Sharon

by Sioux Dallas

  “Sounds logical to me,” Martin said. Jake and Gordon just looked at each other and shrugged. Not being educated like Martin, and not interested in learning new things as Keanu did, they were not enthused with the story.

  The three men helped a grateful Martin on the horse, and then Keanu fastened the belt around him. Next he fastened the Velcro straps around each ankle and handed Martin the reins. “Let’s walk to the exercise ring. I’d like to work with you today, if it’s okay with you.” Keanu opened the gate to the training ring which was behind the stables.

  “I’ll feel better if you’re with me. I’ve ridden for many years, but the accident took the starch out of me. Okay, teacher, what do you want me to do first?” he asked Keanu.

  “Walk to the right and I’ll check your equitation. There’s no excuse for you to fall back and become a sloppy rider.”

  Keanu watched Martin like a hawk eyeing its prey. He called for a walk both directions, and finally a slow trot both directions. “Let’s stand here for a few minutes and let your leg muscles rest while you do some simple exercises. Hold your arms straight out from the shoulders and twist from side to side as far back as you can reach. Work your waist.”

  “That’s ten times. I seem to be moving much better, and I don’t hurt,” Martin was excited. Keanu released the Velcro straps around Martin’s ankles. He took one step away.

  “Don’t do anything that’s going to hurt you, but try to lift your right leg away from the horse’s side.” Martin struggled with no results. “Try the left leg.”

  Martin gave a gasp of surprise and pleasure when his leg moved about one inch. “See! Did you see that?”

  “I sure did. There seems to be some life returning. Don’t hurt yourself but try it again.”

  Martin grunted with the effort and laboriously moved his leg slightly. He gave a sigh of exhaustion and slumped in the saddle. “Keanu, do you think I’m going to have the use of my legs again?”

  “I’m not a doctor, and I’m not sure a doctor could answer that question at this time. Tell your doctor what happened. In the meantime be faithful to your therapy sessions and don’t get discouraged. You knew it was going to be a slow process. You don’t want to try to force movement and hinder your progress.”

  “I know. Please don’t tell anyone yet. Can I trust you to keep this between us until we see if it’s repeated or if that was all she wrote?”

  “Sure.” Keanu patted Martin’s leg. “I’m going to let you walk Banjo down to the ring so you can dismount at the ramp. I’ll push your chair down with us.”

  Martin’s legs swung uselessly by the horse’s side as Keanu pushed the chair and walked beside him. Just as they started down the slight grade leading from the stable to the outdoor ring, a red sports car came swooping around the circle and stopped with a flourish, throwing gravel. The sudden noise and quick movement caused Banjo to jump and take off at a gallop to the ring.

  “Heads up,” Lynn called to everyone in the ring. She almost screamed when she saw Banjo barreling down on them. These horses were so well trained to be safe for helpless riders, Banjo’s actions were a surprise. Lynn opened the gate to the ring. “Get out of the way,” she yelled at the volunteers who were leading horses toward her. Oh, please dear God, don’t let him get hurt.

  Banjo roared into the ring and gave a short hop over a pole on the ground before he galloped around the ring. Lynn quickly closed the gate and turned toward her volunteers. “Keep your eyes and hands on those horses and students. Everyone stay calm.”

  Sharon had quietly and quickly stepped in front of Banjo. She was talking softly and calmly. “Ho, Banjo. Ho, pretty boy. Easy. Easy. Ho, now.” Banjo dropped to a walk and stopped obediently in front of Sharon. She took the reins and soothed the horse while running a quick eye over Martin to assess his condition.

  “Martin, are you all right?” Lynn was shaking as she walked to his side. When she saw his sparkling eyes and flushed face, she felt a spurt of anger.

  “I’m fine,” he spoke loudly and excitedly. “Did you see him hop over the pole and I stayed right here.” He babbled in his joy and excitement.

  “Stop it,” Lynn almost shouted. “Are you crazy? You could have been hurt worse - and I’d be liable. How could you do this? How could you do this to me? Who is the idiot that allowed you to come charging down that bank. And without ankle straps,” she was almost screaming again. Her heart was beating double time, and she surprised herself because of her worry, and - yes - anger. She realized that she was being unreasonable, but couldn’t help herself.

  A wild-eyed, pale-faced Keanu came to them too frightened to speak at first. “I--I--I was bringing him down so that he could dismount at the ramp when some jerk raced in here and stopped on a dime throwing gravels and running right at the horse. It scared Banjo and he did what comes naturally - - he ran.”

  “That doesn’t excuse the fact that you did not fasten the ankle straps. At least he has the belt around his hips. You certainly know better,” she sputtered in anger and fright.

  Martin recognized that Lynn wasn’t as angry as she was frightened. She’s worried about me. I do believe the lady actually cares, he grinned. “All’s well that ends well,” he said trying to relieve the tension. Lynn was too shaky to smile. What is wrong with me? I want to grab Martin and hug him hard, but I don’t dare in front of the others. What would Martin think of me anyway?

  “Get him off there,” she glared at Keanu and demanded as she went to open the gate again. Leaving Gabe and Amanda to help Martin, Keanu followed Lynn and Sharon out of the ring.

  “Hello, Sharon.”

  She looked shocked. “Lt. Dauber!”

  “Larry, please.” He turned to speak to Lynn. “I take it you’re Sharon’s sister. I see the family resemblance. I’m Larry Dauber. Sharon and I met some time ago and I decided to come see her after all the newspaper and television news.” He turned to smile at Sharon but recoiled in surprise when Keanu walked right up in his face.

  “Mister, you’re either one stupid dude or careless and don’t care. Any idiot knows to keep slow, calm and quiet around horses, or as far as that goes, any animal. What did you have in mind coming in here as if you’re on a race track?”

  Sharon was appalled. “Keanu, shut up. This is police Lt. Larry Dauber from the state’s attorney’s office that I told you about.” She looked apologetically at Larry.

  “I don’t care if he’s head of the F.B.I. He’s got loose boards in his attic to drive in here that way.” Keanu was his usual antagonistic self. With all of his worry about Sharon, he would welcome a chance to hit someone.

  As Larry apologized and explained to Keanu that he didn’t ride and wasn’t aware of doing anything wrong, Lynn was puzzled at David’s attitude. He had looked startled when Larry introduced himself and then had quickly turned and walked briskly into the stable.

  “Lt. Dauber, I’m sorry you didn’t receive a warmer welcome, but you did drive in too fast. There are handicapped children on the grounds in wheelchairs and on crutches. It so happens that they were on horseback in the ring with older people walking beside them. There is no damage done, but the man that was on that runaway horse is also in a wheelchair. He could have been hurt badly.” Lynn took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. I must be gracious to this man because of Sharon. “Please excuse me. Sharon can visit with you, but the rest of us have work to do. She nodded slightly, without smiling, and walked away.

  Sharon was embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Larry. Of course you didn’t know to drive slowly through the parking area. The horses are well trained to deal with all kinds of noises, but roaring cars is not part of their training,” she smiled.

  “I’m embarrassed. I truly had no idea that I was driving irresponsibly. Is it possible to talk to you somewhere that all these people won’t be glaring at me?”

  Sharon laughed. “I can’t imagine the big, brave police lieutenant being afraid of a few people. Keanu was scared and spoke harshly. He real
ly isn’t as nasty as he sounded.”

  “He had a right to be upset. Can I drag my red face inside where we can talk privately?”

  “Let’s go in the office. I want you to meet Lynn’s secretary. She’s a hoot. You’ll like her. Then I’ll show you around the place.”

  Before they could walk toward the office another sport convertible drove in with Troy Sanborn at the wheel. Sharon welcomed him and introduced him to Larry. She excused herself to take him to the ring to meet Lynn. Larry walked with them looking around with great interest. Troy stayed with Lynn and Sharon brought Larry to the office.

  “I’m happy to meet you. Sharon told us of the mess at the motel. We’re all relieved that she got away from there safely,” Sheilah told him.

  “Mess?” Larry raised his eyebrows.

  “Oh, I hate to say the word, murder.” Sheilah shuddered.

  “That’s all right. I hate the word myself. Larry smiled at her.

  Sharon took Larry over the building showing him the indoor ring, the medical area and office. Then they went to the stables to meet some of the volunteers and see the horses.

  “I’m impressed. I had no idea that this type of work involved so much time, effort, training and so many people needed to work. This is a beautiful place.” Larry looked over the pasture back of the stable at the horses that were boarded. “Are those horses used, too?”

  “No, we don’t work them,” Sharon answered. “They belong to boarders. Each of our animals have to have special training and is carefully selected to make sure they’ll be patient with clinking crutches, wheelchairs bumping them and excited kids. Those are good saddle horses out there, but they’re not trained for the main work here.

  “What do you mean by boarders?”

  “People own horses but don’t have property of their own where they can keep them. They pay someone else to keep their horse and care for it. They’re called boarders.”

  “Wow. I’m learning a lot. Can you get away to have dinner with me?” Larry asked.

  “I have to help with the work before I can leave,” Sharon answered.

  “I’ll cover for you,” Andrew offered. “Go on home, get prettied up and have a great evening.”

  Sharon gave a start not aware that anyone was near and listening.

  “She’s pretty enough. She doesn’t need extras,” Keanu snapped and glowered.

  Uh oh. I didn’t realize Keanu had come in. I must be losing it not hearing others around. I know it isn’t because Larry is here. I don’t care about him as a male interest.

  “Ooo,” Larry whispered. “Let’s leave before I get scalped, quartered, hung and burned at the stake. Is that young man Indian?” Larry leaned close, placed an arm around Sharon and whispered to her.

  “Yes. Half at least. I doubt seriously that all those horrendous cruelties would happen to you. Remember, I told you Keanu’s bark is worse than his bite.” Sharon answered Larry after Keanu had walked down the aisle of the stable.

  “I don’t want to stand around and tempt fate,” he laughed.

  Larry followed Sharon’s car to her house and followed her inside. While Sharon was showering and dressing, Larry played her piano. He played classics and popular songs of the day. His touch sounded professional.

  “I love your house,” Larry told Sharon as she entered the room. “Did you do the decorating?”

  “Lynn purchased it for me and had it furnished before I got here. I did a little decorating and planting flowers after I moved in. Are you ready to leave?”

  Larry smiled and put an arm around her waist as they walked toward the door. He looked with appreciation at the lovely flowers and flowering shrubs. “Did you plant all these flowers? Did you do all this work?”

  “Most of it. I‘m glad you like my house. I do, too,” she laughed. “Lynn did a good job selecting it for me before I came here from Texas.”

  “That’s right. You did live in Texas. Did you like it in the west?”

  “I sure did and I met so many wonderful people. I hated to leave.”

  “Why did you feel it necessary to move here from Texas?”

  “I was there with my husband who was in military service. We were stationed in The San Antonio Air Base. After he -- died, I came back east because all my relatives are here.”

  “But why Zephyrhills?”

  “Lynn is here. We have always been very close, and too, I wanted to attend classes at USF in Tampa. Here we are. Turn right here into John’s Steak and Seafood. The acoustics leave a lot to be desired, but the food is excellent and the service is very good. I think you’ll approve.”

  That’s good enough recommendation for me.” Larry got out of his car and hurried to open the door for Sharon.

  Larry was impressed that so many people, men and women, greeted Sharon. She felt uncomfortable because Larry kept putting his arm around her and hugging her closer to him. There’s no way he could be jealous. We hardly know each other.

  Sitting back with a satisfied sigh and patting his stomach, Larry said sheepishly, “I made a pig of myself. You’re right. The food is excellent.”

  Sharon smiled and looked around because people were still calling to her and trying to get her attention. Do I really like this man? No. I don’t know him well enough. He’s trying so hard to be nice to me and he does show that he’s interested in me. I don’t want to encourage him unless I decide that he’s someone I want to know better. He isn’t too bad looking, but his eyes don’t show warmth and caring. He looks calculating and suspicious. Maybe that’s his occupation causing him to look --- Stop it. I’m not interested and I don’t want to give him the idea that there’s a future for us.

  “I don’t eat out much, but when I do, this is one of the places I love to come.”

  “Did you live in Zephyrhills previous to Texas?”

  “No. Lynn settled here because she could buy the land necessary for her business. Zephyrhills is close to all the main tourist attractions and yet it’s not right in the heavily populated area.” She giggled. “Or at least it didn’t use to be. Lynn says the traffic increases three fold during the winter with all the people coming down from the north.”

  “Do you know the police chief?” Larry broke in.

  “I’ve never met him. Lynn is outside the city limits, so the county sheriff is called if police are needed.”

  “Did the sheriff investigate your car - uh - bombing, or did city police handle it?”

  “The sheriff did. I never thought about it, but it happened on the Dade City, Zephyrhills line. Oh, well. It doesn’t matter. Just as long as it’s covered. Why do you want to know?”

  “No reason. I’m just interested. Business curiosity - law work. I see you have a new car. Are you afraid to drive? Are you afraid that the same thing, or something similar will happen again?”

  “Why would it happen again? It could have been that I was mistaken for someone else.” Why is he asking so many questions about why I came here and what police I know? Gracious. I’m being silly. He’s being a policeman and making small talk.

  “Larry, thank you for coming down to see me. I truly enjoyed the evening and thank you for dinner. By the way, I thoroughly enjoyed your playing. How is it that a big, bad policeman plays so beautifully? You could have another career.”

  “My mother insisted that I study music. She’s a concert pianist and lives for it. She was away from home so much while I was growing up. She held concerts all over the U. S. and many overseas. Dad was a doctor and far too busy to spend much time with me, even if he’d been interested. I was raised by nannies and tutors. I thought about teaching school, but knew I could not be satisfied with the sameness day after day. We work many hours, sometimes around the clock, but police work is never boring. One wonderful housekeeper, who took care of me, had a son who was a detective. I thought he was the great American hero.”

  “Ah ha. Did you want to emulate him?”

  “Not really. I was impressed with him and what he did. I love the wor
k. There’s not enough income for a man to raise a family. I guess that’s why I’ve never married. I want a wife to stay at home with children, so I’d need to earn enough to support a family. I’m due a promotion soon, and I have something in mind for the future that will give me a better income. Maybe I’d better start thinking of marriage,” he rambled nervously.

  He pulled onto her driveway and got out of the car to go around and open her door.

  “Good night and take care of yourself. Maybe I can even win the friendship of Geronimo.”

  “Geronimo? Who --” Sharon responded surprised.

  “Your young Indian protector. It’s obvious that he doesn’t like me. He probably doesn’t trust me either,”

  “Keanu?! He’s a teen who’s been forced to grow up too soon. We’ve developed a very close friendship. I feel toward him as I would a younger brother.”

  “That’s well and good, but he’s very protective of you. He gave me the impression that he thinks I’m bad for you.”

  “He is protective, but it’s because I’m the one who found him and have given him complete support.”

  “Found him? Why? Was he lost?” Larry asked with interest.

  “It’s a long story and not germane to this subject.” She clamped her lips tightly.

  “No need to get testy. I was just making an observation.” He tried to lighten the moment.

  “I’m sorry, but I’m protective of Keanu, too. He’s had a rough time and now he’s happy. I want him to have good reasons for being happy and for him to lead a productive life.”

  “Forgive me for bringing a sour note to the ending of our night out. I enjoyed every minute of being with you and sincerely hope this is not the last of it.”

  “Nothing to forgive, and no, I don’t think this is the last. We’re miles apart, but you’ll probably be in the area with your work. I’m sure there’ll be an opportunity to get together again. Now, good night and thank you again.”