by Toni Leland
"But I have no proof!"
He smiled wickedly. "No, but I do." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a small folded square of paper. "These prove that she was at the Cow Palace in the wee hours, just long enough to give Karma an injection."
Liz stared at the gas receipt with Eve's name imprinted. The timing was perfect.
"But, these don't prove she did it, just that she was there."
"I know, but I think if she finds out that you're pressing criminal charges, she might be willing to make a deal. She may have no conscience, but she definitely has a brain, and I don't think she'd chance being convicted."
"You're basically talking about a bluff."
"That's right. Winner take all."
Liz sat back and closed her eyes, unable to consider all the facets of such a plan.
"I'll think about it. Right now, I need to go to bed."
She rose, and Kurt stepped up close.
"Are you sure you want to start working again? I can come back tomorrow."
She feigned confidence she didn't feel. "I'll be fine. I feel pretty good - after all, I've had five days off."
He grasped her hands, holding them firmly, his eyes dark with apology, his somber expression driving through the pit of her stomach.
"I have to go out of town for awhile. Will you call Colleen if you need help?"
Her heart thumped with apprehension, and she looked down at the strong, capable hands holding hers so gently.
"Where are you going?"
She felt awkward with the question, but couldn't help herself.
His smooth features revealed nothing. "I have to take care of some business. Now, promise me you'll call Colleen."
"I promise."
He pulled her close, holding her firmly, his chin resting lightly on top of her head. She heard his heart thudding steadily between them. Her own pulse slowed, and her uneasiness faded as she basked in the warmth of his arms and the tenderness of the embrace. Unwilling to think otherwise, she told herself that everything would be all right.
45
Kurt tossed the last of his meager belongings into the back of the truck, then looked around at the generous pastures and elegant barn. Too bad. Well, there's always something better on the horizon. He spotted Eve heading toward him. I hope she doesn't make a scene. I just want the hell outta here.
She looked ten years older than when she'd hired him. Her features were tight, but she forced a smile.
"Kurt, I wish you'd change your mind. I know you're upset with me, but you could really make something of yourself here at Aliqua. I can pay your commission now, and I'll - "
"Eve, this is the way I want it. I can't stay here under the circumstances - I've already told you that. And you can keep the commission. I don't want any part of money involved with a shady win."
Eve colored, but plunged on. "But, it's so late in the season - what am I going to do for a trainer? Who's going to show my horses?"
Kurt snorted. Well, it sure didn't take her long to start worrying about herself and her future, did it, Buddy Boy?
"You'll find someone. There are dozens of trainers out there who'd give their right arm for the chance to show horses like yours." His jaw tightened. "Especially now that you're on the map, as you like to put it."
He gave her a hard look. "I hope your conscience will guide you to do the right thing."
She reached for his arm. "Kurt, I - "
He took her outstretched hand, dropped his apartment key into it, then tipped his hat.
"Well, Eve. It's been real."
With that, he climbed into his truck and drove down the hill through the giant pines, never once looking into the rearview mirror.
Liz had eaten half her breakfast when Colleen breezed through the screen door.
"How's the victim? Whoa! Nice shiner!"
Liz grinned. "I'm still awfully stiff, but at least nothing hurts too much."
"Is there anything I can do to help ya today?"
Liz finished the last of her coffee. "Actually, yes. You can help me take the horses out. I'm so slow that by the time I get them out there, it'll be time to bring them back in."
A few minutes later, Liz opened the barn doors, and anxious whinnies echoed through the air.
Colleen laughed. "Pretty spoilt, I'd say."
"Yes, they certainly are. I'll probably pay the price for pampering them so much, but I love it, and that's the way it will stay."
Colleen looked around at the horses who eagerly anticipated their morning turnout.
"Where's that mare that attacked ya?"
"That's right, I haven't told you the outcome of that mess. Eve took the mare back."
Colleen looked astonished, and Liz nodded. "Can you believe it? Kurt pulled it off somehow."
Colleen's expression changed, became serious, and she peered closely at Liz.
"That's pretty amazing, don'tcha think? I mean, horse contracts being what they are, and Eve being the way she is. Do ya know how he did it?"
"No, I didn't ask. Does it matter?"
Colleen stepped over and slipped her arm around Liz's waist.
"I hate to keep playing devil's advocate, but ya know nothin' about Kurt, or his relationship to Eve. Don't you have questions about him?"
Liz searched her friend's face for some clue to the thoughts behind the caution.
"Is there something you know, that I should?"
Colleen's expression changed to pity, and she sighed. "No, nothin' specific. I just see ya getting tangled up with a man who can't even come up with a past, let alone promise you a future."
Liz hesitated. I should level with her, let her know everything's okay. She's only trying to be a good friend.
"Grab a horse and I'll fill you in on the way to the pasture."
Later, Colleen lounged back in the kitchen chair, clearly mulling over the tale of the past two months of passion and despair. Finally, she leaned forward and looked at Liz seriously.
"Sounds like a day at the carnival - thrilling rides, and peril at every turn."
Liz smiled weakly, recognizing that Colleen's analogy was proof her opinions about Kurt hadn't changed.
"Colleen, he dropped everything to come here and take me to the hospital, then stayed and looked after me and the horses. Doesn't that say something?"
Colleen didn't answer right away, then shook her head.
"I'm not sure. It could, but it could also say he just had a severe case of guilty conscience for all the pain and trouble he's caused ya."
Liz became exasperated that she couldn't convince her friend of Kurt's sincerity. However, as her annoyance grew, a nagging worry also took root. What if she's right? Maybe I'm too close to the situation to see clearly...And too much in love.
As she sorted through the disturbing thoughts, Colleen's voice broke in, her tone sympathetic.
"Liz, I'm not sayin' he's bad. I just think ya should take things real slow. In the short time you've known him, you've been riding a roller coaster of emotions. Can ya imagine a lifetime like that? Just think about it, okay?"
She rose to leave. "Do ya want me to come by tonight and help ya bring everybody in?"
Liz felt very tired.
"Yes, please. And thanks for the pep talk - I appreciate your concern. I'll be careful."
After a short nap, Liz settled onto the couch with her medical journals to catch up on the backlog of reading. She thumbed through the pages, picking and choosing articles that might apply to a rural practice. She planned to drive over to Doc's place the next day, and set up her schedule again. Thinking about the future, a thrill of eagerness curled through the pit of her stomach. Would Kurt be any part of that future? A tiny shadow of worry crept into her brain.
Reviewing all the things that had happened since she'd met him, Liz saw the sharp contrasts in his behavior. The original macho surliness had been replaced by a pleasant, but hands-off, attitude. After his soul-baring confession in Tahoe - and their passionate night together -
he'd retreated again, but had bounced back into her life at the regional show. The memory of that horrible experience rolled over her. Kurt's attitude had changed again, but by then, she didn't trust him, or herself. Yet, when she'd needed him, when it had been critically important, he'd been instantly at her side. Talk about a roller coaster ride...Kurt's the one who's been all over the park.
She sighed and closed the magazine. I'll just have to wait and see what happens after he comes back from wherever he went.
46
Thinking about the possibility of a future with Kurt made Liz all the more determined to find out something about him.
Colleen picked up on the second ring, and Liz worded her request carefully.
"I'm researching some bloodlines for prospective studs. Do you have any back issues of the Arab Horse magazine? I thought it might be a good place to start."
"Sure, how far back do you want to go?"
Liz pretended to think for a minute. "Um, about ten or eleven years. That should give me an idea which stallions have maintained popularity, sired winning offspring, stuff like that."
Colleen promised to bring the magazines over on the weekend, and Liz hung up, feeling pleased with her ingenuity.
Feelings of satisfaction changed to anxiety as she dialed an attorney's office in Sacramento. She'd given Kurt's idea a lot of thought. It hadn't occurred to her that anything might be done outside the confines of the industry, but logically, since the attack had happened in a public place, civil law should have some jurisdiction. Even if nothing came of it, she owed it to Karma to see if she could correct the situation.
Forty minutes later, she hung up, feeling encouraged. The lawyer had been interested and sympathetic, offering to start by sending a letter to Eve. Liz made copies of her evidence, put them in an envelope, and walked out to the mailbox. As simple as it seemed, having made a decision felt good.
Liz spent the next few days traveling from ranch to ranch, taking care of all kinds of routine problems - some big, some small. For the most part, the clients she called on were polite, but distant.
One afternoon, she received an emergency call to one of the cattle ranches in the area. During the drive, she tried to sort out the differences between practicing in rural California, as compared to the big barns of Kentucky - her only measuring stick. Thoroughbred operations were carefully controlled, with a dozen or so people involved with the horses, their care, and their reproduction. All aspects of the business were confined to limited areas, and nothing was left to chance. Veterinary care was easy to retain, and the larger facilities usually employed a resident veterinarian, or shared one with a farm close by.
She guieed the truck across a bumpy cattle guard, then headed down a long, dusty road. In the distance, the ranch house and sprawling barns of Rocking M Hereford Ranch looked like miniature buildings arranged on a model railroad layout. The cattle operation was a perfect example of the opposite end of Liz's comparative spectrum. Beef cattle herds were every bit as valuable as race horses, but the hundreds or thousands of acres required to keep so many animals placed the ranches a long way from civilization, turning a routine farm call into a travel adventure.
Based on her experience so far, it seemed that her clients' distrust came from a need for self-preservation, more than anything else. Doc's assessment of the locals was valid. Life in those parts was not easy, and the loss of valuable livestock due to a vet's ineptitude wouldn't be tolerated. It would just take time and patience to gain the confidence of the ranchers.
The truck rolled to a stop beside one of the large brown barns, and Liz looked down at the schedule. She'd been called to examine some newborn calves. The sound of hoof-beats caught her attention and she turned, just as a stocky sorrel Quarter Horse came to a dusty stop, three feet away. The jowly man perched in the saddle stared at her for a second, unsmiling. When he spoke, his chest wheezed, most likely from a lifetime of cigarettes.
His tone was terse. "Where's Doc?"
Oh, great, another battle.
"He's taking some time off. He hasn't been feeling well. Where are the calves you want me to examine?"
If the cowboy's expression served as any indication, he wanted to send her on her way. He grunted, then slid off the horse and walked toward the barn. Liz followed, irritation pushing against her self-restraint.
They entered the dim barn, and the rancher hollered at someone on the far side.
"Nick, git up here!"
A minute later, a skinny man in dusty jeans and a stained work shirt joined them. The three of them stood beside a small holding pen containing a couple of cows. Two tiny calves lay curled up in the trampled straw, apparently asleep.
"Nick brought 'em in a coupla hours ago. Thinks they mighta been attacked by coyotes or somethin'. Got them bloody spots all over 'em."
Liz shuddered. Calves as young as these wouldn't have survived a coyote attack. They'd tangled with something else. She stepped into the pen, carefully gauging the anxiety level of the cows. They seemed unconcerned, watching her with large eyes and chewing their cuds.
She knelt beside one of the small brown bodies. The soft baby fur was ragged and crusted with dried blood in dozens of places across the calf's chest and neck. Liz leaned closer and lightly touched one of the larger areas. The calf opened its large dark eyes and struggled to get to its feet, without success. Liz continued examining the area, feeling the heat in the skin and observing the distribution of the wounds. Moving to the other calf, she noted that the sores and distribution pattern were identical.
"Where did you find them? Were they together?"
The skinny man answered. "Off in a grove of trees, away from the rest of the herd."
Liz thought for a minute. She rose to her feet and looked at the two silent men standing outside the pen, then took a deep breath and plunged in.
"I think they got tangled up in a hornet's nest."
The big cowboy threw his head back and guffawed loudly.
"Oh, brother! That's real good!" He pinned her with his ugly beady eyes and snarled, "Is that what they're teachin' vets these days?"
His response came as no surprise, but Liz'd had enough. She stepped up to within inches of his fat paunch and glowered up at him.
"Would you like to bet money that I'm wrong?"
He blinked with surprise at the confidence behind her words. She didn't give him a chance to answer.
"I'll tell you what. I'll give these calves a shot of antihistamine, and if they don't get better, you don't have to pay me."
The two men looked at each other as though they thought she'd lost her mind. She turned and strode out to the truck, muttering to herself and shaking her head. Most animal owners never considered the simple things like bee stings, poison ivy, toxic plants...toads. Those poor little babies don't yet have the immune system to tolerate a serious hornet attack.
The two ranchers were leaning on the rail when she returned. Neither of them said anything as Liz entered the pen, but their smirks infuriated her.
Twenty minutes later, both calves were on their feet, bawling and hungry. Liz entered the pen again and caught one of them. She moved her fingers over the sores, satisfied that the allergic reaction had almost dissipated. She gave the rancher a triumphant look.
He nodded and removed his hat. "Ma'am, I owe you an apology."
She grinned. "And ninety-eight dollars."
On Saturday, Liz was putting out the evening hay when Colleen showed up. She followed Liz into the feed room, a mischievous grin playing across her pert features.
"Hey, can I get a job at this-here fancy facility? You know, now that you're so busy with your practice?"
Liz raised an eyebrow. "How could you help me? What about Fairhill?"
"The Sharps're thinkin' about reducing their herd by half, and they're not breedin' any mares next season. Effie said they'd been worried about how their retirement plans would affect me, since they'd only need me half-days. So, I'm yours part-time, if you'll have me."
"Will I ever!"
Lately, one of Liz's biggest concerns had been how she'd be able to care for her horses and manage a full practice at the same time. She'd have to break down and hire someone, but disliked the thought of having a stranger in her barn.
"I can't pay you much right now. I'm still scraping the bottom of my financial barrel, but things are starting to pick up. Can you live with that?"
"Sure. Listen, I have those magazines you wanted."
Five minutes later, Colleen reached into the back of her truck and hauled out two large bundles of magazines tied with baling twine.
"Thanks, Colleen. This will help a lot."
Her friend climbed up, settled behind the wheel, and peered through the window, an impish grin brightening her face.
"Be sure an' let me know if you find out anything juicy about him."
As she pored through the stack of heavy magazines, Liz felt foolish at how transparent her charade must have seemed. At least she's quit nagging me about him. Turning the glossy pages filled with tales of success, she became lost again in the world of showing expensive Arabian horses.
An hour later, only two issues remained unread. Her disappointment was sharp. She'd been sure there'd be some professional information about Kurt in the magazines, but so far, there'd only been a show photo of him, posed with a blue-ribbon mare at a small show in Colorado. She dropped the magazine onto the pile and sighed.
If he was so good, why wasn't anything written about him? Suddenly, she grabbed up the magazine again and peered at the date.
"Well, no wonder! This is too old, maybe even when he was just starting out."
She picked up the remaining two issues and checked the dates, matching them with Kurt's story. Bingo! October and November of the last year he worked for Della.
On page twelve of the October magazine, Liz found a trainer interview with Kurt DeVallio, touted as the Arabian industry's "rising star." Barely breathing, she absorbed every word in the article.
Interviewer: "Can you tell us how you've achieved such success with the Arabian breed?"
DeVallio: "Training starts with attitude. Attitude involves understanding a few things about horses and the way they think. Horses have a short attention span, from about five minutes to a maximum of twenty. Working in that window is the key - and remembering that you're dealing with the mentality of a two- or three-year-old child."