Normally, the dogs would be sleeping by the time she got to the end of her farm’s drive, but today, all three remained awake, periodically whining as they watched the road go by. Chris rushed to the mill to pick up grain for Frances’s horses and was soon on her way again.
When Chris made the turn onto Frances’s lane, she saw Daisy running down the middle of the drive as fast as her short legs could carry her. She stopped the truck, opened the door, and laughed as the panting dog sailed over her lap into the passenger seat. The truck’s cab came alive with the sound of thumping tails and happy whines and yips.
“Hold on, beasties, we’ll be there in a second,” Chris said, unsuccessfully ducking a vigorously wagging tail.
She parked in front of the barn and opened her door to let the dogs out. In a flash, they clambered over her, jumped to the ground, and disappeared into the woods behind the barn.
Shaking her head in amusement at the ecstatic yaps echoing from the trees, Chris got out of the truck and walked up onto the porch. Without warning, the door burst open and Frances rushed out to engulf her in a hug.
“It’s about time you got here!” Frances planted a big kiss on Chris’s cheek.
Chris giggled. “Missed me that much, huh?” She hugged her dear friend back and enjoyed the familiar fragrance of mint in her hair.
“Yes, I did. I know you’re busy this time of year, but I hate it because I never get to see you.” Frances looped her arm through Chris’s and pulled her into the kitchen. “Where’s Mary Jo?” She turned to glance down the drive.
“She should be here any minute. She had to go back to her apartment and change into her work clothes.”
“Excellent. Oh, I am so glad to see you.” Frances examined her and frowned. “You’ve lost weight.”
“I do every year, but it never takes you long to pack it back on me.” Chris patted her flat stomach.
“You don’t look as bad as past years. Mary Jo must have force-fed you.”
Much to Chris’s relief, the sound of tires crunching on the gravel drive interrupted their conversation. She and Frances went back outside and stopped on the porch to wait to greet Mary Jo. Chris widened her eyes in surprise, and her mouth dropped open as Mary Jo got out of her truck.
Donned in a form-fitting, red pantsuit with a low-cut white silk blouse under the jacket and black flats on her feet, Mary Jo slammed the truck door and ran her fingers through her loose, shoulder-length hair. She looked toward the porch and laughed.
“Put your eyeballs back into your heads, for God’s sake,” she said. “Geez, can’t a woman dress up without causing a train wreck around here?”
She glanced at Frances and saw her amusement reflected in Frances’s expression.
While Chris stared at Mary Jo and tried to formulate words in her brain, Frances was the first to speak. “Oh, hon, it’s just that you clean up so nice.” She nudged Chris with her elbow.
Chris found her voice at last. “Wow!” She blinked and swallowed audibly. “You’re going to work in that?”
Mary Jo joined them on the porch and walked past them through the door. “Yes, silly. I told you last night I have to go to Albany today to testify in a horse abuse case.” She turned to face Chris, who’d followed her through the doorway. Chris had been paying more attention to the way Mary Jo’s outfit accentuated her figure than the answer to her question.
Somehow sensing she and Mary Jo needed a private moment, Frances went past them, muttered something about setting the table, and left them standing near the kitchen doorway.
Recalling their night together, Chris grinned wickedly when she saw a flush creep up Mary Jo’s neck. Mary Jo had worked to convince Chris to stay the night in the house, and when she finally relented, they had spent hours making love. Chris knew her expression told Mary Jo there were no regrets for not sleeping in the barn.
“Yes. I vaguely remember you telling me that,” Chris said, still grinning. “You look hot,” she whispered, too low for Frances to overhear.
“I… uh…” Mary Jo stammered. “I probably won’t be back until late this afternoon, early evening, depending on how soon I have to testify.” She entered the kitchen, took a seat at the table, and—to Chris’s regret—pulled her hair into a ponytail and secured it with an elastic band.
“I’m surprised Doc isn’t going.” Chris chuckled and poured coffee into three mugs. She decided she would stop her teasing for now.
“Remember the guy I told you about who wouldn’t let me treat his horse?”
“Yeah, that happened last fall?”
“Correct. Well, a few weeks later, I happened to be near his farm. I decided to pop in and see how the horse was doing. To make a long story short, I found the horse behind the barn, dead, with three others in deplorable shape. I told Doc about it, and he got the Humane Society involved, and the rest is history.”
“What an idiot.” Frances waved a big serving spoon in the air. She brought it over to the table, along with a hot pad. “I’m glad I don’t know who he is, or I’d wring his neck with my bare hands.”
Mary Jo chuckled. “I know you would, Frances. But if everything goes as planned, he’ll be convicted.”
“He should be strung up by his balls and starved for a month,” Chris said angrily. “Then let the flies have at him,” she added.
Frances and Mary Jo smiled in agreement, though they all knew jail was probably out of the question. Unfortunately, most of the time the legal system fined animal abusers and let them go with just a warning—a practice many groups were relentlessly trying to change.
“Okay, breakfast is ready.” Frances pulled a casserole dish out of the oven, and the mouth-watering scent of breakfast burritos filled the kitchen.
“Frances, that smells heavenly,” Mary Jo said.
“I haven’t made these in such a long time, I thought I’d make something special to celebrate seeing you two again.” Frances put the dish on the table.
Mary Jo dug a container of sour cream, a jar of salsa, and a bag of shredded cheddar cheese out of the refrigerator and added them to the table.
Mary Jo and Frances shared small talk as Chris busied herself eating one plateful of burritos, then another. When she was so stuffed she couldn’t eat another bite, she leaned back in her chair with her coffee mug in hand. “Cav, do you have time to come back to the farm for a few minutes before you leave?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“I want you to take a look at Top Hat.”
Mary Jo visibly paled. “You’re sure?” she asked meekly. “I don’t know why, but out of all the horses that have tried to eat me, she’s the one that makes me nervous.”
“You’ll be fine. I want to familiarize her with you, and vice versa, for when she foals.”
“Ten thousand reasons why I can’t are going through my head, but the best I can come up with is I’m not sure I want to go into that stall with my good clothes on, Chris.”
Chris smirked. “Don’t worry. You can put one of my bigger coveralls on so you won’t get dirty. Plus, since she’s out of her regular stall, she should be better with you.”
“Uh-huh. Right, Martel. That horse is a witch wherever you put her.” Despite her protest, Mary Jo seemed resigned. “All right, I know you won’t let me get out of it, but we need to make it quick. I’m due in Albany at noon, and it’ll take me a couple of hours to get there.”
“Okay. We should get going then.”
Frances watched this exchange with an amused grin. “Chris, don’t you take any chances.” She turned to Mary Jo, adding, “You’ll be fine. That old horse won’t try anything as long as Chris is in the stall with you.”
Mary Jo nodded. “Okay, I guess I’m ready then.”
Chris collected the dogs and drove back to the farm with Mary Jo following in her own truck.
Inside the barn, Mary Jo asked, “Are you sure this is a good idea?” as she pulled on the oversized coveralls.
“Don’t worry. Hattie will be fine. E
specially since you’ll smell like me with those coveralls on.”
“I sure smelled like you this morning.”
“Don’t tease me, especially if you have to leave soon.”
“I’ll make it up to you if you don’t make me do this.”
“Babe, as appealing as that is, you have to get over your fear of this horse.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Taking a deep breath, Mary Jo said, “You’ll owe me for this.”
Chris kissed her softly. “Don’t worry. I’ll pay up.”
She and Mary Jo walked down the barn aisle, each with an arm around the other’s waist. When they stood in front of the foaling stall that contained the hugely pregnant Top Hat, Chris said, “Now move naturally and stay close to me at first.”
“Yeah. Naturally. Right.”
Chris opened the door and walked into the stall with Mary Jo almost plastered to her back.
The big Thoroughbred stood still, watching Chris. Her eyes were alert, and her ears twitched from side to side, front to back.
Chris reached behind her to grab Mary Jo’s hand and pulled her to her side. She went to the mare. With their joined hands, she reached out to pet the mare’s shiny black coat. The horse’s skin flinched once, twice, and then Top Hat visibly relaxed.
“I’m going to take my hand away, but I want you to keep petting and talking to her. Let her get used to your voice and touch,” Chris said quietly. She let go of Mary Jo’s hand. “Try and relax, sweetheart. If she hasn’t done anything by now, she probably won’t. Close your eyes, and try to envision steady hands and calmness.”
“Probably? Oh, dear God.” Mary Jo closed her eyes.
Chris backed away and leaned against a wall. Although relaxed, she remained ready to react in an instant if Top Hat made any aggressive moves.
When Mary Jo opened her eyes a few seconds later, her body language told Chris that her advice had worked.
Mary Jo talked to the mare much like Chris did. Top Hat pressed her nose to Mary Jo’s chest and pushed. Standing her ground, Mary Jo continued to stroke the mare’s neck. When the horse pressed against her again, there was no push. Top Hat simply stood quietly, nostrils flaring—no doubt inhaling Mary Jo’s scent combined with her own familiar smell, Chris thought. Mary Jo smiled and turned her head to look at Chris, who returned the grin.
“Okay, good,” she said. “Now I want you to turn your back to her and walk to me.”
Mary Jo did as instructed. When she joined Chris, she glanced back at the horse. “Huh. That wasn’t so bad.”
After Mary Jo moved away, Top Hat put her head down and nibbled at a few strands of hay.
“God, you wouldn’t know by the look of her that she’s an attack horse.” Mary Jo seemed awed by the encounter.
“I knew you could do it. I hate to ruin the moment, but I think you’d better get going if you want to be to court on time.”
“Yeah,” Mary Jo said, still transfixed. “Oh. Yeah. I need to get moving.” She snapped out of her trance. Outside the stall, she pulled the coveralls off and handed them to Chris. “Are you planning on sleeping in the house tonight?”
“It depends on whether you’re here or not when I’m ready to hit the hay.”
“I’ll call you when I leave Albany. If it gets too late, I’ll just head home.”
“No. Come back here. Please.” Chris wrapped her arms around Mary Jo’s waist. “I’d rather have you sleep here with me, whether it’s on the cot or in the house, no matter what time you get in.”
“Okay.” Mary Jo leaned in and captured Chris’s lips in a kiss. “Walk me out to the truck, and I’ll give you another kiss that’ll keep you going till I come home.”
Chris laughed. “Tease.”
A few minutes later, Chris watched as Mary Jo’s truck sped down the drive. Absently glancing down, she saw a cigarette butt in the dirt. Huh? She didn’t know anybody that smoked around here. Maybe it fell out of the horse hauler’s truck. She picked up the butt and threw it in the trash barrel on her way to the house.
The dogs had been sound asleep on the lawn, soaking up the sun’s warmth.
“Come on, girls, you can sleep inside while I do some housework,” Chris called.
Clearly still drowsy, Cedar, Cagney, and Sadie got to their feet and followed her into the house.
Chapter 25
Chris stayed busy the remainder of the morning giving the house a light spring-cleaning. She also tackled the endless pile of laundry that seemed to grow overnight.
When she went upstairs to shower, she saw Mary Jo had made their bed. As time went on, it seemed more and more natural to her that the two of them live together. The ease with which they moved around each other made it seem like they’d been together for more than just a few short months. Mary Jo definitely completed everything about her life.
At one o’clock, Chris went out to check the horses and left the exhausted dogs sleeping in their beds. Although the girls got plenty of daily exercise as a rule, their wild jaunt with Daisy at Frances’s house had been their first in several weeks. No wonder they barely opened their eyes as she left.
The sights and smells of spring filled Chris’s senses. The day had been warmer than forecasted, and the birds seemed to be celebrating, their songs filling the air.
She paused a moment to listen and breathed in the musky odor of damp earth. All the wrens, finches, chickadees, and bluebirds had something to say as they flitted from perch to perch. A single Killdeer scrambled among the stones in the driveway, perhaps searching for a nesting place to show off to a potential mate in due course.
She let her gaze drift toward the woods where a thin sheen of green glimmered. Maples and elms would be among the first to leaf out, with oaks and beeches coming last. Infant leaves, she thought. A few redbud trees were beginning to show signs of flowering, along with the crabapples and pin cherries. In a few short days, the green would be muted by red, white, and pink colors.
On a whim, after her shower she’d changed into a long-sleeved T-shirt without her sports bra. The soft cotton fabric caressed her skin as she moved around. She had briefly considered shorts but decided that would be a bit much and put on threadbare jeans instead. Although it wouldn’t be long before the days grew warmer, at the moment the temperature was still a little on the chilly side for shorts.
A soft breeze ruffled her almost dry hair. She closed her eyes and lifted her face to the sun. After taking a deep relaxing breath, she exhaled and continued to the barn.
As she ambled closer, Chris caught sight of Ruby’s colt frolicking next to his dam in the pasture. Ruby grazed and ignored him as he raced to and away from her, rearing and pawing the air at invisible opponents. She knew, despite Ruby’s apparent indifference, that the mare was watching her foal like a hawk.
More than once in the past, she had seen Ruby race to one of her foals to prevent it from running blindly toward a fence. Mares were as protective as grizzly bears, and while Ruby was no exception, she also instilled in her foals common sense and confidence.
The colt stopped playing to take a quick drink from Ruby’s udder. Engrossed, Chris watched him abandon the teat to spread his long front legs as he bent to sample a blade of grass. All at once he folded his legs, collapsed in a heap, and gave in to a sleep that she knew would claim him for the next hour or two.
With her thoughts occupied by the foal’s play, Chris walked through the open barn door and paused to let her eyes adjust to the dimmer light. Sudden movement in her peripheral vision caused her to turn but not fast enough.
She felt the breeze of something swinging through the air a millisecond before a hard object collided with the back of her head. Her vision swam, then blurred painfully. She reached for the wall to help steady herself, but everything went black and she lost consciousness.
She wasn’t sure what sense awoke first. She heard nothing, but she became aware of someone near. The deep throbbing in her head prevented her from immediately opening her eyes. A groan
escaped her. She thought, but wasn’t sure, that she was sitting with her chin resting on her chest. Oddly, her body felt numb from her neck down.
Bearing the pain throbbing through her skull, Chris attempted to open her eyes. She tried to focus despite the searing light, but she got dizzy and nauseous. Closing her eyes, she waited a minute before trying again with the same result. She struggled to swallow. An unusual bitter taste coated the inside of her mouth. Her tongue felt like wood as she moved it around and searched for an ounce of saliva to wet her dry lips.
Braving the dizziness, she gingerly opened her eyes, careful not to move her head in an effort to keep the nausea at bay. Her vision cleared enough for her to realize she was staring down at her bare chest. Her T-shirt gaped open. Someone had sliced it from the neck down and pushed the sides apart, leaving her breasts exposed. Shallow but angry cuts on her skin showed the trail a sharp edge had taken when cutting the fabric. The cuts were already scabbed, she noticed. More puzzling were the ugly red welts peppered here and there on her chest. Her jeans were undone and had been pulled down with her boxers to just past her hips, effectively binding her legs together.
Chris slowly realized she was sitting in her office chair with her hands tied behind her back. What the hell? Jesus, her head hurt.
She lifted her head cautiously and fought the urge to vomit. A moan slipped out. She forced her head upright and felt a trickle of blood run down her neck, but most of her focus remained on the pain vibrating inside her skull.
“Hello, lover,” a husky voice said from just behind her.
Where do I know that voice from? Startled and confused, Chris tried to see who it was, but she couldn’t turn her head more than an inch or two without the room spinning. She struggled to regain her jumbled wits.
“I was wondering when you’d be joining me,” the woman said and moved into Chris’s view. “I felt a little bad about how hard I hit you, so while you were out I gave you something for the pain.”
Chris finally recognized her assailant. “Sky.” She pushed down the surge of panic that ballooned in her chest. “What are you doing here?”
Laurie Salzer - A Kiss Before Dawn Page 26