Читать книгу Paternity Lessons - Maris Soule - Страница 11

Chapter Three

Alicia looked at Tyler. “Who was that woman?”

“That’s Shaunna,” he said, not sure if he should also go after Lanie or not. “Shaunna Lightfeather. She’s the one who’s going to rehabilitate Lanie’s horse.”

“And what were your daughter and she doing here in your office?” Gordon demanded coldly, his attitude clearly showing his disapproval.

“There was a problem at the stable.” Tyler glanced at Alicia and then at her uncle. “I didn’t get a full accounting.”

“The woman smelled like she’d been rolling in manure.” Alicia wrinkled her nose. “And so did your daughter.”

There wasn’t much he could say about that. “I’ve discovered that working with horses does leave a smell. Each night, I’ve been putting Lanie’s clothes in the wash as soon as she takes them off.”

“You’re going to have to do something about that child’s language,” Gordon said, shaking his head. “Can’t have that kind of talk around here.”

“I know.” Once again, Tyler wondered if he should go after Lanie.

“Well...” Gordon looked at his niece, then at Tyler. “I’ll leave you two alone. But see to it that something like this doesn’t happen again, Tyler. It disturbs everyone in the firm.”

“I’ll talk to Lanie,” Tyler said. He watched his boss leave, not sure he liked being reprimanded like a naughty boy.

As Gordon closed the door behind him, Alicia stepped closer to Tyler’s desk. “She’s very attractive...in a sort of earthy way.”

Tyler knew a dangerous situation when he heard one. There was no safe way to respond, so he half lied. “I suppose you could say she’s attractive. I really haven’t paid that much attention to her looks. I’ve been more concerned with whether she’ll work with Lanie’s horse.”

“She actually owns the stable where you’re boarding the horse?”

“Yes. That is, I think she does.” He still wasn’t sure what Alicia was getting at.

“Is it a big stable?”

“No, not very big. I’d say she has forty horses there. Maybe fewer. It’s nothing fancy.” Not a place where Alicia would board a horse...if Alicia had a horse.

She eyed him for a moment, then glanced toward the door as if the image of Shaunna was imbedded there. “You said her last name’s Lightfeather? What is that, Navajo or something?”

“I really don’t know. Someone said she was part Indian.”

“Is she married?”

“No.”

Alicia’s silence was poignant, and Tyler suddenly realized she was jealous. He found that interesting. Although they’d been dating for nearly a year, he always had the feeling she was keeping him at a distance. But he found that understandable. He was well aware that she was in a social class far above his. And even though he enjoyed her company, most of the events they attended were business oriented. He wasn’t looking for love and romance. He’d given up on that years ago. He and Alicia hadn’t even slept together.

The one thing he was concentrating on at this point in his life was his career, and Alicia had certainly helped him there. It was at her urging that he’d applied for a position at her uncle’s firm, which in turn had led him to the job he now held. And he had to admit she’d been very supportive when he learned about Lanie. Alicia had spend a lot of hours with him at the hospital as he sat by Lanie’s side, had talked her uncle into giving Tyler the time off he needed to be with Lanie and had even been offering suggestions on how to handle Lanie now.

Finally, Alicia spoke, her tone clearly cool. “You seem to know quite a bit about this Shaunna woman.”

He shook his head. “Only what I found out when I was looking for someone to work with Lanie’s horse. I didn’t want to move him from one bad situation to another. Shaunna, according to those I spoke with, is the best horse trainer around. Perhaps the best in the country.”

There was another moment of silence, Alicia’s gaze never leaving his face, then she looked down at her hands and began brushing a fingertip over one of her painted nails. “I think it’s commendable,” she said, “how much concern you’re showing for Lanie and this horse of hers, but you do remember that I don’t like horses, don’t you? I hope you’re not thinking of asking me to accompany you out to that stable or anything?”

“I wouldn’t think of it.” He could just imagine her reaction if she saw Shaunna’s house and the barns. Alicia’s condominium was in the best section of town. In fact, her father owned most of the real estate in that area, along with oil wells and other land. Her parents’ home, which he’d visited a couple of times, was absolutely palatial. No, she wouldn’t think much of Shaunna’s stable or house.

Alicia looked back at him and smiled. “I just wanted to be sure we understood each other. Dinner tonight? You could come by my place after work. I have something I’d like to discuss with you. A proposition of sorts.”

The bristling gone, Alicia was once again warm and friendly, but Tyler knew that dinner at her place tonight was out of the question. “I’m afraid I can’t. I need to find out what exactly happened today. In fact—” he stood “—I think I’d better go make sure Shaunna caught up with Lanie.”

Shaunna didn’t catch up with Lanie for more than a city block. Where the child thought she was going, Shaunna didn’t know, but Lanie was walking with determination, her limp barely discernible. As soon as she reached her side, Shaunna matched her steps to the ten-year-old’s. “You showed him, didn’t you?” she said as if they’d been carrying on a casual conversation for some time.

Lanie didn’t slow her steps and didn’t look at her. “Go away.”

“Can’t.”

Lanie did slow, then came to a complete stop. Only when she looked up, could Shaunna see the tears. She wanted to reach out and draw the girl close, but she knew Lanie would only resist. So she stood where she was and looked down at her, waiting for Lanie’s next response.

“I hate you,” she said.

“I don’t hate you.”

“I hate everyone.”

“So I’ve noticed.”

“I want to ride Magic.”

“You can’t. Not yet.”

Shaunna watched Lanie chew on her lower lip, struggling not to cry. “You’re never going to let me ride him,” she said, her voice trembling.

“It’s not up to me whether you ride him or not. It’s up to Magic. We have to give him time to decide that he wants to be ridden. We have to let him know that he can trust us.”

“Magic used to trust me. He was sweet and loving before the accident. It’s you people who’ve ruined him.”

“Don’t include me in that ‘you’ people. I didn’t harm him. You’re the one who hasn’t shown me that you won’t harm him. Look at what happened today. Right there by Magic’s paddock, you got into a fight with Bobby.”

“He said my horse was ugly.”

“So you had to push him into that pile of manure?”

“He pushed me into it, too.”

“And that makes it right?”

Lanie stood, glaring at her, her breathing shallow.

Shaunna met her gaze without wavering. “What happens,” she asked, “if Magic doesn’t do what you want? Do you shove him around? Beat him up?”

Shaunna could tell that the suggestion surprised Lanie. “I wouldn’t hurt Magic,” she said.

“How do I know that?”

“’Cause I love him.”

“Words are cheap.” Shauna remembered how many times her father had said he loved her. Then she’d do something he didn’t like, bring home a math paper she’d done poorly on, and he’d hit her.

“I really mean it,” Lanie insisted.

“If you love him, then you’ll take care of him. You’ll give him time to get used to his new surroundings, time to get used to seeing you around. Every time you go into his stall or paddock, you leave your scent. I want him to associate that scent with good things. A clean paddock. Food. Clean water. I want him to see you around the other horses. And I want you watching him, watching how he acts and reacts. I want to know you’ve got the patience he’s going to need. Otherwise, forget it. I am not going to help that horse just to have you turn around and ruin him.”

“I won’t ruin him,” Lanie said defiantly, the tears gone. “I love him.”

“And now we’ve gone full circle. You say you love him. I haven’t seen it. Come on.” She nodded in the direction her truck was parked. “I’ll take you home. You can think about this. If you’re willing to do as I ask, then show up tomorrow. If not, have your dad find someplace else for Magic.”

Lanie didn’t move. “You’re not being fair.”

“Then what do you think I should do?”

The question seemed to startle the little girl. Lanie stared at Shaunna, then finally answered, “You should let me spend more time talking to Magic.”

“Okay. I will.” Why not? She’d seen that Lanie knew the basics about horses. She didn’t need slave labor, no matter what Lanie thought. And Magic had calmed down enough that he might start responding to Lanie. “Are you ready to go home now?”

Shaunna started heading toward her truck and hoped Lanie would follow. For a moment, she feared she hadn’t succeeded, then she heard Lanie’s footsteps. The girl walked slightly behind her, but she did go with her toward the truck.

“And I think I should bring him carrots,” Lanie said. “He always liked carrots. I used to bring him one every time I went out to see him.”

“Okay.” Shaunna didn’t particularly like feeding horses treats by hand, but if Magic was used to getting them from Lanie, it might help. “Only don’t try feeding him by hand right away. Until we’re sure he remembers it’s you, I don’t want to chance his biting your hand off.”

“He won’t bite my hand off.”

Shaunna stopped and looked at the girl, simply lifting her eyebrows and saying nothing.

“Okay,” Lanie said, unable to return Shaunna’s gaze. “I won’t feed him by hand. Not right away. But someday I will.”

“Someday,” Shaunna agreed, and began walking to her truck again.

Tyler paused at the entrance to the building. Just down the street, he spotted Shaunna and Lanie. Shaunna pulled open the door of a battered blue truck, then glanced back at Lanie. For a moment, the girl stood where she was, then she walked stiff-legged around the front of the truck.

He decided not to call out to them. Shaunna seemed to have the situation under control. She’d said she would take Lanie home. He would call his neighbor and have her keep an eye on Lanie until he got there. By then, maybe he’d have come up with an idea of how to handle this situation.

Shaunna let out a quiet breath of relief when Lanie buckled herself in on the passenger side. “When you first got Magic,” she asked casually as she turned the key in the ignition. “What was he like? What did you do with him?”

As Shaunna drove toward the section of Bakersfield where she knew Tyler lived, Lanie talked, describing how she and her mother had first picked Magic out from all the other Mustangs being offered up for adoption, how they’d trailered him to the barn behind their house and how her mother had had someone come over and break him. Shaunna shook her head, cringing when Lanie went on to tell her how the man had tethered Magic to a post and sacked him out, then tied up one of the horse’s hind legs so he couldn’t buck when the saddle was put on.

“I don’t break horses that way,” she said when Lanie was finished. “And I don’t train horses that way. I want a horse’s cooperation, not his submission.”

“My mother said—” Lanie started.

Shaunna interrupted. “We’re not talking about your mother, we’re talking about me...me, you and Magic.” She pulled up in front of the address Tyler had given as his residence when he signed the papers to board Magic at the stable. “This where you live?”

Lanie stared at the house and for a moment said nothing, then she looked back at Shauna, her expression cold. “My mother broke Magic the right way.”

“Your mother probably broke Magic the way she knew. A lot of horses have been broken that way. But there are a lot of horse people who now don’t think that’s the best way, don’t believe in forcing a horse into submission. I’m one of those people. We don’t think of horses as being stupid and we don’t think of them as being the enemy. We believe a horse will be your partner if you let him...and if you understand what he’s trying to tell you.”

“My mother broke Magic the right way,” Lanie repeated defiantly.

Shauna shook her head, unsure of how to get her point across without upsetting Lanie even more. “I don’t know what your mother did, or taught you. I only know that I don’t believe in punishing a horse if he makes a mistake. If you train a horse that way, he may comply, but he won’t really be working with you, and you’ll never know when he might rebel. You will always have to be on guard. My way, they do what you want because it’s their choice.”

“My mother knew more about horses than you’ll ever know.”

The girl’s anger tore at Shaunna, and she wished she knew how to take it away. She remembered herself as a teenager, after she’d run away from home. She’d been that angry, even angrier. She’d been ready to take on the world. The chip on Lanie’s shoulder was sawdust compared to the one Shaunna had carried. It was Betsy Helman who had found the patience to blow it away.

“Your mother’s gone,” Shaunna said softly, knowing the words would hurt. “And Magic needs help. It’s your choice. You’re the one who has to decide what to do. Think about it tonight. If you don’t want to do it my way, have your dad find someone else to work with Magic.”

“Yeah, right.” Lanie snorted in disgust. “Like he cares what happens to me.”

“He cares,” Shaunna said, knowing Tyler did. She’d seen him just before they got into the truck, standing near the entrance to his office building, watching them. He cared enough to let Lanie work this out. Shaunna liked that.

Lanie swore, and Shaunna lifted her brows. “That’s another thing. I don’t allow any swearing around my barn. I don’t want to hear any more.” Again, Lanie swore, and Shaunna nodded toward the truck door. “It’s time for you to go inside. Think about what I’ve said. You’re a smart girl. Very smart. I think you’ll make the right decision.”

Lanie let loose with another string of swearwords, then pushed open the door and got out. She slammed it shut and headed up the driveway toward the house.

Shaunna saw a woman come out of the house next door and also make for Tyler’s place. Lanie looked her way and swore at her. Shaunna shook her head and started her truck again, a backfire reminding her that she needed to get the poor thing into the shop. But to do that, she had to figure out if she had any money in the bank account, and that was the problem.

The sun was setting when Tyler drove into the stable yard. It had taken longer for him to get away from Lanie than he’d expected. Three vehicles were in the parking area, a green van, a red compact, and the blue truck he’d seen Shaunna get into earlier that day. He pulled in next to the van.

His neighbor had agreed to come back and sit with Lanie while he came to the stable to talk to Shaunna. He’d listened to Lanie’s side of the story, sprinkled amply with swearwords. Now he wanted to hear Shaunna’s version.

He went to the house first. After knocking twice, Maria came to the door and directed him out to the barns. It seemed stable owners didn’t work eight hour days. More like daybreak to dark.

Two dogs joined him en route, begging for his attention but never barking. Before he reached the first barn, he noticed a horse and rider in one of the arenas and decided to check it out first. He knew Shaunna gave riding lessons in the evening.

There were three riding rings behind the barns: a small, round pen, a larger, rectangular-shaped arena, and a sizable, show-type arena. The horse and rider he’d seen were in the largest arena, and the moment the rider faced him, he realized it was Shaunna. Stopping where he was, he stood back where he could watch but not be noticed.

From the first time he met her, he’d been aware of a gracefulness in Shaunna’s movements. Seeing her on a horse, he was stunned. She wasn’t just a rider but a part of the horse. She sat straight in the saddle and moved in unison with every turn and stop the horse made.

The horse spun to the right, then to the left, his hind legs barely moving from one spot, and Tyler shook his head in disbelief as he realized the horse had no bridle or reins. The only sign of any control mechanism was a circle of rope hanging loosely around the horse’s neck, but Shaunna’s hands weren’t on the rope.

The horse dashed forward, then came to a sliding stop, the dust kicking up behind him. Again, there was a turn to the left. Then to the right.

Tyler wasn’t sure how, but Shaunna was communicating with the horse. Watching her, he remembered the stories he’d heard when asking around for someone to take on Magic. Each of the stable owners he’d contacted, once they heard of his situation, had told him the one he needed to see was Shaunna Lightfeather. They’d spoken of her with awe, said she could talk to horses and that horses understood her.

Tyler was beginning to believe they were right.

As far as he could tell, however, she wasn’t using words. Though she was concentrating on the horse’s head, her lips weren’t moving. No part of her body seemed to be moving.

“Stick ’em up,” a small voice piped up behind him.

Tyler looked away from Shaunna and her horse, then around and down. Behind him stood a little boy about six years old. In his hand was a plastic water gun.

“Jeffery Arnold Prescott!” a woman’s voice called sternly from the barn door.

The boy turned away from Tyler and looked toward the barn. So did Tyler. Coming toward them was a woman in her mid-thirties dressed in Western apparel. She held out her hand as she neared.

“What did I say about that gun, Jeffery? Give it to me.”

The boy immediately hid the gun behind his back. “I wasn’t going to shoot him.”

“Give it to me,” his mother repeated firmly. For a moment, Tyler didn’t think the boy was going to obey, then the hand behind the child’s back moved and he held the gun out to his mother. She shook her head at him, then looked at Tyler. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay.” After everything else that had happened that day, being held up by a six-year-old seemed appropriate. “I’m discovering kids don’t always do as you tell them.”

“Tell me about it.” Again, she shook her head, then extended her hand to him. “I’m sorry. I’m Chris Prescott. I think I’ve seen you a couple of times. You’ve got a daughter, haven’t you. Lana or something?”

“Her name is Lanie,” he said, and shook Chris’s hand. “I’m Tyler Corwin.”

“Glad to meet you, Tyler,” Chris said. “Shame about that Mustang of yours, but don’t you worry. Shaunna will bring him around. She can do anything with a horse.” She looked beyond Tyler. “Can’t you, Shaunna?”

“We’ll see,” Shaunna said from a spot nearby, and Tyler turned to find she’d left the arena and was now sitting on her horse only a few feet away.