Asha King

by Wild Horses

  Hay. Hay might work.

  She walked up to Sweet Pea’s stall and reached for the hay, her fingers grasping the rough straw. “Hey Sweet Pea. I’m just going to steal this for a bit, ’kay?”

  Of course, she didn’t expect the horse to answer—she hadn’t entirely lost her mind—but she paused there for a moment and looked into the dark stall when the horse didn’t respond.

  “You okay, you poorly named creature?”

  Sweet Pea turned his head, gnawing at his side, shifting and dancing as if uncomfortable.

  Probably ’cause you’re in a damn stall half the time. To each his own, of course, and she knew he was a race horse, but she really thought he would be better off outside in the fresh air with some exercise. Even this morning, Carlee had opted for leaving him inside in case something happened on the trail ride.

  She took the hay over to Belle and urged the mare out, one hand on the lead, the other on the treat to entice her forward.

  “Still waiting on Jayden and Hailey,” Angela called in the distance.

  Bitch. Dani rolled her eyes and got the second horse outside.

  Adam had come to help the kids and Jayden was already settled on Mr. Sunshine. He grasped the other saddle and bridle from Hailey and made short work of Belle as well.

  “Sorry,” Dani said softly. “She wouldn’t come. And they’re, like, five bazillion pounds.”

  He offered her a rare smile that lit his handsome face beautifully. “No worries. She’s stubborn.”

  It was still mildly disconcerting when he was nice to her but she smiled in return anyway.

  Adam got the kids off toward Angela. Carlee had already left with a group of five and Angela promptly departed with the rest.

  Dani crossed her arms at her chest and watched them go. “So what do I do in the meantime?”

  The Stetson cast dark shadows over her face. “Stalls are empty—you can clean them.”

  Goddamn it. “Blargh.” She turned and stomped for the barn.

  “‘Blargh’?” he returned as he followed.

  “It’s a thing I say. When I’m...blargh-ish.”

  In the cool, musty barn, empty from prying eyes, his hands wrapped around her waist from behind when she was just a few feet inside. She sighed contentedly, leaning into him, and turned her head so his mouth could meet hers. Her body heated immediately, his touch leaving her warm and craving in just moments.

  His lips left hers to trail over her cheek, then down the sensitive flesh of her neck. “So I’ve been to the store.”

  “Mmm.” Dani let her eyes drift closed. “Get anything good?”

  “I certainly hope it leads to something good.”

  She moaned, leaning into his hands as they drifted up to grip her breasts, kneading them and working her nipples into hardened points. He grew hard behind her and her panties moistened, body eager to feel him inside her at last.

  “Did you happen to bring anything with you, or are you just teasing me?”

  “You want to in a barn?” There was heat to his voice even if he tried to sound incredulous. “Maybe you are a farm girl after all, princess.”

  Dani chuckled. “Hey, the place is pretty clean—I know, I spent all week doing it. Was that a yes or a no?”

  “Alas, it’s a no, and there’s work to do.”

  Stupid responsibility. She disentangled herself from him. “Including shoveling stalls?”

  He pressed a kiss to her temple, then backed up, probably to do whatever his horse wrangling duties entailed. “Including shoveling stalls.”

  Much, much less sexy, but then she supposed it had to be done. She turned to gaze at the vacated stalls that weren’t too messy but definitely needed some cleaning—she’d have to find the wheelbarrow. As she skimmed the remaining horses, her eyes settled on Sweet Pea again. “Oh, Sweet Pea was doing something weird a minute ago.”

  “Something weird?” He came up behind her, peering at the horse over her shoulder.

  “He looked like he was trying to bite his sides?”

  Adam swiftly moved past her, brushing her shoulder as he went, and ran straight for the stall. “You’re sure?”

  A worried knot formed in her gut as she followed. “Well, yeah. He looked a bit restless. Why?”

  Adam cursed softly and unlatched the stall door. “Did he go down? Roll?”

  “No, he’s just been standing there looking uncomfortable...why, what’s wrong?”

  “I have to get Carlee and call the vet.” He turned back, feet scraping on the gritty barn floor, and grabbed a lead from the wall. “Take him out to the field and start walking him.”

  The knot in her stomach grew tighter. “Adam?”

  He glanced back at her at last and sighed. “Colic.”

  She hadn’t been given any lessons about that. “It’s bad?”

  “It can kill him.”

  Oh God. “What do I do?”

  “Just walk him while I get Carlee and the vet. Keep him going and try to keep him from going down. If he rolls...”

  “How am I supposed to—”

  Adam fed the chain at the end of the lead through Sweet Pea’s halter so it ran under his muzzle. “Keep both hands on the lead and give it a good jerk if he stops. He has to keep walking. If he does go down to roll, there’s nothing you can do, so just make sure he’s away from anything that he can hit and step back so you don’t get knocked down.”

  But she couldn’t do this—couldn’t have that kind of responsibility. Not if it meant the horse’s life. “Let me go get her—”

  “It’ll be fastest if I ride—she probably doesn’t have her cell on.” Adam pressed the lead into her hands and grasped her shoulder, gazing deep in her eyes. “You can do it, Dani. Just keep walking him.”

  She nodded and fought to keep from trembling as he took off for the house.

  Sweet Pea followed at a slow pace, turning to nip at his side every few steps and stretching oddly like he was about to pee. Dani took a deep breath, tightened her grip on the lead, and gave him a tug. He followed, but not without hesitation.

  Her mind was a wreck, not entirely sure what was going to happen but half expecting him to just keel over at any second. She had no idea where Dewey was and Gus, if he was around, certainly couldn’t walk the horse. She kept a firm grip on the lead and brought the horse out of the barn, past the paddock, and straight for the outdoor arena. Adam had said the field but the arena was huge and at least that way people would see her when they returned.

  She got him through the gate and tied it closed behind them, then began the long trek along the fence toward the back of the arena. Pylons had been left out along with barrels, and a length of rope and a fake calf for teaching the kids. The sand beneath her feet gave with every step, squishy and making it difficult to keep up a good pace.

  Dani watched Sweet Pea as they went, the horse’s eyes wide. His coat gleamed darkly in the sun, proof of his owner’s love and attention. Carlee would be heartbroken if—

  He’ll be fine, Dani told herself, even if she didn’t entirely believe it.

  The sun was hot, beating down on her hair and face. She’d left the hat back in the barn, she thought—mostly she’d been running around and hadn’t thought to keep wearing it. She cast her hand over her sweaty brow and tried to ignore it.

  As they reached the end of the fence and turned in an arc to follow the back one, Dani glanced to the north and saw Adam on horseback, riding through the field in the direction the others had gone. He’d reached the vet then, right? So someone would come soon? She patted Sweet Pea’s neck and wished the animal understood her words of assurance.

  ****

  Dani didn’t know how long she’d been walking.

  She’d taken off her shirt and tied it around her waist, just the tank top beneath much cooler. She and Sweet Pea had circled the arena over three times before the beat of hooves caught her attention. Carlee and Adam approached on a pair of horses, paused at the gate and dismounted. Dani turned he
r charge in their direction and started walking back.

  Carlee didn’t even bother with the gate; she climbed up the side and jumped down, shooting sand in all directions as she ran for Sweet Pea. Her dark eyes were huge with concern and she reached for the lead immediately. “Has he gone down?”

  Dani shook her head and let Carlee take over. She glanced over her shoulder a few times as she walked for the gate.

  “The vet’s on his way,” Adam said as she reached him. He held out the reins of the two other horses as she ducked her way between the bars of the gate and squeezed out. “Unsaddle the horses and turn them both out, then head to the end of the driveway and make sure the gate is unlocked for the vet.”

  She nodded, not sure of what else to do as he passed off the horses and slipped past her to chase after Carlee.

  Dani did as instructed and remembered to grab her hat before taking the long walk to the end of the driveway. Her shirt was still tied about her waist, swinging against her thighs with every step, and she yawned despite the fact that it wasn’t even noon yet. The gate was indeed open, but she ended up pausing to sit on the fence for a few moments alone. A strange twist of feelings wove around her. She hated being lost and she hated things being serious. Right when she was starting to fit in, something came along and threw her off track, reminding her she didn’t have a clue what she was doing.

  What if she hadn’t thought to tell Adam what the horse was doing? What if she’d seen other horse problems while she was there but was such a newb, it didn’t occur to her to say anything and now they all might—

  The gleam of an SUV coming down the road got her attention. She sat straighter and waited as the navy blue vehicle turned toward the driveway, slowing.

  The driver’s side window powered down as the SUV idled; inside was a young man, maybe thirty, with dark hair in smooth curls that fell across his brow.

  Dani hopped off the fence. “Are you the vet?”

  He nodded and gestured over his shoulder. “Want a ride back down?”

  She definitely did and ran around the SUV to hop in the passenger side. Immediately the vehicle climbed the driveway again as Dani let out a breath, cooled by the air conditioning blowing her face.

  “Mark Goodwin,” he introduced himself. He wore a black T-shirt and jeans, and either vets out in the country weren’t very formal or he was taking the situation as an emergency call. There was a warmth to him she immediately liked—a kind smile and friendly eyes that put her somewhat at ease. “Is it your horse?”

  “Oh, no.” Dani shook her head, raising her hands and splaying her fingers. “I’m just here helping out. It’s Carlee’s horse—she’ll be the one in the field with him.”

  “Hmm.” He cut a look her way briefly. “I thought maybe...it’s just that you look familiar.”

  The internet was vast and her corner of it was tiny but she very rarely was recognized. She hoped this wasn’t one of the times. “Well, I’ve been here a week and in town a lot. Maybe that’s it.”

  “Maybe,” he echoed. Mark pulled the car to a halt near the arena and climbed out, going straight to get his gear from the back of the SUV. Dani slipped out as well and jogged over to meet Adam at the arena gate.

  “How’s he?” she asked, though she could already guess by Adam’s expression.

  “We’ll know more when the vet does,” he said. “Can you head inside and see if Gus has called? He and Dewey were out and I couldn’t get a hold of them.”

  Glad to have something to do, she nodded and jogged back for the house. The inside was cool, drying the sweat on her head when she slipped her Stetson off. No messages waited on the phone, but she headed into her room to pick up her cell—she’d call Gus there and then head outside and have it with her if he phoned back. Maybe she could find something useful to do, like bring people water? Would the horse need water too? God, why was she so damn stupid?

  She snatched up her phone and found a message waiting, then pressed it to her ear as she walked back through the house, expecting to hear Therese’s voice since she hadn’t called back.

  “I miss you, Dani Girl.”

  Dani froze, a chill running through her.

  The voice was low, quiet. Strained, and she didn’t recognize it. Silence followed but she knew he was there, his breath heavy on the other end. “I don’t know why you ran away,” he whispered at last. “Why you’re pretending you don’t want me too.”

  She squeezed the phone to keep from trembling, held her breath. A nightmare. Why couldn’t this be a nightmare?

  “But I’ll come for you,” he continued. “I’ll always—”

  Dani slammed her finger down on the end button, severing the call, and stared for a long moment.

  He had her number.

  She’d changed phones twice in the past three months. But he found her.

  She had to call Dr. Van Ike. She had to figure out if he just got her number or if he actually found her or—

  The phone rang; for a moment, she stared at her cell, trembling, before she realized it came from the other room. The house phone.

  Gus.

  Dani ran into the living room and plucked the cordless phone from its cradle. “Hello?”

  “Dani?”

  Thank God. “Gus. The vet’s here and—” She blinked, blanking for a second after the disruption moments ago. “—and Carlee’s horse is sick. I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do.”

  “We’ll be there soon. I imagine Carlee wants her own man there but reassure her—if need be—that Mark is an excellent large animal vet and Sweet Pea will be well taken care of. Where’ve they got him?”

  “The outdoor arena.”

  “Bring him a pail of water. Make sure Angela knows what’s going on and have her keep the kids away. Your priority is helping with the horse—don’t worry about the kids. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Atta girl. We’ll be back soon.”

  Dani took a deep breath as she hung up, feeling a bit more at ease now that she had another task and some direction.

  Then her gaze fell to her own cell phone still in her grasp.

  She bit her lip and set the phone on the end table by the couch. Like everyone had been saying, he was probably trying to rattle her. First, she’d help deal with the horse problem and see if she was needed. Later, she’d call Dr. Van Ike and report the problem.

  A plan. She liked having a plan.

  Chapter Twelve

  Mark was pretty much elbow deep in horse shit, emptying out Sweet Pea’s system. Carlee had the halter in both hands, nuzzling her horse’s face even as he pawed at the ground.

  It could be something fairly minor, Adam knew. Easily dealt with. But there were also far too many cases of it being caught too late or being a sign of something serious. And if Sweet Pea had turned his stomach, well...

  Well, Adam didn’t particularly want to think about it.

  “Nothing’s twisted that I can feel,” Mark said as he peeled off his gloves and dumped them in a pail of trash at his feet. He frowned, dark brows pulling together. “There’ve been no other problems?”

  Carlee looked past her horse’s muzzle, tears in her eyes. “Nothing. I took a different horse out for the trail ride because I wanted to give him a break after the weekend. But he’s been totally fine.”

  “We’ll give him a shot of oil—that should push anything else through. Then walk him and we’ll see how he feels.” Mark rummaged through his box of equipment and produced a syringe and a bottle.

  Adam caught movement and tilted his head to glance around the group of them; Dani was pushing through the gate, leaning heavily to her left where she had a pail of something in her hand, and in her right dangled her Stetson by the strap, the hat swinging back and forth. When she reached them, he saw the pail was full of water and hat had several bottles in it.

  “Gus called,” she said immediately. “He’s on his way. He said to bring water.” Water sloshed over the brim of the pail as she set it do
wn at her feet, suppressing a little groan. It must’ve been damn heavy and he was grateful to her for trying. He took the bottles as well and passed one to Carlee, then carted over the pail for Sweet Pea to drink from. A glance back at Dani revealed her brows knitted together with worry and his heart twinged. For all he’d bitched about her last week, she was trying during this crisis, and he was grateful.

  Sweet Pea dipped his muzzle in the water then raised his head, letting the water slosh down again.

  “I’m going to start walking him again,” Carlee said as the horse shifted and pawed at the ground.

  Mark nodded. “I’ll walk with you and see how he does.” He scooped up a bottle of water as well and walked along with the pair of them toward the end of the arena.

  Adam sighed, emptied the water bottles from Dani’s Stetson to stack them with the vet supplies, and returned the hat to her head. “C’mon. Still chores to be done.”

  “We can’t just leave them—”

  “We can for now. There’s no point in four of us walking around for a few hours.”

  “Hours?” she repeated as they went back through the gate.

  Adam nodded. “I think Mark is assuming it’s food or gas caught in the intestinal tract. So they walk Sweet Pea for a few hours and everything works through his system, then he’s fine.”

  “But it could be something else?”

  She really was clueless but he couldn’t fault her for it when she gazed up at him from under her too-big hat, dark eyes sorrowful and scared. He longed to hold her, his protective streak rising—he wanted to just reassure her everything was fine. Still, he held off, doubting she was interested in comfort rather than what was just physical between them.

  “It could be, but probably isn’t—Mark would know. He treats all our horses. The important thing is to keep Sweet Pea moving and to get whatever is in his system through so he stops hurting. The danger comes if he rolls—it twists the organs and you can’t usually do anything about it.”

  “That’s horrible,” she said softly.

  “Yeah, it is.” And they weren’t equipped, way out there, to do much more about it—only place to do abdominal surgery on a horse was at a university out west and that was ten grand just to get in the door. They stopped near the barn and he took her elbow gently, turning her to face him. “But he should be fine. It’s good you caught it.”