Do you understand me, Gray? If so, show me.
The wolf slowly maneuvered herself up on her one remaining haunch. She nearly toppled over, then managed to catch herself with her front paws. Jennie imagined it would take a little while for Gray to get used to having only three legs.
Jennie waited patiently.
Finally the animal was sitting upright. The wolf’s yellow gaze held hers for a long moment, then she tilted her head back and howled.
A chill slithered down Jennie’s spine. She was almost certain she’d never been this close to a wolf before. But that wasn’t what scared her. If the wolf was going to hurt her, she would have done so already.
What scared Jennie was that she was communicating telepathically with an animal. A huge, scary-looking wolf. It was insane. Almost unheard of. Yet it was happening. Oh. My. God.
Was this a rare thing that only existed between her and the wolf? Or could she communicate this way with other animals?
Jennie rose to her feet. She gave Gray’s head a final pat.
I’ll be back, Gray. I’ve got to find out something.
Gray whined when Jennie left the kennel. Jennie turned back to look into the wolf’s sad eyes. What would happen when she got her memory back and returned to wherever she’d come from? What would happen to Gray?
When I leave here, I’m taking you with me, Gray.
Jennie couldn’t abandon the wolf, even if she wasn’t hers. The beast would never survive in the wild with only three legs.
Gray lay on the floor with her head on her front paws. She looked depressed. Her gaze followed Jennie as she stepped away from the kennel. Jennie tried not to feel guilty as she walked away. She’d be back. Soon. Something told her the wolf was the key to finding the truth.
It was time to test her “telepathic” abilities on another animal.
CHAPTER FIVE
When Max came in the back door after feeding the horses, the smell of frying bacon reached his nostrils. His stomach growled. It had been a long time since anyone other than he had cooked in this house. Laura had stopped cooking not too long after her illness had struck more than ten years ago, and from then on, he’d been the primary cook. While he could certainly fry bacon, the fact that he didn’t have to for once was a nice feeling.
He hung his coat in the closet, pulled off his boots, gloves and hat, and entered the kitchen with Lucky at his heels. The storm was still raging on outside and it didn’t look like it was going to stop anytime soon. He’d spent a half an hour shoveling a path out to the barn just so he could get to the horses.
Jennie stood next to the stove, breaking eggs into a bowl. She’d gathered that thick mane of hair over one shoulder. His gaze followed the graceful curve of her neck, up her soft cheek, over her cute little nose, down to her pursed lips and finally up to the huge bump on her forehead. With a lump that big on her head, he was amazed she was recovering so fast. The memory loss made him anxious. He wanted her to remember. Wanted to know if she’d seen Emily. She’d been hurt and offended that he thought her “amnesia” was a little suspicious. Either she was a really good actor or she had lost her memory.
Her head snapped up and her gaze collided with his. His heart thump-thumped against his ribs. Heat rushed into his cheeks. Damn, she had pretty eyes.
“Hi,” she said, smiling. “I took the liberty to fix breakfast. Hope it’s okay. Are you hungry?”
He cleared his throat. “I am, yeah.” When Max had first seen her lying unconscious out in the car, he’d thought she looked like Laura. Now he could see that she didn’t. Not even close. There was no resemblance between the two. But as he stared at her, she seemed familiar somehow. Had he seen her somewhere before? He desperately wanted her to remember what had happened to her and why she’d been fleeing from someone in his old Caddy. He’d just have to curb his anxiety for now. He’d have to be patient. He’d get the truth out of her eventually.
“I’ll set the table.” Max headed for the cupboard. Once the table was set, he stood back, feeling helpless, and sipped more coffee. It felt strange having a woman in his kitchen after all these years.
“So...” Jennie removed the bacon from the pan with tongs and set the strips on a plate lined with paper towels. She glanced up at Max. “Since you have a clairvoyant dog, I don’t suppose you believe in telepathy, do you?”
Max went to the coffee pot and refilled his mug. “Telepathy?” He shrugged. “I hadn’t really thought of it, but I guess anything is possible. Why?”
Her cheeks reddened. She lowered her gaze. “Can I show you something? I’m not sure if it will work, but it’s worth a try.”
What was she up to? His guard went up. Suspicion clouded his brain. He set the coffee on the countertop, eyeing her closely.
“O-kay,” he said.
She carried the bacon to the table, then walked back to the stove. Max watched while she stirred the eggs in the pan, then removed them from the burner. The toast popped up and she buttered it before bringing it the table.
Max waited until she was seated, then took his own seat. He was curious about what she planned to show him, and a little suspicious at the same time. Telepathy?
“Here, Lucky.” Her soft voice broke into his thoughts. He jerked his gaze across the table to her. Lucky hurried to her side, anticipating a handout, his gaze eager.
She leaned down, patted the dog’s head. She stared into the dog’s eyes.
Lucky lowered his hind end to the floor. The dog’s gaze never left hers.
Lucky laid down at her feet. His tail wagged.
Lucky rolled over. He put his feet in the air, playing dead.
Then he sat up and barked.
Then he spun in a circle.
Max’s mouth dropped open. What the hell? What was Lucky doing? Showing off all his tricks? He’d never done that before. Hell, half the time the dog misbehaved.
Lucky sat before her again, his gaze intent on hers.
“Good boy.” She patted Lucky’s head. Her gaze lifted to Max’s.
“What the hell did you do to my dog?” Max couldn’t believe what he’d just seen.
She blushed. “I spoke to him with my thoughts. I told him to sit, lay down, play dead, speak, run in a circle, and sit again.”
“You’re shitting me.” Telepathy. My God, she wasn’t joking.
She shook her head. “No, I’m not. When I went back to visit Gray this morning, I found out I could communicate with her through my thoughts, and she understood. So I decided to try it on Lucky to see if it worked on all animals or just the wolf. As you can see…” she nodded at Lucky. “…It worked with him too.”
Max quirked a brow. “Gray?”
“The wolf.”
“How did you know her name was Gray? Did she tell you?” He couldn’t hide the sarcasm in his words.
Her face turned pink. “No. It’s not like that. They don’t talk back with human words. It was a feeling I had, a memory…” She paused. “I think Gray’s the answer. I think, in time, she can tell me what happened.”
Max eyed her suspiciously. “Forgive me if I don’t jump up and down with excitement. It all seems a little far-fetched to me. Communicating telepathically with animals? I’m not sure if I buy it.”
She lowered her gaze. “You’re a vet. You’ve been around lots of different animals, I presume. And you saw what I just did with Lucky. Do you need another demonstration? What about on one of your horses? After breakfast we can go out and I’ll see if I can communicate with one of them.”
Max reached for a piece of toast. This he had to see. Communicating with horses was different than communicating with dogs. Dogs aimed to please, while horses preferred to do their own thing. With horses it was all about body language. If you didn’t know what you were doing, you wouldn’t get anywhere. Did she know horses? Luckily for him, he was an expert on communicating with horses. He’d studied natural horsemanship in college and he used the method on his own horses. He would know if she was deceiving hi
m. His headstrong stallion, Smoke N Hot, aka Smokey, would be the perfect horse for her to try her “telepathy” on. Max would know by watching his horse whether or not she was being truthful with him. He would enjoy seeing her attempt to communicate with Smokey with her mind. He had serious doubts that it would work.
“Sure,” he said, snatching up some bacon. “After breakfast I’ll introduce you to my stallion, Smokey.”
She nodded, looking pleased with herself. Max wondered how pleased she’d be when Smokey didn’t cooperate with her. He was looking forward to this little “demonstration”. If she was legit, he’d find out soon enough.
* * *
An hour later the sun was all the way up in the sky, though it wasn’t visible through the clouds. Bundled up in an extra coat that Max had handed her, along with boots, gloves, and a hat that were obviously Max’s, for they were several sizes too large, Jennie followed him out the back door.
Snow fell heavily as she stepped out onto the back porch. She glanced around. At least two and a half feet had fallen recently, covering the landscape with a thick white blanket. The wind had let up a little, for it wasn’t roaring through the pines like it had been earlier. Max had shoveled a path across the yard and out to the barn. Had he done that with a snow shovel or had he used a snow blower? She recalled the strong, muscular arms she’d felt earlier when he’d carried her to the bed after her major migraine. The man was too sexy for his own good. He was doing strange things to her brain.
She didn’t see any snow blower tracks anywhere. Yep, he’d shoveled the snow with those strong arms.
His dark gaze settled on hers. “You sure you’re up for going out in this weather?”
She glanced back across the yard. The wind picked up, knocking a chunk of snow off a huge pine tree to her left. It landed with a soft thump near the edge of the porch.
Snow. Winter. Cold.
Jennie stepped off the porch and tipped her face up to the sky, letting the thick flakes land on her nose and cheeks. She breathed in, filling her lungs with the fresh cold air. A giggle burst forth. She turned in a slow circle, her arms spread wide, her face turned up to the sky. Happiness bubbled in her chest. She liked snow, the way it tickled her cheeks. Lucky raced around her, sharing her joy, and barked excitedly.
Max eyed her from the porch, his brow creased. “You ever seen snow before?”
And just like that, her happiness fled. Her feet tangled up in the big boots and she tripped, landing on her butt in the snow Max had piled to the side of the path. Her gaze darted to his as she sat there in the fluffy white pile, the cold seeping through her pants. Had she seen snow before?
“I…don’t know.”
His gaze bored into hers a moment longer, as if he didn’t believe her. Why did the man think she was lying about everything? It wasn’t her fault she couldn’t remember.
Max bounded down the steps and headed down the path toward the barn. Lucky raced at his heels. Jennie rose and followed after him, the large boots flopping around her feet with each step. Why did she feel like she’d done something wrong?
As she neared the barn, she saw four separate paddocks, each attached to a stall. Two chestnut-colored horses were in the center pens and a bay mare pawed at the snow in the end corral nearest the woods. The fourth enclosure, the one closest to the house, contained a big grullo stallion. The animal trotted across the paddock, whinnying when he spied them approaching. The stallion stopped next to the fence when Max reached him. Jennie stared, wide-eyed, at the gorgeous animal. He was incredible.
Max patted the animal’s sleek neck.
“Wow,” she whispered as she stepped up next to Max. “He’s stunning. What’d you say his name was?”
Pride flashed across his face. “His registered name is Smoke N Hot, but I call him Smokey. I bred him himself. His dam’s in the first stall down there on the other end. A friend of mine owns his sire.”
Jennie reached her gloved hand up to the stallion’s muzzle to let him smell her. The name was appropriate, for the animal’s coat was an unusual slate gray color with black highlights. He had the typical dorsal stripe and leg barring. A black mane and tail and black legs complemented his look, highlighting his striking coat color.
“I’ve never seen a grullo up close before, just in pictures—” She broke off as her gaze darted to his. How did she know that? The look in Max’s eyes said he was wondering the same thing.
“I know horses,” she said, her gaze locked on his. “I can feel it. How else would I know he was a grullo? That’s not a common horse color.”
Max’s gaze narrowed, questions swarming in his eyes. He turned back to the horse. “Let’s see if you can communicate with him like you did with Lucky.” His tone said he didn’t think she could do it.
Jennie lifted her chin. She wanted to prove him wrong.
Please let it work on the horse too.
She bent and slipped through the fence rails. Her hat snagged on the wood and fell off her head, falling into the snow. The stallion snorted and jumped aside. She bent to scoop up the hat, pulled it back over her head.
“Careful,” Max said softly from the other side of the fence. “He’s a little frisky this morning, and he can be territorial.”
Jennie studied the horse.
The horse studied her.
Max watched silently from outside the corral.
Lucky bounded off across the yard, playing in the snow, ignoring them.
Jennie wiped snow off her cheek.
You’re a beauty. But I can see you’re headstrong. Are you going to listen to me?
The stallion spun on his heel and trotted away from her in the deep snow. Defiant. Proud. And oh so beautiful.
A memory flashed through Jennie’s mind: she stood in a corral with a black horse in a huge stadium. The horse trotted around her in a circle, its ear cocked toward her, listening…
Good boy. Whoa now. Turn and face me.
The horse obeyed.
Good boy. Now lay down and stay there until I tell you to get up. You do that and I’ll give you lots of oats afterwards.
Again the horse obeyed, slowly dropping to his knees and rolling onto his side, wowing their audience.
The crowd went wild, cheering and clapping.
She’d duped them all.
Pain slammed through her skull. Jennie gasped at the fierce pounding, clutching her head. She tripped backwards and fell.
Oh God, oh God, oh God, it hurt!
“You all right, Jennie?” Max’s concerned voice broke into her thoughts.
She looked up, realized she’d fallen back into the snow in the middle of the corral. She sat there for a moment until the pounding in her head slowly lessoned. The stallion eyed her warily from where he stood several feet away.
She’d done this before. Used her thoughts to talk to horses. But she sensed it had been more than that. What exactly had she done? Uneasiness clenched her gut. Had she tricked people? Scammed them? Why would she do such a thing? Something about that memory felt off. Dishonest. Wrong. Had she been a crook before?
Her gaze found Max’s. He looked worried. And a little suspicious. She was getting used to that look. Would he ever not be suspicious of her?
“What happened?” His probing gaze tunneled into hers.
She couldn’t look away. Whatever she’d been or done before, Jennie was determined to be honest now. She couldn’t lie to this man. Not after he’d saved her life.
“I had some kind of flashback or something. I was in an arena with a horse and there was a huge crowd of people that clapped and cheered…”
Who, exactly, was she?
Max lifted a dark brow. “Like an entertainer or something?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
Or a liar.
Jennie rose to her feet, uncomfortable with that thought. She faced the stallion, turned away from Max. She took a deep breath and let it out.
Okay buddy, time to get serious here. If you can understand me, show m
e.
The stallion ignored her, turning to nuzzle at something in the snow, swinging his hind end toward her.
He’s ignoring you. Get the horse’s attention first. Then talk to him.
Jennie didn’t know where that thought came from, but suddenly she knew what to do. She pulled off one of her gloves, stepped up to the horse, and shook it at him.
“Go!”
The stallion bolted, bounding through the snow away from her, following along the circular fence. He kept his distance, hugging the fence line, until she stepped in front of him, bringing him to a halt. She shook the glove at him again, pointing her arm in the opposite direction.
The horse spun on his heel and raced away, kicking up his heels and bucking in the snow, again keeping his distance and staying close to the fence as he trotted away.
Jennie stopped him again and turned him the other way. And again. And once more. She did this another six or seven times until she finally had the stallion’s attention. Back and forth, changes of direction. The stallion continued to stay far away from her, hugging the fence, as he galloped around the pen. She continued for several more minutes until the animal began anticipating her moves, halting and spinning around before she told him to.
Jennie stepped back to let the stallion catch his breath. The horse slowed. He stopped and faced her, watching her closely. His sides heaved in and out as he sucked in air. She now had his complete attention.
Good boy. I’ll bring a mare to visit you in the spring, okay? How does that sound?
The stallion expelled another breath, then lowered his head.
Come here, Smokey.
The horse lifted his head. He eyed her a moment, then took a step toward her. Then another. And another. When he reached her, he lowered his head again and sighed, accepting her as his leader. Jennie patted his thick neck.
Good boy.
Max slipped through the fence and stepped up to her. Jennie turned. His dark gaze bored into hers.
“I know why you look familiar. You’re that horse trainer, the one my daughter used to watch on T.V.”
His gaze narrowed as he studied her face. “The one who went missing over a year ago.”
Abducted (Unlikely Heroes Book 2) Page 4