Wild Horses (31 page)

Attila saw the younger man stiffen, his languor hardening into an air of caution. “Uh… what is there to discuss?”

“Over the years, I have found it best not to date my employees. Therefore, Kai….”

“Wait.” Pain shone in Kai’s eyes. “You’re gonna either dump me or fire me, right?” Kai withdrew his hand and straightened up, disbelief in his eyes.

“No!” Attila almost shouted, incredulous. “No, honey… I would never ask you to make such a difficult decision.” He cleared the hair off his brow. “Sure, you would no longer be my employee as I see it—and we will want to consult with our attorneys on the details to make sure everything is fair and to our mutual satisfaction—but I merely tried to make you an offer to be my business partner.”

“You’re nuts.” Kai’s eyes were wide, his expression frozen. “You fed the horses and overexerted yourself again, and your fever’s coming back.”

“This is no joking matter. I do not wish you to shrink into yourself every time you disagree with something I say because you’re afraid you’ll get fired or kicked out of the house. You need some leverage in this relationship—outside the bedroom, I mean,” Attila added with due haste while a faint blush rose in his cheeks. He felt its heat and frowned, trying to will it away.

Kai leaned across the table and grasped Attila’s hands. He looked into his eyes with the intensity of someone who was searching for a misplaced item, hiding in plain sight. “Shhh… it’s okay. Look, you’ve been through a lot. Maybe you better get checked out again. Have you been having any more headaches, or have those really gone away?”

“What are you implying?” Now the furrow on Attila’s forehead was for real.

“Well… according to Dr. Google, sources indicate that, ehm… patients with Lyme disease sometimes suffer cognitive impairment. Memory deficits, attention and mental tracking, visuospatial processing, abstract reasoning….” Kai’s brows drew together as he recited the long-term effects, ticking them off on his fingers. “I guess your decision to fire me and make me your business partner would fall under abstract reasoning and attention deficit…?”

Attila stared at him in utter amazement. “Where have you been getting this, again? Did Dr. Russo say anything?”

“I didn’t want to bother Dr. Russo.” Kai waved his hand, finishing his coffee with the distracted air of a man who knew what he was talking about. “I was just really… I was worried sick for you, so I looked everything up on the Internet, which is why I thought you had the West Nile virus at first. Anyway… there is so much material out there, it’s absolutely amazing!”

“But, you lack medical background, Kai,” Attila countered, his tone as gentle as could be. “How could you be sure you’ve read and understood the right thing?”

Kai shrugged, looking a bit defeated. “Most of the stuff’s in English… and for the Latin parts, there’s Google Translate. But that’d explain you going nuts on this idea, anyway. I can’t do anything business related. I’m just no good with that sort of a thing. And besides, how can I be in the horse business if I don’t even have a horse? I barely know anything. Attila, be sensible. Tibor will rip your head off if he finds out you wanted to make some homeless street rat you barely know your business partner.”

“Now, that’s where you’re wrong, Kai,” Attila said. “Please give me your driver’s license.”

Kai produced his license. He looked at it, scrutinizing it for clues before handing it to Attila, who only glanced at it before handing it back.

“Your birthday is in three days. August thirty-first! You will be twenty-five, and it will be a very good year.” Attila graced Kai with one of his rare, full-wattage smiles. “I would like to give Cayenne to you three days early, if you don’t mind. You named him, you tamed him. He is your horse more than he will ever be mine, anyway.”

Kai gaped, his cautious expression melting into a goofy grin of utter disbelief. “No way.”

“Yes, way. Let’s put the dishes away and go look at your horse.”

The dishes were put away with quiet efficiency. Soon they were standing by the stall of the only stallion at the stables. He was done eating and wanted to be let out, so Kai put a halter on him and took him out to the paddock.

“He’s so beautiful.” Kai’s voice was an awed hush.

“And so are you.”

“You can’t do this, Attila.”

“Will you reject my gift?”

“No! No….” Kai let the horse run free in the paddock. Then he turned toward his partner, took him by the shoulders, and pinned him against the fence. He leaned in, capturing his lips in a sweet, languorous kiss. “I will do my best to be your right hand. I’ll learn all I can, I’ll help you in any way possible….”

“You have already accomplished more than many thought possible,” Attila murmured, twining his fingers around long, coppery locks and pulling him in again. Lost in their kiss, neither heard the car making its way up the driveway.

A
TTILA
’
S
alarm was turning to amusement. It seemed the unfortunate death of Bubbles had a profound effect on his younger accomplice, who was now hell-bent to prevent Attila from following in the mare’s footsteps. In retrospect, it all made sense: Kai’s panic, his call to Dr. Russo on Attila’s behalf without his consent, the painstaking care he took in keeping Attila comfortable, hydrated, and medicated. Some of Kai’s methods were unorthodox, to be sure, but to that point, Kai swore by them all. Most especially, the young man seemed to possess a deep faith in the powers of the Internet. He Googled everything: symptoms for the horses and humans alike, various diseases and preventive cures, horse toys and training techniques. Thus, overwhelmed by newfound information and not always able to put it into proper context, Kai misunderstood Attila’s desire to bind him to both himself and to Blue Heron Acres as a manifestation of long-term cognitive deficits.

Kai seemed momentarily distracted by his generous gift of Cayenne for his upcoming birthday. Then he began to fret some more, voicing his concerns about Tibor’s reaction to Attila’s unseemly generosity. Yet Attila reflected that he was not above manipulation. When he asked,
“Will you reject my gift?”
he was fully aware that much of the uncertainty he allowed to seep through his façade of calm control was feigned.

The results had been worth it. Attila found himself pressed against the rough wood of the split rail fence, embraced by the warm, nurturing cocoon that was Kai Alewright, and loved senseless. He made out fragments of sentences between breathless kisses—fervent promises to try and learn and not let Attila down—and Attila only smiled, melting into his partner’s embrace.

I shall not die alone.

Independence had an ugly sister, and her name was Loneliness. Where one went, the other often followed, and Attila had a hard time telling them apart in the dim solitude of his never-ending days. It had been a while since Theodore left. Weeks. No—months. Wait… years? Almost two years had passed, and Attila had been stuck in the same rut of mere survival until only several weeks ago. He didn’t want to think about it, but he did have to admit having Kai around felt good. Comforting. It was as though his back was cramped and he stretched and felt it crack, feeling better all of a sudden. His mind wandered to a tense conversation that took place before the weather turned hot and before Attila even knew of Kai’s existence.

“I
WANT
you to go, Attila. Rita keeps worrying about you and we like to visit, but….” Tibor shrugged. “Man, you have to live a little. It’s just you and the stable population. Telling people to press their heels down as they rise into a jump doesn’t get you any closer to a meaningful relationship.”

“My students like me,” Attila said with a defensiveness that was familiar to his whole family.

“Sure, they like you. What do you know about them? Do you get asked to join the adult ones for dinner or a barbecue?”

A gleaming black boot pushed a stone through the dirt, raising dust that sullied its shine. “Mona keeps asking me out, but….” Attila shrugged.

“Mona is a woman and you’re into men. Besides, she’s a horrid gossip,” Tibor said. “She’s on Rita’s volunteer committee at the Aviary, and she broadcasts your private business to all who will listen. By now, perfect strangers are aware that her riding instructor got jilted by his lover and she’s been shoveling horse shit in a noble act of self-sacrifice.”

“You cannot be serious.”

“She thinks you’re a catch.” Tibor shrugged, finger combing his overgrown hair in an absent-minded fidget. “Just to make sure we’re on the same page—are you or are you not interested in her?”

“Not really….” Attila shrugged. “I don’t know what to do about her. She won’t stay away, so I asked her to muck the stables, hoping she’ll get sick of it and come only for her lessons.”

Tibor broke into laughter, and when it passed, he continued. “In any case, you’ve been invited to speak at a conference held by a professional organization working in your field. They respect you, Attila. Some people know you from way back when. Nobody will know you’ve been moping for well over a year ’cause a guy decided to move on. Go, soak up some new scenery, man. Live a little. Go to a nice restaurant. You might even meet someone.”

H
E
DID
meet someone, although the mechanics of their first encounter were unorthodox even by Tibor’s standards. Attila cut off his reminiscing, returning to the here and now of Kai’s embrace. He became wholly aware of every touch, every breath, even the most minute brush against his back.

“Kai…,” Attila sighed. He opened his eyes, only to drown in Kai’s warm, brown depths. Their eyes were serious, yet both of them began to relax and smile, brushing playful kisses on clean-shaven chins, their noses touching.

“What do you think you are doing?” The brittle voice of Mona Putney exploded only a few feet away from them.

Kai recognized her screech right away and jumped, his first instinct telling him to push away from Attila. Yet Attila’s arms were locked around his waist, and he was not inclined to let go.

“Good morning, Mona.” Attila made no effort to disguise his happiness. “We were not expecting you until four o’clock.”

“How… how dare you?” she hissed, taking one step closer.

“Mom,” Lindsey piped up behind her. “You wanted to check on the horses… that’s why we’re here early. You wanted to make sure they’re okay. Come on, Mom!”

“Shut your trap,” Mona spat, not sparing her a glance. “I can’t believe you two are neglecting your charges and just… just… doing
this
! In the light of day, where everyone can see!”

Attila let go of Kai, slowly straightening his posture to assume the controlled carriage his two students were accustomed to seeing.

Mona watched them separate as Kai took two steps away from Attila, reestablishing what most would consider appropriate personal space. “And you,” she hissed at Kai. “I trust you know the score. We had a deal, young man.”

“I know.” Kai grinned. “I got fired.”

Mona spun toward Attila. “Nonsense. You never fire anyone. Why would you still let him mess around with your stallion?”

“Ah… I did fire Kai this morning. Cayenne belongs to Kai, actually, so he can do with him as he pleases, and he can come and go as he pleases. Although….” Attila measured Kai with a deadpan look. “I would prefer if Kai chose to stay so I can enjoy his company.”

“And what about my company?” Mona wiggled her body toward Attila in a last-ditch effort to close the chasm yawning ever wider between them. “What, I’m not good enough for you?” She jutted her chin up in a challenge and canted her hips, her chest thrust forward.

“Mother!” Lindsey hissed behind her, red-faced and furious.

Attila cleared his throat. “My personal affairs do not concern you. However, when it comes to the horses, we do have issues to discuss. All of your horses will be vaccinated the same as everyone else’s. Furthermore, if you wish to board more than two horses with us, you will have to provide more riders and pay for more training, or else you will let us use them for lessons. We shall not suffer having ill-trained horses at our stables, and I must point out that yours have been ridden and exercised beyond the scope of our contract as a courtesy to them, not to you.”

Mona laughed, throwing her arms up in the air. “What is this? Are you using the royal ‘We’ now, talking of yourself in the plural? Arrogant as usual, I see.”

“He’s referring to me, I guess,” Kai said, moving to Attila’s side and presenting a united front.

“You have no say!” Mona vituperated, her sensuous demeanor changing to something ugly and threatening.

“The royal ‘We’ includes my partner. Which brings us to yet another rule: no hitting. I see you strike anyone or anything, and you shall be banished off our grounds and your horses will have to seek accommodations elsewhere.”

“You impudent, insufferable punk,” Mona hissed at Attila. “You and your overblown reputation and your miserable nags. I’m taking my horses away. All five that are left.” She turned to her daughter. “Lindsey, we’re done here.” Mona stalked to her red Mercedes, expecting Lindsey to follow.