Читать книгу Top Secret Identity - Sharon Dunn - Страница 13

THREE

A chill hung in the air as Alex made his way to the stable. Morgan was already busy filling feed buckets when he stepped inside.

She looked up at him. “Hey, thought I’d get an early start. You wanted to be out of here by eight, right?”

She wore a denim coat with a lacy white top underneath and jeans. He grabbed a bucket off the wall and filled it with feed from a bin. “Thought I’d come out here and give you a hand, but you’ve got most of it done.”

He stroked the neck of one of the horses and then stepped inside the stall to look at a cut on its back leg. He helped Morgan finish with the feeding and watering. They worked quickly and quietly. When they stepped outside their breath came out in puffs in the cold morning air.

Morgan crossed her hands over her body. “Hope it warms up. This is cold for April.”

“It’s Iowa,” Alex said.

“Where I grew up in Wyoming it was cold, too, but this chill cuts through to my bones.”

It was the first piece of personal information she’d shared with him. He counted it a victory that she had even opened up to him that much. Maybe she was starting to trust him. “Wyoming, huh?”

A worried look came across her face. “All I meant was that it’s cold out here.” Her voice was monotone.

Her defenses went up so quickly. “I’ve already got the trailer hitched up.” He pointed toward the truck just beyond one of the corrals.

They drove through light highway traffic with Alex doing most of the talking. He shared his plans for repair and expansion of The Stables and his desire to grow the therapeutic riding part of the business.

Morgan offered words of encouragement and stared out the window at the passing landscape.

It was nice to talk to someone who understood his passion for how the horses could change lives.

Parking was at a premium despite their early arrival. This was the third day of a sale that would last a whole week. Though the bidding took place in the indoor arenas, they walked past a dirt lot where horses pulling buggies and riders on horses circled around.

Alex explained. “Gets the horses exercised, works out their nerves so they show better, plus potential buyers have a chance to see the horses in action.”

They made their way through the throng of people. Morgan seemed to grow more nervous. He saw fear in her eyes.

He touched her arm lightly. “Not much of a crowd person, huh?”

She nodded, edging closer to him. A cluster of people at the entrance jostled and pushed. He placed a protective hand on her back.

He leaned close and spoke into her ear. He could smell the light floral scent of her perfume. “It’ll seem less crowded once we get inside.”

The sale was set up with dozens of bidding arenas where the horses were paraded past the potential buyers. “The auction for the horses that might meet our needs won’t happen for a while.” He held up a catalog that contained a listing of all the horses for sale. “We can go down to the corral where they’re kept and have a look at them before the sale.”

They pushed through the crowd past a sign that indicated draft horses were being auctioned off. Morgan peered inside the arena. “Draft horses are so beautiful.”

“We have time to watch them. Why don’t we go have a seat?”

Morgan seemed to relax when they sat down. After a description of the draft horses, some single, some in pairs, and indication of the bloodlines, the auctioneer started the bidding while each horse was led back and forth in front of the spectators. A pair of draft horses went by with a rider standing on top of them, one leg on each horse’s back.

Morgan laughed and grabbed his arm. “Didn’t know I was going to see a circus act, too.”

It was good to see her enjoy herself. They shared some popcorn Alex had bought from a vendor who was walking through the bleachers. His shoulder pressed against hers. He glanced sideways at her. She blushed and turned slightly.

The glow of attraction didn’t surprise him. He’d thought she was beautiful from the moment he’d hired her. He liked that she had let her guard down even a little bit. The attraction wasn’t anything he would act on, though. After what his ex-wife had put him through, his desire for a romantic relationship was close to zero. Still, he felt at ease around her.

Maybe Morgan was running or hiding from someone. But he’d come to The Stables to escape, too. After Gretchen left him, the prospect of sitting behind a desk all day only added to his depression. He’d chosen to do that sort of dependable job for her anyway. The owners of The Stables hired him for his finance and marketing skills, but it was being around the horses that appealed to him most. Chalk it up to some boyhood dream of being a cowboy. He’d found an unexpected measure of happiness at The Stables. Maybe Morgan could, too.

Morgan glanced around at the crowd. Her mood seemed to shift slightly as she stared straight ahead.

“Everything all right?”

“Yes, fine.” She bit her lower lip. “I think I’ll go use the little girl’s room.”

Alex pointed off to the side of the arena. “Careful, you have to walk past the horses waiting to enter the arena.”

As he watched her descend the bleachers, he wondered what had stolen her good mood so quickly.

* * *

Morgan glanced up at the bleachers as she pushed through the crowd that had gathered on the floor of the arena. Up in the stands, Alex turned slightly to speak to the man next to him. She’d been having a pleasant time with him when she’d felt the press of a gaze on her. When she turned around, a man had stepped down the bleacher stairs and tapped the woman in front of her on the shoulder.

A false alarm. She was in a constant state of vigilance. Even her slip with Alex in telling him she was from Wyoming made her cringe. The information was benign enough, but she could not get into the habit of telling anyone who she used to be. The truth was, she felt relaxed around Alex. She wanted to share with him.

Morgan squeezed around several clusters of people.

“Wait a second, lady.” A burly man in a checked shirt with the sleeves cut off stuck his arm out to block her.

Becoming more aware of her surroundings, she stuttered in her step. She heard the screeching of metal and stomping of hooves. Two draft horses were led past her and into the arena. People crowded in on both sides of the entrance for the horses. The horse already in the arena must have been taken out the other side. Her heart beat a little faster at the sight of the huge animals.

The burly man pulled his arm toward his body. “Just didn’t want you to get stomped to bits.”

She nodded and walked past the gate, now closed, where a large grey Percheron stomped the dirt and nuzzled its handler.

Morgan used the restroom and then stepped outside. She was headed back toward the bleachers when she saw a man in a beige baseball hat standing by the restrooms. His eyes bore through her. He was a big man, built like a heavyweight boxer. The look of murder in his eyes reminded her of the look she’d seen in Josef Flores’s eyes in Mexico.

A group of women came between her and the man. When the women disappeared into the bathroom, the man in the baseball hat was gone. She took several steps back toward the bleachers. The gates screeched open and another draft horse thundered by. The animal yanked suddenly away from the handler and the crowd dispersed like cockroaches in the light. Panicked cries rose up. Morgan’s heart beat a little faster.

The handler regained control and three other men swarmed in to help. Once the spirited horse was secured in the arena, Morgan made her way to the bleachers. She spotted the beige hat moving through the crowd in front of her. On instinct, she pivoted. She couldn’t go back to the bleachers. If this man was after her, she’d be putting Alex in danger.

She scanned the area looking for a security guard. What would she tell them anyway, that a man in a baseball hat was staring at her in a menacing way?

To calm her nerves, she walked outside past several corrals containing different breeds of horses from quarter horses to miniatures and ponies. She crossed her arms over her chest and kept up a brisk pace until peace overtook the rising panic.

It’s not like beige was a unique color. Plenty of people probably wore that kind of hat. Still, the memory of the man’s sinister eyes narrowing as he looked at her made her keep walking. She stopped at a corral filled with Clydesdales. She watched owners and trainers bridle horses and lead them around the corral.

The day had warmed and the sun soothed her nerves. She closed her eyes. She had to let go of the notion that someone could come after her. The marshals knew what they were doing. Her fears about the prowlers had proved to be unfounded. Still, the memory of Josef’s words to her echoed in her brain: I will find you and kill you.

She opened her eyes and watched the horses awhile longer. A cluster of people slowly dispersed, leaving only a few stragglers. The man in the cap stood across the corral. Her breath caught even as her heart rate soared. He’d pulled his cap down so all she saw of his face was shadow and chin.

The man stepped in her direction.

She turned to run, smashing against hard muscle.

Alex gazed down at her. “What’s going on?”

“I...um...ah...” When she glanced across the corral, the man in the hat had vanished.

“You’re shaking.” He gripped her hands, his voice filled with concern.

Morgan struggled to pull it together, to at least manage the veneer of calm. What explanation could she possibly offer? “I thought somebody was following me, but I was wrong.”

He squeezed her hands a little tighter. “When I saw you turn the other way, I thought maybe you’d gone to check out the horses.”

She looked into his warm gentle eyes. She couldn’t lie to this man again, so she said nothing.

His voice held only compassion. “I can see that this has you upset. Why don’t we find a place to get a cup of coffee, and then we’ll go have a look at those horses?”

He demanded no answers or explanation from her for why she was so afraid. “I’m all right. Let’s go see the horses.” Being around the horses would help her regroup faster than a cup of coffee.

“Okay, we can do that.” He let go of her hands and scanned the corrals. “I think the lot that we want to look at is right over there.”

They walked through the labyrinth of corrals and spectators until they arrived at a fenced-in area containing six horses. “These horses are older quarter horses,” Alex explained. “Not showy, but good temperament.”

“You want a horse that doesn’t spook easily and is responsive to an inexperienced rider.” Morgan gripped the top railing of the fence as she studied the horses. “You can’t really tell much about them by standing here. Can I go in the corral?”

Alex shrugged. “I have no idea what the rules are about that. I guess you can do it at your own peril.”

As soon as she stepped into the corral, a sense of peace returned. She wandered among the horses, gauging their response to her, looking into their eyes, stroking their necks and backs, watching their reaction when she stepped into their peripheral vision. Horses tended to get jumpy when they thought something was coming at them from the side.

She patted the neck and mane of a chestnut gelding. “This one, I think.”

Alex flipped through his catalog. “That guy’s name is Chipper’s Boy.”

She stroked Chipper’s nose as he leaned into her touch. She looked into his dark eyes. “You’d love those kids, wouldn’t you?”

“Let’s go get settled so we can bid on him.” Alex’s voice fell softly on her ears. She glanced over at him and saw admiration in his eyes.

For the rest of the sale, Morgan kept looking over her shoulder trying to hide her anxiety from Alex. Why couldn’t she let go of her suspicions?

Three hours later, they were headed home with Chipper’s Boy loaded in the trailer.

Morgan settled into the passenger seat of the truck. She studied the curve of Alex’s ear, the laugh lines around his mouth and eyes. The way his cowboy hat angled slightly to the left. Alex focused on the road ahead.

She appreciated that he hadn’t pressed her for answers she couldn’t give. He had a gentle unassuming quality that made him easy to be around.

“I had a good day,” said Morgan.

“Me, too,” he said. “The horses are my favorite part of the job.”

“But you don’t get to spend as much time with the horses as you’d like?”

“Take the good with the bad. It beats sitting in an office with no windows ten hours a day.”

“Is that what you used to do?”

“I worked for a financial firm. I like an office without walls or windows.”

She laughed. “I like wide-open spaces best, too. I feel like I can get a deep breath.” Something they had in common. “What was the reason for the job change?”

His jaw tightened. “That was a lifetime ago.”

She detected a twinge of pain in his words. Even he had things he didn’t want to talk about. So they both had secrets.

Alex checked his side and rearview mirrors. Morgan craned her neck.

“That car’s been behind us for a while.” She purged her voice of the fear that settled in her stomach.

Alex nodded. “Seems like it, doesn’t it? Probably just a man headed in the same direction as us.”

And maybe she had just imagined that the man in the baseball hat was following her. Her heightened awareness made her assume things, which only fueled her fears. She had to let go, had to learn to relax.

You’re safe now, Morgan. You’re safe.

She wanted to believe that.