Beauty and the Brit

by Selvig, Lizbeth

  Rio also discovered that Bud and the crew at The Loon Feather would cater a competitors’ party on Saturday evening. The more she learned, the more incredible the entire production seemed.

  Wednesday night, David disappeared into his office in the house. Once she’d finished helping Andy with chores, Rio made her own way to the house, stunned to find the kitchen empty. For the first time in days Dinner by Stella didn’t bubble on the stove or fill the room with aromas from the oven. With a frisson of anticipation, her brain went into dinner-planning mode, until she heard voices from the direction of David’s office.

  “It bloody well isn’t fine.” David’s words held pent-up anger. “You can’t add party flowers to my show order willy-nilly. It was already over four hundred dollars. The budget is firm.”

  “I’ve arranged to help pay for what we added,” Stella replied.

  “But you’ve helped more than enough. I am grateful, but I simply need you to come and be my mum, not my social director or my interior decorator.”

  “I thought you approved of the plan for the house.” Stella’s voice, unlike her son’s, remained unfailingly even. “Ten years is the timetable you set, and we’re on schedule. And we always have a party, sweetheart.”

  “In November. When it’s slow. And this year it must be smaller.”

  “David, my pet, what’s gone so wrong?”

  “What can I do to help?” Kate’s sweet, reasonable Mary Poppins voice brought another layer to the conversation. “I’ll do anything I can.”

  “That’s not what I’m asking for.” He sounded the tiniest bit short with her.

  “You wouldn’t ask, darling. But I can offer.”

  Darling? Rio frowned.

  “And I can handle my life fine on my own except when little surprises pop up on my voice mail, like the florist asking if they can push back the delivery date to after the show in order to accommodate the new order.”

  “I’m sorry,” Stella said. “We’ve fixed the delivery issues. All’s well.”

  “An extra hundred-and-fifty dollars in live plants and flowers for a four-hour get-together is not ‘all’s well.’ You’ve spent a bleeding fortune on decorating. Can’t a party speak for itself?”

  “If that’s what you wish.” For the first time a hint of hurt tinged Stella’s words.

  “Look, Mum, I just got off the phone with the awards company. Show ribbons that should have been here last week won’t be here until Friday, and they’re trying to charge a rush fee. The EMT service raised their prices this year. Bud has to use a more expensive supplier for his dinner rolls because his regular went out of business. Do you see? I’m not trying to be unreasonable. I need you to stop spending money.”

  “We’ll sort it all,” Kate soothed.

  “I don’t want—”

  The chime of the front doorbell cut off his words. Rio jumped, feeling guilty for eavesdropping in the first place, and turned toward the door as David strode out of his office.

  “Rio?”

  “Hi, I heard the front door.”

  “Yeah.” He frowned and hurried past her.

  Rio’s jaw went slack when she saw who stood on the porch. She’d seen his pictures hundreds of times and heard his songs more than that. In the flesh, Gray Covey was both bigger-than-life and more normal-looking than on any poster or video. The woman beside him, as classically beautiful as if she’d stepped from an old Grace Kelly movie, was instantly recognizable as Kim’s mother, Abby.

  “David,” she said. “We’re so sorry to bother you, but we need your help.”

  “What’s going on?” David ushered them in. Rio gawped.

  Gray turned before answering and held his hand out. “Hi. I’m Gray. You must be Rio. We’ve heard so much about you from Bonnie. I’m sorry we haven’t met before now.”

  She took his hand, and his naturalness put her immediately at ease. “It’s great to meet you. Thank you for having Bonnie over so often.”

  “She’s delightful.” Abby shook her hand, too. “Sharp and funny. She’s good for both Kim and Dawson.”

  “Did I hear you’re both staying long enough to enroll her in Quad District?” Gray asked.

  “I’ve got an appointment at the school tomorrow.”

  “That’s wonderful.” Abby squeezed her hand. “The kids are thrilled.”

  “So, what’s the news?” David brought them back to topic, his calm back in place.

  “Jill just heard from Ben Thomlinson.” Abby turned to Rio. “Her boss, a veterinarian here in town,” she explained. “The police were called to a farm down near Nerstrand where they found fifty-two severely neglected horses. It sounds like they’re not in very good shape, and they need to be removed immediately. We’re the volunteer crew looking for help.”

  David groaned in sympathy.

  “We know this is the worst timing for you,” Gray said. “But we’re running out of options. The local Hooved Animal Society has a barn that can take twelve of them. Jill and Chase and Robert can put twenty of them in their pasture. We’ve got room for ten, but that leaves ten that need a place. We’ve called several people but nobody has the space.”

  “Would you consider taking them temporarily?” Abby asked. “Hooved Animal will help place them. Meanwhile, Jill’s organizing a team of vets to do exams over the next week.”

  “I . . . Of course. Yes, there’s no choice, is there?”

  David’s hesitation had been barely noticeable, but Rio caught the uncertainty in his eye. He didn’t know she’d overheard his worries just now, but she understood this meant incurring more costs.

  “Thank you!” Abby threw her arms unashamedly around David’s neck. “I know what an imposition this is.”

  “No need for thanks. Is there a plan?”

  “Doc Thomlinson has a stock trailer, Jill and Chase have a three-horse, and we have ours. If you were willing to either come with your six-horse or let one of us use it, we can leave now and pick up eighteen horses. It’ll take two trips each, but we’d like to start tonight. It’s only about forty-five minutes away.”

  David’s reluctance had vanished. He turned to his mother and Kate.

  “What can we do?” Stella asked.

  “And me, too,” Rio added. “Anything you need, just ask it.”

  “Mum, if you’ll organize a few of the boarders who are still here to move horses out of the south pasture, the one with the two shelters in it, and put them in with the geldings in the middle paddock, I’ll have Andy throw half a dozen bales of hay around.”

  “Of course.”

  “Kate. There are two phone numbers in my roller file, one for Dodge City Badges and the other for Faribault Ambulance. Will you look them up, give each a ring, and confirm the orders—one for the ribbons and one for the EMT price. Be firm with the badge company—the ribbons must be here Friday morning.”

  “Gladly.”

  He met Rio’s eyes next. “Would you like to come with us? You can hold trailer doors and ropes.”

  Her heart soared. “Sure.”

  “Right.” His eyes softened. “Let’s go.”

  THE COMFORT OF having Rio in the truck seat beside him was almost enough to calm David’s frayed nerves. She’d waited out his silence, letting him think. At one point she covered his hand with her small, capable fingers and just squeezed. What other woman would have squelched the urge to dig for what was wrong?

  “I’m sorry,” he said at last.

  “For what?”

  “For ignoring you.”

  “I know you were preoccupied tonight even before Gray and Abby showed up. Are you all right?”

  He stared out the window. The seven-thirty sun hung above the horizon—they had maybe ninety minutes of light left. He debated lying, but her fingers tightened and he caved.

  “No.”

  “Oh David, what’s wrong? Is it these horses?”

  “Yes, but not for the reasons you think.” He released a heavy sigh.

  “What are the r
easons?”

  “I told you money is tight? Truth to tell, it’s more than tight. I lost three paying boarders last month simply because the economy is so tough they sold their horses. The arena we built last summer has cost far more than the amount I was paid in insurance.”

  “Frickin’ insurance,” she mumbled and kneaded his fingers.

  “No. It’s more a problem with my father. In a way he’s exactly like my mother. He spent last summer with me, and all I heard was, ‘You’ll never regret the extra touches, David. You’ll justify your board rates with cracking good facilities.’ You know how my mother is with the house? That’s Da’ with the horse facilities. They’re a right pair, I’m telling you.”

  “You do own the place. You could tell them to butt out.”

  “I’ve always found it easier to appease them for a few weeks and then send them on their ways.”

  “Until now, when it’s making you miserable.”

  “My mother is barking mad this trip. Because of Kate. She’s trying desperately to impress the woman, and I don’t know why. Well, I do. I just don’t want to admit it.”

  “Might as well tell me about that, too.”

  She smiled with such warmth he believed nothing he said would upset her.

  “Mum always adored Kate. She was heartbroken when we split up and even more devastated when Kate married soon afterward. Now here she is, reunited with her dream daughter-in-law, her son is thirty-two showing no signs of producing an heir, and she had a grand idea: If she could get us together for six weeks, we’d find that old magic.”

  “She’s said all that?”

  “Not in so many words. But she’s letting Kate design the rooms. She’s throwing a bash to introduce her to her American friends. She points out any time she can how wonderful this place is and how far I’ve come. She might as well say it.”

  “And how does Kate feel about all this?”

  “Kate wouldn’t say shit if she had a mouthful of it. She’s smart as a Sunday suit and rich as Midas. I haven’t a clue what she hoped to accomplish by coming.”

  “She likes you. A lot.” Rio’s smile turned devilish. “If you asked her on a date, she’d go.”

  “Hang on.” He laughed, but stared at her quizzically. “Do you want me to ask her out?”

  “I don’t own you. I can’t tell you what to do.”

  “Well, that’s brilliant, that is.”

  Her laughter filled the truck cab, and she swatted at his upper arm. “No, I do not want you to ask her out! And I don’t want you to take her bareback riding, and I don’t want her to know about the cabin. I’m pretty jealous of her, actually.”

  The words sent warmth to all the aching, worried parts of his mind. “Don’t be jealous.”

  She settled back into the seat, a self-satisfied grin on her lips. “Whatever you say. Meanwhile, we’ve gotten far off the main topic. So funds are tight. Welcome to my world.”

  There was no rancor in her words, just resigned humor.

  “In all honesty, I can’t afford to take on ten new horses. Not until the middle of next month when all the board checks come in. I mean, I can put them in a pasture, but I can’t feed them for long. Unless I find cheaper hay very quickly. With ten extra animals, I’ll be out of what I have in a week. I was pushing through for our own horses until the fifteenth. It’s all a balancing act at the moment. November and December will be adventures all their own. Kim will be taking her horse back home, and Jill is talking about moving a couple of hers to their place just to economize. I could have six empty stalls by Christmas.”

  “That’s a lot of money, isn’t it?”

  “To put it mildly.”

  “I’m sorry. Why didn’t you just tell Abby it wouldn’t work?”

  He stared at the road, a lump of embarrassment in his chest. “First of all, it’s the horses. I might be a whingeing idiot, but the animals come first. It might not be practical, but it’s what an addict does. Second of all . . .”

  He hesitated. She took his hand again. “Second of all, what?”

  “Pure pride,” he said. “I’ve spent a long time building this top-notch place. It’s hard to admit I’m failing.”

  “I’m sorry, but if this is failing, David, what have I been doing all my life? There are ways to deal with low funds. And the fact that you’re putting these horses first—well, frankly, it’s a relief. This is the you I’ve come to know and respect.”

  A little magic happened when she said that. He knew the relief wouldn’t last; reality would kick him in the ass soon enough. But her gentle chastisement and her declaration of belief in him broke up something heavy inside. She did know him. After so little time, she knew he didn’t crave glory the way his father did, or status the way his mother did. Something neither had ever understood.

  “Thank you.”

  “Listen. I don’t talk about this ever, mostly because I don’t know what I believe anymore. But back in the day my dad would say we should always remember there’s a plan to help us out of trouble. As far as he was concerned, God, or Providence, or whatever you believe in, could do miracles. I’m not sure about miracles, but I think Dad was a little bit right. Look at me. Two-pairs-of-jeans Rio is still standing.”

  It was the first almost-joke she’d made about her losses. In doing so, she’d struck another nerve.

  “My mother used to remind me to think that way,” he admitted. “She was a good, solid, outdoorsy girl. The spiritual side of her was quite strong. Now she’s focused on the material. If you haven’t noticed.”

  “I can’t judge. I’ve been plenty fixated on the material things I lost. Maybe these horses are a blessing.”

  “Well, if that’s not a novel way of looking at them, I don’t know what is. C’mon then, let’s rescue our allotment.”

  THE FARM WHERE the animals had been found didn’t look so awful from the front. The house was a sixties, mid-sized rambler. Behind it stood an ancient pole barn, perhaps twenty by forty feet, not big enough for so many horses, but at least an attempt at shelter. Once they all got to the pasture area, however, the illusion shattered.

  To David’s surprise, Chief Hewett met them at the property wearing his usual grim face, although it didn’t seem to be aimed at the people this time. He led them to a herd of the most wretched animals David had ever seen. So muddy and matted he couldn’t even determine their colors, they looked like avant-garde art—emaciated clay sculptures in pitiful groupings.

  Ben Thomlinson and Jill were already tromping through the uneven paddock making cursory checks. Some of the horses nickered softly. A few moved out of touching range, and others merely followed the humans with large, hopeful eyes. David’s stomach turned.

  “What the bloody hell is the story with this?” he asked Hewett.

  “Supposedly there are thirty acres out there.” The chief indicated a pasture area beyond the crowded paddock bathed in soft evening light. “The owner says he planned to start a dude ranch like he used to ride at when he was kid.”

  “Where was he a kid? The outskirts of hell?”

  Hewett almost smiled. “He’s in his sixties, a quiet guy. Says he’s been buying horses for the past five years and collecting equipment. He just ran out of money.”

  “Oh good God in Heaven, and he didn’t think to sell them?”

  “He’ll be asked a lot of questions. I promise.”

  “Sorry,” David said. “I’m afraid I’m feeling very little charity here.”

  “I understand.” Hewett actually clapped him briefly on the arm.

  David saw Rio then, leaning against a broken board between two crumbling fence posts. She stared into the herd. He made his way to her and put a hand on her back.

  “You all right?”

  She turned, her mouth tight, her eyes stormy with anger. “What damages a person so badly he can do this?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Ignorance and true psychological trauma.” They both turned to find Chase behind them. He pu
t a hand on each of their shoulders and shook his head sadly. “I don’t think it’s intentional cruelty. This is the same mentality that causes lonely women to become crazy cat ladies, or turns people into hoarders unable to clean their homes. Things get out of hand little by little and suddenly the person has no clue how to solve the problem.”

  “You’re a kinder man than I am, Doc.” Disgust still tainted David’s emotions.

  “No. I’ve just seen too many ugly things. If I got angry every time I’d have no soul left. I hope this man gets the punishment he deserves and the help he needs.”

  The anger drained from Rio’s face. She put her arms around Chase’s neck and squeezed briefly. “I’d like to be like you when I grow up.”

  He patted her back. “No, honey, we could use a few more Rios—stick with her.”

  She smiled and took David’s hand. “Come on, let’s go find out what we need to do to get some of these poor things home.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  * * *

  A WELCOMING COMMITTEE of half a dozen people waited when she and David arrived at Bridge Creek with the first six horses. It had taken an hour to coax and lift the first rescuees into the four various trailers. Seventeen animals deemed most in need of help, including six Dr. Thomlinson had truly feared for and taken to his clinic, had been loaded first. Jill and Chase had three with minor lameness issues, Gray and Abby had taken two mares and three foals. David had let Rio hand choose their six. After her big speech about a higher power having a plan, she’d used no criteria other than gut feeling to pick them—nothing more than a set of eyes on one sad mare, a cocked ear on another, and a timid step forward from another.

  Questions flew the moment she and David were out of the truck. David held up his hand.

  “Everyone hold on. We’ve got six severely malnourished horses here. They’re quite nervous, so don’t get too close. We’ll have plenty of time over the next few days to show them they’re in a better place.”

  Rio heard the gasps when the first horse emerged from the trailer. It was a scrawny little paint gelding, the most sociable of the six. David handed its lead rope to Kate. The second and third were bigger animals of indeterminate color, and Andy took charge of them. The last three were quiet, huge-eyed mares.