“Dad, Troy, this is Reese’s Pieces.” The foal shies away from Grant as he steps forward and tries to hide behind his adopted mother. His little tail twitches with his nervousness, and Troy marvels at how tiny the hooves are. The small foal must weigh only sixty to seventy pounds.
“Okay, now you’re going to tell me exactly how you came about taking this horse before I let it on that trailer.” Cassidy looks guiltily at the foal and her cheeks flush as she purses her lips. Troy recognizes the look of a young woman being scolded by her father and feels a smile coming on. Perhaps this is not the first time she’s brought home a stray.
“It’s from the Peterson farm on the other side of town. The mother died two nights ago, and they were going to put this little guy down.” Cooing at the foal, Cassidy pulls it close to her and strokes its nose to comfort it.
“And why are they not taking care of it themselves? Why put it down?” Her fingers stroke along the blaze on the nose and down to the small, twitching nose.
“They can’t afford to feed him, and he’s underweight as it is.” Her father lets out a long breath and sucks in another. He looks upset by the entire situation, but it’s obvious that telling Cassidy ‘no’ is not a smart idea.
“You know that he’s probably not going to make it. Underweight foals are hard to care for when their mothers are alive, and this one is alone. I’ve never done this before, Cass, so it might not work out.” By the hopeful look on her face, Troy would have thought her father just said she won the lottery, not that her foal might die.
“I know, I know, but I’ll stay with him if that’s okay? He’ll need to be fed overnight, and during the day. I’ll have to bring my laptop along so I can keep trading, but the rest of the house ought to be fine! You’ll see, he’ll grow up to be a Champion!” She tweaks one of the droopy ears, and Troy attempts to hide his grin. Is she always this upbeat about an animal fighting against the odds?
“Fine, let’s get him loaded up. We’ll talk about socializing him on the way back to the farm, alright? He needs to see other horses. I think Lightning might be a acceptable substitute for Reese to learn from.” Cassidy corrects her father about the name, but he pretends not to hear. Grant lets her lead the foal into the trailer, and Troy leans in the opening as he watches her trying to get a harness hooked up to him. The poor thing is too small.
“I’ll hold him if he knows how to lie down.” Grant fetches a blanket from Cassidy’s home to put underneath the foal as she tries to get it to lie down. It has a mind of its own as it starts to nibble at her shirt with the milking teeth barely showing through the gums. As Grant starts the truck, Cassidy tries with more gumption to get the foal to cooperate.
“Here, let me,” Troy takes the little horse’s legs and gently bends them as he picks it up. It feels like a bag of feed to him, which is pretty light. He slides down the side of the trailer and sits down with Cassidy across from him. She closes the door without a word, and they sit in the dark trailer as Grant tries to take it easy down the dirt road. As soon as he hits the pavement, the ride is much easier.
“How often do you have to feed it?” Cassidy glances up as Troy starts talking and looks back down at her new responsibility.
“Mothers can feed them up to eight times an hour, so the more often I feed him the better it will be for his health. I was reading that over feeding them in an attempt to get more time in-between is detrimental to their health. So I guess every half an hour I’ll have to get up.” Troy shifts the weight of the newborn so that only its front is resting on his thick thighs, and he leans his head back.
“That’s going to be impossible for one person to do. Why even bring the laptop when you won’t be able to do anything but drool on yourself after two days?” Cassidy crosses her arms over her chest in the signature ‘I don’t have to listen to this’ move and Troy hears it before she even starts talking. He should have kept his mouth shut.
“I can do this for a few weeks. Besides, what else am I going to do? Shoot him because he’s not perfect?” Troy looks at the floppy ears and the ribs showing through the skin. He has a feeling it’s not going to make it, but again, he keeps his mouth shut on the matter.
“I’ll help you. If you fall asleep and forget to feed him for hours, it’ll all be over with.” Cassidy has a look of disbelief on her face, and Troy wonders if she thinks he’s that unfeeling he would let Reese’s Pieces die.
“You’ll need instructions on how to feed him. I’ll have to teach you that when we get back to Dad’s farm. And I won’t let you stay with him the first night alone, what if something went wrong? You can barely handle Beethoven, and he’s an adult. Reese’s Pieces might get upset and kick you, what would you do then?” She reaches a protective hand over and strokes one of Reese’s ears. Troy’s more interested in calling the foal Reese rather than Reese’s Pieces, but it’s Cassidy’s horse.
“I wouldn’t hurt him if that’s what you’re implying.” Cassidy studies him for a long time, and wonders why he wouldn’t be angry over the accusation. Maybe he understands why she made it, and finds comfort in the knowledge that he didn’t hurt Hannah. But Hannah wouldn’t be able to cause severe bodily harm with a tantrum.
Although, with someone Troy’s size, he might not have to worry about bodily injury with a foal.
The trailer hits the dirt road at a slow speed up to Grant’s farm, but Cassidy bounces around like a ping-pong ball as she tries to hold on. Troy reaches across and grabs her before her head can bang against the side, and pulls her to his side in front of the foal’s face. Her cheeks are flushed, but she still giggles when Reese’s Pieces tries to nibble on her shirt.
It’s a long, fifteen minute ride up to the farm going at a snail’s pace. The moment the trailer comes to a stop, Troy lets go of Cassidy and helps the foal to its feet. It’s still wobbly, and the way it stands hints to Troy that there might be something wrong with the legs.
“Did you have him checked out by a vet?” He asks Cassidy, trying to forget about the way her small body felt against his side. The entire trip up the driveway, he could think of nothing else but the warmth of her and the smell of her shampoo.
“Not yet, he was checked out at the Peterson farm by the woman who helped to deliver him, but she didn’t have anything good to say. I’ll have to call Doctor Brunson to set up an appointment.” Grant opens up the back of the trailer, and they both squint at the bright light. Cassidy’s hair is mussed from being under Troy’s arm, and her cheeks are flushed from the heat. It’s the way her eyes glitter in the light that tells Grant something happened in the trailer on the way here, but he doesn’t say a word since he has no idea if it’s anger in her eyes or passion.
Troy looks as cool as a cucumber as he hops out the back and lowers the ramp for the foal. When Cassidy slips, he immediately reaches out a hand to steady her, and Grant sees the betrayal of Troy’s emotions on his face for a split second. In that moment, Grant realizes that it was a lousy idea to bring someone like Troy Red here. He could hurt Grant’s daughter in an instant without realizing it.
He remembers the conversation with the agent on the phone and grits his teeth.
“This guy’s a womanizer. He managed to sleep with one of my agents and she’s claiming he harassed her into it. Now, I don’t believe that happened, but I’m just warning you Grant. Keep a tight leash on this one around your daughter. He’s not the usual drug dealer scum we send your way.” Grant tries to loosen his grip on the receiver as he sits down on one of his kitchen chairs.
“Then what is he?” He’s afraid of the answer, and the agent seems afraid to tell him.
“He’s not a good person, just remember that. He could kill in an instant and walk away as if nothing happened.” Grant looks at the pistol sitting on the table next to him, and wonders if he’ll need to use it. Taking in people who need to start new lives is not charity work for him, it’s redemption for failing to help someone before. But sometimes he wonders if he’s putting Cassidy in too much dan
ger by allowing these criminals to stay at his home.
“I’ll remember.”
Yet as he watches Troy help keep the foal in line as they take it to the barn, the man doesn’t seem as dangerous as the agent had warned him of. He’s been here ten days total, and even with the attitude, Troy works harder than any of the other men and women who have passed through. This is a safe house for Troy until they’re able to find somewhere more permanent, when the hunt dies off.
“You kids better make sure he’s not too hot out there! I’m going to call Doctor Brunson for you, Cass, and mix up some of that formula!” Grant turns on his heel and tries to stifle the feeling that he shouldn’t be leaving those two alone. He looks back once after he has the gate to the trailer hooked back up and is unable to see them in the shade of the barn aisle. Cassidy has to make her own decisions. He just hopes she makes the right one.
* * *
“No! You’re holding it too high, and he’ll aspirate. Here, like this.” Cassidy takes the bottle from him for the third time and tries to show him how to hold it so that the horse’s nose is not above his eye level. Reese’s Pieces is getting agitated by all the fuss over how he should eat, and his little hoof tries to stomp on the floor.
Troy takes the bottle back and tries to hold it in the right position, but even when he’s squatting it’s at an odd angle. He’s actually trying here, but Cassidy’s doesn’t seem to understand that. The bottle dips and her hand comes up on his wrist firmly as she pushes it back up into place. Maybe if she understood that he cannot concentrate with her body so close to his, she’d back off. But he can’t tell her that because it would be a sign of weakness on his part.
“Haven’t you ever fed something before?” Her curt tone has the hairs on his arms bristling as he narrows his eyes. He’s heard that anger in the sick room is not good, but is it detrimental to a developing foal? Probably.
“Oh, I’ve fed plenty of things before, just not a goddamn horse!” In his frustration, the bottle pulls from the foal’s mouth, and Reese’s Pieces tries to bolt after it.
“Christ Troy! Just give me the bottle and go back inside to sleep. You’re worse than a three year old trying to help its mother clean!” She’s really pushing his buttons now. For the past few hours, he’s been trying to follow her instructions, ignore the fact that she’s an attractive woman way too close to him, and stop thinking about the fact that when he goes to sleep he’ll have nightmares about his niece’s dead body again.
Before he can blow his top and disturb all the sleeping horses, Troy slams his way out of the stall and paces outside in the brisk air. He can see his breath in front of him, and puts his hands on the back of his head as he stares up at the bright stars. He’s never seen this many stars I his life, and it’s as if they’re falling down all around him. Struck by the obscene beauty of it all, Troy forgets about the urge to slam Cassidy down and show her whose boss. His hands fall away from the back of his head as he slumps against the outside wall of the barn.
“I guess it’s captivating when you haven’t seen it before.” He feels his heartbeat increase to quick tempo, but it’s not because Cassidy startled him. It’s the way she slumps against the side of the barn with him and looks up, revealing the length of her neck that leads down to her chest. She’s wearing a V-neck, long-sleeved green shirt that reveals just enough cleavage to make his mouth water.
“So you just get used to it looking like the sky is falling in on you?” She smiles as she looks over at him, and he quickly adjusts his gaze so that it’s on her eyes and not her chest.
“I view it as being close enough to touch them, not that they’re falling on me. I guess you’re a glass is half empty sort, huh?” He looks back up at the stars and tries to picture it the way she does, reaching a hand up as if he’s going to grasp one of the twinkling lights.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” They’re silent for a spell before Cassidy interrupts his thoughts of home.
“I’m sorry that I snapped at you back there. Reese’s Pieces just makes me so nervous. Dad doesn’t think he’s going to make it.” They both glance at the living room light that is still on inside the house and Troy feels a pang of guilt that he thought the same. But the foal seems eager enough to eat and walk, so he has a fair shot.
“He will with a mother like you.” Cassidy’s smile fades when he looks back at her, and for a second she swears she sees genuine interest in Troy’s eyes. An owl hoots in the distance, and she quivers when she realizes that she’s staring into a killer’s eyes. Troy Red is not his real name, and he’s a dangerous man. It’s not that she hasn’t slept with dangerous men before, but they always end up leaving before dawn.
“I used to think that the world was the city I lived in, and there was nothing beyond it. I felt that I owed it to my family to continue on the business if you want to call it that. My world was small, Cassidy. It wasn’t full of people like you and your father. My sister was the only decent thing I had, and they ripped her away from me before I even knew it was happening. I can’t tell you much more about myself, honestly, or you’ll become a target if they come looking for me.” The hairs on her neck stand up as she listens to him confessing that may hap his past lifestyle was wrong. Ten days in isolation might do that to a person when they have a lot of time to think.
Troy keeps his gaze on the light in the living room, and sees the curtains pulling aside for a moment. Grant waves a hand in greeting and Troy raises his in return. Cassidy clears her throat and turns to head back into the barn with Troy on her heels. They have a foal to feed, and it’s already been fifteen minutes.
The rest of their night goes without a hitch, and the foal looks a little more bright eyed than he did the previous day when they picked him up. Cassidy is taking a nap in the stall with the foal when Troy starts cleaning. He attempts to keep quiet, but she comes stumbling out anyway to help.
“Why don’t you take the first shift while I clean, and while I’m taking the second shift this afternoon you can sleep? I think I have the hang of feeding him now.” She gives him a worried glance, but nods. Something happened between them last night, but Cassidy isn’t totally sure what it means.
“When are you going to sleep?” She rubs at her eyes as she’s asking and gets dirt in them. Troy shrugs one shoulder and starts cleaning again.
“I’ll be fine. Now go feed him before he starts his fits again.” Cassidy is about to open her mouth to argue, but Troy holds up a shovel full of manure and she turns on her heel as quickly as she can. He watches her retreat back to the stall with Reese’s Pieces in it, and stifles his yawn with a hand before he gets back to work.
Grant comes out occasionally to check on the two of them, and offers to watch the foal for an hour while they go shower. His face turns red as he stumbles over a few sentences to explain that he meant separately and not together. Troy retreats before he can be embarrassed further and skip hops to the front door of the farmhouse as he’s pulling off his shoes.
Cassidy takes her father’s truck home to get clothes and shower there. Now that he’s completely alone, Troy undresses with a heavy heart and leans his forehead against the shower wall. He lets the hot water pour over him and wash away the mixed emotions he’s experiencing with the farmer’s daughter. And attempts to forget about the one minute he did manage to grab some shut-eye the previous night. He had woken up after only a few minutes with sweat on his forehead even though it was below sixty last night.
Thankfully, the woman beside him had not noticed, or she pretended not to.
When the water starts to run cold, Troy finally turns the knob and towels off before he gets out. He looks at himself in the mirror and sees the confliction all over his face, but turning it off is nearly impossible now. Just two weeks ago I killed a man. Now I can’t fathom wanting to go back to that.
He reminds himself he never enjoyed the killing in the first place, but on his way here he never imagined he’d enjoy a simpler life much more than the one he had
in the city. Out here there’s only one woman that attracts his eye, not that the other women he saw in town are any less attractive than Cassidy. It’s the way she carries herself and her attitude towards life that makes him want to learn more about her. It makes him want to do more than just learn about Cassidy in a physical way.
Getting dressed is difficult, but not for the obvious reasons. Troy can’t seem to keep his eyes open when he sits down to put his socks on and wakes up to find that ten minutes have passed. He drops to the floor to do ten to give himself a boost, and then heads down the stairs to rummage around for lunch. Nothing but yogurt and leftovers in the fridge, there is one thing that he misses from the city. The ability to go out and get something to eat down the street had been heaven.
Grant’s truck pulls up in front of the house, and Cassidy hops out with a large duffle bag in hand. It looks as if she’s planning on staying here for the next couple of weeks while the foal has to be fed overnight. Or it’s only a few days, and she’s like all the other women Troy has known in his lifetime, they pack too much.
“You need help with that?” He asks as he opens up the front door, but Grant is already hauling ass up the driveway to help his daughter.
“I got it. Why don’t you go check on the foal, Troy? He doesn’t seem to like being alone.” Taking the old man’s hint, Troy recycles the yogurt cup outside and tromps down towards the barn. He’s not going to get in the old man’s way when it comes to his daughter.
* * *
“What did you think I do for a living, Olivia?” Troy slams his fist down on the kitchen counter as his sister jumps, and her face pales. He grits his teeth together and feels the familiar muscle jumping at the back of his jaw as he grinds them together.
“Anything but that, Troy! Killing people? I just don’t think it’s a smart idea for Lilly to be around someone who does that. Do you?” He feels his guts twisting as he stares at the countertop that he paid for. His money has kept them both afloat since their parents died, and now she disowns him?
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