Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Zeke
D arkness had fallen by the time the tow truck arrived. The big ass vehicle with a long flatbed on the back wasn’t what I was used to seeing in the States. When they’d called it a recovery unit, I’d been picturing something more like a mobile auto repair that would change our flat tire right here so we could get on our way. But when the driver pulled past our van and backed up as if in position to load it onto the back of his truck, I got a bad feeling.
The recovery guy met Pippa and me at the front of our van. “Run into a spot of trouble, have you?”
“You could say that. Hope you’ve got a tire on that big rig of yours.” I eyed the truck.
The surprise flittering over his face put my lingering hope to its final death. “A tire? No. We aren’t equipped to change one on the side of the road here. I’m meant to take the horsebox back to our garage.”
“And you’ll replace it there?”
“Aye, that’s the plan. We’re pretty sure we dinna have the right tire in stock, but one should arrive tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow,” I repeated. I’d already known we’d be staying overnight somewhere, but there was the matter of our equine companion.
“Aye. I’ll just get the van on the lorry. Have you heard from the equine transporter, then?”
That caught my attention. “The what now?”
“The equine transporter.” Our rescuer looked at me as if I had a few screws loose. “I’ll not be taking the van with the horse inside, of course.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, as if that would do anything at all to stem the headache building in my temple. “I haven’t heard a word. Let me call the company back, I guess.”
The news wasn’t good. Apparently they’d spent the last couple of hours trying to track down someone who could come pick up Zodiac, and they hadn’t found a blessed soul who was available.
“I promise, we’ll keep trying,” the agent assured me.
I didn’t have a lot of faith, but I thanked the woman and hung up. “Looks like we’re on our own. They can’t find anyone.”
Pippa turned to the recovery guy. “How far is your town or village?”
“Five or six miles. The road winds its way along the river over that way.”
“Is there a vet or anyone in your community who might have access to a horsebox or trailer who could help us out?” she asked.
The guy rubbed the back of his neck. “We’ve a vet, aye. But I dinna think he has his own transport. We’re a small village.”
“How far to your village as the crow flies?” I asked.
He turned to the west and studied the horizon in the light of the moon that had just begun to rise. “Oh… two, maybe three miles?”
“All right then. Looks like I’m riding.”
“In the dark?” Pippa demanded.
“It’s not ideal, but the road would be more dangerous. There’s a mostly full moon, so it’s not as bad as it could be. Either way, we can’t stay here tonight. I figure you can ride to town with our guy here and see if you can get up with the vet to come up with somewhere Zodiac can be put up for the night. I’ll meet you there.”
Pippa bit that delectable lower lip of hers. “Zeke, are you sure? It’s freezing out.”
The temperatures had dropped when the sun had, so she wasn’t wrong. Our breaths puffed out as we spoke.
“I don’t see that we’ve got any choice.” To put an end to the discussion, I ducked into the back to grab the other surprise I’d brought Raleigh. I’d never told my buddy I’d swiped his saddle from the barn, so his Stepmonster didn’t have the chance to sell it, too. I was grateful I hadn’t gotten around to bringing it until now.
It took me only a few minutes to saddle Zodiac. He shifted on his feet, clearly itching to get the hell out of here. I couldn’t blame him.
As soon as I’d gotten everything I needed from the back of the van, the truck driver dropped the big flatbed to the ground in a miraculous feat of engineering. I watched him drive the horsebox onto the bed and secure it with a series of chains and straps. Then he returned the bed to its rightful position, the truck now high off the road.
“Well, that’s handy,” I muttered.
“Right, if you’re ready?” the driver asked Pippa.
She turned to me. “For the record, I dinna like this.”
“We’ll be fine. Two or three miles won’t take us that long. And I’ve got my phone if something goes wrong.” I didn’t add that the signal out here was total shit. We weren’t gonna put that out into the universe.
I pulled a fleece out of my bag and tugged it on over my flannel shirt before shrugging back into my jacket. I wished I’d brought my long, oiled-leather drover’s coat, but it wasn’t as if I’d expected to be riding cross country while I was here. It was just a few miles.
I confirmed direction with the driver, then swung into the saddle and smiled at Pippa. “See you on the other side.”
“Be careful.”
“Always.”
I waited as she got into the cab of the truck with the driver. Zodiac twisted his head around to look at me as if to say, “What the hell are we doing?”
I patted his neck. “We’re going on an adventure, pal.”
As soon as the truck pulled away, I nudged my mount toward a break in the stone wall that seemed to serve as a fence. “Let’s go, bud.”
Eager to move under any circumstances, Zodiac did as I urged. It was cold, for sure, but I knew he’d warm up as we moved. I’d thaw out when we got there. It shouldn’t take more than an hour. Hopefully, by then, Pippa would’ve managed to find someone who could help us for the night.
We’d crossed from one field into the next before clouds began to roll in, obscuring the moonlight that had been illuminating our path. Thank God I had a solid sense of direction. I knew Zodiac could see better in the dark than I could, so I let him find his own way, only correcting as needed to continue in the direction of the village.
“This isn’t so bad. We’ll find you a nice stall for the night, and Pippa and I can track down a hot meal. It’ll be fine.”
As if to mock my declaration, it began to rain. Because of course it did. That was the kind of luck I’d apparently run into on this mission.
Grumbling to myself, I flipped up my collar and hunched into my coat, pulling my hat down over my eyes as I prayed that the tow guy hadn’t overestimated the distance to our destination.