Wild Horses (12 page)

“Am I riding?” Kai asked, hopeful despite feeling banged up and bruised.

Attila remained still. “No. Just groundwork.”

Kai realized that talking to the older man in this position amounted to rather enjoyable teasing, and worked hard to put on a somewhat chastened tone of voice. “Okay. Gimme twenty minutes.”

“Take the time you need, Kai,” Attila said before he closed the door.

M
UCKING
the stables was a bit harder with bruised ribs and a sore nose, but the pain was manageable with ibuprofen, some food, and some coffee. Working while injured was not a punishment but a necessity, and Kai was determined to push through his discomfort and not let his boss down. Attila had given him a chance, Kai loved the work, and he would have been out of bed and getting his chores done even without Attila’s prodding, had the man only given him some privacy. Kai was determined not to let anything stand between him and his place at the stables. The horses were getting used to him, too, and he loved their simple acceptance. He noticed the way the horses began to react to him; they raised their heads, hopeful for a bit of food. He cut up several carrots, making sure he had a piece for everyone, and he rewarded them for letting him clean their stalls in their presence. When he came to Vermillion’s stall, the red horse stood facing the manger. All Kai could hear were the swishing sounds of hay being pulled out.

“Hey, Cayenne,” Kai said, using the nickname he chose for Vermillion. The horse ignored him, focused on his own needs. Kai scooped two piles of manure with a basket pick. Then he leaned the tool against the wall and propped his elbows against the bottom half of the latched swing gate, looking out into the barn. It took no more than two minutes for the red stallion’s curiosity to be aroused past the point of tolerance.

Kai felt a presence next to him: Vermillion’s head was next to his, peering into the barn, curious to see what Kai found so interesting. “Hey, Cayenne buddy,” Kai said, fingering his pocket for a carrot. He kept it in his hand, not moving. He felt the horse blow soft air into his ear, then felt Vermillion’s forehead rub up his leg and right into his sore ribs.

“Hey, hey, you goofball!” He laughed, suppressing pain. “Alright, here you go.” Kai extended his hand and the stubby orange piece was promptly devoured. Kai stepped over to the horse’s side and scratched his mane right above his withers. “Alright, Cayenne. I’ll see you later, buddy!”

A
TTILA
was riding Zorro, as some things young Lindsey tried the day before weren’t working out the way they should have, and he resolved to teach Zorro the tricks, at least partially, before Lindsey came for her lesson again. He was a smart, middle-aged thoroughbred retired off the racetrack due to his lack of competitive spirit. His conformation was decent, and he was level-headed and sweet. Attila let Zorro canter around the arena three times to blow off some steam before he brought him to the middle, where they turned their efforts toward a rather intricate series of dressage steps. Half an hour later, Kai appeared in the door with two bottles of water. One was his, and the other was the insulated CamelBak Attila favored.

“Ah, just in time. We’re done here. Zorro did all right here. I have no idea why Lindsey is having such a hard time with this routine.”

Kai raised his eyebrows. “I do.”

“Oh?” Attila eyed him curiously from his greater equestrian height.

“Her mother. She’s horrid. She absolutely took her apart after their lesson together, and I got stuck in the hayloft, hearing the whole thing.

As Kai watched, Attila dismounted, unbridled Zorro, and slipped a halter over the horse’s head. He raised his stirrups and clipped a lunge line to the bottom ring of his halter before he took the water bottle from Kai’s hand. “Thank you,” he said, his gratitude genuine, because the heat had begun to press down again. “We could use some rain. It’s been over two weeks.”

Kai sipped from his own bottle, silent.

“You were telling me about Lindsey and Mona,” Attila prodded as he let Zorro walk around them in a circle, letting him cool off. He listened to Kai’s account of their conversation and the way Kai was discovered by Lindsey and what they talked about.

“She is totally miserable, Attila. I don’t know if she even enjoys coming here, y’know? It’s like she’s here because Mona makes her come, and then Mona acts all competitive and bitchy, and the only reason Lindsey is here is so she can cry into Zorro’s neck.”

“Or your neck.”

“My chest. She got my new shirt all snotty, too.” Kai grimaced.

“So you told her you’re not into girls? Why?”

Kai shrugged. “It made her feel like I wasn’t after her personally, I guess. And… she said this really weird thing.”

Attila looked at Kai, catching him in a fierce blush. “Go on.”

The younger man took a deep breath, suppressing his embarrassment. “Lindsey… eh… she made it sound like her mom will try to bed every single man she runs into. She said I’m gonna fall sooner or later, and she was kinda bitter over that, too. So I figured it would reassure her that it would happen when hell freezes over. I think it worked—until Hal showed up and decided I was poaching. Are those two even together?”

Attila tickled Zorro’s rump with a twitch of his whip, keeping him moving at a slow, steady pace, waiting for him to cool down. “Not as far as I know. Although she could have stopped Hal from going ballistic by pointing out that you’re not, in fact, poaching.”

“I asked her not to broadcast… you know, about me.”

Attila detected slight tension in Kai’s voice. “You already told me. Why keep it a secret?” Attila said.

“It’s private. It’s caused some… trouble in my life. Before I came here.” Kai’s features closed as though a portcullis slammed shut, and it became obvious there was no way Attila would get another word on the subject out of the reticent redhead. Not today, anyhow. He decided to change course.

“Alright. I want you to put a halter on Vermillion, clip a lunge line on him, and bring him out here. We have some games to play.”

E
NTERING
Vermillion’s stall, Kai said, “Hey, Cayenne, it says Vermillion on your door. I’ll have to do something about that little misunderstanding.”

The big red horse responded to his “Bringer of Apples” and came to the door, his nostrils widening to take in Kai’s scent. He bent down to smell Kai’s sneakers, then his jeans, and then he poked Kai in the chest with his nose.

“And hello to you too. Now we’ll get ready for playtime, all right? Here. Let’s slip a halter on your head.” Kai’s smooth, steady voice kept the horse from shying out of reach, and Kai was pleased to get the halter onto him on his first try, knowing well that the horse didn’t like it at all. “See, I’m getting the hang of this. It doesn’t need to be so hard anymore. There.” Kai scratched the horse’s mane down by his withers, nice and hard, saying his own equine version of hello. Then he clipped a lunge line onto the ring under Vermillion’s chin and led him to the empty arena.

“Look, we’re here first!” The space looked open and inviting. The jumps were put away, stored in the corners of the huge space. “Well, Cayenne, my love, Attila said we’re supposed to play, so we’ll play.”

Which is how Attila found them a good ten minutes later. Both horse and man were running around in what appeared to be a game of tag. Kai was breathing heavily, but Vermillion looked like he was having a lot of fun.

“Kai, slow him down, will you? Come over here.”

Kai nodded, breathless, and led the horse toward Attila, staying on his left side, but leaving him a lot of slack on his rope.

I
NTERESTING
… beginners are generally a lot more control oriented.

“Good job getting the halter on him. We’ll do the friendly rope game first. The problem is, though, he likes you better than he likes me, so I’ll describe it and you’ll do it. Okay?”

Kai nodded. “Okay.”

“Now take the end of your rope and gently toss it over his back.”

Kai did, and Vermillion just about spooked.

“Shhhh, Cayenne….” Kai withdrew the rope and tried it again, even more gently. “See, Cayenne? Nothing to worry about… just a nice, soft rope….”

Attila tuned in to the rhythm of Kai’s pleasant, hypnotic voice, observing them for a while. It was going well: the horse had stopped panicking a while ago, and now he just stood there, still wary, but not moving his feet. “Praise him and give him a reward, Kai. He’s had enough, I think.” Attila watched Kai fish in his pocket, not showing what he pulled out.

“Cayenne, come!” He clicked with his tongue. The curious horse came forward, his nose drawn to Kai’s pocket. “Cayenne, you idiot!” Kai laughed, relinquishing the carrot and stroking the smooth neck.

“It’s not the horse who’s an idiot,” Attila snorted. “He knows where you put things by now, plus he can smell it. You’ll have to come up with some rewards that aren’t food related. And by the way, why’re you calling him Cayenne?”

Kai turned to Attila. “His name sucks! Have you tried to yell it into the paddock to call him? It’s impossible. I don’t know where people come up with these idiotic names for horses. It just means ‘Red’, and we could call him that, but I think Cayenne is better. He’s like a ripe cayenne pepper: red, hot tempered, and sharp when he bites. And… beautiful.” The last was added in an embarrassed hush.

It occurred to Attila that this might well be Kai’s first ever horse-crush. He didn’t even know whether Kai had any pets as a child; he would make sure to find out later. For now, he proceeded to negotiate the territory of Vermillion’s new name. “Okay, so you’re looking for a nickname. Cayenne isn’t very short, though, is it?”

“It’s just two syllables, like Zorro or Cookie,” Kai grumbled, walking around Cayenne’s front, moving from side to side while the horse tried to orient on him so he could get into his pocket again.

“Very well, then. I shall permit you to rename my only stallion from Vermillion to Cayenne, but only if you abide by my next command.” Attila watched as Kai stopped his horseplay and met his eyes straight on. He took in a deep breath and bit back the amused grin that often graced his face. “Is there anything amiss, Kai?” Attila inquired with open curiosity.

Kai cleared his throat and shook his head. “No, nothin’… just, I know you’re being very serious when you sound like that.” He paused for a beat. “It’s cute.”

The last two words fluttered out of Kai’s mouth as though of their own volition. The only thing that kept Attila from feeling flustered over his quirky and overly formal language was the fact that Kai’s admission made him blush to the roots of his wild, red hair. It was Attila’s turn to clear his throat as he redirected the conversation to its previous track. “Kai. You may call the horse Cayenne, but only if you do one very important thing.”

“What is it?” Kai asked, his caution that of one who had been talked into things before, and has learned better since.

“You will help Hal clean the rest of the tack, including the saddles. The two of you will wash all the saddle pads down at the house, then let them dry outside. And, you will need to cooperate. Think of how he feels, Kai! He had a very promising season ahead of him, and now he’s sidelined with an injury that could have cost him his life.”

“Well, yeah, that’s why I didn’t hit him back, Attila. I coulda killed that sonovabitch. I know not to hit the face—you always work the body where it don’t show, an’ besides, it’s easier on your knuckles.” Kai halted, arrested by Attila’s frozen expression. “Not that I’ve ever actually killed anyone before… but I did have to fight, y’know, back in Tennessee, ’n’all.”

“I see.” Attila suppressed a sigh, working hard for his calm, implacable expression. He had just glimpsed a bit of Kai that he had never known existed. “Do you agree to my conditions, Kai? Vermillion’s nickname will be Cayenne, but you help out Hal and help him be more civil. He could learn a lesson or two from you.”

Kai’s shoulders slumped. “Well… at least you’re not kicking me out for riding Vermillion, so… okay. I’ll do my best.”

“About that….” Attila’s hand floated to Kai’s shoulder and squeezed him in a firm grasp. “You’re lucky to be alive. You’re lucky you weren’t hurt more severely. Do you realize that we can’t get you health insurance until your paperwork’s in order again? Do you realize how much money it would cost, in hospital bills alone, to get you proper care, had you been severely hurt? Yesterday’s ER bill was just courtesy of Hal, and his father is paying for that and is settling that situation with
him
. But, Kai, your recklessness could easily bankrupt my whole business. I’m doing well, but I am by no means wealthy.”

Attila saw Kai blanch. His fingers tightened around Cayenne’s lunge line as he fought for breath. “You don’t have to do anything if I get hurt…,” he choked out.

“Like hell I don’t.” Attila’s tone of voice was level, almost soft, despite uttering words intended to impress upon Kai that here, with Attila, expectations were different from what he was used to.

“You expect me to sit by and watch? Of course I’ll do all I can to help you.” Attila’s words continued to spill out, propelled by anger at Kai’s youthful thoughtlessness, but he stopped when he saw the frozen expression on his freckled face. The younger man swallowed, his jaw tight. Attila noticed Kai’s nostrils flare the smallest bit as his glossy eyes widened in an effort to suppress his feelings. The horse picked up on Kai’s upset, blew air out of his nostrils, and began to dance around, suddenly tense.

A maelstrom of feelings warred on Kai’s face, open to Attila’s scrutiny. Whatever Attila said set something off inside this young man, who seemed to have trouble controlling himself in Attila’s presence. Cayenne continued fussing and tugging at the lead rope with his considerable eighteen hundred pounds of upset horseflesh. Kai said, “Could you please take ’im in?” He held the rope toward Attila, not meeting his eyes.

“Of course. I will spend some time with Cayenne and play with him, since he responded so well to that.”