“But what really got me worrying,” Sally Mae continued, “was Hannah feeling poorly enough that the two of you skipped our game and headed home. Especially with her just having taken that fall yesterday.”
“It was a new horse so she didn’t know his quirks yet. Dragging her into town too soon was my fault. I should’ve made her take it easy today.” Eileen rearranged her cards for the umpteenth time. “But I’ve taken care of that now. Hannah is installed nice and cozy upstairs with a barrage of pillows, lots of snacks and plenty of DVDs.” An ace peeked out from behind a playing card. She needed to grab her thoughts and pay more attention to her hand, only right now her mind was more concerned with the pretense of a sickly Hannah and wondering what the heck was going on upstairs. “After this hand I’ll check on her.”
“Better take more food.” Sally May laughed. “Bump on the head or not that girl is always hungry.”
Eileen chuckled in earnest. The girl did eat like one of the boys.
Since Brooks’ nurse Nora lived in town, she hadn’t come to the ranch with Brooks or the other ladies, which was probably a good thing. It was bad enough Eileen was pretty much lying through her teeth to her best friends, no point in putting poor Nora on the spot too. It was best for everyone to forget about the stranger and believe him long gone. But as soon as her nephew got home tonight, Eileen was going to get at the root of what in the name of heavens all this secrecy was about. Tight-lipped was one thing, but this complicated mess was bordering on ridiculous.
****
This jam was going from bad to worse. Dale should have boarded a plane to Brazil and called it a day. All he had meant to do was drive through Tuckers Bluff, pop into the police station for five minutes, and let DJ, the only other person he’d trust with his life, know that he was indeed alive and well. Then he was supposed to get on his bike and ride into the sunset. Untraceable. No one to be the wiser. Instead, he’d landed smack dab in the center of the Farraday home.
Despite the limited information he’d shared last night, he’d been positive DJ understood the gravity of the situation. What Dale didn’t understand was, if DJ got that Dale was in trouble enough to keep him in hiding, why in heaven’s name would DJ insist he do it at the family home?
Hannah cleared her throat. “Are you going to play, or just stare at your hand until the next millennium?”
“Sorry. Do you have any twos?”
“Go fish.” Hannah grinned over the rim of her cards.
Maybe he was the one who had lost his mind. After all he was in a room alone with an attractive woman—on his bed no less—and he was playing a kid’s card game. Not even the strip version. He hadn’t played Go Fish the right way since kindergarten. But so far, she’d creamed him at poker, annihilated him at Rummy, conquered him at War, and now the only unskilled game he stood a chance at winning had dwindled down to Go Fish.
“Do you have any threes?” Hannah asked.
“You know I do.” He handed over his cards. The woman should play Vegas. Even dumb luck wasn’t in his favor. “You don’t have to babysit me. I promise I won’t run away from home.”
“It’s not that.” She shifted her cards frowning. “Have any tens?”
“Go fish. Then what is it?”
“I told you. Aunt Eileen plays poker Saturday mornings in town. Since she skipped the card game they brought the card game to her.”
“Yes, I got that, if Mohammed won’t go to the mountain, the mountain will go to Mohammed. And I understand that no one outside of the family is to know that I am staying here.” That was just about the only thing he’d been told since he woke up that made any sense to him. On top of his other concerns, he doubted DJ’s logic in telling the family his real name was Dale, and he had no clue how this would play out when Grace returned from her trip. No one else in the family knew him, but Grace was another story. “And you’ve been designated the guard keeper.”
“Not really. The only excuse my aunt could come up with quickly for the two of us not staying in town was that I wasn’t feeling well after yesterday’s fall. So by having me stay up here, she has an excuse to come check on you without making any of the ladies wonder why she keeps coming up and down the stairs.”
“I understand, but she doesn’t have to come up to check on me, so you could have stayed downstairs and played cards. I’ll be fine.”
The pretty woman in front of him laughed a tad too loud and slapped her hand over her mouth before speaking through her fingers. “For sure you don’t know Aunt Eileen. Like it or not, until you get a clean bill of health and traveling orders, you will be under her eagle eye. So, for now, we’re stuck here until the ladies go home.” She closed her cards and set them down. “How’s the leg feeling?”
“Not bad.” Considering the dumb thing had almost killed him, it felt pretty good. He really was anxious to get moving, yet at the same time he liked the idea of sticking around. Liked the idea of being with people who cared. Liked the idea of playing cards with Hannah. And he knew better than to be thinking of her as anything other than an off-limits member of DJ’s family. Watching the way she treated her horse yesterday, he could tell she had a good heart. And her willingly, and cheerfully, staying locked up with him in this room without complaint only confirmed that assumption. She was a nice kid. Well, maybe kid wasn’t quite accurate. But still, any other place, any other time, and he’d enjoy really getting to know her. Another good reason why moving on as soon as possible was the best idea he’d had in the last few days.
“They’re gone.” Aunt Eileen came through the door. “And boy am I glad. Couldn’t keep that one up any longer. Lost the last three pots on purpose, which,” she put one hand on her hip and waved a finger at Hannah, “is not easy to do when you get a royal flush.”
“Ooh,” Dale whistled. “Man, that must have hurt.”
Aunt Eileen grinned. “It did. And I feel better knowing you appreciate the sacrifice I made.”
“Why did you throw the game?” Hannah asked.
Shaking her head, Aunt Eileen scooped up the empty glass from the bedside table. “Hated pretending. Finally said I was too distracted with you up here to enjoy the game.” She shrugged. “At least that was mostly the truth. Didn’t mention I was distracted by two of you.”
Hannah’s aunt wasn’t the only one. Which was probably why he’d done his best to keep the conversation during his confinement strictly about card games.
“I think,” Aunt Eileen eyed Dale from head to toe, “we can let you downstairs to rest on the sofa as easily as up here.”
Pushing himself upright, Dale had to hold back a grin at the two women hovering on either side of him as though he were at risk to self-combust. No wonder Declan Farraday was so well adjusted. Who the hell wouldn’t be having grown up with Mary Poppins and Florence Nightingale?
CHAPTER EIGHT
Hannah stood in the living room with two cups of tea waiting for Aunt Eileen to stuff another pillow under Dale’s legs. If she lifted them up any higher the man was going to be standing on his head. “I think that’s enough, Aunt Eileen.” The man didn’t say anything, but the twinkle in his eye and the grin tugging at the corners of his mouth told her that he thought the same thing.
Taking a step back and letting her hands fall to her waist, Aunt Eileen surveyed her houseguest, squinted slightly, then shaking her head leaned over and pulled the pillow out from underneath him. “Three pillows is enough.” Without another word, she turned and walked to the kitchen.
Both Hannah and Dale kept their eyes on her aunt’s exiting back until she turned out of sight.
“She’s thorough, I’ll give her that.” Looking over his shoulder to make sure Aunt Eileen couldn’t see him, Dale pulled the top cushion out from under his leg.
“She means well. But my mom is the same way. Sometimes they just don’t know when to stop. They seem to have gotten an extra mother-hen gene.”
“There are a lot of people who probably wish they had a mother in their lif
e with that extra gene.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I love my Aunt Eileen almost as much as I love my own mother. Growing up I spent more time in the summer here than I did at home. In this family, a Farraday is a Farraday. And I can’t imagine having grown up anywhere else with anyone else. Not a lot of people would give up living in the big city, or at least as big as Dallas is, to work with cousins and aunts and uncles out in the middle of what most people consider nowhere.”
“But you’re not a lot of people, are you?” The corners of Dale’s lips lifted into a full-blown smile.
“Nope.” She took a sip of her tea. “Those same people who wouldn’t give up their lives in the city have no clue what they’re missing.”
Dale cocked his head to one side. “What are they missing?”
Hannah had to think about that a minute. She knew what the answer was for herself—family, community, and horses. While everybody needed family and community, she’d be crazy to think everybody needed horses. “Our lives have become fast-paced, hectic, and intense. Our minds are on constant overload with cell phones and computer screens and electronic gadgets. Out here, people work hard so they can enjoy their life. In the city people work hard so they can pay the bills.”
“Not everybody,” Dale said. “I know a lot of people who love the work they do. Working long and hard is enjoying life for them.”
“Agreed. I’m one of the lucky ones who works at something I absolutely loved. The people who worked with me got to do what they loved. But too many of them had to work second jobs at things they didn’t love that ate up their hours to afford things that used to come more easily with a simple lifestyle.”
“That sounds a bit cynical.”
Hannah shrugged. “Maybe it’s just a case of you can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl.”
Nodding, Dale studied her so long that she almost shifted in place to break the connection. Playing cards upstairs, the moments of occasional silence seemed normal, comfortable, pleasant. For some reason, being downstairs in the open living room, the silence felt awkward. Which of course made absolutely no sense at all. Where she should have felt awkward was alone with a near stranger on a bed behind closed doors. Maybe she was just losing her mind. Or had drunk too much sweet tea. After all everyone knew sugar was not the best thing for you. Maybe.
Hannah stood. Her aunt was perfectly capable of catering to a pleasant houseguest. And she wanted to check out another horse. “If you’ll excuse me. I’d like to do a quick run over to Connor’s.”
Dale swung his legs over the side of the sofa. “Great. I’ll come with you.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Our instructions were for you to take it easy today.”
“Take it easy, yes. Vegetate, no.” Dale stood up. “It’s a blood clot. I’m on blood thinners, movement is good for me.”
“I’m not so sure about that one.”
“I am. Trust me.” He glanced down at his laced footwear. “I don’t know where my boots are. Is this good enough?”
“Just don’t stand near the horses.” Now all she had to figure out was how to convince her aunt to let this man loose. Or maybe she should just get him back on the sofa and sit on him if necessary to keep him still. Suddenly a vivid picture of her straddling a six foot handsome hunk flashed in front of her, making walking in running shoes near thousand pound horses sound like a really safe idea. She was most definitely going to have to accept Andy’s invitation to dinner the next time he asked. So what if he’s a funeral director?
****
“Oh boy, am I glad you’re here.” Connor Farraday came strutting out of the barn to greet Hannah and Dale. “Looks like you’re doing better.”
“I see word gets around fast here,” Dale said.
Connor shrugged. “Need to know basis.”
Dale avoided the instinct to shift like a trapped animal. The scrutiny in Connor’s eyes was clear. Dale wasn’t sure how much DJ had told his family, but from the way Connor looked at him, it was enough to garner their cooperation to accept him into the fold, but not enough to satisfy all their burning questions. He couldn’t blame Connor or any of the others. He had a few burning questions for DJ of his own.
Connor faced his cousin. “I got a call from Adele Hampton.”
“Hampton?”
“That’s the lady who lives in Midland. The only equine therapist her son liked working with moved to California. According to her, since the therapist left, he’s been surly and difficult and unable to get along with any other therapist in Midland, or pretty much anyone else. She feels they’re back to square one. Sounds pretty frustrated. “
“I bet.” Hannah snapped her fingers. “Now I remember. Mrs. Stewart referred her to me.”
“Yes. And apparently, they decided today would be a good day to drive out here and meet you.”
“You’ve got to be kidding?” Hannah’s jaw almost hit the floor. “That’s pretty darn short notice.”
“It’s worse than that.” Connor gestured apologetically with his hands. “She’s about thirty minutes out.”
“Thirty minutes? What if I were out of town today? Or had the flu? What was she planning on doing then?”
“I get the impression that this woman is used to getting what she wants.”
Hannah glanced from Connor to the barn’s open arena door, then over to Dale and back to her cousin. “I suppose if she just wants to talk it’s not a big deal. But if she wants to see me in action, I don’t have any therapy students.”
“I tried to tell her that. But she was very insistent. Polite. But insistent. And I’m sorry kid, but I promised Ken Brady I’d be there half an hour ago to help with their new horse. I can’t put it off any longer.”
“No, no. You go on. I can handle this woman.” Hannah spun around on her boot heel and smiled up at Dale. “You got any experience with horses?”
“Only the kind under a hood.”
“That’ll have to do. You’re about to get a crash course on the kind with four legs.”
Her words barely had time to process, when Dale found himself rushing to catch up to her.
“Thankfully everything in the arena is ready to go. Structurally that is. But I don’t have any training elements out. If you’ll help me, we’ll set up the stage.”
“I’m all yours.”
“Good.” Grinning, she glanced over her shoulder at him. “But for both our sakes, you better not say a word to Aunt Eileen.”
That much he didn’t have a problem with. What he was finding a little challenging was the cute way one side of her mouth tipped slightly higher than the other when she tried to hide a full-fledged grin. Though it was safer watching her smile than looking at the rest of her.
On the other side of the arena he followed her to a large storage room. Hannah moved with deliberate intent. Her focus was intense. It was surprisingly fascinating to watch her reach, grab, and carry what to him looked like swimming pool noodles, and when her arms were full she’d pass them off to him.
“Take these to the arena for me, set them down inside the door, then come back. We’ll load up with as many of the props as we can. It shouldn’t take too long to set up the training course. Hopefully we’ll have at least enough to give a good impression to Mrs. Hampton of how things will be and what we can do.”
Dale didn’t say a word. He simply nodded, accepted the noodles that were considerably heavier than he had expected, and spun back in the direction she’d told him.
He wasn’t exactly sure how much time passed as the two spread the noodles of different sizes and patterns at different sections of the arena. All patterns were set up around two main squares, one on either side of the arena.
“And how does this help the person on the horse?” He didn’t mean to seem dense, but he wasn’t following why leading a horse in and out of a square on the ground could somehow help a person with physical or emotional issues.
“That depends on
the person. See those letters scattered on the wall?” She waited for him to nod. “The rider will stop at each and count to three then walk on to the next. All of these things are designed to help cognitive students with sequencing.”
“What about someone with a physical injury?”
“There are a lot of different reasons why therapeutic riding can help. For instance, a horse’s hips move the same way ours do. This creates involuntary muscle memory and strength without the rider’s knowledge, so they can improve and grow strong doing something fun.”
“So say you have a stubborn teen who doesn’t want to do his regular therapy, riding a horse can make a difference. I think I get it.”
“Good, because we’ve got about ten minutes left and it can take more than that to saddle up Maggie.”
“Maggie?”
“She’s a good horse. She’s not terribly fond of men so you’ll have to keep your distance, but she’s great with children.”
“Your eyes light up when you talk about Maggie.”
“I love that animal more than some people love their own family.”
That didn’t seem so hard to believe. He knew as well as the next cop that too many people didn’t have a clue what family meant, never mind love and respect.
Inside the barn area, Hannah stopped in a room similar to the storage room she’d gotten the props from. This room contained saddles, harnesses, all sorts of blankets, and leather horse things hung from the walls and on the shelves. With the same military precision she had used walking through the other area, she reached for what she wanted and handed things off to Dale. Even loaded with gear, including a bucket with brushes looped on his fingers, he instinctively lurched forward when she grabbed for what he knew had to be a heavy saddle.
“Don’t go macho on me. I’ve been carrying saddles since I was old enough to sit in one. Follow me.” Without hesitation, she turned and marched out the door and down the hall. Halfway down the stalls she eased her step. “You’d better wait here.” She set the saddle over what looked like a carpenter’s sawhorse and took the bucket and a few other things from his arms. “I’m going to clean her up quickly and then come get the saddle.”
Farraday Country Page 6