Kate Sherwood - Dark Horse 02 - Out of the Darkness (42 page)

Jeff grins. “No, but I can hear between the lines.” He pauses just before handing the phone over. “Evan’s on his way back. He wants to come over or to meet us at the house—but you don’t have to, if you want to rest up.” He shrugs. “I think you’ve got a lot of people willing to do whatever you want, here, Dan, so… ball’s in your court.”

Dan isn’t sure how to take that news, isn’t sure if he’s up to another run-in with Evan, but he doesn’t know if it’s right to keep Jeff to himself once Evan’s back in the picture. He’s still undecided when he lifts the phone to his ear and speaks into the mouthpiece. “Hey, Robyn. How’s Winston?”

She laughs. “I knew that would be the first thing you said! He’s fine; I lunged him this afternoon, and there’s no soreness at all. How about you?”
“Well, nobody’s lunged me, but… yeah, there’s some soreness.”

Her laugh is low and sympathetic. “I’ll bet. Your face is a mess, and concussions are never fun. How’s the wrist?”

 

“Still broken, but, you know, nothing that won’t heal.”

“Well, aren’t you the tough little trouper? Don’t forget who you’re talking to, Dan—I was there when you were whimpering in the doctor’s office this morning.”

“I really don’t remember whimpering.”

 

“Yeah, well, you didn’t remember Winston’s name, either, so we’re not going to be able to trust your memory, I don’t think!” Dan sighs. He should know better than to argue with Robyn. “Yeah, okay, I’m not a tough little trouper….”

 

“That’s better.” Her voice gets more serious. “Are you okay there with Jeff? If you aren’t, I can come over, no problem.”

Jeff has left the room, giving Dan a little privacy, but Dan doesn’t really need it. “No, things are good. I… I don’t know. Evan’s coming home, I guess. Things could get dicey. Maybe I’ll save up your goodwill in case I need an escape later on?”

“As if Jeff would abandon you.”

“No, of course he wouldn’t… but, you know… it might be a bit awkward.” Dan hears voices in the main room now, Jeff’s low rumble and somebody else, too quiet to be sure, but quite possibly…. “Shit, it sounds like maybe Evan’s here now… but…. I don’t know; how long does it take to get home from New York? I didn’t even know he was coming.”

“Well, you should go say hi. And Dan, you know… don’t go looking for a fight, okay? Sometimes when you’re defensive, you get a bit aggressive.”

“Thanks, Dr. Phil.”

 

“You need to get real, Dan! I want you to get excited about your life! If you’re gonna talk to me, you’re gonna have to be honest….” “Okay, how do you find time to watch afternoon TV? Do I need to schedule more riding for you?”

 

“It’s the wonder of TiVo, baby—there’s no escape!” She pauses. “Besides, you recognized it!”

 

She’s caught him again. “Yeah, okay, I’m gonna go be nonaggressive now.”

 

“That’s good, Dan! You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge. You need to
own
this problem!”

Dan clicks the phone shut. Robyn’s energy is wearing him down a little, and he thinks he’s going to need all the strength he can get if it really is Evan out in the other room. He clambers to his feet and wishes there was a mirror in the bedroom so he could make himself look a little more presentable, but then he figures that’s pretty much a lost cause considering that he’s got stitches and a huge bruise down one side of his face. He runs a hand through his hair to smooth the worst of the bed head and then starts for the door.

He’s about halfway there when the door opens a little and Jeff pops his head in. “Hey, you’re up.” Jeff’s voice is a mix of proud and surprised, and Dan feels like a little kid taking his first steps. “Uh… Evan’s here. You good to come out? Or do you want him to come in here?”

No, Dan wants to keep his bedroom safe. He’ll deal with Evan in the main room. He nods his intentions to Jeff, who falls back to make way for him. Dan’s still not exactly sure how Evan got here so fast and what happened to his business in New York, but he can’t think of a way to ask that doesn’t sound a bit like an interrogation. Or like he’s being defensively aggressive.

He shuffles out to the living room and squints as the glare from the late afternoon sun hits his eyes. Before he can see clearly, there’s a blur of movement and the curtains are being drawn, and Dan sees Evan hovering by the window. He looks… nervous. Tentative. Dan realizes that this is probably just as awkward for Evan as it is for Dan.

“Hey, man. Welcome home.” Dan tries a smile, careful because of his face and for other reasons, and Evan beams back at him then steps a little closer. Dan realizes that the other man is angling around, trying to get a look at the wreckage of Dan’s face. Dan sees the concern there and turns to give him a better look. “It’s pretty gross, I know, but it shouldn’t scar, I don’t think… or maybe just a little bit, the cut up at the top….” Dan isn’t really sure how much of a role his face plays in Evan’s attraction to him, but it never hurts to reassure.

“Shit, though,” Evan breathes. “It looks like it must really hurt.” “No, it’s okay.” After all,
Evan
doesn’t need to know that Dan’s not a tough little trouper. “I mean, sore, but okay if I don’t touch it.”

“And he’s standing straight, and he doesn’t sound like he’s coming to us from deep in the heart of Texas, so the brain seems to be healing up all right,” Jeff adds. “But you should still probably sit down, all right?” He nudges Dan in the direction of the couch, and Dan can’t think of a reason to argue.

Evan comes over and sits down in the arm chair and then reaches down into the huge paper shopping bag he’s been carrying. “Uh… I got you some stuff.” He pulls out a familiar yellow cup and then a spoon. “It’s a Frosty. Jeff said you can’t really chew for a bit, so I thought you might want that….” He passes the cup to Dan, who decides that yes, a Frosty sounds about perfect. It’s a bit melted, but not bad, so Evan must have found a Wendy’s pretty close by. Dan feels a bit guilty for eating in front of company without offering them anything, but… the Frosty tastes really good. Evan smiles happily and reaches down into the bag again. This time it’s a sort of extended beanbag, and Dan isn’t really sure what to do with it. Evan catches his confused look. “I don’t know, it’s from the airport gift shop—you’re supposed to put it in the microwave and heat it up. Helps sore muscles, or something.”

Jeff takes it from Evan and starts reading the instructions, and Evan reaches down into the bag. He pulls out a handful of CDs. “The internet said you aren’t supposed to watch TV for a while, so, I don’t know… books on tape…. I just got a bunch; I don’t know if they’re ones you’d want, but, you know—airport bookstore.” Evan still looks a little nervous, like he’s afraid Dan’s going to throw the gifts back in his face, and Dan has to take a moment to wonder just how much of an asshole he’s been to this guy for him to think that Dan would be anything but grateful. Grateful not so much for the generosity of the gifts but for the generosity of Evan’s spirit, to be coming here with an open heart despite the tension of their last encounter. Dan smiles a little, and Evan smiles back, and Jeff relaxes enough to sit down on the couch beside Dan.

And then Evan’s just pulling things out randomly: a huge orange (“In case, you know—scurvy….”) and two decks of cards (“We need two, because Jeff’s a sore loser and he throws the cards all over when I kick his ass, so some might get lost”), a Trivial Pursuit game (“’Cause you don’t have to read the questions, you can just lie there and be smart and we can take care of the moving and stuff—the internet said your eyes might be sore”), and then Evan’s looking a little sheepish. Dan can tell the bag isn’t empty, but Evan looks like he’s thinking about pushing it away. Then his eyes dart over to Jeff and then to Dan, and he grins, but it’s back to being tentative. “And, okay, the next stuff… you know, it’s meant… it’s not meant as a criticism or whatever.”

Dan braces himself. “Yeah, okay.”

Evan gives him one more look, as if evaluating, and then reaches into the bag. “Okay, so the problem is I looked at getting a new battery for your phone, but for that model the battery life really isn’t all that long, even with a new battery. So I was in the phone store anyway, and, you know… this is really cool.”

He pulls out a boxed phone from the bag, and gives a quick look at Dan to see if he’s taking the idea all right. Dan tries to keep his face neutral, and Evan continues with a little more speed, as if he’s trying to sell the idea before Dan shuts him down.

“It’s, uh, it’s a smart phone, so you can use the internet and stuff, and that seemed like it might be good, you know, if you’re looking at videos of horses, or… I don’t know… other horse stuff.” He makes a little face as if he wishes he’d rehearsed that part a little better. “But the best part is its battery life, which is the longest available. They claim sixteen days of standby time, but Consumer Reports says only ten days, but either way, that’s excellent, right? And there’s a camera, still and video, so again, that could be useful with the horses….” He extends the box toward Dan and seems relieved when Dan reaches out to take it. “I actually, uh… I got one for myself, too, ’cause my Blackberry’s getting a little beat up, and then, you know, I didn’t want Jeff to feel left out….” He’s looking even more sheepish now, reaching into the bag and handing a matching box over to Jeff. He shrugs self-consciously, checks Dan for a reaction, and then gets enthusiastic again. “But check it out.” He pulls out several matching boxes. “We’ll all have the same charger! So we can leave one here and one at Jeff’s and at my place, and I thought maybe one at the barn… and I got one more. I don’t really know where that one’s going to go….”

There’s a moment of silence, and Dan knows that Evan’s waiting to see if he’s crossed a line, gone from generous to controlling. Dan shakes his head. “Holy shit, Evan—what did the guy in the store think of this? Do they work on commission?”

Jeff lets out a loud laugh. “And what is everyone else going to think, if we have matching phones? Jesus, the matching sunglasses were embarrassing enough.”

Evan seems relieved that they’re laughing, not angry, and then puts a hurt expression on his face. “Well, I guess I’m not ashamed to share things with people I care about. I’m sorry if you guys don’t feel that way.”

Dan shakes his head. “We’re gonna get them mixed up all the time, be grabbing each other’s phones….”

Evan almost pounces. “Oh, no! I don’t think so!” He reaches into the bag and pulls out two smaller boxes. Dan’s beginning to wonder if the bag has magical properties, like Santa’s bottomless sack, but then Evan peers into it to be sure it’s empty and tosses it away. Then he holds the boxes up triumphantly. “Different skins! There’s a black one and a clear one… and there was a pink one in the store, but, you know, I thought maybe it would be better to have one just stay skinless.” He holds out the two boxes toward Dan. “Invalid’s choice—clear, black, or naked?”

Dan isn’t sure if he wants to go along with this or not, but Evan looks adorable when he’s enthusiastic, and the phone really does look pretty cool. “Normally, I’d be all about naked, but if I’m taking it to work, it might need a little protection.” He reaches out and selects the black casing.

Evan nods approvingly and turns to Jeff. “Okay, I know you’re a fan of nudity as well, but do you want your phone exposed like that?” Jeff looks like he’s considering it, and then nods his head. “You know, I think I do.”

 

Evan smiles. “Well, all right, then, the clear one’s for me.” He sits back in his chair and watches as Dan takes another spoonful of his Frosty. “Damn, I really am an excellent shopper.”

 

Jeff shakes his head. “You’re a good
buyer
, kid; I think there’s a bit of a difference.”

Evan just shrugs, and then looks over to where Dan is sitting on the couch. “Are you tired? I’ve been told that I’m not a very good visitor when people aren’t feeling well,” and he casts a dirty look in Jeff’s direction. “Something about being too energetic, too tiring. But I can sit quietly, if that’s okay.”

Dan frowns. “Dude, you brought me a Frosty—you’re golden. But… how come you’re back so soon? This is early, right?”

Evan gives Jeff a quick look, as if trying to judge what’s already been said on the topic. “Uh, you know… I decided that it was more important that I be here.” He shrugs. “I got the
really
vital stuff taken care of yesterday, and then… I don’t know. I was thinking of coming home anyway, and then you got hurt, and you know… I don’t… I’m not much good at that, at being somewhere else when someone’s hurt.”

Dan lets that soak in for a minute, and then he shrugs. “I’m, uh… I’m sorry if I got in the way of your business, but… I’m glad you’re here.” He takes a deep breath. He might as well get it over with. “And I’m sorry if I was a bit hot headed. You know, about the Taylor thing. I mean… I disagree with you; I still don’t think it’s fair, but… I know the rules are there for a reason. I can see why we can’t just start making exceptions all the time.” He looks over at Jeff, then back at Evan. “And I know you have a family and a business to think about and protect.”

Evan looks a little pained. “Uh… okay, well, that makes the next part a bit less… huh.” He looks over at Jeff as if for support, but when Dan follows his eyes, he can tell that Jeff has no more idea of what Evan’s talking about than Dan does. Evan makes a face, and then continues. “I do some business with a guy whose wife is deeply involved in a bunch of animal charities, and I gave him a call and then spoke to her, and… she thinks she has a line on something for Taylor, working with rescue horses, training them up to be adopted? It sounds like it’d be some hands on stuff and some fundraising and PR and volunteer supervision… but the money’d be about the same as where he is now, and it’s not far, just a bit north of Oakland, so you know… it could be good.” He grimaces again. “But, you know, they aren’t sure if they can afford to hire for the position, so I’d have to throw some money their way. And that’s cool, I could totally do that. But, you know… I don’t want to violate your… your working-class integrity, or whatever.”

Dan doesn’t need his brain to be working at full capacity to know that he’s fallen tidily into Evan’s trap. He sits quietly for a moment, trying to think of any way out, but he really can’t find one, and when he looks up, Jeff is intently re-reading the instructions on the beanbag thing, obviously back to his “stay out of it” strategy, and Evan is watching Dan intently. Dan sighs. “You’re kind of a fucker, Kaminski.”