He laughs and shakes his head. He’s taken this far enough. “No, not very educated. We just saw them in the bar last night, and they looked pretty close.”
Robyn looks temporarily disappointed but then brightens. “Wait, ‘we’ were in the bar? Who were you with? Is there any gossip there?”
Dan slides the stall door open and runs the chain of the lead over Monty’s nose. The gelding is usually well-behaved, but if he decides to act up, Dan knows he’ll appreciate a little extra leverage. “Sorry, just Chris. I’ve given you all I’ve got on the gossip front.” He stands aside and lets Monty leave the stall, then starts toward the barn door.
Robyn isn’t put off for long. As Dan leads Monty outside, she follows with another horse, and calls up to Dan. “But that’s pretty good already, Dan! It’ll give me something to look for when they’re here!”
He opens the gate to the field and takes Monty inside. “Just don’t be obvious about it. Karl and Molly are already pissed at me. I don’t need to get blamed for ‘outing’ customers.”
“I’ll be good, I promise.”
Robyn brings her horse into the field and waits for Dan to shut the gate before releasing him. Dan takes the halter off Monty and watches fondly as the big horse takes a few springy trotting steps and then erupts in a series of high-spirited bucks. Dan knows he did the right thing the day before, so he doesn’t feel guilty about being glad that Monty is still at the barn.
He helps Robyn take the rest of the horses out, except for Sunshine and a couple others that might be of interest to the Kaminskis. Karl and Molly haven’t left him a note as they normally would, letting him know about the buyers, but it’s a lot easier to leave a horse inside for an extra hour or two than it is to catch one that doesn’t want to be caught. He also keeps Chaucer in, and sets to work grooming him and tacking him up. They’d done dressage the day before, so Dan puts his jumping saddle on today.
He keeps an eye out for the Kaminskis as he works with Chaucer but doesn’t see them. He also doesn’t see Karl or Molly, which is a bit unusual. They’re both strong riders and do their fair share of work in the barn. He hopes something else hasn’t gone wrong. Sunshine wouldn’t bring nearly as much money as Monty would have, but at least it would be something. He gets an unpleasant churning in his belly when it occurs to him that they might be away because of a problem unrelated to the barn. He’d checked his cell that morning, but if they were still angry from the day before, maybe they wouldn’t want to tell him….
When he’s cooled Chaucer down and turned him out, Dan decides to take a walk over toward the main house. It’s not that he’s looking for Karl and Molly. Really, he’d be just as glad to avoid them for a while. But it’s a little unnerving for them to not have left a note or anything.
He reaches the clump of trees that separates the house from the barn area, and peers around. He can see their car in the driveway, with another car and a truck parked behind it. He squints. The car looks like the rental the Kaminskis had been driving yesterday, and the truck really looks like Chris’s. He knows Chris handles the barn’s legal matters, but he wouldn’t usually be involved in a simple horse purchase, and it doesn’t make any sense for the Kaminskis to be buying without even trying Sunshine, especially not after the failure with Monty.
Dan leans a little farther, and then catches himself. What’s he doing? Whatever’s going on, he’s established that everyone is fine, so he really has no excuse for further spying. He turns and heads back to the barn. He’s frustrated about being kept out of the loop. If he hadn’t run into Jeff and Evan the night before, he’d have no idea that buyers were expected that day. And without knowing the situation, he can’t really make intelligent decisions about what to work on.
Robyn is still cleaning stalls when he gets back to the barn, and instead of figuring out which horse to ride next, he makes a snap decision. “I’m going to get changed and take a long lunch, okay, Robyn?”
“I thought you said the Kaminskis were coming?”
“Yeah, I thought so, but I don’t really know. Maybe they changed their minds. Anyway, it’s Sunshine—Karl or Molly can ride her if they need to.”
“Yeah, okay.” Robyn’s brow creases. “You know it’s, like, ten o’clock, right? That’s a pretty early lunch.”
“I’m taking a drive. It’ll be almost lunch by the time I get there.”
Robyn nods understandingly. “Oh, okay.” Dan turns and heads up to his apartment, and Robyn calls after him, “Say ‘hi’ for me!” Dan waves to show that he heard but doesn’t turn around.
He gets changed into jeans and a button down and heads down the stairs. There’s still no sign of anyone but Robyn, so Dan scrawls a note on the chalkboard. Back around 2—D. It seems a little petty not to tell them where he’s going, but he expects they can figure it out, or Robyn will fill them in.
He pulls out of the long farm lane and heads for the highway. He knows that he puts in plenty of hours at the barn, but he feels a bit guilty all the same. Leaving early yesterday, taking a long lunch today—it feels decadent. Then he thinks of where he’s going, and his guilt subsides.
The drive takes about an hour, and then he’s pulling into the beautifully landscaped grounds that give the place its name. “Willowbrook” may sound like a cliché, but there’re a lot of willows and at least one brook, so it’s hard to argue with. He finds a parking spot and heads into the main building. He signs in at the desk, as usual, and heads down the familiar hall. A couple of the nurses nod hello, and he smiles back. He can’t imagine doing their jobs, dealing with all this every day.
When he reaches the door of the room, he pauses. He always needs a moment to prepare himself. After a deep breath, he puts a smile on his face and pushes the door open. He crosses the room to the bed and pulls up a chair. “Hey, Justin. Sorry I missed a couple days—your parents were having a bit of a fit, and I had to work some extra hours.”
Dan pauses and realizes that he’s waiting for a response. If Justin ever did say anything, Dan would be so freaked out he’d probably run screaming from the room, but it somehow just feels rude to assume that the man won’t contribute to the conversation.
Dan reaches out and takes Justin’s hand. “And Robyn says ‘hi’. She’s got a new boyfriend, I think, but she’s being pretty quiet about it—I wonder if that means she’s serious this time. And I went out with Chris last night. Just JP’s, of course. I’m still working a couple shifts there. Chris seems good. He won that case, the one with the tire factory. And his sister’s having another baby, he said—I think they’re still trying for a girl.” It feels strange to talk to Justin about new lives, so Dan changes the subject.
“We had some buyers in for Monty. Were your parents here yesterday? They might have already told you this.” Another pause for the non-response, then Dan continues. “Anyway, Monty was really good. Well, you know—he was Monty, but he was good on the flat, at least.”
Dan fills another ten minutes or so talking about horses, the successes and failures of life as a trainer. Then he pulls out the sandwich he’d picked up on the way. “None for you, man, sorry. This is from that place on Limestone, where we went that time with Kelly and Phil? They make good sandwiches, but, God, do you remember how nasty the soup was?”
He eats quietly and then tidily bundles up the wrappings and puts them in the trash. A nurse he hasn’t met before comes through the door and stops when she sees him. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know anyone was in here.”
Dan resists the urge to point out that there’s always someone in there, since Justin never really gets to leave. “I was just on my way out.”
“Oh, don’t let me rush you.” Her smile is almost flirtatious. “I can come back later, if that’s better for you.”
“No, I really was just about to leave.” Dan leans over and brushes Justin’s bangs back, then kisses him on the forehead. “Bye, baby. I’ll see you in a couple days, probably.” Dan makes sure he doesn’t inhale when his face is ne
ar Justin. There’s no smell, but rather than making Justin seem clean, it just makes him seem… empty.
Dan nods to the nurse and heads outside. He’s always so happy to get out of that room, and then even happier when he can leave the building entirely, breathing in the fresh outside air. He doesn’t like to think about Justin being stuck in there permanently. He doesn’t like to think about having to go back himself for his next visit. But he knows it’s really not about what he wants. It’s about doing the right thing. There have been times when Dan hasn’t been sure what that was, but this isn’t one of those situations. As long as Justin needs him, Dan will be there. He knows that as well as he knows anything.
Chapter 4
WHEN DAN gets back to the barn, Robyn is at his truck before he’s even turned the engine off. He actually has to wait for her to step back before he can open the door.
She stares as if waiting for him to say something. When he looks blankly back, she says, “You were with Justin? Is he okay?”
Dan doesn’t really know how to answer that question. “I didn’t actually talk to the doctors, but he seemed the same. Why?”
She backs up a few steps more. “Karl and Molly were down here looking for you, and it looked like they’d both been crying. They didn’t say what was wrong, so I thought, you know….”
Dan feels a burst of panic, but fights to keep himself calm as he tries to work out the timing. “When were they here? I left Justin about an hour ago.”
Robyn thinks for a moment, and then looks relieved. “No, it was longer than that ago. A couple hours, probably.”
“It’s still nothing good, though… they were both crying? I mean, Karl cries at TV shows, but Molly’s pretty tough.” Dan has only seen Molly cry once, when the doctors had first told them the extent of Justin’s injury, and he really, really hopes to never see it again.
“Well, neither one was actually crying when they were here, but they both had red eyes. They both looked upset.”
Dan doesn’t know what to do with this new information. He hates not knowing what’s going on. “Their car wasn’t in the drive when I pulled up. Do you know where they went?”
“They said they were going into town… and, Dan… they said to tell you not to ride.”
This makes no sense at all. “What? Not to ride anybody, or just not Monty or Sunshine or something?”
“No, they said not at all. Said you could help me, or take the afternoon off, but to not ride.”
Dan pulls out his cell phone and hits a speed dial number. He hadn’t wanted to involve Chris the night before, but things are getting ridiculous. When Chris’s cell goes to voice mail, Dan tries his work number, but the receptionist says that Chris is in a meeting.
“Well. Great.” He’s at a loss. “Do you need any help?”
“Not really, to be honest. Without you guys around to mess things up, I’m actually ahead of schedule.” Robyn shakes her head. “I’m starting to get a really weird feeling about all this, Dan. I mean… what’s going on?”
Dan doesn’t have an answer for her. Even though she’d said she didn’t need it, he helps Robyn haul some hay in from the feed shed, and then he cleans tack until his fingers ache. There’s still no sign of Karl or Molly by the time Dan has to go and get cleaned up for his shift at JP’s. It’s their turn to bring the horses in and do the evening feed, and he’s a bit worried that they haven’t appeared. He doesn’t want to cause an inconvenience for his boss at the bar, but he also doesn’t want the horses to be neglected if their owners don’t come back from wherever they are. On a normal day, he’d be totally confident that Karl and Molly would look after their animals, but this has not been an ordinary day. Robyn solves the problem.
“I’m just going to watch TV anyway. Let me watch at your place for a couple hours, and if they aren’t back in time, I can help out.”
He makes sure she really means it, and then they go upstairs together, Robyn to the couch and Dan to the shower. As he heads out the door, he tells her to help herself to anything in his fridge, and she rolls her eyes. “I already checked. You’ve got beer and three different kinds of hot sauce. It’s not exactly a balanced meal. But you’ve got a couple pasta dinners in the freezer—I can have one, yes?”
Dan grins sheepishly and nods, then reminds her to call him if she gets any news, to make sure Karl and Molly have his cell number if she sees them. He knows they do, but doesn’t understand why they haven’t used it.
He gets to JP’s just in time for the dinner rush, and for the first couple hours he’s too busy to think much. Things finally calm down a little, and he finds some time to tidy up and restock. In his peripheral vision, he sees a new customer come in and sit down, so he moves in that direction as he puts the final polish on a glass. When he looks up and sees the new customer, he’s greeted with miles of tanned Kaminski. Well, there’s not all that much tan showing, but Dan can imagine.
“Hi, Dan,” Evan says. He smiles, and it makes him look like Tat. They both smile with their whole faces, their whole bodies, practically.
“Evan, hey, what’s up?” This sounds a little vague to Dan, sounds like what he’d say to someone who didn’t have some mysterious connection to Dan’s employers and quasi-in-laws. He tries to clarify, make it clear that he actually wants to know. “You didn’t make it to the barn today… did something happen?”
Evan goes from almost sheepish to totally awkward. “Uh, yeah, kinda… I know it sounds weird, but I’m actually not supposed to talk about it.”
Dan’s had about enough of being out of the loop. “Oh. What can I get you, then?”
“A Bud and a Jim Beam, please. And I didn’t mean that I can’t talk at all, I just can’t talk about… that.”
Dan moves to get the drinks but isn’t really interested in playing games. “Okay, well, I don’t really know what ‘that’ is, so it’ll be a bit hard for me to avoid it.” He smiles politely as he says it. Evan is now a customer in the bar and a potential customer at the barn, so Dan really can’t be too rude to him.
Evan’s return smile is much more genuine. “Yeah, I can see why that’d be a little tricky. I could just ask you questions….”
“Uh, well… I’m at work, Evan. It’s not really the best place for chatting.” Evan looks a little unimpressed, and Dan realizes something. “You’ve never had a job, have you?”
“No. I have. I do!” Evan’s denials are a little too emphatic, and Dan closes in for the kill.
“Evan….” Dan walks to stand in front of Evan and looks him in the eye, trying to inspire honesty. “Evan, have you ever had a job at a business your family didn’t own?” Evan casts his eyes down and Dan laughs. “Yeah, it’s not quite the same, buddy.” That’s maybe a bit more casual than Dan should be, but Evan doesn’t seem to mind.
“Well, still… I’m a customer… doesn’t that mean I’m always right? If I say I deserve some attention, isn’t it your job to give it to me?” The words would sound petulant if it weren’t for the open, teasing grin on the man’s face.
Dan doesn’t really want to get involved in this, but he seems to be having some trouble resisting the eyes and the dimples. “Okay, fine. Is there something you actually want to know, or are you just being a brat?”
Evan’s victory grin threatens to split his face. “There’s lots of things I want to know! I’m just not sure where to start.”
A customer down the bar catches Dan’s eye, looking for a refill. Dan moves away from Evan, saying, “Well, you can have one question, so make it good. I’ll be back in a minute.” Dan pulls a beer for the other customer while wondering what exactly he’s doing with Evan. It’s not flirting, exactly… or is it? But Dan’s not that guy. He doesn’t flirt with other people’s boyfriends, and he certainly doesn’t fool around on his own lover. Chris is Justin’s best friend, and as such has decided that it’s his right to tell Dan that he can do what he wants, but Dan knows that it’s not Chris’s call. Chris and Justin may have grown up together, bu
t Chris doesn’t know Justin the same way Dan does. And apparently Chris doesn’t know Dan too well, either, if he thinks Dan would ever want to cheat on somebody who’s lying in a hospital bed.
Evan’s just a typical rich kid, Dan decides, taking something that means a lot to somebody and turning it into a game for his own amusement. Well, Dan doesn’t want to play. He has to be polite, since Evan’s a bit too powerful to insult, but that’s all.
Dan realizes that it’s easier to make this sort of resolution when he’s at the far end of the bar. When he’s standing in front of Evan again, faced with the full warmth of the man’s personality, Dan finds himself smiling a little more sincerely than he had intended. “You got one?”
“Like I said, man, I’ve got lots. I really don’t think one is going to be enough. Is there anything I can do to earn a couple more?” Yes, Evan is definitely flirting. Dan knows he should shut it down, but he’s a little curious to see just how far Evan will take it. And, if he’s completely honest with himself, maybe he’s enjoying the attention a little.
“I doubt it, but if your first one isn’t too horrific, I’ll think about it.”
“Oh. Not horrific… I gotta be honest, that eliminates a lot of my ideas right off the top.”
Another customer needs a drink, so Dan just raises an eyebrow at Evan and moves around the bar. When he returns, Evan is smiling happily. “Okay, I’ve got one. It’s easy, no horror whatsoever.” Dan nods, so Evan continues. “How did you get started with riding?”
Dan knows that should be an easy question, so he can’t blame Evan for asking it. Still, he doesn’t really want to answer. “I was living with a family, and they had horses, and they taught me.” It’s a bit of a gloss, but it’s not a lie.
“With a family? Like, not your family?”
“You got one question, man. Not two.” Dan moves down the bar and picks up a glass to start polishing.
Dreamspinner Press Year Four Greatest Hits Page 30