Sanctuary (Murrells Inlet Miracles Book 1)

by Larsen, Laurie

  She evidently passed the horse’s test because he shook his head and butted his nose into her chest like a horsie hug. He grunted and leaned into her. She put her arms around his neck and hugged him. “Patty! He’s friendly.”

  Patty crept over. “He’s probably lonely. And if he’s been left alone since Aunt Edie left, he’s probably starving to death.”

  Nora looked his body over. His ribs poked through his side, but not in an unhealthy way. “If he’s been loose all these months on the property I assume he’s gotten his fill of grass. I mean, yes, he definitely needs grain and oats, but that probably kept him from starving.”

  “Can you get him into the barn? Maybe he’d like to stay in one of the stalls tonight.”

  Nora stroked his face and unobtrusively took hold of his halter. When she started to lead him, he followed her. Maybe Patty was right. He’d been waiting for a human to appear, and now here she was.

  They led the steed into the barn, selected a stall lined with sweet-smelling straw, and loaded his bins with water and oats. The horse wasted no time digging in.

  “I think you’re right. He was happy to see us.”

  Patty smiled and patted her shoulder. “You came just when he needed you.”

  “I don’t know about that, but ….” She settled in to watch the beautiful animal eat and drink, then circle around his stall. He seemed happy and content. She decided to leave him in the stall for the night and as Patty had suggested, they would spend the night in the barn apartment.

  “I wonder if Mr. Becker knows anything about this horse. I think I’ll call him.” She pulled the lawyer’s business card from her pocket and her cell phone from her other pocket. She placed the call and he answered. “Mr. Becker, does my aunt’s inheritance include any livestock?”

  She could hear him shuffle some papers. “No, it doesn’t. She was down to one horse, but that horse was sold before your Aunt Edie went to assisted living.”

  “Sold to whom?”

  More flipping through papers. “The file doesn’t say.”

  “Well, I think the horse is back.”

  Mr. Becker agreed to do a little digging to find out the rightful owner of the black horse, and Nora hung up. “I wonder what that horse’s story is. Who was he living with, and did he purposely escape and find his way back here? Why? Was he that attached to Aunt Edie? I wonder what his name is.”

  She said it quietly, almost to herself, but Patty had a thoughtful look on her face as she pondered. “I wonder,” she said, and then got to her feet and started peeking around in corners of the apartment. “Hmmmm,” she murmured.

  “What are you looking for?”

  “Files. A filing cabinet. You’d think Aunt Edie would’ve kept records of the animals. Veterinarian records? Sales receipts? Types of feed? Something.”

  “Good idea,” Nora said and joined her. They saw in very short order that there were no such files in the apartment. They ventured out into the barn, searching for an office. And a few minutes later, they found one. It was another plain paneled door like the apartment had, and when they tried the handle, it opened right up, unlocked. They turned the light on and found a metal desk, a cushioned chair on wheels and two filing cabinets behind it.

  “Bingo.”

  They separated, each opening the top drawer of a cabinet and settled into work. “You can really learn a lot about the operation of this ranch from reading these files,” Patty said.

  “Maybe I’ll do that if we solve the mystery of this horse.”

  They continued digging through files, reading documentation, determining it had nothing to do with the horse, then kept looking. They each closed the top drawer and opened the next. Then the next. In the bottom drawer of Nora’s cabinet, she found a thick folder labeled, Thunder. She opened it, and taped to the inside were two photos, one of a black colt and one of a full-grown black horse. She couldn’t say for certain if it was the same horse who now was in the stall, but it sure looked promising.

  “Patty, look here.”

  Patty glanced over Nora’s shoulder. “Oh, my gosh, you found it!”

  They gazed at the picture of the adult horse. “Do you think that’s the same horse?”

  “I sure do. What’s in the folder?”

  Nora flipped through the papers in the carefully maintained file. “Original bill of sale from a breeding farm. Looks like Aunt Edie got Thunder as a new colt, weaned from his mother.”

  “Thunder,” Patty said thoughtfully, like trying it on for size.

  Nora went on, “She obtained him ten years ago. There are quite a few veterinarian bills here, shots, a gelding procedure.” She flipped some more. “Blacksmith bills, looks like new shoes every six months or so. She took good care of this horse. Oh, she entered him in horse shows. Here are several fliers from horse shows in the area. Not sure what classes she entered him in, or whether or not she rode him herself or hired a rider. Let’s see…” She continued to look and then quieted, pulling out a 8 x 10 color photo of a black horse jumping over a fence in a riding arena, its rider dressed in English hunt attire – jodhpurs, knee-high boots, a tweed suit jacket and a black velvet helmet. She brought the photo closer to her face. “Is that …?”

  Patty came closer too. “Aunt Edie? Is that what you’re thinking?”

  Nora stared but couldn’t tell. “I was wondering, yes. But if it was Aunt Edie, she would’ve been jumping horses in her early seventies. Is that possible? Was she in that good a shape?”

  Patty shrugged. “I wish I knew.”

  Nora closed the folder. “I have an idea. How about we go to the stall and say the name Thunder, and see if the horse responds?”

  “I guess. I don’t know if it’s a definitive answer. I mean, if he doesn’t respond, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s not Aunt Edie’s horse. And if he does respond, it doesn’t necessarily mean he is her horse. But let’s try it.”

  They walked until they reached the horse’s stall. The sisters met eyes and then Nora said to the horse’s hind end that faced them, “Thunder? Thunder! Hey boy.”

  The horse made a fast semi-circle, faced them and nickered.

  “Thunder! Is that you, boy?” said Patty. He lifted his chin and neighed. “That’s a good sign.”

  They reached through the bars of the stall and stroked the horse on the nose.

  “You know, there is one sure way to find out if that horse is Thunder,” Nora said. “I’ll call the veterinarian and ask him to come out and see if he can ID the horse.”

  The next morning at ten, Nora and Patty waited outside the barn for the veterinarian to arrive. The name on the receipts from the file said Shaw Flynn. They dragged two folding chairs and sank into them in the sunlight. Nora closed her eyes to soak it up.

  “I wonder what a Shaw Flynn looks like,” Patty mused.

  Nora scoffed. “Why? What does it matter what he looks like?”

  “Because. Shaw Flynn? It sounds like a movie star name. I bet he’s young and handsome and virile.”

  Nora laughed at Patty’s choice of words. “I don’t know about handsome and virile, but he can’t be that young. Aunt Edie has been employing him for at least ten years.”

  “So? Let’s say he was in his mid to late twenties when he became a vet, he’d be in his late thirties now.”

  “Or maybe he’s Aunt Edie’s age, and is only vetting part-time because although he’s of retirement age, there’s a lack of veterinarians in this small town.”

  Patty looked up. “Well, we’re going to find out very soon, aren’t we? Care to set a wager?”

  “No.” Nora stood.

  “I believe that’s because I would win.” A big red pickup truck rumbled into view. The glimpse Nora got of the driver wasn’t conclusive, however she could see he definitely was not Aunt Edie’s age.

  The truck parked and the driver side door opened. Patty came reverently to her feet and murmured, “Oh. My. Gosh. Would you look at him?”

  Nora nudged her. “Stop it.
I’ll do the talking.” She took two steps towards the truck, turned back and said over her shoulder, “Don’t embarrass me.”

  Patty laughed and gave her a smug look.

  Shaw Flynn wasn’t in his seventies, and he wasn’t in his thirties, but he landed somewhere in between. Beautifully in between. Rugged but handsome, he looked like he could’ve just walked off the set of a western movie, his chiseled chin and ruffled hair making him the best-looking cowboy on screen. His gait was effortless and as he moved toward them, Nora took in his jeans, boots, flannel shirt and cowboy hat.

  Nora didn’t realize she was staring till Patty nudged her and whispered, “Don’t embarrass yourself.”

  She gained her composure and called as he approached, “Dr. Flynn? I’m Nora Ramsey. Thanks for coming over on such short notice.”

  He gave a friendly wave. “Please, call me Shaw. Everyone does.” He covered the distance between them and shook hands with them both. “Nice to meet you, Nora.” He glanced over at Patty.

  “Hi, I’m Patty, Nora’s sister.”

  “Nice to meet you both.” He glanced toward the barn. “So you’re related to Edie?”

  “Yes, we’re her nieces.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss. She was a really good woman. I’m sure you miss her terribly.”

  Nora tried to ignore the guilt brought on by that statement. “Did you know Aunt Edie well?”

  He considered, his bottom lip pushing out. “Yeah, I’d say pretty well. I took care of all her animals, over the last decade or so.”

  “Did she have a lot of animals?”

  “Well, when the equine center was in its heyday, she had all the horses that she boarded and trained.”

  Nora stared at him, wondering how to interrogate him without revealing that she knew nothing about the ‘equine center.’ Shaw turned his head and caught her gaze and as it turned out, she didn’t have to ask.

  “Your aunt ran a very successful place for horses and riders to come and be trained for competitions, for the horses to work out, learn new skills. She was somewhat of a legend among the horsie folk in this area.”

  “Wow,” she said honestly. “I had no idea.”

  Shaw let his gaze fall on hers for a moment. “What can I help you with today?”

  “As we were driving back from the beach, a black horse started following us. However, there isn’t supposed to be any livestock on the property.”

  Shaw turned and examined the skyline. “Isn’t there a fence surrounding the entire acreage?”

  “Yes.”

  He faced them. “Then that means either the fence is broken in places, or the horse jumped it. Black horse, you say? My guess is that’s Thunder. And if it’s Thunder, that wouldn’t surprise me in the least.” He rubbed his hands. “Where’s the horse?”

  “He’s in the barn.” Nora motioned and started walking. Shaw followed her, then settled in beside her. They covered the short distance quickly and Shaw took hold of the sliding front door before Nora could grab it. He pulled the door open. Nora was unexpectedly mesmerized by the way the muscles jumped and bunched in his bicep. She cleared her throat. “The first one on the right.”

  As they approached, the horse circled to face them and Shaw put his face close to the bars, looking in. The horse neighed and Shaw chuckled. “Aw Thunder, you old rascal. What are you doing here, boy?”

  “That’s him? Are you sure?” Patty asked.

  “No doubt about it.” He lifted the latch to open the stall door, slipped inside and closed the door behind him. “You miss her too, don’t cha, buddy?” he murmured. “Yeah, I know.” The horse stepped close and rubbed his forehead against Shaw’s chest, causing him to take a step backwards to keep his balance. A chuckle erupted deep in his chest. Shaw took hold of the horse’s face and petted it.

  “Where does Thunder belong?”

  “A farm down the road there. When Edie decided to move into assisted living, she wanted to find just the right home for this one here.”

  Nora watched the two of them interact, admiring their obvious bond. “How far is the farm?”

  Shaw looked thoughtful. “Maybe a dozen miles down the road there. In fact, they’re clients of mine, the Rosewoods. Let me give them a call and let them know we have him.”

  He patted Thunder’s shoulder, stepped from the stall and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He studied the phone for a minute, tapped at the screen, then put it up to his ear. He looked over at Nora, nodded his head and winked.

  Which caused unusual effects in her body. Very unusual. Her pulse quickened and her heart beat faster and her legs started to feel weak. Because of one wink?

  Get a hold of yourself, woman.

  “Jan? It’s Shaw Flynn. Just fine, how you doin’?” He spoke casually. “Hey, listen, you missing a horse over there?” He paused and then chuckled. “Yeah. I found him.”

  Nora felt a nudge and looked over at Patty who was grinning. Nora gave her a puzzled look and Patty gestured to Shaw. She turned back to him. His whole face transformed when he smiled and laughed. He was warm and friendly and comfortable. She found herself wanting to be the focus of that happy countenance.

  “He made his way back to Edie’s place. Yeah, can you believe it?” He listened and then turned and gave Nora a meaningful glance. But what that meaning was, she couldn’t guess. “You don’t say. How many times? Three? My gosh. Uh Jan, hold on a second.” He pulled his phone away and spoke to Nora, “This isn’t the first time he’s ventured off. Jan and Phil have discovered him missing three times before, and he always ends up here at Edie’s place. Well, your place.”

  Nora’s eyebrows converged in a confused crease. “What? He keeps running away from home and finds his way back to his old home?”

  “Sounds like it.”

  He returned to his phone call. “Jan, what do you want to do? Want to come get him? Ride him home? Bring a trailer?” He nodded. “That’s true, you got to solve the problem of how he’s getting out.” He listened. “Yeah, they got a nice stall over here for him, but I’m not sure how long the new owner will be here.”

  Nora caught his meaning and shook her head quickly. He said, “Not long, evidently.”

  “This is only a visit,” Nora told him.

  “They haven’t moved in yet. Okay, I’m sure that would be fine. See ya.” He disconnected the call and looked at them both. “Could you keep him here for a couple days while they make some improvements over there to try to prevent him from running again?”

  Nora opened her mouth, hesitated and Patty said, “Sure, Shaw.”

  Nora looked over at her. “Wait. What will this entail? And how long will it be?”

  Shaw shrugged. “Day or two at the most. Feed him twice a day, turn him out to the pasture for a couple hours, let him back in. That should do ‘er.”

  “I don’t know …,” she groaned, suddenly tense.

  “Nora, don’t be ridiculous. Of course we can. No problem.”

  Shaw shined his beautiful white smile at her sister and Nora felt a sudden regret that she was such a downer. Patty was the impetuous one, Nora the careful, cautious one. It had always been like that. Her temperament was part of what had made her choose the law profession, and why she was good at it. But this wasn’t the city. This was the south. They were more neighborly down here. The pace was slower, people were friendlier. She’d have to try to be more like Patty.

  “Okay,” she said to Shaw, and he looked visibly pleased. “We’ll keep Thunder until the Rosewoods can make the renovations. No problem.”

  “Thanks,” he said and her hesitations melted under the beam of his gratitude. For a moment, she forgot to breathe.

  “While I’m here, why don’t I take a quick look at him?” He went back in the stall and murmured gentle words to the horse, who seemed very calm at his presence. Shaw shined a small flashlight in his eyes, opened his mouth and studied his tongue and teeth. He ran his hands over his body, down his legs, and picked up each hoof. He eve
n looked under his tail. “Fit as a fiddle,” he announced, gave Thunder a last pat on the neck and left the stall.

  “Good to hear,” said Patty.

  Shaw began the walk back to his truck and Nora and Patty followed after him. An idea came to Nora, and it grew to overwhelming proportions in just seconds. Before she could debate it, rationalize it, and ultimately, reject it, she spoke. “Shaw, I’d love to hear a little more about my aunt’s work on this ranch, her relationship with the horses, and the community service you spoke about.”

  He turned and stopped walking. He raised his eyebrows. “You weren’t close?”

  Nora took a deep breath and let it out. “No, unfortunately, we weren’t. I had a strong relationship with Aunt Edie when I was a child, and Patty and I spent many summers right here on this ranch growing up. But I’m sorry to say that as adults, we drifted apart and I honestly hadn’t kept in touch with her as she approached her death. When I got the call from her attorney that she left me this ranch as my inheritance, I was honestly as surprised as they come.”

  He nodded as he considered her words. “I can see how that could happen. Life gets busy. It’s easy to separate from your roots. You’re from … where?”

  “Philadelphia.”

  “Ah. Different lifestyle up there, I imagine.”

  Nora nodded. “You could say that.”

  Shaw pulled a small spiral notebook out of his shirt pocket and flipped it open. “I’ve got somewhere I need to be after this. Can we look at tomorrow?”

  Nora said, “Of course. Thank you.”

  “Late morning, early afternoon, I could swing by and spend a little bit of time.”

  “We’ll make you lunch then. Just stop by whenever you’re ready.” It was Patty’s pronouncement, completely unexpected and Nora inched her head in her direction, giving her a meaningful glare. Patty ignored her.

  “Isn’t that neighborly of you? I’ll look forward to that. Can I bring something? Cookies? Drinks?”

  “Nope,” said Patty, taking charge. “We’ll take care of everything. See you tomorrow then, Shaw.”