Love on the Horizon (A Northern Woods Novel) (13 page)

Nick could tell by the tone of
his voice that something was wrong, very wrong.

“What’s happened? You sound
upset.”

“You better believe I am. I’ll be
in late today. I just returned from dropping Anya off at a motel and left her
there with whatever she could fit into a suitcase. A cheap motel, the cheapest
one I was able to find, outside of Huntington. I came back home, and I’m changing
all the locks on the house. I won’t be long. I’ll talk to you as soon as I get
there.”

“Okay, I can hear in your voice
that you’re very upset. Drive carefully and come into my office when you
arrive. I’ll be waiting right here for ya, buddy.”

Two hours later, the door of
Nick’s office flew open. Nick stood instantly when he saw Jake.

“Oh, man, what happened?” He
closed the door and led Jake to a chair; his face was full of deep scratches,
some covered with dried blood.

Unable to answer, Jake gritted
his teeth and slowly shook his head back and forth. He looked up at Nick and
lines of concentration deepened along his brows and under his eyes.

“Anya did this to me last night.
I asked her if she’d been at the park and she denied it. Shortly after she went
to bed, I looked at her cell phone and wrote down the number she’d dialed that
day. It was a call to Russia, Nick. I went into the bedroom only to find her
sound asleep. At least I thought so. I decided to get some sleep myself and
figured I’d speak to her in the morning, after I’d had time to calm down.”

Nick could see the hurt and pain
in his eyes as he spoke.

“As soon as I’d dozed off, she
started to run her sharp fingernails across my shoulders and down my back. I
turned around, and she scratched my face before I was able to grab her wrists.
It was horrible. I can't believe she’d do something like this. I don’t
understand. I love her, and I thought she loved me.” He bent down, rested his
elbows on his knees and placed his face in his hands. “Then she began screaming
at me, as though I was the one attacking her, not her striking me.”

“You need a lawyer Jake. You need
one immediately.”

He looked up at Nick and felt
helpless. “I have no idea what type to call, or who would even know how to
handle something like this.”

Nick reached for the phone. “Give
me an hour or so. I’ll try to reach my own attorney and ask him if he knows of
anyone who’s had experience with this type of case.”

“Okay.” Jake stood up and headed
toward the door.

“I’ll let you know as soon as I
hear back from him. I’ll also tell Art that you’ll be working with him today.
You can trust Art. He’ll keep things to himself, and he has a good shoulder if
you’d like to talk.”

“Will do… thanks.”

* * *

A few hours later Nick spotted
Jake at the south end of the stable. He walked over and handed him a sheet of
paper with a lawyer’s name, phone number and address.

“Here’s the information you’ll
need, recommended by my attorney. He said he’s had a few cases similar to
yours. Take off a bit early so you’ll be able to reach him yet today. Hell, go
ahead and leave now. Everything’s under control here; no one called in sick.
You need to contact him as soon as possible. You can bet that Anya already
called an attorney for herself.”

“Okay, thanks Nick.”

“Give me a call if you need to,
buddy.”

Jake nodded, thanked him again,
then put his Stetson back on and hurried out to his truck.

Nick sat down and leaned back in
his chair, hands clasped behind his head. He’d had a feeling this would happen.
He stared up at the ceiling and thought of all the bad luck Jake has had with
women, when Art entered the office.

“A couple of men are here to see
you, Nick. They’re from a horse rescue place of some sort.”

“Oh yeah, I spoke with them on
the phone when they called last week. Send them in. Also, you may want to stay
and listen to what they have to say.”

“Will do,” he said and opened the
door to two members of the Minnesota Horse Rescue Team.

Nick stood up to shake hands then
turned to Art. “We need one more chair. Would you be kind enough to grab one
from the break room?”

“Sure will.”

“There’s a fresh pot of coffee
made if you’d like some,” he offered to the visitors.

“No, we’re fine, thank you.”

One of the men looked to be in
his mid-forties and the other in his late twenties, both dressed in jeans and
polo shirts with the emblem of the horse rescue team sewn onto their pockets.

“We’d like to introduce
ourselves, Mr. Colburn. I’m Buck Morgan, whom you spoke with on the phone, and
this is my assistant, Terry Lindberg,” he said, and looked over at the other
man. Lindberg smiled with a nod.

“The Minnesota Horse Rescue Team
is an organization which was founded by my father forty-two years ago. Our
mission is to rescue horses in distress. We treat them with compassion and respect,
while acting in the horse’s best interest. One of our key objectives is to
train people in order to prevent abuse and neglect of these beautiful animals.
With our classes, people can learn firsthand from professionals, how to
properly care for their horses.

“Here in Brockenridge County, and
other surrounding counties, our rescue team has responded to thousands of calls
requesting investigations of horses not being cared for correctly and in need
of help. Our team finds permanent, caring adoptive homes for horses. Some of
our horses are young and healthy; others are injured, ill, starved or
abandoned. We receive no federal or state support and are totally contingent on
membership donations, contributions from grants, fundraising events and
endowment gifts.

“We’re currently looking for
foster and adoptive homes for horses in need of placement.”

Nick glanced at Art.

“How much space is required, and
how many horses are in need at this time?” Art asked.

“It just depends on how many
you’d like to take on. One of our ranchers has four pasture areas with both
open land and mixed forest. They have a loafing shelter available at all times,
one stall for sick animals, and veterinarians – some specializing in specific
breeds.

“If you’d like to be considered
as a foster or adoptive caregiver for one, or for several horses in need,
contact us, and we’ll schedule a time to visit your place to determine what
type of horse would benefit the most in your care. Good temporary and permanent
homes are badly needed and in many situations, the care is tax deductible.”

Nick looked over at Art, who
appeared to be enthusiastic.

“We’ll seriously consider it,
Buck. We do have plenty of room. Art and I will talk it over and get back to
you.”

“If you don’t mind, we’d like to
leave this information for you to read over, of how to rescue an abused horse.
It may help you decide if you’d like to participate. Horse neglect and
starvation are on the rise in Minnesota, the result of a grim economy. I can
tell you this – it’s a great feeling of triumph when a trainer demonstrates how
they’ve brought a horse that no one wanted back to health, a horse having
little or no training, and turned it into one who is now a bright and willing
companion. Believe me, it’s such a delight to see what a difference you can
make. After proper care, love and attention, a horse can turn into a
magnificent champion.”

The men stood up, shook hands,
and both Nick and Art escorted them out to their truck.

“We’ll strongly consider it,
Buck. It was nice to meet you,” Nick said, and tipped his hat to them as Buck
turned his vehicle around and headed down the gravel road.

Nick and Art stood and watched
them drive off, both deep in thought about participating.

The next morning the two of them
sat together with a pot of coffee, while they looked over the finances. Nick
leaned back, his hands behind his head, his boots resting on the corner of the
desktop.

“Well, what do you say? We’d need
to hire a few more ranch hands, but I believe we’d be able to work it out.”

“I think so too. Maybe even
another five or six men. All depends on how many horses we want to take on. I
thought a lot about this last night. You’ve seen how well Jake has done when it
comes to handling and training the horses. It may be a good idea to ask him if
he’d like to manage the new men we hire, and everything dealing with the care
of these special horses. With the situation he’s in right now, he could also
use a nice raise. That soon to be ex-wife of his will try to wipe him clean,
the same way Barbie had. And this new adventure might keep him busy enough to
restrain his thoughts from that miserable woman and her dirty tricks.”

“Sounds sensible to me; I taught
you right, if I do say so myself. You’ve grown up just like your dad, treating
your employees as though they’re part of the family.”

“You’ve been a big piece of that
yourself, Art. Most everything I’ve learned came from you. I was a young boy
when my parents died. I owe it all to you.”

Art placed his cowboy hat onto
his head and nodded, then went out to tend to the horses.

Chapter
Twenty-one

“I think that’s an excellent
idea, Nick,” Mariah said when she placed his breakfast on the table. “I’m
impressed with the confidence and inspiration you’ve provided for Jake. She sat
down across from him and enjoyed a cup of coffee before the twins awakened.
“It’ll give him a bit of self-assurance and a little boost to his ego after
this unfortunate experience he’s been going through.”

“That’s exactly what I thought.
Art and I expect the men from the rescue team to arrive in the early afternoon.
Jake’s out in the pasture right now; I asked him to come into the office with
us after lunch. I haven’t told him anything about it yet. I’ll wait and see how
he reacts to our plan with the rescue team, and I’ll make the proposal to him
as soon as they leave.

“Well, I’d best get out and take
care of a few jobs before the men arrive. When is Nicky going to be home?”

“Sarah said she’d drop him off
sometime in the afternoon.” Sarah had invited him for a sleepover last night.

Nick wiped his mouth with a
napkin then pushed his chair away from the table. He stood and took Mariah in
his arms. Nuzzling her warm neck, he whispered, “I’d like to stay home with you
while it’s still quiet.” He kissed her tenderly and gazed into her eyes. “I
love you so much, Mariah.”

“I love you too my sweet man, but
you have plenty of work to do before those men show up, so off you go.” She put
her hands on his chest and lightly pushed him away from her with a smile that
was as intimate as the kiss he’d just placed on her lips. “I need to be ready
for the twins. They’ll be awake soon.”

With a grin on his face, he
walked out to the barn thinking of how she was completely unaware of the
captivating picture she makes when she smiles.

* * *

The men from the rescue team
completed their walk-through and were very impressed with the setup of the
Colburn Stables Ranch. When they departed, Nick and Art invited Jake into the
office. Nick laid out their plan to him.

“Art and I have evaluated your
performance and personal commitment in the five years you’ve been with us.
We’ll need someone to handle the managing and organizing of this new project.”
Jake listened quietly then stared, speechless, when Nick continued.

“We plan to hire three new men to
start, maybe more in the near future if all goes well. We’d like to offer you
the manager position of our rescue team. We’re sure you’d be able to handle
this job with composed confidence.”

With a look of complete surprise,
he stood up quickly with a smile and an outstretched hand.

“Does this mean you’ll accept our
offer?” Nick asked.

“You bet I will,” he exclaimed
and shook their hands. When he turned to leave Nick waved him back to the desk.

“One more thing; we haven’t
discussed the amount yet, but beginning the first of the month, I’m sure you’ll
be quite happy with your salary. Now get yourself home and have a relaxing
evening.”

He let out a long sigh of relief.
“Thank you. This means a lot to me,” he said, then closed the door behind him.

“Man that felt good, that look of
achievement on his face.”

“It did, didn’t it? Well, I’d
better head home. Lillie’s gonna have my dinner overcooked if I don’t show up
soon.”

“Uh huh… get home to your sweet
Lillie, Art. I know darn well she’s never overcooked a meal for you.” With a
grin, Nick unplugged the coffee pot, turned off the lights and locked the door
behind him.

* * *

“Jake, next week I have three
interviews set up for the rescue team. I’d like you to be in on them with me. I
want you to meet with them also, since you’d be their manager and working with
them. I think three ought to be enough, for the time being. We’d only be taking
in three or four horses in a couple of weeks. Maybe more in the near future if
all goes well.”