The Chase (17 page)

“Wait until you see the stable,” Kendall replied. “You’ll really flip.”

The gravel drive forked as they neared the house and Kendall turned to the left. The road wound around a pond and through a patch of woods, until it finally ended at a courtyard in front of a U-shaped stable. The barn’s wooden siding was painted a gleaming white, contrasting with shutters and trim in a forest green. Each interior arm of the U had a dozen Dutch doors, the tops of which were fastened open, and the heads of several refined-looking horses poked out and studied them curiously. In the center of the U, four more Dutch doors flanked a high brick-lined archway, which led into the stable aisle. The high-pitched roof was covered with slate shingles, and a cupola topped the center peak, sporting a weathervane in the image of a jumping horse.

Elizabeth’s mouth hung open as she stared out the window at the stable. “Oh my gosh.”

Kendall pulled the rig to a stop in the courtyard. “Told you you’d like it.”

“Is this big barn just for their private horses?” Todd asked.

Kendall nodded. “For now it is. The Worthingtons planned the barn with the thought that one of their daughters might want to start a training stable someday, so they designed it with enough stalls to accommodate a commercial operation.”

“Must be tough,” Todd muttered. “Having parents who hand you everything on a silver platter.”

“There’s no question the Worthington girls have certain advantages, but I don’t think it’s fair to hold it against them, Todd. They can’t help it that they were born into wealth,” Kendall said.

“Yeah, and I can’t help it that I was born into poverty.” Todd got out of the truck and slammed the door.

Kendall turned off the engine. “I think I hit a sore spot with Todd.”

“It’s a little hard to stomach seeing other folks live like this when you work your butt off mucking stalls all day,” Jake said, opening his door. “I’ll go talk to him.”

Kendall watched out the window as Jake walked up to Todd and put his hand on his shoulder.

“I feel sorry for Todd,” Elizabeth said.

“Why?”

“He doesn’t have a father, and he had to drop out of school to work to help support his mom. He told me when we were sitting in the truck waiting for you.”

“Did his father die when he was a baby?”

Elizabeth shook her head. “No, his dad was never married to his mom. She refuses to talk about it, but Todd thinks it was just a one-night stand.”

“Poor kid. How old is he?”

“I’m not sure. I guess he must be sixteen, because he already has his driver’s license.”

Todd had a sullen expression on his face as he and Jake walked towards the courtyard entrance. Jake was talking, and Todd stopped and leaned against a brick pillar, his arms folded across his chest.

Kendall pulled on the door handle. “Come on. Let’s go on into the barn. They can follow us when they’re finished talking.”

Elizabeth climbed out of the truck after her. “He’s cute, don’t you think?” she asked, glancing towards Jake and Todd.

Kendall sighed. “
Elizabeth.”

“What?”

“Didn’t we already have this conversation once today?”

“What conversation?”

“About how cute you think Jake is.”

“Oh, yeah, but I wasn’t talking about Jake just now. I meant Todd. I think he’s
really
cute.”

Kendall smiled at her. “Elizabeth, I’m beginning to think that you find every male you see attractive.”

Elizabeth stuck her bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout. “That’s not true.” She looked over at the guys again. “I think they kind of look alike. Maybe that’s why I think they’re both cute.”

“They do both have that cowboy look.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think that’s it,” Elizabeth said. “Maybe it’s their eyes. I love blue eyes on guys, don’t you?”

Kendall laughed. “You have a one-track mind. Come on, let’s go find Susie. She’s the Worthingtons’ stable manager.”

They walked through the brick archway and saw a balding, elderly man leading a brown-and-white paint horse up the aisle towards them.

“Hello, you must be Kendall,” he said. “I’m Albert. I heard you drive in, so I went ahead and got Patches out of his stall. The girls went with Susie to pick up the van, and Mrs. Worthington had to run to the vet with her Jack Russell. As usual, he was where he wasn’t supposed to be and got stepped on.”

“Oh no, is he going to be all right?” Kendall asked.

“I suspect he is. But he was favoring his paw, and Mrs. Worthington wanted to make sure nothing was broken.”

“I guess he’ll stay away from horses’ hooves from now on,” Elizabeth said.

“Nah, he’ll never learn. He’s been stepped on before and probably will be again. You know how Jack Russells are. Shall we see if we can get old Mr. Patches on the trailer?”

Kendall nodded. “We brought reinforcements, just in case. They’re outside.”

Elizabeth walked alongside Albert and patted the horse on the neck. “Patches is so adorable. I know the kids in camp are going to love him.”

“He’s a good old soul,” Albert said. “The only quirk he has is getting on horse trailers. He’s not as bad about vans.”

Kendall lowered the ramp to the trailer. “Will he be better if you lead him on, or do you want me to?”

“I’ll let you do the honors.” Albert handed the lead rope to her. “Tractors are my specialty, not horses.”

Kendall took the rope from him. “Okay, Elizabeth, be ready to fasten the butt bar as soon as I get him in there.”

Patches stood quietly, with his head hung low. “He sure doesn’t look like he’d put up a fuss,” Elizabeth said.

“I hope you’re right.” Kendall pulled on the lead rope and walked purposefully towards the ramp.

Patches followed placidly until his front feet touched the edge of the ramp, then shot backwards, pulling Kendall along with him. She managed to hang on for a few steps, but when her boots hit the gravel drive, she slipped and fell to the ground. Patches continued to run backwards, and, rather than be dragged, Kendall let go of the lead. The horse trotted over to a patch of grass and began grazing.

“Whoa, take it easy, fella.” Jake appeared from the other side of the trailer. He approached Patches slowly and grabbed hold of the lead rope.

“You all right?” he asked, turning to Kendall.

“Yeah.” She rolled to a sitting position and looked at the holes in both knees of her breeches. “Guess I won’t be showing in these anymore.”

Elizabeth squatted down next to her. “Ooh, Kendall, you really skinned your knees.”

Kendall’s knees stung like crazy, but she wasn’t about to show it. “It’s no big deal.”

Jake led Patches over to her and held out his hand. “You sure you’re okay?”

She forced a smile. “The only thing wounded is my pride.”

“We have a first-aid kit in the tack room,” Albert said. “I’ll go get it.”

“No. I’m fine.” Kendall let Jake pull her to her feet. “Let’s concentrate on getting Patches loaded.”

“Mind if I take a stab at it?” Jake asked.

“Be my guest.”

Jake rubbed Patches’s face. “Hey, buddy, you going to cooperate?” he asked softly, looking him in the eye.

Patches butted his face against Jake’s hand, and Jake scratched between the horse’s eyes, then slid his hand up between Patches’s ears and rubbed his forelock. “Okay, old man, let’s do this the easy way. Just follow me.”

He looked at Elizabeth. “You mind closing the butt bar, darling?”

“Sure.”

“All right.”

Jake clucked once, then turned his back on Patches and strode towards the trailer, leading the horse close behind him. Kendall waited for Patches to bolt backwards, but the horse followed Jake up the ramp and into the trailer.

Albert chuckled. “Well I’ll be damned.”

“Way to go, Jake,” Elizabeth said as she fastened the butt bar in place.

Jake hooked the trailer tie to Patches’s halter, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a sugar cube. He rubbed Patches on the face while the horse chewed the treat.

“I must admit, Jake, I’m impressed,” Kendall said as he exited the trailer through the front door.

Jake shrugged. “It was nothing. He’s a smart old horse, just like Mrs. Southwell said. He knew what was coming next if he didn’t cooperate.”

The sound of an engine caught their attention and Kendall saw the Worthingtons’ horse van kicking up a cloud of dust as it roared down the drive. A blond girl with a ponytail waved out the passenger window as the gleaming silver-and-green van passed them before disappearing behind the barn.

“How many horses does that van hold?” Todd asked.

“Twelve. Plus it has living quarters up front,” Kendall replied. “Want to go see it?”

“Could I?”

Kendall turned to Albert. “Is it all right if we take a peek?”

“I don’t see why not. Just try to look past the chaos. They’re getting ready to leave for the Hamptons tomorrow and things are probably in an uproar.”

“Are you going along to the Hamptons?” Kendall asked.

He shook his head and grinned. “No, ma’am. This is my vacation time at home. The Worthingtons take the horses to the Hamptons every August, and I get this whole place to myself. No people, no horses, just me and my tractors.”

“You take care of this big farm all by yourself for a whole month?” Jake asked.

“There’s a landscaping crew comes in once a week to mow around the house, weed the gardens, that kind of thing. I just use the bush hog to mow the fields.”

Jake smiled. “Doesn’t sound like much of a vacation to me.”

“Nah, it’s all right. The Worthingtons give the staff the month off, but I prefer to stay here and putter around. My wife passed away three years ago, and we never had any children, so I don’t have anyplace to go. I’m better off keeping busy.” He gestured towards the barn. “You seem to know your way around here, Kendall. Feel free to show them the van and look around as much as you like. I’m going to get back at it.”

“Thanks, Albert.”

Kendall headed towards the barn. “Let’s take a quick tour of the stable and then I’ll take you around back and show you the van. They have a huge climate-controlled garage just to store the van. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. And wait until you see the gigantic pigeon roost they have at the back of the garage.”

Elizabeth gazed wide-eyed as they walked through the archway. “This is my dream barn. I don’t really care what kind of house I live in when I grow up, but I’d give anything to have a barn like this someday. And I know I’d be just like Albert. I’d never want to leave, even for vacation.”

Kendall smiled wistfully at Elizabeth. She’d had similar dreams when she was Elizabeth’s age, but she knew now that fancy stables and big houses had nothing to do with happiness. Quite the contrary. In the end, her home with Peter had been a prison.

Z
elda caught the bartender’s attention and held her beer bottle up. “I’ll have another one, Sissy.”

“Sure thing, Zelda.”

The door to Thirsty’s opened, and Zelda glanced over to see who’d come in. Not that she cared, really. The only man she’d want to see walk through the door was a hundred miles away. She saw a guy wearing jeans and a polo shirt standing just inside the door, checking the place out. He ran his eyes over the place, real slow, like he was looking for someone, and when he spotted Zelda sitting at the counter, he ambled over in her direction.

Sissy set a cold bottle of Iron City on the counter and leaned over the bar. “I think you may have yourself some company, Zelda.”

Zelda took a long swig of her beer, and ignored the man as he climbed up on the stool next to her.

The man pointed his thumb towards Zelda’s beer. “I’ll have the same thing she’s having.”

“Coming right up.” Sissy placed a napkin on the bar in front of him.

The man twisted in his stool and fiddled with the paper napkin.

Sissy set the beer down on the bar. “You need a glass with that?”

He shook his head. “Nah, I’m good.”

“All right. Enjoy.” Sissy winked at Zelda as she walked away.

The man lifted the bottle and tilted it towards Zelda. “Cheers.”

Zelda leaned her elbow on the bar and glanced sideways at the man. “Cheers.”

“Ahh, that’s nice and cold.” The man set the bottle on the bar. “It was sure a scorcher out there today.”

Zelda nodded. “Yeah, it’s summer. What else is new?”

He smiled. “I’m Joe, by the way.”

She ran her eyes over him. His jeans were faded in an expensive-looking way, and his polo shirt had a fancy little horse on the chest. Her eyes trailed down to his shoes: leather loafers with a tassel. “Joe, huh? What’s your last name, Smith?”

Joe laughed. “You got it.”

Zelda had to give him credit for not denying the fake name. She’d met a dozen
Joe Smiths
at Thirsty’s over the years. Mostly traveling salesmen from Ohio, or Pennsylvania. Afraid to give their real name because they had a wife and kids back home.

“Wherever you’re from, it’s obviously not from around these parts.”

He shifted closer. “No, I’m just traveling through. It’s a nice area.”

Zelda took a swig of her beer. “It’s a run-down piece of shit town.”