Wild Horses (9 page)

Riveted, Kai paid attention, asking occasional questions, relieved to be able to name both parts of the tack and parts of the horse with a reasonable degree of accuracy.

“Now lead him to the arena.” Kai did as he was instructed, but when he turned over his shoulder, he was surprised to see Attila watch him with a barely visible, yet satisfied, smile.

Kai mounted the imposing white steed with care, settling into the polished, black leather saddle like a feather. He fished around for the stirrup on the other side with his toe. It eluded him for a little while… there… finally! Kai pressed his heels down, straightened up, and looked at his teacher. “Are my stirrups too short?”

Attila walked to the horse’s head and peered at Kai’s feet from the front. “Maybe a bit. Let me adjust that for you.”

“Should I get off?”

Startled blue eyes met his inquisitive gaze. “You mean, should you dismount?”

Kai flushed. “Yeah. Dismount.”

“No need,” the shorter man said. “Kick your foot out of the stirrup and move your leg back… even more….” A fine-boned, sinewy hand pressed Kai’s thigh out of the way and lifted the flap of the saddle, accessing the stirrup strap. Kai held his breath, still feeling the residual warmth of the touch through his riding breeches.

I’m not allowed to notice stuff like that. He’s off-limits.

“Try it now.” The level baritone shook him out of his reverie. “And pay attention.”

He slipped the boot in and pressed his heel down. Attila nodded, satisfied, and walked around to do the same thing on his right side. Once again, he guided Kai’s leg out of the way to adjust the length of the leather strap, then nodded at Kai to settle in. Finding the stirrups was a new concept for a man more comfortable on a bicycle, and try as he might, he couldn’t seem to get his foot in this time. Impatient, Attila grasped Kai’s calf and slid his hand down, steering the errant ankle in the right direction. Steeled against his touch, Kai remained impassive, attentive even. Only he knew of the seared mark Attila’s hand left on his calf and ankle, and made it his job to push it out of his mind.

Attila led Sen to the middle of the arena. “You won’t be using reins today,” he said as he switched Sen’s bridle and reins for a halter. He clipped a long lunge line to the ring below Sen’s chin. “Walk around for now, sit tall, heels down.” The horse moved to Attila’s command, walking around him in a circle on the line. “Put your hands onto your thighs while you’re both warming up, with elbows close to your body. Feel the horse. Heels down!”

Kai had thought his heels were down, but apparently not enough. He did his best to correct the situation.

“You doing okay up there?”

“Yeah.” Sitting on a walking horse was child’s play.

“Good. I want you to stand up in the stirrups and stretch the back of your legs, pushing your heels down with your whole body.”

Now Kai hesitated. His hands were still on his thighs, as directed, but if he stood, well… it was a long way down. “Can I hold his mane?” He tried to sound strong and unafraid, but his voice came out with a hesitant quiver and he knew he failed miserably.

“Sure. He won’t mind.” There was no judgment in Attila’s voice.

Kai grasped two handfuls of Sen’s snow-white mane and carefully raised himself in the saddle.

“Good, good. Now straighten your legs… good… you should feel the stretch in your calf and your hamstrings… and in your Achilles tendon… now straighten your back as much as you can. The lower you keep your heels, the better your balance will be.”

Kai pressed his heels down, afraid his toes would slip out of the stirrups, but they did not; if anything, he felt even more secure than before. “Can I let go?” He gasped.

“I don’t know, can you?” Attila’s voice was matter of fact. “You should if you can, and straighten all the way up.”

Kai forced himself to unclench his fingers, one after another. Coarse strands of mane slipped back down as Kai let go and straightened his spine. It felt like being on a skateboard, and he said so.

“In any sport the body will work only one way, if you do it right. No matter what, you need to center yourself and stay within your natural range of motion to keep your balance. Riding is all about balance. If you can ride a skateboard, you can ride a horse.”

Kai smiled. Standing in the stirrups felt free and daring.

“Now extend your arms away from your body… there… stretch your hands all the way out, away from one another.” Attila’s smooth, cool voice knew no compromise and was to be obeyed, and Kai did just that. Attila led Sen and Kai through another circle in the soft dirt. “Good. Now sit down and anchor your hands on your thighs again. We will trot. I want you to press your heels down, keeping your calves stuck to the horse—never the knees—and breathe. You’ve been holding your breath.”

“Okay.” Kai focused on letting the air in and out. Soon he was moving through space considerably faster, with his butt bouncing out of the saddle the smallest bit, and then some more. Not waiting to fall, he grabbed for the mane again. Attila slowed Sen down to a walk.

“That wasn’t bad. Now… I want you to do it again, but this time, I want you to post. As he bounces you up, go with it and support yourself with your legs just a little before you sit down again. Hands on your thighs.” Kai had to let go of the mane in order to post, but posting made his ride a lot more comfortable because it allowed him to escape the somewhat punishing bounce of the sitting trot. Heels pressed down, he was starting to feel a lot more secure. Attila had him extend his arms, touch his riding helmet, and so on, until Kai began to weaken due to the exertion of the previous day again.

“Walk.” Sen slowed down and Kai righted his balance, walking around and cooling off a bit.

“That’s it for today. You can dismount here. We’ll leave Sen saddled up and I’ll work with him while you go change. We have a group of advanced riders coming in at ten thirty. You will stay around and watch how they handle their horses, then clean their stalls while I work with them. I want you to watch them ride between your chores. Any questions?”

Kai slid out of the saddle and stroked Sensational Snowfall’s muscular neck. “When do I work with Vermillion?”

Attila paused. “Oh. I forgot. How about after lunch? You can spend as much time with him as you want, as long as your other work is done.” Kai grinned, and when he gave Attila a saucy wink, his enthusiasm was reined in by Attila’s last instruction: “No more than three apples a day.”

“Okay, boss!” Kai walked out of the arena grinning, turning at the door only to see Attila and Sen trot around, warming up for their time together, entirely focused and lost to the world.

K
AI
was dressed in his jeans and a blue-and-white T-shirt, the name of the stables emblazoned on his chest. Attila had insisted Kai look presentable. “You represent the stables while you interact with other riders,” he said. “Not everyone’s as easygoing as Tibor and his kids.”

Thinking of the obnoxious, self-important Hal as easygoing gave Kai pause. Other riders might be a lot more demanding. Then again, they had no knowledge of his background. He was the new hired help, eager to please while mucking their horses’ stalls. Yes, that was undoubtedly the best, most positive take on the whole situation.

Two cars drove up the hill around ten o’clock. Kai recognized Tibor’s silver Mazda and suppressed an internal groan. Hal was driving. Kai watched him pull into the gravel parking lot and turn the engine off. He got out and slammed the door. His brother Brent and sister Naomi spilled out, keeping their distance. Tibor must have been at work and had his oldest spawn drive the rest so they could enjoy their riding lessons while he was stuck in the tack room, making himself useful over a bucket of soapy water and spit-covered bridles.

Kai nodded to the three of them as a group, then focused on the red Mercedes that pulled in next. Two women stepped out, and at first glance, they appeared to be sisters, but a more careful inspection revealed at least two decades’ worth of difference between them. They were of a similar height and build, with round hips and slender waists. Both had blonde hair coiled into tidy knots above the nape of their long, swanlike necks. They both wore tan riding breeches, much like Kai had earlier, and white button-down shirts, much like Attila preferred. The cost of their riding boots alone would have paid the rent on Kai’s old apartment for two months, utilities included.

The older one said something in a low voice.

“I know, Mom!” The younger one took her helmet and gloves and headed for the barn. She was about to enter the cavernous space when Hal stepped in her way.

“Hi, Lindsey!” Kai watched the college man button down the temper he arrived with and try for a winning smile.

“Hello, Hal.” She sighed. “Just… not now, okay?” What could have been a brush-off turned into a full-fledged escape. Lindsey disappeared into one of the stables as her mother strode toward the barn, helmet in one hand and a riding crop in the other. The older woman’s expression forecasted a storm of epic proportions.

“Good morning, Mrs. Putney,” Hal said in a polite, preoccupied voice, eager to make his getaway.

She stopped on a dime and froze him with a glare. The corners of her mouth uplifted in a facsimile of a smile. “I told you already to call me Mona, Hal, dear,” she purred, her tone at odds with her bearing. “Where is Lindsey hiding now?”

Hal shrugged. “I’m expected inside. If you would excuse me, please…. Oh, this is Kai.” He gestured at Kai, who stood to the side, observing. “He’ll help you out.” He flashed an amused look in Kai’s direction, then disappeared into the shade of the barn.

Kai felt the woman’s keen, sea-green eyes bear down at him, and to his surprise, they softened. “Your name is Kai?”

“Yes, ma’am. Kai Alewright. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help. Although….” He shuffled a bit, letting an embarrassed grin bloom on his face, lighting up his freckled nose and cheeks. “I am new here and I’m just learnin’, and I’m sure you know a lot more about your own horse than I do.” Kai hated the way his hick accent crept back into his speech every time he felt the least bit insecure, and shut his mouth.

He saw the woman rock from toe to heel and back as her shoulders dropped down and her posture relaxed. The smile on her face became genuine, reaching up to her eyes but somehow avoiding her smooth forehead. Kai tried to guess how old she was; she seemed to be in her thirties, maybe just three years older than Attila, but… her daughter was Hal’s age, so something didn’t add up.

“Well, Kai. I am sure we will become very good friends.” He saw her eyes take his measure and felt like following Hal into the tack room. There was something predatory in her gaze—almost as though she was trying to strip him with her eyes alone. “I will be happy to teach you
anything
you want to know, Kai. Now would you be a dear and get me a bottle of mango iced tea from the viewing room?” She pulled out two dollars.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Oh, don’t ever call me that—that’s for old people. Call me Mona.” Her smile lit her eyes.

“Alright, Mona. One mango iced tea, coming up!” He turned around and walked away, feeling as though he had a target painted on his back… and on his shoulders… and on his ass.

T
HE
stalls of the six horses currently in the arena were finally clean. Kai entered the viewing room and headed for the small kitchen corner. Some yellow Gatorade mix was in the cupboard, free for everyone’s use, and the tap water was cold enough since it came straight from the well. He got a bike bottle out of the cupboard, dosed in the right amount of mix and water, closed the bottle, and shook it. He sauntered over to the large window that separated the viewing room from the oval of the riding arena. Sore and weary, Kai settled on a bar stool, planted his elbows on the bar, and was about to focus on the six riders circling around when a woman by the far wall cleared her throat. Kai whipped his head around; he had not realized he had company.

“Uh, hello there. You’re pretty well hidden in the darkest corner of the room,” Kai said in the way of a greeting.

The woman smiled, her straight teeth gleaming in her dark face. “For sure. That way I can actually see the screen of my laptop.”

Kai nodded. “I’m new here. Kai Alewright. Lemme know if you need anything, okay?”

“New? Well, are you on break, then?” Her lilting voice was both serious and inquisitive.

“Sorta,” Kai replied, watching the riders trot while posting. They were doing something to go faster along the longer walls, but slowed down in the turns. “Attila told me to watch the advanced group between chores.”

“My name’s Clarisse Johnson,” she introduced herself.

“Those two girls yours?” he asked, nodding at two black kids in their awkward, coltish years.

“They are. The older is Leda, the younger is Phoebe. Just so you know, I work with Tibor, and he asked me to come up here and talk to you.”

Kai turned to her, trying not to show his alarm. “Tibor? Like, Attila’s brother-in-law?”

“Yes,” she said evenly and produced a yellow legal pad and a pen. “I am an attorney at his firm, and you make a fine excuse for a field trip so I can watch my girls ride for once.”

“You’re on your computer. How can you be watching?”

Clarisse smiled. “They think I am on my computer. If they knew I was watching, they wouldn’t pay attention to their teacher.”

Kai nodded, his every muscle screaming at him to run and hide from this terrifying woman. She was a lawyer. Lawyers were scary people who could make bad things happen… and had, in the past.

“Attila told me you need to have your documents replaced, and I’m here to help with that.” Her keen eyes did not waver from him.

“Oh,” he said, and slumped against the back of the bar stool as tension drained from his back and shoulders. “Really? Is that all?”

“Yes. That’s all.” Her tone soothed now, settling him down like he was an unruly colt, balking at an everyday object. She refreshed her screen, and an official form appeared. “Now I’ll ask you some questions so I can fill this out. We need to get a copy of your birth certificate and a copy of your Social Security card, so let’s start with that.” She pushed her laptop down the counter and moved to the bar stool right next to Kai, angling the screen so both of them could see. “Let’s start with your full name.”