Here to Stay (24 page)

Rosebud came to the screen and nudged the mesh, asking to be let outside. Mandy didn’t know if the mini was allowed to leave the house without her master. Zach saved her from having to make that decision by appearing at the door. He pressed it open with the flat of his hand to let Rosebud out. The mini paused to let Mandy give her a quick pat on the head, then made a beeline for Luke. It warmed Mandy’s heart to watch her brother and the horse make over each other. Within seconds, Luke was laughing and had one arm looped around Rosebud’s neck.

Zach came to stand beside Mandy. He wore two brown boots now, but no hat. She’d seen him bareheaded, most recently last night in her kitchen, but it still seemed odd to see him that way now. His wavy hair glistened blue-black in the February sunlight that slanted in under the porch overhang. When he caught her studying him, he fiddled with the collar of his shirt, then checked his buttons.

“What?” he asked.

Mandy laughed. “Nothing. I’m just not used to seeing you without a hat. I thought cowboys wore them constantly.”

His brown eyes warmed. “A gentleman cowboy removes his hat in certain situations: to greet a lady, to sit down for a meal, and sometimes briefly when he steps indoors. I’ve been going in and out, so my hat’s on the coat tree for now.”

“Ah, so you’re a gentleman?”

A twinkle of mischief danced in his eyes. “Let’s just say I aspire to be when the mood comes over me.” He rubbed his hands together. “Hey, Luke, how would you like to take a spin around the yard with Rosebud? We’ve got plenty of time to fool around before dinner.”

Luke looked startled by the invitation. “Oh, I don’t know. I’m not sure—”

“Ah, come on,” Zach insisted. “I’ll be right there. I promise not to leave you alone with her unless you ask me to.”

Mandy stood aside to watch as Zach worked with Rosebud to get her down the steps. The mini kept trying to jump over several risers at a time.

“This is one thing she needs a lot of work on,” Zach explained. “I called a trainer and talked with her. I guess stairs are difficult for most minis to master.”

Mandy released a taut breath, relieved to have Zach’s attention on the horse. Getting ready to come here today had set her nerves on edge. Zach was not only one of the handsomest men she’d ever met, but he was also nice and down-to-earth. She liked his easy manner, sense of humor, and lack of pretense. While getting Luke’s soft drink, she had noticed the beautifully set table, with frilly place mats and everything just so. Yet smack-dab at the center he’d set a roll of paper towels, not even bothering to fold ripped-off sections and put them by the plates.

To Mandy, who’d been raised by a tyrant who insisted on pressed linen napkins at every meal, not to mention perfectly prepared and presented food, Zach’s disregard of table embellishments was refreshing. He made her feel at ease, the only exceptions being when he looked deeply into her eyes or when he asked questions she didn’t wish to answer. But even when the latter occurred, he seemed to sense her reluctance and changed the subject.

Mandy had never felt quite this way about a man. Maybe it was foolish, but for the first time in her memory, she felt truly attracted and found herself yearning to explore the possibilities. Of course, realistically she knew there weren’t any. She needed to focus on that.

After Zach led Luke down the front steps, Mandy perched on the top riser to watch as her brother took his first walk with Rosebud. Zach stayed close, not yet trusting Rosebud completely, but the little horse performed like the blue-ribbon champion she was. When she came to an obstacle, she veered around it. At the corner of a shed with low-hanging roof beams, she circled out so Luke wouldn’t hit his head. It was all Mandy could do not to clap her hands.

Zach kept flashing Mandy broad grins and jabbing a thumb at the sky. She smiled back at him each time, as enamored of the horse as he was.

When Zach sensed that Luke was tiring, he invited the young man for a tour of the stable to meet the big horses. Luke immediately started shaking his head.

“I, um, don’t think I want to do that. I haven’t ever met a big horse.”

Zach waved Mandy down from the steps. “Your sister will come. My big horses are wonderful. At least meet them before you decide you don’t like them.”

Mandy drew abreast of Zach. “What’s up?”

Zach explained, and Mandy grasped her brother’s arm. “It’s fine, Luke. I’ll be right there.”

“Well.” Luke tightened his hand on Rosebud’s halter handle. “I guess. If I get nervous, we can leave, right?”

“Right,” Zach assured the youth.

Luke touched Rosebud’s ears with his free hand. “Okay, Rosebud, let’s go.”

As they drew near the arena, Tornado emerged from his stall and began to circle his paddock. The stallion let loose with a shrill whistle, clearly excited to see Mandy again. Zach was unprepared for what happened next. As the horse circled from the back of his paddock, he lengthened his lope, bunched at the rump, and went airborne, clearing the five-foot fence as if it weren’t there.

“Oh, shit.” Zach didn’t know what to do. He had no way of protecting Mandy and Luke, and the stallion was bearing down on them at full speed, a glorious sight to see with his mane and tail lifting in the breeze, but a terrifying spectacle as well. “Head for the house!” he barked at Mandy and Luke.

Zach lunged into the horse’s path, shouting and waving his arms, frantic to distract the stallion long enough to allow Mandy and Luke to escape. To his horror, Mandy ignored his instructions. Coming up behind him, she grabbed his arm and said, “Zach, it’s okay. He’s just coming to say hello.”

Hello? That horse would pulverize all of them. “Get out of here! Now.”

Miranda darted around him, straight into the stallion’s path. “Don’t be silly. He won’t hurt me.”

And, miracle of miracles, Tornado didn’t. As Zach watched, frozen, the stallion braked at the last possible second, skidding to a stop a mere three feet away from Mandy. She laughed and moved right in. “Hello, Tornado. How’s my big guy? Huh?” She tucked herself close to the stallion’s shoulder, going up on her toes to loop an arm around his neck, her free hand fast at work to dole out rubs and scratches. “Ah, sweetie, you’re shaking. It’s okay.”

Zach’s muscles felt as if they had dissolved and run into his boots. Tornado whiffled and shoved his nose under Mandy’s arm. It was as if the huge animal was trying to hide from the world, and her armpit was his only safe haven.

“What’s happening?” Luke demanded, sounding panicked. “Is that a big horse? Where is it? Will it trample Rosebud and me?”

Making a mental note that the kid’s first concern seemed to be Rosebud, Zach grasped Luke’s elbow. “No worries, Luke. Let me get you and the mini back to the porch. I’ll explain on the way.”

Reluctantly, Zach left Miranda with the most dangerous horse he’d ever seen while he hustled her brother away. En route, he told Luke an abbreviated story of how Tornado, the stable nightmare, had taken a shine to his sister.

“I can’t get near that beast half the time, and he’s never allowed me to pet him. But, I swear, your sister could climb on his back and he’d let her do it.”

Luke chuckled. “Mandy’s got a way with frightened things.” The kid’s smile faded. “I think it’s because she’s been afraid so many times herself.”

Zach wanted to hear more about that, but right then, his one thought was to get Tornado back into his paddock. He’d holler for Cookie and Ethel, he guessed. Somehow they’d corral the horse and herd him back to where he belonged.

Zach carried Rosebud up the steps. No time to do battle with the stairs right now. Then he hurried back down for Luke. When the kid was safely sitting down, Zach started to tell him to stay put, but Luke interrupted him.

“She’s fine, Mr. Harrigan. Hear that? They’re coming this way.”

Zach turned to look, and sure enough, there came Mandy, Tornado trailing behind her like a dog taught to heel. It was ... incredible. No, damn it, it was impossible, and he would be a fool to believe the situation would remain status quo. Tornado had never been near the house, and strange things set him off. He could blow up at any second, and Mandy would be first in his line of attack.

Zach hurried back down the steps. The second his boots connected with the ground, the stallion snorted and stopped, head thrown up, ears back, eyes ringed with white. His lips drew back from his strong yellow teeth. Zach froze.

“I’m going to call for help. Stay where you are and keep him calm if you can. Reinforcements will be here within seconds.” Zach grabbed for his cell. “Talk to him. Do the lovey-dovey thing. If he blows up, he’ll take us both out.”

Mandy placed a palm on the stallion’s neck, gently stroking him. She fixed a questioning gaze on Zach as he dialed Cookie. “Reinforcements? For what?”

“To get him back in his paddock.”

Cookie answered his cell and barked hello just then. Zach turned his attention to the foreman, but before he could get three words out, Miranda grabbed the phone and turned it off.

“A bunch of people will frighten him. If you want him in his pen, I’ll take him.”

Zach didn’t want her within kicking distance of that stallion for another second. “Look, you’ve got to listen to me. I know he’s taken a shine to you, but he’s completely unpredictable. If the wind blows your hair wrong—if you move your hand too fast—” He broke off and pinned a worried glare on the horse. “He’s quiet now, but if a worm pops its head out of the ground, he might go nuts. If he does, he could kill you. Even if he doesn’t intend to. I mean it.”

“He’s a lot more predictable than most people.” With a withering look at Zach, she turned on her heel. “Come on, Tornado. Let’s go back to your pen.”

Again, the stallion followed her like a well-trained dog. Zach fell in behind them, but kept his distance, terrified he’d spook the horse. He saw Cookie round the back corner of the arena building. The older man froze in his tracks when he saw Tornado. Zach shared the sentiment. It was an “oh, shit” moment.

Amazingly, Mandy led the stallion back to the fencing without incident. Once there, she crooked her neck to look back at Zach. “Which one is his yard?”

Zach cut a wide berth around her and the stallion to unlatch Tornado’s gate. As it swung wide, Mandy led the horse inside. “Hurry out,” Zach said.

“If I do, he’ll only jump the fence again. Give me a few minutes with him. Let me assure him that it’s okay.”

Zach wanted to dash in there, grab her by the arm, and drag her out. But he didn’t dare. “Mandy, don’t push it with him. He’s dangerous, I’m telling you.”

“I know,” she said softly, running light hands over the stallion’s regal head. “With enough reason, aren’t we all, Zach?” She cooed softly to the sorrel, and the animal thrust his nose under her arm again, making her giggle. “More armpit sniffs? Tornado, ladies like their privacy.”

Zach pushed the gate closed, rested his elbows on the top rung, and cupped a hand over his eyes.
Please, Jesus, keep her safe
. Zach sure as hell couldn’t. He listened as she spoke to the horse. “I know, I know.” Her voice trembled with understanding. “Someone was horribly mean to you, and you’re still so afraid inside. But it’s over now, sweetheart. Zach will never let anyone hurt you again.”

Zach leaned closer, trying to catch each word. He knew the voice of experience when he heard it. She knew how it felt to be afraid, and the horse sensed that. They were kindred spirits, tempered by the same kinds of pain and betrayal. The tension eased from Zach’s body. Even as tears stung his eyes—it made him sad to think Mandy had endured abuse—he smiled slightly. Once again, she’d nailed it on the head. Tornado didn’t want to hurt anyone. He was just seeking love and comfort from the one person he sensed he could trust.

“Do you have any treats?” Mandy asked.

Zach jerked his mind to the question. “I, um, yeah.”

“Can you get me some? I’ll settle him in his stall and shut the doors so he can’t jump the fence again while I’m here. Otherwise, he will, and for reasons that are beyond me, you don’t seem to want him at our barbecue.”

Zach pushed away from the fence. “Trust me, my reasons are many. If you can get him into his stall, that’s where he needs to stay.”

He hurried around the building to find Cookie standing outside the personnel door. The foreman doffed his hat to scratch behind his ear. “What the Sam Hill happened? He jump the fence?”

“He did. I saw my whole life flash before my eyes.”

“I bet ya did. Where you goin’?” Cookie asked. When Zach explained, Cookie said, “Why not let him attend the barbecue? The whole place is fenced. Ethel’s the only hand still here. She can veer out when she leaves so as not to spook him. Let the little lady give him treats from the porch while he watches the fun.”

Zach spun to stare at his foreman and wondered just how rapidly senility could manifest itself. “What? You’re joking, right?”

Cookie chuckled and plopped his battered hat back on his head. “You’re sleepin’ outside that damned stallion’s gate, tryin’ to make friends with him. That’s a great idea, but why miss another opportunity when it runs up and bites you on the ass? That crazy horse loves her. Won’t hurt him a bit to stand by the porch, watchin’ all of you make happy. If he blows up, and I doubt he will with her there, your porch may take a few knocks, but other than that, what harm will be done? You already know he and Rosebud are friends. He wouldn’t hurt her.”

Leaving an unpredictable and potentially dangerous stallion loose in his yard near a lit barbecue and a blind teenager didn’t strike Zach as a fabulous idea. But when he searched Cookie’s gaze, he saw that the foreman was dead serious.

“Get the treats. Take them back to the house. Before she leaves, have her put Tornado up for the night. Simple.”

With that, Cookie sauntered past Zach into the arena.

Tornado handled the barbecue as if he’d attended dozens of them. He stood next to the elevated porch, gazing adoringly at Mandy. Occasionally Rosebud would tear herself from Luke’s side to venture over to rub noses with her giant friend. The two equines whickered and chuffed, apparently communicating.
Unusual
. Large horses often detested smaller ones and picked on them, but Tornado was as gentle as a lamb. Maybe it was because Rosebud was a mare.