She Can Run (10 page)

Jack raised his eyebrow in a silent question as she regained her balance. Then he looked up at the big man following her down and narrowed his eyes. Clearly he suspected something had happened up in the loft because he used the large hand still splayed on her back to steer her away from the base of the ladder, behind him. Beth didn’t fight it. She backed away, stuck her shaking hands into her front pockets, and focused on calming her frayed nerves. She felt Jack’s gaze on her face, but she refused to look at him.

Will whistled a tune as he descended the ladder. “That’s it.” He grinned at Beth and raised an eyebrow, as if they shared a secret.

Bile rose into her throat, and her heart raced on.

“Nice to meet you, O’Malley. See you next time, Miss Markham.” Martin strode out of the barn, got into his truck, and pulled away without waiting for a reply.

Leaning on his cane, Jack followed Martin out into the yard.

Jack didn’t say anything for a few moments. He stared down the road at the retreating truck, his mouth a grim, tight line.

Walking out of the barn to finish untacking Lucy, Beth avoided his gaze when he looked back at her. Her body tensed as Jack approached.

“You all right?”

“I’m fine.” As if to dispute her statement, her hands shook as she unbuckled the saddle’s girth and lifted it off the horse’s back.

“What happened up there?”

“Nothing, really. I’m overreacting. Probably the heat.” She turned away and set the saddle on the fence rail. Returning to Lucy, she began to brush the mare’s back, removing the outline of caked sweat and dirt where the saddle had been.

To Beth’s surprise, Jack picked up a brush and stepped closer to the horse—closer to Beth—close enough that she could feel the warmth from his body. If she moved three inches to her left, their arms would touch. The warm spot on her back reminded her how strong and solid his was.

Beth retreated to brush splatters of mud from the mare’s hind legs, putting a few feet of space between herself and Jack. His shadow enveloped her. She caught a whiff of his scent on the breeze, coaxing her to turn toward him instead of away. Not far enough. She moved to clean the horse’s other side.

Jack was talking to the horse as he ran the brush down her face, his voice deep and soothing. Though directed at the mare, Jack’s voice calmed Beth, too. As she worked and Jack talked, her hands gradually stopped shaking. He moved to stand in front of the horse and brush dried sweat from behind the mare’s ears. Lucy leaned against him, rubbing her big head up and down his side. Beth envied the horse. She wanted to lean into Jack and let him wrap his arms around her. But that wasn’t possible.

Jack scratched under the mare’s thick mane. “Once you get past the size, horses are OK. They’re like really big, extra-smelly dogs.”

Unable to respond, Beth concentrated on a spot of dried mud on Lucy’s foreleg. Her children’s lives depended on keeping their identities a secret. She couldn’t afford to trust anyone.

“Beth.”

She stood and turned to face him. Especially not an ex-cop who still had strong ties to the police force.

“Listen, next time Martin comes, let me handle the delivery. Or we can look into getting another supplier.”

“No. It’s OK. I can handle it.” Beth raised her chin and met his gaze head-on. If she started giving into her fears, she’d be overwhelmed in no time. She’d never be able to get up each morning.

“Some guys are assholes, Beth. You can’t change them, but you don’t have to be alone with them either. There’s no sense in making yourself an easy target. Martin’s a big guy. If I’m not here, make sure someone else is around.” Jack stroked Lucy’s nose. “Maybe I’m paranoid, but I’m a cop. Was a cop,” he corrected with a brief tightening of his mouth that he quickly smoothed over. “There are some nasty people out there, and I have a feeling Martin’s one of them.”

No kidding.

“Thanks, I’ll be careful.” Beth knew all about nasty people.

Jack nodded. “I trust my instincts about people. You should do the same.”

Yeah, right.

Her instincts were the last things she could rely on. Her instincts wanted to turn to Jack for comfort. Her instincts wanted Jack’s hands all over her naked body. Those same instincts had gotten her into this mess.

Jack tossed his magazine onto the table and glanced outside at the setting sun. Over the mountains, the cloudless sky had faded to pale pink. He turned back to the kitchen to watch his housekeeper pull a stick of butter and a carton of eggs from the fridge. A wild Friday night on the O’Malley estate.

“I wonder where Beth and the children are?” Mrs. Harris glanced up at the clock before turning her attention back to assembling ingredients on the counter. “I told them I was baking cookies, and it doesn’t usually take them this long to feed the horses.”

Jack followed her eyes to the clock. It was nearly eight. Since they’d arrived, Beth and the kids had been back from their evening barn chores by seven thirty. Jack’s gut clenched as a sudden spark of suspicion coursed through him.

Had they run away?

Martin had done something to frighten Beth this morning. Had that asshole scared her so much that she’d bolted? She was already so tense. It wouldn’t take much to set her off.

“Maybe I should go see what’s keeping them.” As he hauled his butt out of the chair, the kids and dog emerged from the patch of trees between the house and the barn. No Beth, but they were still here. Suspicion gave way to curiosity. What was keeping her? It’d be dark soon, and he didn’t like the idea of her being alone in the barn.

Ben stepped inside. Katie slipped through the open door behind him, trying to keep one eye on Jack while checking out what Mrs. Harris was doing at the counter. Henry ran to his bowl to check for food, although he’d already been fed. Always the optimist.

Ben cleared his throat. “Mom wants you to call the vet.”

That can’t be good.

Jack turned to Mrs. Harris. “Any idea where I’d get that number?”

“Check your uncle’s Rolodex. The vet’s name is Dr. White. If it’s not there, you can call Jeff Stevens. He’ll have it.”

Jack faced Ben again. “What should I tell him?”

“Lucy’s colicking.”

“He’ll know what that means?”

Ben nodded.

“OK.” Dr. White’s number was not in Danny’s Rolodex, so Jack called his neighbor, then the vet. When Jack returned to the kitchen, Mrs. Harris had enlisted the children’s help with her baking. Katie was perched on a stool, stirring batter with a wooden spoon. Ben was rooting through the pantry. Henry stretched out on the floor behind the kids, waiting for someone to drop something.

Katie froze for a second as Jack passed through the room. Then she went right back to stirring. Jack fought a smile. Progress.

“Vet’s on his way.”

Ben set a bag of chocolate chips onto the counter and moved toward the door. “I’ll go tell Mom.”

Outside the sun had dipped behind the treetops, casting long shadows across the yard. Children shouldn’t be running around in the dark either.

Jack brushed past him. “It’s OK, Ben. I’ve got it. They’re my horses. Time I learned something about them.” He hobbled down to the garage, stowed his cane in the golf cart, and drove to the barn. The stable was quiet as he entered. Some hay rustled and an animal snorted. Beth leaned on Lucy’s half door, resting her chin on her crossed arms. Jack checked the stalls as he walked through. The other horses had been turned out into the pasture for the night.

“How is she?” He stepped up beside Beth and looked over the stall door. His arm rested against her shoulder. Beth, too absorbed in watching and worrying about the horse, didn’t move away from him.

A ridiculous sense of satisfaction bubbled up in Jack’s chest.

The mare stood in the center of the dim stall. An unhealthy sheen covered her copper flanks, and her sides heaved. She turned her head around and nipped at her belly, then paced a nervous circle.

“So far, not too bad.” Beth didn’t take her eyes off the horse. “Did you get hold of the vet?”

“Yeah. Anything we can do in the meantime?”

Beth shook her head. “As long as she’s quiet, I’ll just watch her.”

They stood in silence for a few minutes. The horse turned in another circle and pawed at the ground.

“Shit.” Beth grabbed a rope hanging on the wall and slipped through just as the horse lowered herself onto her knees, then her side.

“What are you doing?” Jack’s breath locked in his throat. He didn’t know much about horses, other than they were fucking big, but he was pretty sure going into the stall wasn’t the best idea.

Beth moved toward Lucy’s head. “Can’t let her roll.”

Which was exactly what Lucy had in mind. The mare turned onto her back. Hooves flailed in the air. Beth jumped to the side, but not before a thrashing hoof caught her on the calf. Her leg went out from under her, and she fell onto her hip in the straw. Another hoof missed her skull by inches. Beth ducked and rolled out of the way, coming up against the wall hard.

“Get the hell out of there!” Jack’s heart jackhammered. He opened the door and stepped inside, looking for a way to get between Beth and the horse. Not possible. Beth was on the other side of a thousand pounds of thrashing animal. Jack wasn’t carrying his gun. No chance of shooting the horse before it smashed Beth’s head in.

Beth pushed herself up on her hands and knees. The horse rolled back to its side and gathered its body to turn over again. Beth launched herself at the mare’s head and grabbed hold of the halter. She clipped the lead rope into place and gave it a sharp jerk. “Come on, Lucy, Get up.”

The mare resisted, shaking her head and trying to use it as leverage to turn over again. Beth yanked the rope up, stopping her. “Up!”

Chin up, Lucy balked, rolling her eyes and exposing the whites.

“No, you don’t.” Beth pulled the rope behind her butt and used her weight to pull on the mare’s head. With a huge groan, the horse shifted forward, gathered her long legs under her body, and heaved to her feet.

The air rushed from Jack’s lungs.

“Good girl.” Beth crooned words of praise, cradling Lucy’s head in her arms and rubbing her nose in obvious relief. Straw stuck to the mare’s damp coat. The giant body gave a slight shudder.

As his panic subsided, the blood rushed from Jack’s head, making him lightheaded. “You could have been killed!” His voice came out louder than he’d planned.

“Keep your voice down. I’m trying to calm her down.” The admonishment was delivered in the same soothing tone she’d used on the horse.

Beth led the mare out of the stall, up the aisle, and out into the barnyard, where she proceeded to walk in a large circle. Both of them seemed to have forgotten about the previous, terrifying moments, which had burned into Jack’s memory for eternity.

“She wasn’t doing it on purpose. She’s in pain. If I let her roll, she could twist an intestine. Then she’d have to be put down.” Beth stroked the wet neck as she continued to walk the horse slowly around. Lucy’s skin quivered. “Can’t let that happen, can we, sweetheart?”

If it were up to him, he’d put the beast down before he ever let Beth take another risk like that. He liked animals and all, but not enough to sacrifice a woman with two small children. The idea of losing Beth made his chest hurt.

Where was the damned vet?

An engine rumbled behind the barn. A minute later, Jack was surprised to see Jeff Stevens hurry into the barnyard. What was he doing here? Jack had called him for the vet’s number, but he hadn’t expected Jeff to rush right over. He didn’t know Jeff very well, but he knew the guy lived alone in that big farmhouse. Guess he didn’t have anything else to do. Didn’t seem to have much of a social life.

The neighbor didn’t pause to greet Jack but hurried immediately to Beth’s side, his attention riveted on the horse. “How is she?”

“Not too bad right now.” Beth stopped walking.

Jeff curled back the horse’s lip and pressed a finger to her gums. He lifted an eyelid; then he pressed his head to her side and nodded. “She’s prone to spasmodic colic every so often. It’s usually not too serious, but she works herself up.” He gave her neck a light pat. “Any Ace in the tack room?”

Beth shook her head. “I didn’t see any.”

“I have some back at my place. If the vet doesn’t show up soon, I’ll run home and get it,” Jeff said, “but I’d rather Doc White looked at her first.”

The mare began to paw again. Beth pulled on the rope and resumed walking, this time with a subtle limp. Christ, Jack had forgotten the blow she’d taken to the leg.

He shook himself out of his stupor. Something about Beth, and his reaction to her presence, kept all of his neurons from firing. “Jeff, can you walk the horse for a few minutes? I’d like to talk to Beth for a minute.”

“Sure.” Jeff took over.

Beth limped over. “What is it?”

He raised his eyebrows and looked down at her leg. No blood, but her jeans were torn. “Let me take a look at that.”

“It’s nothing. Just a bruise.”

“If you have a cut, it needs to be cleaned right away.” Lucy’s hooves were covered in manure and dirt. Visions of tetanus and sepsis swam in Jack’s head. Who’d have thought a few horses could be so much trouble? Why the hell had Danny bought them? Christ, when normal people wanted a pet, they got a cat, not four animals that outweighed compact cars.