Kate Sherwood - Dark Horse 01 - Dark Horse (3 page)

Karl moves toward the horse, waving his hand at Jeff. “Please, be my guest! Look him over, and then we’ll tack him up, and we can show you what the big guy is capable of.”

Karl continues with a stream of positive statements about the horse, and Dan finds himself agreeing with most of them. Monty really is exceptional, and Dan will be sorry to see him go. But he’ll be more than sorry if he goes to a girl who won’t be able to handle him, and who could get hurt by the huge animal.

Dan wonders whether he should say something to Evan, and glances over to see the other man watching him closely.
“He’s a beautiful horse,” Evan starts. “My sister, Tat… well, Tatiana, but ‘Tatiana’ doesn’t rhyme with ‘brat’, so it doesn’t seem so appropriate.” Evan smiles to make it clear that he’s joking, and Dan sees a couple dimples appear in the otherwise lean face. “Anyway, Tat’s been wanting an eventer, and we saw the video of this guy, and it’s like she fell in love!”
Dan nods warily, and then Molly is gesturing to him. “Dan, let’s get him tacked up. They need to see him at work.”

Dan isn’t used to the almost manic energy Molly’s projecting today. Monty is a valuable horse, Dan knows, and selling him would certainly be a help for the barn’s finances, but usually Karl and Molly are a bit more laid back about things. They try to sell the horses, of course, but they aren’t generally so
frantic
about it.

Dan gets Monty’s dressage saddle and bridle. Might as well start slow—if the kid gets scared working on the flat, there’s no point in wasting time with jumping.

Dan puts the tack on under Jeff’s scrutiny, and finds himself appreciating the other man’s attitude. Lots of people forget about a horse’s ground manners, think it’s only what happens under saddle that matters. As the one who worked so hard to train Monty to behave in crossties, Dan is gratified to see that someone appreciates his efforts. He has a slightly unsettling moment when he turns away from the horse to see Jeff looking not at Monty but at Dan himself, with an assessing expression similar to the one Evan had worn earlier. But Monty is ready, so Dan takes the reins over his head and looks to Karl.

Molly starts instead. “Okay, let’s go out to the ring, and we can see how beautifully he moves!” She herds the visitors in front of her, and Dan falls in behind, leading Monty. Jeff watches over his shoulder for a few steps, apparently making sure that Monty’s good manners continue once he’s being led, and then he turns and focuses on where he’s going.

Once in the ring, Dan gives the tack a final check and mounts up. He goes through the basic warm ups, getting Monty relaxed and ready to work, and then takes him through more advanced moves, essentially duplicating a standard dressage test. Monty is a bit shaky on his countercanter, but he gets it eventually. Dan makes a note to work on that in their next training ride, and then wonders if there will be one, or if Monty will be leaving the barn before they get a chance.

Dan brings Monty to a halt next to the spectators. “Did you want to see anything in particular?” He addresses the question to the whole group, but he’s really talking to Jeff. When Jeff shakes his head, Dan swings down off the horse and holds the reins out, about halfway between Jeff and Tatiana. They’re both dressed for riding, and realistically, they both need to be able to get along with Monty.

Jeff nods at Tatiana and puts a hand on her shoulder. “Come on, let’s give him a spin.” They duck through the fence and walk out into the ring, heading for the mounting block. Dan leads Monty over to meet them. There’s a moment to adjust stirrup lengths and re-check the girth, and then Dan stands at Monty’s head while the girl climbs on. She’s light and graceful, and settles into the saddle naturally, so Dan hopes the ride won’t be a complete disaster.

The horse and rider head out to the rail, and Jeff moves toward the center of the ring. Dan moves toward the fence, but Jeff calls to him. “Dan, can you stick around? Let me know if there’s any tricks we should be using?”

Dan obediently follows Jeff. The older man is watching the horse and rider carefully, and calls out a few suggestions to Tat. He has her work through a dressage test similar to the one Dan had done earlier, leaving out a few of the more advanced skills. Finally, he calls to her, “Okay, your turn, try out anything you want to have another look at.” Then he half turns to Dan, saying, “Okay, now—what do you think, really?”

Dan is torn, so he tries to be neutral. “She’s a good rider. They’re a good match for dressage. For jumping—we’ll need to wait and see, I guess.”

“Is he going to be too much for her?”

Dan can’t bring himself to lie. “I don’t know. Probably. He’s got a lot of heart, you know? And he loves to jump. He needs a pretty firm rider to keep him under control.” Dan rubs his neck. “It’s what makes him such a great eventer; he’s totally fearless, full of enthusiasm.” Dan doesn’t think he needs to explain how that attitude could pose a bit of problem for someone as slight and inexperienced as Tatiana.

Karl has come out in time to hear the last of that. “Fearless and enthusiastic, that’s our boy!”

Jeff smiles politely, but he obviously has doubts of his own. Karl sends Dan into the barn for Monty’s jumping tack. When Dan returns, Jeff has Monty’s saddle off, and they trade burdens so Jeff can have a chance to try saddling Monty. The horse is as good as Dan would expect, and they quickly trade bridles as well. Dan sometimes jumps Monty in just a snaffle, but he thinks Tatiana will need all the help she can get.

They take Monty to the grass ring for jumping, and as soon as they’re out from behind the dressage ring fence, Monty starts dancing. Dan is leading him, and has no trouble maintaining control, but he’s not sorry to see the horse act up a little. It’s only fair for the buyers to know what they’re getting. Monty’s a sweetheart, but he’s also a handful.

When they get to the grass ring, Karl gives Dan a leg up, and Dan takes Monty through his paces. They work up in size, and Dan is pleased with how cleanly Monty is jumping, and how little effort he seems to be putting in. But he can’t deny that the horse is getting a bit worked up, and he only feels a little guilty when he doesn’t do much to calm him. If Tatiana gets a healthy scare over these jumps, there’s less chance of her really getting hurt by trying to ride Monty cross-country, a setting where even Dan has to work hard to control the gelding.

Monty settles well enough for a rider swap, though, and again Jeff asks Dan to accompany him to the middle of the ring while Tatiana rides. This time, Karl comes with them.

Tatiana and Monty take a couple low jumps without much trouble, but Dan can see the horse starting to get a little frustrated. “She needs to loosen up a bit,” he tells Jeff. “I usually ride him pretty soft when we’re jumping—he knows what to do, she needs to guide him, not order him.” Jeff nods and passes the suggestion along, but there’s not much evidence of a response.

“She’s nervous,” Jeff says.

 

Dan nods. “Monty’s sensitive enough to pick up on that. He needs a confident rider.”

Karl jumps in at that. “Well, obviously she’ll be a lot more confident once she gets used to him! And at her own barn, without an audience….”
Jeff nods politely again, his eyes fixed on the horse and rider. “Circle him, Tat! He’s getting too flat, you need to bring him back a little.” Tat complies, and Jeff calls, “Again! Circle him until he comes back under you, until he listens!”

Dan murmurs, “Have her use her seat a bit more, her hands a bit less,” and Jeff passes these instructions along as well. Eventually, Monty settles enough that Tatiana is able to take him over a couple more jumps, although he charges the second one so fast that only his athleticism allows him to get them over cleanly.

Tatiana pulls him to a dancing, prancing halt in front of a group that is not quite as enthusiastic as they were after the dressage riding. Evan laughs and slaps the horse’s sweaty chest. “He gave you a bit of a wild time, didn’t he?”

Tat grins, and Dan isn’t sure whether to be disappointed or impressed that her enthusiasm seems undampened. “He’s fantastic, though! It was like riding Pegasus, or something—so powerful!”

Dan can’t help liking the girl, but he sees Jeff’s serious expression and hopes that the trainer has some influence over the young Kaminskis. “That’s enough for today, I think,” Jeff says. “Let’s get out of everyone’s hair and let them get back to their day, and we can come back tomorrow if we need to.”

Karl and Molly hear the pending rejection in that suggestion, and start trying to persuade Jeff to try Monty on the cross-country course. Dan is surprised to realize that he already trusts Jeff to stay firm, and he leads Monty a few steps away and adjusts the stirrups back to his length. He doesn’t want the last thought in Monty’s head for the day to be that it’s fun to ignore his rider, so Dan needs to take him over a couple jumps.

Jeff is fielding the comments from Karl and Molly, and Evan wanders over to Monty and Dan. “He’s a really beautiful animal,” Evan says, and Dan is happy to hear a slight wistfulness in the other man’s tone. Maybe Evan isn’t totally clueless about the situation.

“He is. He’s a supercharged sports car of a horse.”

Evan bends a little, his hazel eyes catching Dan’s and holding them. “And a supercharged sports car isn’t a good car for a fifteen-year-old, is that what you’re saying?”

Dan shrugs. “I’m saying you should listen to your trainer. I don’t think he’ll steer you wrong.” He pulls the stirrup leather back into place. “And, Evan….” He pauses. “We have a lot of great horses here. You should have a look at Sunshine—she’s almost as scopey as Monty, but a little less….”

“Supercharged?”
Dan grins. “Yeah, that.”

Evan smiles back, and reaches out to shake Dan’s hand again. “Thanks for the advice, Dan. I appreciate it.” Then somehow the atmosphere changes a little. Evan is still smiling, but there’s a bit of a strange edge to it as he continues. “It was really nice to meet you.” Evan is still holding his hand, but not shaking it anymore. He releases it as soon as Dan starts to pull it away, and steps back as Dan nods and pulls himself up onto Monty.

As Dan takes the horse over a couple easy jumps, he tries to keep his mind on his job, not on whatever just passed between him and the handsome Californian. By the time he’s over the third jump, the visitors are out of sight on their way back the barn, and Dan is able to focus on what he should be doing.

After he gets Monty listening to him, Dan cools the horse off and heads into the barn. He’d been about to have lunch when the Kaminskis arrived, so he’s starving. But Karl and Molly are waiting for him by Monty’s stall, and he has a feeling it could be a while before he gets any food.

He turns the horse in and takes his halter off, then slides the door shut and turns to look at his employers. Karl speaks first, his anger clear. “What did you say to them, exactly?”

Dan doesn’t really appreciate being put on the defensive. “When? I didn’t spend any time with them that you weren’t right there.” Molly takes over. “When you talked to Jeff, or when Evan got you alone. Did you tell them not to buy Monty?”

Dan just shakes his head. “Come on, guys, do you really think they need to be told that? Jeff’s obviously got a good eye. He could tell that Monty was taking over! And that was just going over a few arena jumps, not even a cross-country course.” He turns and hangs Monty’s halter on the stall door. “If they decided not to buy him, it’s because they could tell he’s too much horse for the kid, not because I told them not to.”

Molly doesn’t look convinced. “Oh, and you don’t think they could tell what you thought? You don’t think that your bad attitude came through clearly?” She glances at Karl before continuing. “Really, Dan, you should know why we need extra money! I just can’t understand why you would sabotage us like this…
you
, of all people!”

Dan doesn’t appreciate the attempted guilt trip. “Me of all people? You mean because I’ve only been getting every third paycheck for the last year? Or because I’ve been working overtime without claiming for it, trying to get these horses into the best condition they can be in for your buyers? Is that why I should be aware of how much you need money?” He looks at the couple before him, whom he’d been encouraged to think of as parents. “You know what
I
can’t understand? I can’t understand why the two of you wouldn’t see a problem with letting a kid risk her life on a horse she can’t control.” He backs away from them, and his voice twists in bitter mimicry. “You, of all people!” Then he turns and strides angrily out of the barn. He’s worked every single day for almost three weeks; he’s going to take the afternoon off.

Chapter 2

D
AN
lives in an apartment above the barn, so his storming out isn’t all that satisfying. He really just wants to sit on the couch, have a few drinks, and sulk a little, but he isn’t feeling quite churlish enough to be able to do that if he knows that Karl and Molly are right downstairs working away without him. So instead of going home, he climbs into his battered pickup and heads over to Chris’s place. Chris will be at work, but Dan knows where the Hide-A-Key is, and he knows he’s got a change of clothes over there. This isn’t the first time Dan has wanted to hide out from Karl and Molly, although it is the first time he’s been so angry about it.

By the time Dan gets to Chris’s, it’s already mid-afternoon. He rummages around in the fridge and takes a slice of pizza and a beer into the shower with him. Well, he leaves the pizza on the bathroom counter, but the beer goes right in. One of the best things about Chris’s house is the window in the tub enclosure, with its wide sill, just right for holding a drink.

Getting clean calms Dan down a little, and once he’s out of the shower he calls Chris at work. Chris is an up-and-coming young lawyer at the biggest firm in Louisville. Dan’s understanding of these things is that Chris should be slaving away day and night, but somehow the man always seems more than ready to take off work early. This day is no exception, and he agrees to meet Dan at JP’s in half an hour. Dan wishes he could afford to go someplace else, but he works a couple shifts a week bartending at JP’s, and he can usually get a substantial discount when he goes in on off hours. Chris could probably afford to go to any restaurant in the city, but he knows enough about Dan’s financial situation not to suggest a change—and enough about Dan’s pride not to suggest that Chris pay for both of them.