Wild Horses (14 page)

K
AI
appeared in the door of the tack room with a folding chair in one hand and a bucket of water, sponges, and brushes in the other. “Attila wants me to work with you on cleaning the tack,” he mumbled to Hal, who was bent over his task and ignoring him.

“Super,” Hal drawled, his irritation palpable. “Just when I’m almost done with all the bridles, here comes the cavalry.” He looked up, taking in the sight of the intruder with an irritated eye. Kai just about filled the small doorway. “Move outta the light, will ya?”

Kai nodded and unfolded his chair, placing it on the other side of the table. “Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”

“Seriously?” Hal’s eyes twinkled the slightest bit.

“If it gets the tack cleaned faster, yeah. Attila’s orders.”

Hal laughed at hearing that, throwing his head back in utter glee. “You’re being punished. Cleaning tack is the shit job around here, just so you know. Mucking the stables gets you moving around, interacting with the horses, but sitting in a little room and brushing the horse spit out of bridle bits has been a form of discipline ever since I was eight. So, what did you do? Did you hit on one of Uncle ’Tila’s clients again?”

Kai shrugged, getting his breathing under control. “Nah. I’m not interested in Lindsey that way. Just… Attila says I’m not allowed to ride horses recklessly, at least not until I have my health insurance all straightened out.”

Hal worked in silence, polishing a brass buckle for a while. Kai saw his brows furrow as he was chewing the information over. “So just because you have no health insurance, I have to sell my new car and buy some used piece of crap, just to pay for your fucking ER bill?”

Kai shrugged. “Hey, that’s not on me. That’s on your old man and Attila. If it were just me, I’d let my nose grow back together all by itself. It’s not like they had to do much, what with just some x-rays and some cotton up my nose for the day. And I was told to watch out for the signs of concussion. They did the ribs at the same time, and nothing’s broken, but it’s not your fault I fell off Cayenne. I should’ve figured he’d stop eventually.” Kai let his eyes flicker toward Hal’s. “So, what am I cleaning here?”

Kai watched Hal take his time, considering all the new information and chewing it over. Finally he sighed and leaned back in his chair to take a better look at the tack room and the status of the equipment in it. “Take a saddle and wash it with this soap here. Like this…. It gets rid of the dirt and conditions the leather. Then wipe it off and buff it with a buffing cloth until it shines. All parts—not just the top. The girth buckle straps, too. If a strap looks old, let me know and I’ll take a look.”

“Okay.” Kai nodded, getting his hands wet and dirty. Following Hal’s instructions sort of sucked, because the younger man knew what to do and Kai did not. On the other hand, Hal’s expertise at cleaning tack had been acquired over numerous punitive sessions. Just the thought of Hal as a kid, sitting in this miserable little room all by himself and cleaning tack, split Kai’s face in a wide grin.

“What’s so fucking funny, street rat?”

Kai chose to ignore the insult for Cayenne’s sake. “Oh, nothing.”

“It’s not nothing, so spill it.” Hal’s gruff voice had a curious edge to it, and Kai relented.

“Well, you’re pretty darn good at cleaning tack.”

“So’s Attila,” Hal said defensively. “Do you really think Mr. Perfect over there has never been punished like this?”

“How come?” Kai asked, unable to imagine the sleek brunet as anything except his current, commanding incarnation. The image of Attila reminded him of the slightly rough pads of Attila’s fingers stroking his hair and along his hairline, and the way it made his eyes roll back in his head and his crotch tighten—but that was hardly a constructive line of thought, so he did his best to banish it.

“His grandpa used to run this place after his dad died. I heard it said Attila was a real firecracker. Every time he blew up, his grandpa would send him in here.” Hal grinned and Kai grinned back, and their eyes met and they both froze, remembering that they were supposed to be enemies. The next few minutes were filled with busy polishing of metal and buffing of leather.

Hal broke the silence first. “So, about Lindsey. If you’re not interested in her, why were you… you know?”

“She needed a hug.” Kai thought a bit, uncertain as to how much he should reveal. “I overheard a spat between Lindsey and her mom, and her mom was really hard on her, and once she left, Lindsey started to cry. Except she noticed me in the hayloft, so I came down and we talked, and I figured she could use a hug. That’s all, really.”

“She must like you if she let you do that,” Hal said, his voice bitter. “I offered the same thing once and she just walked away.”

“Maybe that’s because her mom will steal every guy that’s interested in her,” Kai opined, leaning into the buffing cloth to produce a decent shine.

“Says who?” Hal asked.

“Says she,” Kai said. “Apparently Mona gets both territorial and competitive.”

“Gross,” Hal spat. “Imagine doing both the mother and the daughter. That’s just wrong.”

“I’ve never imagined that.” Kai laughed.

“Yeah, like you’re such a choirboy.”

“Don’t call me that. Just because I’m into guys doesn’t mean I’ve been felt up by a priest or something.” The words just tumbled out, but in all honesty, Kai had been waiting for an opportune moment to make the revelation. Gaining Hal’s trust would mean making sure the man knew Lindsey held no romantic interest for him whatsoever.

Hal’s head jerked up and he stared. “Wait, whoa… you’re… you’re…?”

“Gay? Yeah. So?”

“But you don’t look gay,” Hal said lamely, and he tilted his head to one side as though he was trying to comprehend something difficult.

“I know. Most gays have it tattooed on their foreheads, but I figured I’d pass,” Kai said, repeating his old line.

The corners of Hal’s mouth lifted a bit, but then he frowned again. “So, wait. We’re sitting here alone and you’re gay, right? So, how come you’re not hitting on me?”

Kai rolled his eyes. “My heart belongs to another. Besides, you’re ugly.”

“Asshole.”

“Dick.”

“Faggot.”

“Tight-ass.”

“Flamer!”

A quiet cough interrupted their exchange. “How is the work coming along?” Attila peeked into the small room.

“It’s good, Uncle ’Tila. I’m done with all the bridles, and the flaming faggot here just managed to finish his first saddle.”

Attila strode to Hal, a heavy hand landing on his shoulder. “I believe we have established that Kai is not to be insulted.”

Kai broke in. “No, it’s okay, Attila, really. I told him he was ugly first.”

Attila spanned the cramped space, letting his other, equally heavy hand land on Kai’s shoulder. “And I thought we had an agreement about getting along with Hal.”

The hand on Kai’s shoulder was sinewy and strong. Not quite realizing it, Kai leaned into the warm touch. A sudden surge of arousal flooded his system, his breath shortened, and his eyes narrowed in barely disguised pleasure. “Sorry,” he said, Attila’s touch still burning into his shoulder. “I’ll try harder.” Then he looked up, only to catch Attila’s eyes. The usually blue eyes acquired dark, stormy overtones and their pupils dilated as Attila parted his lips and drew in a bit of air.

“Yes, indeed.” And he left.

Hal’s amused glance followed his uncle out the door. “Well, that explains why he lets you stay in his private domain, anyway. The air just about crackled in here!”

Kai’s cheeks felt hot, and afraid it might show, he kept his head bent over a bucket of water and continued washing the accumulated crud off metal stirrups.

“I bet you wouldn’t tell
him
he’s ugly.” Hal snorted.

Kai’s lack of response was answer enough.

The silence stretched between them, tense and uncomfortable, until it snapped like a rubber band. “Shut up,” Kai whispered. He drilled Hal with a fierce, threatening gaze, but Hal only cackled.

“Wow, you should use more sunscreen next time. Your sunburn looks really bad.” He got up and stretched his legs. “I’m off to get a drink. Want something cold?”

Kai only nodded, and they dropped what they were working on and walked over to the viewing room. Hal reached into a cabinet and took down two large plastic cups, the kind you get from a fast-food joint as a promotional item, and measured out two scoops of Gatorade. Then he opened the small, dorm-size refrigerator and pulled out a gallon jug of chilled water.

“You have to plan ahead up here. Uncle ’Tila hates when we go into the kitchen at the house and track in dirt and stuff.” He mixed the drinks, then refilled the water jug and replaced it. Then, to Kai’s utter amazement, he reached into the miniscule freezer drawer and pulled out a tray of ice cubes. He divided them evenly, refilled the tray, and replaced it, too. “Here.” His voice was gruff as he extended his peace offering. “Just don’t tell Brent, that little shit. He’ll go down and get something fancier from the house, even if he has to take his shoes off to do it. He hates using plastic cups anyway.”

“Okay.” Kai grinned, lifting the iced drink and touching the rim to Hal’s in a silent salute. It looked like Cayenne’s new name was going to stick. “We better get back,” he said as he saw Attila enter the arena with a long whip in his hand.

Just as both of them turned, Lindsey rushed in. Her helmet was already on and she had a hurried expression on her face. “Kai, here you are!” She gave him a careful look. “Oh, look at you. You’re all bruised, and it’s turning colors. Does it hurt?” She reached out to touch the livid circle under his right eye, then flinched and drew her hand back. “I better not touch that.”

“I’m alright,” Kai said with a shrug. “Thanks for asking. Attila was mad on account of my little joyride, but… it’s all good now.” He grinned. “What’s up?”

“Yeah… I need your help with something. Zorro is using double reins today and I can’t find my gear anywhere and I’ll need help getting Zorro tacked up—I need you to hold his head.”

Kai slid his eyes toward Hal, who was organizing the plastic cups in the small kitchen cabinet. He looked studiously disinterested in the conversation next to him. “Hey Hal—do you think you could help Lindsey here? I don’t even know what double reins look like.”

Hal turned around. “Sure. Follow me.” He flashed a look in Kai’s direction. “You too, Kai. You’ll need to learn how to do this anyway.”

Kai straggled behind, trying to give Hal some alone time with Lindsey, but the girl fell back, choosing to walk alongside Kai instead. “Are you really okay, Kai?”

“Yeah. I’ve been ordered to clean all the tack with Hal.”

Her eyes widened. “Really? And… no more fights?”

Kai shrugged. “He’s okay. Just… territorial, you know?”

“Really?” She measured the tall, broad-shouldered figure up ahead with an appraising look. “The packaging is fine; it’s the inside part I’m worried about.”

Hal looked back with obvious impatience. “Isn’t Attila waiting for you in the arena, Lindsey? If you want, you can go ahead and I’ll bring out Zorro for you.”

“Oh!” she startled. “He is? Damn. He hates when I’m late. But I need to learn to do this, y’know?”

Kai watched Lindsey watch Hal. It was rather entertaining in a sweet sort of way. Hal disappeared into the tack room and reemerged with the requested equipment. Lindsey led them to Zorro’s stall and slipped the horse’s halter off. Then she gave Hal a questioning look.

“So this is what you do. This part is the same as with a regular bridle, but you attach these straps here and here….” Hal was all business, buckling the thin leather and making sure the two reins sat on top of one another. “That’s good. Make sure to give him a break every so often as a reward—that will sharpen his focus for you when you’re actually working on something new.”

“Oh… thanks. Thank you, Hal.” She allowed for a brief eye contact—civil, yet reserved. “Thanks, Kai!” Now her smile beamed.

“I didn’t do anything,” Kai shrugged, turning away from her and toward Hal. “Ready?”

W
HEN
Lindsey finally brought Zorro into the arena, Attila made a show of peering at the clock on the wall. Then, silent and critical, he watched her tighten her horse’s girth and mount.

She walked Zorro to the center of the arena and looked down at him from her equestrian height. “I’m sorry, Attila… so very sorry. I know how you hate when I’m late, but this time I had a real reason.” She paused, and when he didn’t interrupt her, she continued. “You see, I couldn’t find the right tack anywhere! And this is the first time I was tacking up with double reins, so I wanted someone to hold Zorro for me, and… well, the guys really helped me out, once I finally found them.”

“They did?” Attila’s thin eyebrows rose.

“Hal explained everything and Kai watched to learn how, too.”

Attila nodded, his gaze falling to the dusty sand of the arena. He poked a clump of something dry with the toe of his shiny boot. “Where did you finally track them down?”

Lindsey froze.

“They were obviously not in the tack room,” Attila supplied, his tone helpful and kind.

“Well… they were in the viewing room getting some iced Gatorade. It’s been so hot.”

“Well.” He was well aware of the territorial passion with which Hal guarded the ice; he would share, but he would not allow it to go to waste. Apparently, Attila’s stallion would retain his new nickname.

Cayenne.

Red. Hot. Temperamental.

Beautiful.

Then it occurred to him that Kai and Cayenne sounded somewhat alike, and he remembered the way Kai’s shoulders felt under his hands earlier that day. Was it just his imagination, or did the other man rise into his touch?

The horse in front of him shifted, wanting to go.

“Just walk him around to warm up a bit and then we’ll let him blow off some steam. After that, we’ll work on those double reins. Sound good?” He watched her shocked expression as she saw him smile. He didn’t smile often, but now he had a good reason. The boys were getting along.