Kate Sherwood - Dark Horse 1.1 - Sometimes You Just Know
Read Kate Sherwood - Dark Horse 1.1 - Sometimes You Just Know Online
Authors: Kate Sherwood
CHAPTER ONE
Justin isn't really all that interested in the horse. It's the rider he came to see. He can feel Wendy almost vibrating with frustration beside him, and he knows his mother is doing her best to calm her down. There's no point in exploding, and they all have reputations to protect. Well, Justin and Molly have reputations to protect; Wendy hasn't got much other than her pride, and it's taken a beating lately.
The horse and rider in question are at the far end of the ring, and Justin can't get a really good look at either of them. The horse is moving well, he can tell from a distance—not spectacular, but solid. The rider is barely noticeable, which is as it should be.
Everything is as it should be, and Justin wouldn't be paying any special attention, but Wendy is an old friend of his mother's, and she'd asked for help.
He feels a sharp elbow in his ribs and hears Wendy frantically hissing, "There she is! The blonde, the tall one—looks like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth…." Wendy's sneer is only a little melodramatic.
The blonde calls the rider over to her, and Justin sees them confer. They certainly don't seem too familiar with each other, but if Wendy is right, they've been working together for at least half a year. Justin sighs inwardly. Even if Wendy
is
right, he's not sure what they can do. According to Wendy, she'd bought a horse from the blonde after seeing it perform well with its current rider. The blonde (Carol, Justin's memory supplies) had said that the rider was untrained and inexperienced; if the horse could do well with him, surely he would do well with a rider as talented as Wendy. And the horse
had
seemed good when Wendy rode it that day. He was little green, maybe, a little wild, but Carol had been quick to explain that the horse was just picking up on Wendy's own nerves, and that it hadn't been exercised much lately so it was a little hyper, and…. Wendy had trailed off after a while in embarrassment. It hadn't taken long
after getting the horse home for Wendy to realize that she had been sold a horse with hardly any training and an attitude problem as well. She hadn't wanted to tell exactly how much she'd spent, but her reticence made it clear that the horse was no bargain.
Justin thinks it seems like shady dealings, but he's not sure there was anything actually illegal about it. It seems like the rider is a bit better than Carol had let on, but it's not like there's a precise system for measuring rider quality, so how can they prove that Carol lied? Justin really doesn't know what they're hoping to accomplish with their little intervention, but Wendy and Molly are intent, and it's rarely a good idea to get in their way.
So Wendy steps back a little and Justin and Molly step forward, Molly taking the lead as they walk towards the pair by the horse. As they approach, Carol looks up and notices them, and she smiles warmly. Even knowing what he knows about her sales technique, Justin feels himself being taken in. But the draw to Carol is nothing compared to the way he feels when he gets his first good look at the rider.
The man is absolutely beautiful. Strong, lean body, expressive green eyes, lush lips… Justin has to call himself back fairly sharply. Both the rider and Carol obviously use their looks as a way to distract potential buyers, and Justin shouldn't let that happen to him. Still, he catches himself sneaking another look at the man. Damn.
His mother stretches a hand forwards to the blonde. "Carol? I'm Molly Archer; this is my son Justin. He's the one we're shopping for. It's so rare to find a young man interested in his mother's hobbies, so I like to encourage him however I can!" Justin hadn't been sure about this strategy; his family has been working with horses, in its own small way, since before he was born, so it's entirely possible that Carol will have heard of them. So pretending that they're neophytes and that this is all just a hobby seems a little risky. But Wendy and Molly had both agreed that Carol wouldn't try the trick if she knew that she was dealing with professional trainers, so….
Justin extends his own hand. "It's great to meet you. And what I saw
looked really good. He's beautiful." Justin's eyes cut involuntarily to the rider, and he clarifies, "The horse." Yeah, that was smooth.
Carol doesn't seem to notice. "Well, I think you'll be really pleased with Magic. He's a thoroughbred, off the track, so that means he loves to run! But we've got him trained to keep it in check when he needs to." She gestures for the first time at the man standing next to her. "My trainer couldn't make it, but… Dan's new to all this, only been riding for a few months, really, and you saw how well they did together."
So there it is. There's the lie that turns all this from something unethical to something illegal. But what exactly do Molly and Wendy think is going to happen now? There's no hidden camera, no police officers waiting to swoop down on the pair. There's nothing but two angry women and Justin.
Molly doesn't seem to be ready to call things off quite yet. "Oh, really, he's a new rider? I never would have guessed! Things seemed to be going so smoothly."
Carol nods and smiles. "That's the beauty of this horse! He's called Magic for a reason; I honestly don't know how he does it." She pauses. "Now, there may be a bit of an adjustment period. Part of what makes the horse so wonderful is how sensitive he is to his rider; it's like he's reading their minds! But it takes a while for him to figure each new rider out. Dan rode him yesterday, and it really wasn't pretty. Magic was excitable and didn't really seem to understand what Dan wanted. But they both slept on it, and they came back, and…." She shrugs. "Well, you saw how they looked."
Justin looks over at the rider to see if he's backing this story up, but he can't catch his eye. He doesn't seem bashful or ashamed, just…disinterested, really. Justin wonders if that's part of the act. After all, an exercise rider wouldn't really care too much about a prospective sale. Molly wants more than that, though. "Dan, is it?" She walks over to
the horse, and Dan obligingly swings off its back. "So you haven't been riding for long, Dan?"
Dan looks at her, then at his watch. "'Bout half an hour, maybe." He leans around her and holds the reins out to Justin. "You going up?"
Molly shifts a little so she's in between the two men. "I didn't mean today, Dan. I meant in your life. How long have you been riding horses, in your life?" The question is much too pointed, and Justin can see Carol realize that Molly's on to them. He doesn't see any reaction from Dan, though.
"I don't know—a while." Dan leans again, finding Justin's eyes. "If you're not sure you're up for it, I could put him on a lead rope or something…."
And that's more a challenge than Justin is ready to walk away from. "No, I think I'll be okay, thanks." He steps forward and collects the reins. "Lengthen the stirrup on the far side, will you?" He glances at the other man. He's not short, but he's not as tall as Justin, and there doesn't seem to be a man alive that likes having that sort of thing pointed out to him. "I'd say about three holes, wouldn't you?"
Dan doesn't react to that either, just moves around and starts on the stirrup. Molly intervenes. "Well, Justin, I'm not sure you need to actually ride him…"
Carol agrees. "Yeah, he might not be quite what you're looking for." Now that she knows that Molly isn't going to fall for the scheme, she seems ready to get out of there.
But there's something else going on now, something between Justin and Dan. Justin isn't quite sure what it is, but he's not going to be the one to break it off. "Well, we came all this way—I might as well give him a try."
Neither Carol nor Molly can object to that without giving a reason, and neither one seems quite willing to admit that they both know what's going on, so they step back and Dan moves to Magic's head. He nods a
seat. Don't tighten up the reins or he'll take off. He can't stay collected for more than a few strides yet, but he's scopey as hell and he's fast."
Justin's taken off guard. That sounded less like a scam and more like an honest assessment of a green horse with some potential. He nods to show that he understands, but he's so preoccupied with trying to figure out the other man's goals that he automatically gathers his reins as he mounts. Magic starts away, but Dan catches his head and lets Justin get a better seat. Justin looks down a little embarrassedly, and Dan grins at him. "Yeah, I meant
don't
tighten up the reins."
Justin's too lost in the smile to come up with a good response. He just nods, and Dan steps aside so that Magic can move forward. Justin follows Dan's advice and lets the horse get comfortable with his new rider, and then asks for a trot. By the time they're half way around the ring, Justin has come to the conclusion that Dan isn't just a competent rider, he's excellent. The horse is almost more than Justin can handle, and Dan had made it all look so smooth. He remembers the other man's advice and loosens the reins a little more, using his weight to communicate with the animal, and that helps.
They finally make it to a canter, and Justin is again impressed that Dan had been able to control the horse. It had seemed effortless, but Justin knows now that it clearly wasn't. He circles a few times, then takes the horse to a low cross-pole jump. Justin feels the horse's muscles gather, feels him launch them far above the railings, landing way out on the other side. The horse is balanced immediately, ready to run, and Justin almost laughs out loud. Is this what Dan had been trying to tell him? Or is he putting too much weight on a few little words?
He circles the horse around and targets another jump, a little higher this time, and again Magic clears it easily. Justin canters past Dan, and they're going pretty fast, but Justin could swear he sees Dan raise his eyebrows a little and shake his head. Justin thinks for a second, and then he tightens up on the reins. Magic surges forwards, tossing his head in
horse back to the trot. He circles a few times, bringing them in tighter and tighter, until Magic finally has no choice but to slow down a little. As soon as it's safe, Justin jumps off, landing on his feet and breaking into a jog right away to keep up. But once the rider's off his back, Magic is calm, and Justin is able to lead him over to where the others are standing.
Justin isn't really sure how to play this. Wendy has joined the party, and she and Molly are berating the increasingly flustered Carol and totally impassive Dan. When Justin gets close enough, Dan gives him a questioning look, and Justin responds with a slight eyebrow raise as he hands the reins to the other man.
Molly waves her hand at Justin. "Justin's an excellent rider, and he could barely handle the beast! You've obviously been running this scam for quite a while, pretending that your boyfriend can't ride…"
The 'boyfriend' catches Justin's attention. Lord knows they'd make a good looking couple, but Justin hasn't sensed any real rapport. Unless his own connection with Dan has all just been part of the scam, a secondwave of deception for those who see past the first attempt. But they couldn't fake jumping ability like that. He decides to take the chance.
"I can ride him, mom." Justin tries to sound a little petulant. He hopes that Molly picks up on the act but that Carol doesn't. He's really not sure if he's doing this right. "I mean, obviously he's barely trained, so the price is outrageous, but…I can do it."
Molly looks flabbergasted, as does Wendy. Molly speaks first. "What are you talking about, Justin? That's not why we came here…"
"But you think I can't do it." He nods a little towards Dan. "
He
thinks I can't do it." Now for a little more drama. "You all treat me like I'm still a kid, and try to protect me all the time." Justin hopes that the falseness of that statement will be a clear enough signal to Molly, letting her know that he's up to something. "I'm tired of it. Obviously the horse is crap, but that doesn't mean I can't ride it. It doesn't mean I can't make something out of him…."
"Justin, please. You know we just want you to be safe." Justin wants
to hug her. She's caught on. Wendy, on the other hand, looks like her head's about to pop off. Dan quietly walks away, going to cool off the horse, but Justin wishes he would stay. He wants Dan to see what he's about to do. He has a feeling it's going to be worth remembering.
"Yeah, well, I'm tired of it." He turns to Carol. "Okay, yeah, they're mad about your little trick, whatever. We both know you probably paid a few grand for the horse a couple weeks ago. I'll offer you five grand right now."
Carol tries to look indignant. "The asking price is twenty thousand dollars."
Justin shakes his head. "Yeah, but you're not going to get that. Not from us, obviously, and not from anyone else in Kentucky once the two of them start talking. Not from anyone in any of the neighbouring states, either, I expect. A scam like this can only last for so long, right? Before word gets out?" Justin shrugs, trying to look philosophical. "So, the word's out. And you're stuck with a horse that you won't be able to sell at the asking price or at any other price, with the reputation you're going to get. I'm just saying I'll take him off your hands for five grand."
Wendy grabs Justin's arm. "Justin, what are you doing? Why are you helping her out? She sold me that worthless creature! She
tricked
me!"
Molly gives Justin a frustrated look, then rubs Wendy's arm soothingly. "Come on, sweetie. We've got what we came for. If Justin wants to play games, that's his choice." She shakes her head. "But it's
your
money, Justin. This is your baby."
"Fine, yeah." He waits until they leave, trying to look impatient rather than nervous. Once they're gone, he turns back to Carol. "Uh, yeah, that changes things a bit. If it's my own money, I've got, uh…four grand." He's not sure if Molly was serious about it being his money, and he knows he's got more than enough to cover his earlier offer, but he's kind of getting into this conning thing. It's fun.