were like that, too, except my mom didn’t look as good as your mom.”

“That’s because Mother has a good plastic surgeon. Let me guess… did she hit on you yet?” Green eyes, just like her mother’s, demanded the truth.

Kai shrugged. “Yeah.”

“Most guys give in eventually. You’re totally her type. Young, strong-looking….” She sighed. “She’s even poached my dates. It’s fucking humiliating.”

Taking a bit of a risk, Kai checked that they were alone, then opened his arms. “Hug? I give pretty decent hugs, I’m told.”

Lindsey blushed. “You don’t have to hit on me just because you feel sorry for me. She’ll get to you eventually, one way or another.”

Kai leaned in, his voice but a whisper. “I… I’m not into women, actually.”

Lindsey looked him over skeptically. “But you don’t look gay.”

“What, you expect me to have my preference tattooed on my forehead?” First she laughed, and then he laughed, too, and opened his arms again. “I’m safe. I’ll never hit on you and I’ll never sleep with your mother.”

She eased her cheek against his sweat-soaked shirt, a sob tearing through her. “Th-th-that sounds so ter-terrible when you put it like that.”

He wrapped her in his arms. She reminded him of his sister, and he paused to think whether she was still happily married, wondering if she had made him an uncle yet. Banishing the bitter thoughts of his estranged family, he focused on Lindsey and her moment of drama. Then he said, “Just… I’d appreciate it if you’d keep this information to yourself. Nobody needs to know my business, you know?”

He felt her nod against his chest. “Okay,” she mumbled into his arm, her own arms barely able to reach around him.

“Hey, stop bothering the customers!” Kai saw Hal stalk down the center of the barn, headed for the door to Zorro’s stall, where Kai and Lindsey stood in a tight embrace.

“He’s not bothering me, Hal,” Lindsey said, her voice now steady.

“I’m not talking to you, I’m talking to him. Let go of her!” Rage rolled off Hal in waves.

“Will you be okay?” Kai whispered into her hair.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She extricated herself and, holding her head high, she closed Zorro’s stall and walked out, turning her back on both men. Kai figured she didn’t want Hal to see she’d been crying, but it also looked like she had been making out with Kai and chose to turn her back on Hal.

“You ungrateful, low-life fucking asshole. How dare you?” Hal’s voice was a barely contained hiss. Kai saw him hunch forward and gather his strength from the ground up. But Kai had no way to escape: the closed stall door was behind him and a stack of hay bales was next to him. Hal’s fist flew out; Kai ducked and Hal howled in pain as his knuckles split open on the wooden door.

“Why’re you doin’ this?” Kai shouted, trying to get through the layers of mindless rage flung in his direction.

“You’re a worthless thief. First money and phones, and now women!” Hal swung again, this time nailing the trapped Kai in the nose.

There was a crack and a flash of blinding pain; blood began to pour down Kai’s upper lip. He raised his arms, covering himself up, and just tried to get away. The vision of his fists planted in Hal’s ribs, his sternum, above his kidneys—all that would be very enticing, were it not for the fact that Hal was still wearing his back brace, a visible reminder of his recovery from a spinal injury. A fall from a horse saved Hal from a genuine, trademarked “Kai Alewright ass-whuppin’.” Unwilling to permanently cripple the man over a misunderstanding, Kai avoided a shove aimed in his direction and slid between the wall and his attacker, spinning out into the empty space and heading out toward the paddock. His face bleeding and his eyes tearing up with pain and humiliation, he whistled as he slipped between the rails into Vermillion’s pasture. Soon he heard the footfalls of his pursuer following right on his heel, insults shouted all along the way.

Hal stopped at the fence. “You’re fucking crazy to be hiding in here with a crazy stallion,” Hal crowed. “You’re not just a bloody thief and a lousy fighter, you’re a fucking coward!”

Kai whistled again; the thunder of hoofbeats answered him from the top of the hill. Hal held on to the split rail fence and bent down to pursue his prey, but the sound of galloping horses froze him in mid-motion. Vermillion circled around his favorite playmate, slowing down to a walk. Hal stared, wide-eyed, as the powerful, young stallion approached Kai and whickered in greeting, his ears lying back on his head. Kai stumbled, and the red horse extended his nose forward to smell his friend to see where he had been.

Violence. Anger. Blood. Fear.

Kai hoped the horse would come closer; there was nothing he wanted more than the comfort of embracing that warm, strong equine neck. Yet he saw Vermillion’s upper lip curl and his eyes widen in alarm. Then he neighed and reared back while his powerful front legs beat the air before him with deadly hooves.

Kai was tempted to duck, yet he didn’t dare show fear.

“Vermillion, dude… it’s okay. Shhhh….” He pulled an apple from the pocket of his work pants, teasing it from the grasp of the too-tight denim. He took a bite, wincing at the pain the action produced. His whole head hurt. The stallion was still drawing air through his nose, still tense and skittish. Kai extended his hand; the soft nose neared the apple, taking a grudging interest. His peripheral vision caught a glance of something white. Sen, who was turned out with Vermillion, became curious about the goings-on and came to investigate, but Kai kept his attention on the stallion.

“C’mon, dude. What’s your problem? What’s got you so riled, hmmm?” His soft voice helped Vermillion settle some more, and Kai was gratified to see the horse take two more steps toward him. He hoped he wouldn’t rear. He prayed the powerful hooves wouldn’t cave his skull in. It felt like forever for the horse to come close enough to touch. Kai scratched Vermillion’s withers, having read that that’s how horses make nice to one another.

“You’re still not getting away with bothering Lindsey,” Hal said, his hushed tone breaking the sound of the apple being pulverized. “Uncle Attila will get you for that, you’ll see.”

A sense of loss flooded Kai’s chest as he processed those words. It was all a misunderstanding—a stupid misunderstanding—but it was his word against Hal’s, and Hal was Attila’s nephew, and Lindsey’s mother was a longtime customer at Blue Heron Acres. Attila would want to keep on her good side. The only disposable person around was Kai Alewright. His broken nose hurt and his eyes were swelling up and the sting of salt threatened to undo him in front of his supposed rival. That would never do. He looked at the horse with yearning.

One last time. I wanna ride you just one last time.

Silent and red-faced, Kai placed his hands on the stallion’s withers and vaulted up, swinging his leg over. As soon as his weight landed on Vermillion’s back, the horse neighed and reared. Kai held on with his legs, his fingers already woven into that fabulous long red mane. Kai heard Attila’s voice in his mind, the reminders of the previous two days suddenly of crucial importance.

“Heels down. Never hold on with the knees. Sit tall. Relax. Breathe.”

And Kai did just that, feeling Vermillion break loose under him, accelerating into a wild gallop with Sen following right behind.

“U
NCLE
’Tila, Uncle ’Tila!” Naomi ran to Attila, her hand full of baby carrots. “I was going to the barn to give Ice some carrots, and… and… there’s been a fight! I saw it! And… and there’s blood! Lots of blood!”

Attila whirled around, abandoning his conversation with Mona and tapping the palm of his hand with a training whip. “What? Where?”

“In the barn,” the girl gasped. “Hal and the new man. And there was blood all over!”

“Thank you,” Attila said, his lips pressed into a thin line as he strode for the barn. Lindsey stood there, sweeping up, a guilty look on her face. “What happened, Lindsey?” he barked. “I hear there was a fight.”

She nodded, not looking up, and he couldn’t but notice her puffy eyes and red nose.

“Who?”

“Hal… and Kai.”

“Where are they now?” Getting information out of the girl was like pulling teeth.

“I… I don’t know. They left out the other door, I think.”

A shrill neigh broke the air. “Ah, he must be with Vermillion.” Attila clasped her shoulder. “Go clean up, and then I will want to hear what happened.” He turned and headed out of the barn in a hurry. One glance up the hill showed Vermillion rearing and neighing, his front hooves a lot closer to Kai’s head than Attila would prefer. Then Kai produced an apple. Attila forced himself to slow down to a walk, not wanting to risk upsetting the horse even more. And Hal was there, holding on to the fence and watching. Words were exchanged, but before Attila could approach within hearing distance, he saw Kai vault onto Vermillion’s back.

His breath stuck in his throat as the horse reared, both horse and rider pausing in midair. As soon as they met the ground again, he saw Kai straighten up and extend his legs, and they were off up the gentle slope of the wide, open pasture. Vermillion was running at the reckless pace of a horse that had been spooked. Sen tore right after him.

Now Attila sprinted. He felt his breath tearing in and out of his chest in an effort to get closer. He prayed that the horses slow down and come to a placid walk all by themselves.

Don’t fall, Kai. Just… don’t fall.

“What happened?” he rasped when he reached Hal’s side.