Kate Sherwood - Dark Horse 02 - Out of the Darkness (20 page)

Dan takes a look around and then pulls Jeff in for a quick, hard kiss. “Okay, man, get out of here. Go be an artist. I’ll tell Evan to give you a call about whatever’s going on tonight, all right?”

Jeff nods and heads for the door. He stops when he gets there and then raises a hand and waves before continuing out to his car. Dan walks after him to the doorway, and he stands there and watches him drive away.

Chapter 12

T
HE
LA Three return with the Kaminskis just as Dan is leading Kip out to the ring. He waves politely but doesn’t even think about hanging around and talking to them. When Evan comes out the ring, Dan rides over.

“So, how was lunch?”
Evan holds up a brown paper bag. “Brought you a sample.”

Dan’s hand shoots out almost automatically. “Panini?” he guesses hopefully.

“I’m not stupid, man. And you’re not exactly subtle.” He hands the bag up and watches in amusement as Dan rips it open and pulls out the wax-paper-wrapped contents. Dan takes a big bite of the still-warm sandwich and feels his eyes rolling back again. Goddamn, that is good food. He’s torn between wanting to demolish the sandwich and trying to savor every bite.

“You know, man, twenty minutes ago Jeff was my favorite, but now… you are!”

 

“Love the one you’re with, is that your motto?” Evan seems amused by Dan’s fickle nature.

“It’s one of my mottos, sure.”
“And what did Jeff give you that made you happy with him?”

“Blowjob,” Dan says around a mouthful. He’s aware that this is sort of a weird situation, talking to one partner about sex with the other partner, but he doesn’t want to start hiding stuff, so, what the hell, why not be totally open? Better to be straightforwardly awkward than secretly awkward. That can be another one of his mottos.

Evan looks a little surprised. “Here at the barn?”
Dan nods. “In one of the stalls. Pretty hot, really. If you’re jealous, we can visit the hay shed later….” He smiles devilishly as he takes another bite of his panini.

“Shit, man.” Evan looks a little pained. “I told Tat I’d go to the house with her. Her collarbone’s starting to hurt.”

Dan nods seriously. “That is such a good excuse that I’ll tell you what I’ll do. Raincheck, man. Seriously, I’ll even write it down—give you a coupon, good for one super-duper blowjob. Some conditions may apply.”

“Dude, you still owe me one from last night.”
“I don’t remember anything like that. Let me see the coupon.”

Evan laughs. “There’s no coupon. Damn it, I’m getting things written down from now on.”

 

Dan shakes his head. “A businessman like yourself, you’d think you’d know these things.”

 

“Well, I’m self-taught, you know. I didn’t actually go to business school.”

 

“Maybe it’s not too late. You could still go back, maybe…. Do you think you could get in?”

Evan shakes his head as he laughs. “Damn, give you a blowjob and a sandwich and you are just full of beans.” He frowns. “And, honestly, I know you like the paninis, but Jeff must be off his game if that’s all it takes to beat him.”

“Well, I’m kinda a ‘what have you done for me lately’ kind of guy, so, you know… blowjob then vs. sandwich now, sandwich wins. If you lined them up next to each other and I had to choose… that’d be a closer race.” He thinks for a second. “Although, the way the bastard dragged it out, I probably could have chosen the blowjob and I would have needed the panini to snack on halfway through, ’cause we’d have run right over a couple meal times.” Evan laughs as if this is a familiar trick with Jeff. Great. Kip is starting to get restless, so Dan lets him move off, calling over his shoulder, “I told Jeff you’d call him if you were going to do something tonight.”

“Yeah, we want to barbecue—is that good for you and Chris?” Evan raises his voice a little to be heard.

 

Dan circle Kip back around. “I haven’t talked to him, but probably. He likes food. Did you kiss and make up with Blaine?” Evan looks a bit discouraged. “It’s hard to stay mad at the guy. But it’s also hard to put up with him, you know?”

 

Dan nods thoughtfully. “Yes, I think I’m in tune with that sentiment… the second part, at least.”

“Yeah, I know. So, you and Chris can come by straight from the airport, get here six-ish? We can make up rooms in the house for you if you want to crash here, or obviously the guest house is available… although I don’t think any of us went back to clean up today….”

Dan tries to think back. “Other than the bedroom, I don’t think it’d be too bad. Thanks for the invitations. Is it cool if we play it by ear?”

Evan nods. “Yeah, absolutely. And now that Blaine’s big mouth has let the cat out of the bag with Tat, it wouldn’t be a big deal if you wanted to stay with me. You know you like that bed….”

“I don’t know, man. Have you talked to her about it?” Evan shakes his head. “I haven’t really had a chance yet. What do you think I should say?”

 

“I don’t know. About the relationship itself, or about why you told Blaine and didn’t tell her?”

 

“Either. Both.”

“She’s your sister, man, I’m sure you know better than I do, but you could say that it’s all really new, and you don’t know where it’s going, so you didn’t tell her, and you only told Blaine because he saw something and made an ass out of himself. It’s a pretty good story, I’d say. And it’s got the added advantage of being true, so… that’s handy.”

“It’s just crazy enough to work.” Kip is dancing now, so Evan waves a hand. “Okay, go deal with the beast. I’ll see you guys tonight, six-ish, unless you call.”

Dan nods and gets down to business. He’s got Kip worked, cooled, and untacked when he sees Anna coming back from the hill. Tulip is sweaty but not lathered, and she’s moving in a relaxed way, not quite as coiled as Dan would like to see her in the dressage ring, but certainly much more controlled and unresisting than she had been earlier. He raises an arm and points Anna toward the jumping ring, then jogs Kip out to his paddock before going over to meet Anna.

“She looks great!” he starts. “Good job. Do you want to take her over a couple low jumps?”

Anna nods emphatically. “God, I was hoping you would ask. I know it’s within your rights to kick me off and do it yourself, but… I’d really love to!”

Dan laughs. “No, you did the work, you deserve the fun.” There are jumps set up from when he had been planning to work the mare, so he just gestures. “I was going to try her over those crosspoles with the trotting poles in front. She’s free-jumped a lot, just on her own without prompting, even, and I’ve taken her over crosspoles a couple times before, but she generally gets worked up and I have to stop. It’ll be interesting to see how she does when she’s all tired out.”

Anna brings Tulip to a trot and circles her a few times, making sure that she’s responsive and balanced, and then brings her to the jump. Tulip hops over as if it’s nothing and canters only a few strides before coming back to a trot. Anna looks over for feedback, and Dan applauds. “Excellent. Let’s see if you can get a few more nice calm jumps out of her, and then we’ll give her a break.”

Tulip is good as gold for the next three jumps, and Dan thumps her enthusiastically on the neck when she’s done. Before he’s thought about it, he’s given Anna’s leg a congratulatory slap as well. It’s what he would have done with any of the other riders, but his face heats up as he realizes that this isn’t one of the riders, it’s Jeff’s mother. But she doesn’t seem to mind, just smiles at him tiredly as she slides to the ground.

“That was a lot of fun, but I’m not in the shape I used to be.” Dan feels contrite. “Oh, damn, I’m so sorry. I should have thought….”

“Thought what? That I’m too old and stupid to know my own limits?” She sounds a bit testy, but then she smiles. “It’s been the best day I’ve had in a long time, Dan. Please don’t apologize for it.”

“Okay, yeah. Great.” He smiles back. “I don’t suppose you’re looking for a job? You’re still in pretty good shape, or even if you just work part time….”

She shoots him a quick look. “Don’t tease me, Dan.”

Dan realizes that he probably should have checked with Jeff before encouraging his mother to move closer to him, but he hadn’t really thought she’d consider it. “Well, I’m sure you’ve got a life up in Seattle… but if you lived here, absolutely we’d have work for you. We’ve got lots of enthusiasm on staff, but we’re a little light on experience, and we’re thinking of buying some more horses, so we’re definitely going to be needing to hire.”

She gives him a long look, as if gauging his sincerity, and then her smile is bright enough that Dan thinks scientists should find a way to harness it. She’s actually a little choked up when she speaks. “Thank you so much, Dan.” She takes a moment to compose herself, and then seems to think that an explanation is called for. “You have no idea what it’s like to get old and feel useless. I keep myself busy, but everything I do is just for myself, you know? Nobody else really seems to need me.”

Dan isn’t good with emotional women, but this seems like a situation that calls for a hug. He approaches cautiously, and decides to go for a one-arm version, just giving her shoulder a squeeze, but she turns into it, wrapping both her arms around his chest and squeezing surprisingly tightly. It’s quick, thankfully, with her moving away before he’s even got the presence of mind to bring his other arm into play, and then she’s smiling a little embarrassedly and turning her face away.

“Well, I’d better get her taken care of. She’s pretty warm to be standing around like this.”

Dan nods and falls in beside her as she begins to walk. “Our hotwalker is still in some sort of installation limbo. We could go over and look at it, but the electrician hasn’t got it hooked up yet.”

“Oh, that’s all right. I never really trust those machines anyway. I can take care of her.”

Dan checks his watch. He’s a bit off schedule (and he doesn’t want to think about how he spent his extra time, not with Jeff’s mother right next to him), so he decides to leave the lunging for another day. That means it’s just taking care of Tulip and then off to the airport to get Chris. He’s really looking forward to seeing the guy, but he’s beginning to be a bit apprehensive about the mix of people. Maybe the barbecue isn’t a good idea; maybe it would be better if everyone just went to their corners and played with their own friends.

Dan realizes that for all their talk about keeping things quiet, everyone at the barbecue tonight is going to have at least some knowledge about the new relationship. That should make things… incredibly uncomfortable. He wonders how tacky it would be if he and Chris just went and got drunk at a bar somewhere. He wonders if he
cares
how tacky it would be, ’cause it sounds like a brilliant plan.

While Dan’s been lost in his thoughts, Anna has apparently been thinking too. “It’s been really nice to have met you, Dan. Jeff’s talked about you, of course, since long before he met you. He was so happy about that kiss at Rolex! Well, we all were, I suppose. Anyone who cares about a gay athlete was happy to see one who didn’t feel he had to hide.”

That’s a surprising turn for the conversation to take, but Dan tries to go with it. “I don’t think…. Justin wasn’t really a ‘make a statement’ kind of guy. He was just happy, you know?”

Anna smiles sadly. “That’s what made it so beautiful—it wasn’t political, it was personal. We were there, you know, Jeff and I. He took me as a birthday present. It was a lovely day.” Her smile brightens a little. “So that’s two days that I’ve spent near you, and they’ve both been lovely! You must be a good luck charm.”

Dan just shakes his head. “This day’s not over yet. There’s still the damn barbecue.”

 

She looks at him oddly. “Are you a vegetarian, or something?”

“No….” He laughs a little. He can’t really explain why he’s uncomfortable without opening up a conversation about himself and her son, and he’d really rather not do that. “I’m just a little done with Evan’s friends. They’re a bit….”

“Protective?” Anna suggests, smiling kindly. “Evan’s a sweet boy—you can’t really blame them for wanting to look after him.”

“Evan’s a grown-ass man,” Dan retorts, with a little more heat than he’d intended. He tries to moderate his tone. “I wouldn’t be interested in him if he was a boy.” And Dan’s been so busy worrying about his tone that he’s forgotten about the damn content. Shit. He just admitted to Jeff’s mother that he was interested in her son’s lover. He cuts his eyes over tentatively, and the woman is smiling in a quietly satisfied way. No, not smiling… smirking! Dan remembers how Jeff had said that he was going to be outclassed in the information-seeking game. He’d known that was true, but he hadn’t realized quite
how
true.

Anna lets him off the hook. Either that or she’s just playing with him before reeling him in. “I suppose he has grown up a lot since I first knew him.” They’re at the barn now, and Anna feels Tulip’s chest. “She’s still wet, but not hot.”

“I’ll grab her halter; we can untack her out here and hose her down. We’ve got warm water, so it should be fine.” Dan goes inside and grabs the halter and a lead rope. He’s glad for the break.

When he returns, Anna already has Tulip’s saddle off, and Dan throws the lead rope around the horse’s neck before taking her bridle off and replacing it with the halter. Then he hands the lead to Anna in exchange for the saddle. “The wash rack is over there,” he says, gesturing, and Anna obediently heads in that direction while Dan carries the tack indoors.

When he gets back outside, Anna already has Tulip’s halter clipped to the wash rack, but she’s waiting for Dan before going any further. “If she’s off the track, I suppose she’s fine with being washed?”

“Yeah, no problems. Do you want to man the hose, and I’ll do the sponge and bucket?”

“I make no promises about my aim.” And she looks a little gleeful about that too. Dan wonders if he’s about to get soaked, but he gamely grabs the bucket anyway, filling it with water before handing the hose to Anna. He goes to Tulip’s head and runs the sponge over her face, and she leans into him, clearly enjoying the sensations. Anna has started the hose, spraying the concrete pad first, and then running up Tulip’s legs. Dan appreciates the cautious approach; horses are flighty animals, so even if Tulip has never had a problem with being sprayed, it just makes sense to work up to it.