“I’m happy he finally copped to what he knows, and that he wants to help. You know that I’m all in. I told you that. But for tonight, let all of that go, get some rest, and remember that tomorrow is a new day. I’m never going to let you down. I won’t.”
“I know. You and Harmony are the only ones I can count on.”
“I’ll be here for you. You have my word.” He kisses me gently and draws me close with his strong arms, sealing the promise.
CHAPTER twenty-three
They say that lack of sleep is never a good thing. It isn’t. I can attest to the fact that I’m running on sheer adrenaline this morning after maybe an hour’s worth of sleep. The good news is that Holden sent a text as I rolled out of bed to say that the vet would be arriving within the hour to look at Harmony’s eye. Not only is this good news, but it also distracts me from having to think about everything Frank said at dinner.
I dress quickly, wash my face, and pull back my hair. I can feel Lydia watching me and I do everything in my power to ignore her. I’m glad Emily is still asleep, because she’s been especially moody and inconsistent the last few days. Of course, now I’m wondering if that has anything to do with her nighttime outing to the barn with Tristan. As for Janna, she’s lying on her bunk, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, probably because she was out late again with Chris Haverly. We are quite a dysfunctional group. Maybe that’s why we all ride. Seems that horse people need horses. They tend to ground us and keep us from going out of our minds. At least that’s what they do for me.
“Bye, Janna, see you at the barn later.”
“Oh, no kisses for me?” Lydia spouts.
I walk out, shutting the door behind me. That one better seriously watch out, because I’m in no mood for her games. If I could call my mom right now, I would. I’m kind of over her being away on vacation, but I know I won’t be able to reach her. She’s probably traversing the Swiss Alps about now.
The question I keep circling back to is pretty simple: If Frank is not my father, then who is? I have a right to know. I’ll have to wait until my mom returns before I get that answer.
As I head into the deserted Commons House to grab some coffee, I realize there’s something a little weird about the vet coming so early, before seven a.m. My guess is that he’s busy and making a concession to fit Harmony into his schedule, especially since he just got back from a trip.
Once I’m out on the path to the barns, I see Holden just ahead and call out to him. He turns and smiles. “Good morning,” he says.
I jog up to him. “Good morning.”
“You doing okay?”
I shrug. I know he can’t be aware of what happened last night. At the same time, he does know that Frank and I aren’t exactly close as father and daughter.
“I’m okay. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about keeping me off of Mr. Taylor’s schedule. I can handle it.”
I think about telling him what I’ve learned, but decide against it. I need answers from my mom before I seek advice. Plus, I have to wonder what he’ll think of my family after he hears all of this, and it’s important to me what Holden thinks. He’s my mentor and coach and I respect him. Half the teenage girls around here are gaga over him, but not me. I just think he’s an extraordinary teacher who I’ve been privileged to work with.
“Maybe we should discuss it.”
“No. We don’t need to. I came here to improve my skills, and whatever personal situation I have with him will be left outside the rings and cross-country course. Don’t worry.”
Holden frowns. “I do worry. I worry about you. It’s part of the job.”
“Thanks, but I’ll be fine.”
“If you need me to listen, I’m a good listener, and on occasion I’ve been known to give good advice.”
I smile up at him. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You do that. Sorry the vet is coming so early. I guess he’s booked all week, and I know this is important to you, so we convinced him to fit us in. We’ve waited for weeks now, so we probably need to get on it.”
“Yep.”
“Good. There’s his truck now.”
I see the vet truck pull up to the side of the barn and I quicken my pace to get Harmony out of the stall. She’s not going to like being taken away from her breakfast. “I’ll meet you guys in the cross ties,” I say to Holden.
“Deal.”
I’m right about Harmony and breakfast. As I open the stall door, she gives me a look that says “Go away.”
“Need to check that eye, big girl. You’ve been telling me that it hurts. What do you say? I’ll give you extra treats today. Maybe a carrot or two or three.” I show her my offer in the form of a picture, and she responds, giving no more pushback as I put her halter on. “You do love your food, don’t you?”
Yes.
I laugh. “Thank God for this horse,” I say out loud.
I walk her out and hook the sides of her halter to the cross ties.
“You must be Vivienne.”
I turn around to see a man of about thirty. He’s tall and lanky with light thinning hair and deep-blue eyes. I go to shake his hand as he says, “I’m Dr. Vermisio.” As I reach my hand out to return the intro, I see a younger man walking up behind him and I suck in a deep breath. The vet finishes with, “And this is James. He does ride-alongs with me and helps me out. He’s my nephew.”
“Well, hello, Vivienne. Nice to see you.”
I’m basically speechless; it’s none other than Paisley’s boyfriend—the weird one who came to that dinner Joel brought me to in Lexington. He’s the one who Riley heard was in cahoots with Chris Haverly and his drug deals! I try to force a smile and speak, but I can’t. I don’t want him near my horse.
“Cat got your tongue, Vivienne? You do remember me, don’t you?” James says.
I nod.
“You two know each other?” Dr. Vermisio asks.
“We’ve met,” I reply.
Holden walks up about that time and, thankfully, the next few minutes are taken up by his explanation of Harmony’s eye problem. James takes a step forward as if he’s going to unhook Harmony from the cross ties. I step in front of him. “What are you doing?” I ask.
“I was just going to take a look.”
I frown and look over at Holden. He says, “I think Vivienne can probably hold her while Dr. Vermisio takes a look.”
“Okay,” James replies, and shrugs as if he’s baffled.
What baffles me is that he thought I’d let him handle my horse. After seeing him be such a jerk to Joel in Lexington? No way. Plus, if what I’ve learned is true, he’s also involved in this scary-sounding drug scene with Chris Haverly.
I stay close to Harmony as Dr. Vermisio steps forward and does a cursory exam and then takes a deep look at her eye. He nods a few times, then hems and haws—not a reassuring bedside manner, I must say. I’m keeping one eye on James, because I really don’t trust the guy. And I’m trying to communicate with Harmony to let her know that the vet is just doing his job, and won’t harm her.
Dr. Vermisio finally steps back. He crosses his arms and rocks back onto his heels. “Holden mentioned that your mom is a vet in Oregon and that you’ve already guessed that your horse has a uveal cyst. Well, you’re right, so the only question is what to do next. You probably know that some horses do fine with these cysts and don’t need to have them removed. Others don’t adjust well. From what Holden says, your horse is in the second category. So, considering your sport and all of the jumping you do, I’d say we go ahead and treat it. We can easily take care of it with a laser.”
I’m quiet because I knew this was probably going to be the prognosis. At the same time, I was hoping there was another solution besides laser treatment. “What does the procedure consist of?”
“I’ll sedate her. And then I’ll use the laser on the eye. She d
oesn’t need to be laid down. She just needs to be a little bit drunk. Horses don’t like the sound of the laser, and I need her to stay still. James can help with that.”
“No. I will,” I chime in.
James crosses his arms.
“Very good, then. I can’t do her until after the weekend. I’m completely booked.”
“What about downtime?”
“A day because of the sedation. She’ll be ready to work for you the next day. Should we say Monday morning? You guys don’t ride on Mondays, anyway, right?”
“That’s right,” Holden says. “Monday morning should work just fine.”
“Great.”
Dr. Vermisio’s cell rings. “I have to take this,” he says, and walks back toward his truck.
“I’ll go over and deal with the bill,” Holden says and also walks to the vet truck.
I feel James staring at me. I finally decide to stare back. I’m not going to let either him or Chris Haverly intimidate me. “What?” I ask.
“Nothing,” he replies. “Nice horse. Dr. Vermisio will get her all fixed up for you.” He winks at me and I feel nauseous.
“You know why I don’t like you, don’t you?”
He shakes his head. “I didn’t know that you didn’t like me. You don’t even know me.”
“That dinner in Lexington was enough for me. The way you treated Joel . . .”
“Joel brought that upon himself. He had issues. I mean, look at what he did.”
I feel my ears beginning to burn as the anger wells up inside me and, before I can control it, I spit out, “Joel didn’t kill himself, and I’m going to prove it.”
For a few seconds, James says nothing. In fact, his eyes widen, and I’m positive he’s gone a little pale. He begins to laugh. “You’re an odd one.”
“Speak for yourself.”
Before I can come up with anything else to say, Dr. Vermisio returns and so does Holden. We coordinate our schedules and confirm the time for Harmony’s surgery on Monday.
As the vet and the jerk leave, Holden smiles at me. “She’ll be good as new in no time.”
“I know, but I don’t want that James guy near my horse.”
Holden makes a face. “Yeah. I sensed a little tension there. What gives?”
“Let’s just say that I don’t get a good feeling from him.”
“That’s your prerogative,” Holden replies.
What I want to add is that I saw an expression cross James’s face that has me convinced he knows exactly what happened the night Joel died.
CHAPTER twenty-four
The day passes in a blur of lessons and busywork, so it’s not until I’m done with dinner that I have time to think about e-mailing my mom. Not sure what to write, though. Um . . . hi, Mom. It’s me. Your Schnoopy. I just need to ask you, what’s the deal? My dad says that he isn’t my dad. So then, who is? Is this all true? Why have you been lying to me my entire life?
Yeah, that probably wouldn’t go over so well. But, trust me . . . it’s kind of what I want to write. I’m really confused. My mom is my mom. I love her with every fiber of my being, so all of this has sent me into a spiral. And I can’t even get in touch with her.
Instead of bothering to even attempt writing something to her, I send Austen a text to please call me. I’ve decided there’s absolutely no way I should join him for that rave with Chris Haverly and company. On the other hand, I want to remind him to be careful.
My cell rings about five minutes later. I pop off the bunk, because Emily is in the cabin and I want privacy. I start walking toward the barn. “Hey,” I say.
“Hey, yourself,” he replies in a low tone.
“Where are you?”
“On my way to meet up with Chris.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I say. “Not after what we’ve learned.”
“Sweetie, I’m a big boy. I’ll be fine.”
“I know, but everyone is afraid of Chris, and for good reason.”
“Viv, we know the guy is probably selling drugs, not to mention manufacturing them. If I can start with getting that proof, then we can find out how he’s connected to Joel’s death and why.”
I notice that my teeth are grinding together in anxiety and I tell myself to take a deep breath. For the first time, I’m having second thoughts about pursuing this whole thing. I love Austen and if something happened to him I wouldn’t know what to do. “Maybe we should forget about it.”
“No. If this guy and his buddies are who we think they are, Joel isn’t their only victim. There are others. I guarantee it. These guys have to go down. The one and only way is to get proof of what they’ve done.”
“What if we go to the police with what we know?” It’s a reach, but I have to say it.
“If Chris Haverly is as wealthy and connected as we think he is, I’m pretty sure the cops around here would laugh in our faces.”
“You have a point,” I say. “I wish I could argue, but I can’t.”
“Tell you what, I’ve got good radar. You know that. If I feel at any moment I’m in some kind of bad situation, I will get a hold of you. Okay?”
I fight back tears, which I seem to have had to do a lot lately, and I hate that. “I’m scared,” I say.
“I know. That’s how Chris has gotten away with what he has. He intimidates people and they keep their mouths shut. We can’t let him do that to us. Let’s just keep doing what we’re doing. If I can get in tight with him, I think we can figure this out.”
“Okay, but please be careful.”
“I will. I love you,” he says.
“I love you too. Let me know the minute you’re away from that guy.”
“I will.”
We hang up, and as I get down close to the barn I spot Chris getting into Riley’s Jeep. How come nobody told me this part of the plan? Since when is Riley so involved? I feel sick with worry. Then I see Austen get into his own car. I want to bolt down to him, but I know that would be a bad idea, so I call him instead. “Did you see Riley? He’s driving Chris.”
“I did.”
“What do you think that’s all about?”
“If I had to guess, I’d say that Riley is probably doing what I’m doing. Getting close to the enemy. You said that he’d agreed to help.”
“Great. Now I have the both of you to worry about.”
“Don’t think like that. If Riley is planning to help, think of it as two of us working on the same team. I have to go now, Viv. I’ve gotta drive.”
“Okay.” I hang up, but I don’t like it. Not at all. I should be with them. I should be helping, but I haven’t exactly buddied up to either Chris or James. I’ve done just the opposite and made sure they know that I’m clearly their enemy.
I’ve sent my BFF and my boyfriend into the devil’s den. What have I gotten us all into?
CHAPTER twenty-five
After hanging up the phone, I feel knots of tension in my shoulders and realize how badly the whole situation is putting me on edge. The one place I can think of to calm down is with the horses.
Harmony hears me walking down the barn aisle and pops her nose out of the stall window. “Hey, pretty girl,” I call out.
She lets out a low nicker. Austen’s gelding, Axel, steps forward as I come closer, and then Melody, who resides a few doors down from Axel, also frisks toward the front of her stall. I sense that she’s calling out to me, and I realize I’m definitely going to need to go say hello.
First, I stop at Harmony’s stall and pat and plant a kiss on her nose. “I’ll be back in a few. Looks like someone else wants to talk to me.”
Whatever.
I stop and laugh. “Did you just say ‘whatever’ to me?”
Yes. It’s fine.
This new way of communicating with her is amazing and crazy. I rea
lly do feel like a Dr. Dolittle. Harmony actually talks to me now! “I promise you. I’ll be back.”
I know. She needs you. Then Harmony nods her head as if she’s gesturing toward Mel. I walk a little bit farther into the barn to check on Melody, hoping she can help me get to the bottom of something: why in the world Wills was in front of her stall earlier. Yes, it looked like he was just innocently petting her—but it put my senses on high alert. I don’t think his intentions were necessarily sinister, but I’d still like to know more. I’m hoping maybe Melody will give me some answers.
I approach Mel and pet her nose. I run my hand down her neck. I feel that nervous energy that she sometimes puts off, and I say, “It’s okay, sweetie girl. I’m here. What do you want to tell me?”
She flashes a picture of Joel.
“I know you miss him. I’m sorry.” I continue stroking her neck. Next, she shows me an image of darkness so thick and complete that it’s almost like my head is full of smoke. That’s really the only way that I can describe it.
“What is it?” A sharp pain jabs at my stomach and a bitter taste fills my mouth. “Ouch,” I say. “Girl, what are you trying to tell me?”
The darkness lifts for a moment and I see a flash of Emily’s face, her expression angry. Then Melody shows me Joel again, and my stomach begins to twist like I need to vomit. Is Melody feeling sick? What’s the bitter taste in my mouth about?
“You have to be more clear, Mel,” I say.
It takes a few seconds but I get something a little bit more clear. Unfortunately, it’s also baffling. She shows me that picture of Emily’s face again, then she shows me Emily smiling. She shows me Joel and Emily talking but I can’t tell what they’re saying. The images are blurry. What I see next is Emily handing Joel a large cup and then she takes something from her purse and hands it to him. What it is, I can’t tell, but it makes me wonder a few things: When was this? And what did she give Joel? Was it the night that he died? Was there something in that drink? Is that why I have such a bitter taste in my mouth, and such nausea in my stomach?
Perfect Harmony: A Vivienne Taylor Horse Lover's Mystery (Fairmont Riding Academy Book 3) Page 12
