2. Rein It In
CHAPTER 2
Rein It In
G arrett cursed inwardly when the sun’s rays landed on his eyelids. Without opening his eyes, he reached for the hat Kitty had knocked off and laid it back over his face. His body wanted more shut-eye.
The sound of Kitty’s steady breathing reassured him all was well. Horses didn’t require the same amount of sleep as humans, but Kitty slept more than most. Garrett wondered if she was making up for the sleep she’d missed when she’d been a filly. The farm she’d been rescued from had been a hellhole.
The thought of it had anger ripping right through Garrett and shoving away the last hope of more sleep. Animal abusers were the worst that humanity had to offer. The one who’d hurt Kitty would be resting his ass in jail for a long while yet, but there were too many more out there.
A dog’s bark had him flinching. An image of Shaggy floated through his mind, and the familiar grief stabbed his heart. It had been Garrett’s fault his K-9 partner had died. Shaggy had been the best dog he’d ever met. Her intuition and smarts had saved dozens, maybe hundreds, of people overseas.
Until that final day when everything had blown to hell. Literally .
Garrett might have been a K-9 officer, but he hadn’t spent any time with dogs since losing Shaggy. He wasn’t planning to change that. It was too damn hard.
Shoving the memories from his brain, Garrett peeked out from under his hat. The sun didn’t sit fully above the horizon, but there was no point in trying to sleep more. Garrett climbed out of his sleeping roll and eased to a standing position. Kitty nickered sleepily. “Good morning, Kitty. Getting old is hard.”
He wasn’t quite thirty-five, but there were days he felt double that. A decade ago, he would have popped up from the ground like a kid.
The dog barked again, but Garrett ignored it and focused on the mare. “How you doing this morning? Feel good to know you don’t have to march back into that trailer again? We’re here to stay.”
He added more water to her trough. “Give me twenty minutes to open the house and find a shower, then we’ll check out the barn and the rest of the property.” Although Kitty preferred the outdoors, he’d give her the option of the barn. She’d need to be used to it by winter.
Garrett grabbed his duffels from the truck and headed into the house. The farmhouse had a large kitchen and a couple of living areas. A huge mudroom with laundry right there at the back door. Bathroom right beside it. Those would be great.
He hadn’t even looked at the house when he’d purchased the property. He’d studied the barn and the land carefully, but the house was a happy surprise. It was old and well-worn, but nothing screamed horror movie or imminent collapse.
Upstairs, he found a hallway bathroom and two average-sized bedrooms. The largest bedroom had its own bathroom. The fixtures were a hideous shade of blue, but they were functional. Hot water soothed his aches and returned his optimism.
Back outside, he grabbed a few of the remaining apples from the cooler in his truck and headed to the paddock. With his pocketknife, he sliced up the first apple and shared it with Kitty.
“I’m going to check out the barn. It’s made for horses, not tractors. You coming? It’s probably musty, but we’ll get that fixed up soon.”
Kitty stayed on the far side of the paddock and eyed him warily. “It’s okay, Kitty. It’s not like the horrors you’ve been through. Your life is all good now. You’ll see.” The anger rolled through him again. Some people should never be allowed near animals.
Like many horse barns, this one had large central doors. Garrett unlocked them and shoved them wide open to let in light and fresh air. A peek over his shoulder showed Kitty turned away. It would be a long time before she was easy inside.
With a sigh, he walked into the barn. A large wash station sat immediately to his left, with a stall to the right. He followed the wide aisle into the shadows and straight to the doors at the other end. After shoving those open, more light and air filled the space.
Five stalls along one side. Three stalls along the other and a combined tack and utility room beside the wash station. Exactly as advertised.
He walked through the stalls first. Dusty, but they’d been left clean and empty. The utility room had been cleaned as well. Whoever had used the barn and house before had been a good person. The land and the buildings had been used well and loved.
A cat strolled in from the front doors like she owned the place, making Garrett smile again. “Hey there. Have you been living here all along? Or are you visiting?”
The barn was in good shape, but cats could always find a way in. Maybe he wouldn’t need to buy a few cats if this one was already here. Cats kept the barns free of rodents and were good companions for the horses.
“Feel free to roam, my friend.”
The sound of a terrified horse had Garrett racing outside. Kitty stood where he’d left her, head up and ears pointing him in the right direction. She wasn’t the scared one. He knew his buddies lived to the north, but Kitty told him the other horse was south.
He raced to the fence and hopped over it, wondering if he should have taken the time to grab his gun. Trees blocked his view, but he moved through them to see the neighboring property had a similar setup to his own. Multiple paddocks, barn, house.
The closest paddock held some sheep and a couple of cows. The horse was in a small paddock beyond that, and she was rearing up on her hind legs, terrified of whatever was at her feet. Beyond her, a donkey brayed in annoyance.
Garrett had been prepared to confront an abuser, but he didn’t see any humans. He slowed his breathing and movements, not wanting to spook the horse further. When he spoke, he kept his voice low and soothing.
The mare pranced on her feet, favoring her front left hoof. The chestnut was built for speed. Many racehorses were male, but he’d known plenty of mares who could keep up with the top males. This beauty had racing in her genes.
And skittishness. Had she been abused like Kitty, or was this a fresh injury? Either way, he didn’t want her making it worse.
“Hey, pretty girl, it’s okay. We’re going to find what’s scared you and stop it.”
A goat bleated loudly from behind him. Garrett kept his eyes on the mare, but when a trio of goats rammed right into him, he had to grab the nearest fence to keep his feet. The goats ignored him and raced through the fence slats. The largest one moved right up to the mare, bleating its little heart out.
Instead of freaking out further, the horse’s eyes stopped rolling, and her feet slowed their panicky dance. “Looks like you’ve got a support goat.”
Garrett kept closing the distance and slipped between the fence rails himself, checking the ground for what had startled the horse. The paddock was clean and well-kept. Food and water in the troughs. No outward appearance of mistreatment.
“Get the hell out of my paddock and away from my horse.” The feminine voice was accompanied by the unmistakable sound of a rifle being loaded.
Maybe Garrett should have warned his buddies he was coming after all.
K imi steadied herself on the fence as she aimed her rifle. She would never actually use it on a living being, but it was a hell of a deterrent. A woman living on her own couldn’t be too careful, as she well knew.
The man, wearing a Stetson and jeans that fit his long-legged frame very nicely, stopped his movement and held his hands out to the side. Nice ass didn’t always mean smart brain, but in this case, it did. She didn’t have to threaten him twice.
Stetson turned slowly to face her, and the front view matched the rear. Nice. Very nice. Instead of the belligerent scowl she was expecting, he aimed his whiskey gaze her way with an edge of a smile.
She kept her gaze as steady as her rifle and her senses aware. He might not be alone. “You thinking of hurting my horse?”
Now, he scowled. “No. I’m making sure she isn’t hurt. Her squeal should have had you running to see as well.”
Kimi rolled her eyes. She’d been in the shower and had to take the time to pull her sleep stuff back on. Not that she was telling Stetson that. “She’s fine. You can head on your way.”
His brows lowered, and determination practically emanated from him. “Not until I’m sure she’s safe.”
Well. That didn’t sound like one of Hendry’s men. She doubted those kinds of words ever crossed their lips. Was it a ploy to get Kimi closer so he could get the gun? He wasn’t wearing one of his own, but everything about his posture told her this man could carry one. She wondered if he’d spent some time working for Uncle Sam. He moved like Troy Phail and his army friends. Competent. Aware. Ready.
Lucky for her, she was all of those things as well.
Stetson kept his hands in sight as he turned back to Onigis and her goat buddies. She let her gaze check the animals out as well but returned it quickly to him. The man didn’t have creepy vibes pouring from him, but she wasn’t going to be fooled by a pretty face. While his back was turned, she slid through the fence and into the paddock herself.
His voice held concern when he spoke again. “I think something startled her. She was rearing up when I came in. Her left foreleg appears hurt. ”
Okay, he was observant and knew something about horses. A quick peek around showed no vehicles in her yard or in the drive. Thieves would hide their truck out of sight, but they would also approach in the dark, not try to walk the horse off her property and down the road in plain sight.
Something rustled in a nearby bush and a fuzzy orange-brown tail showed briefly. Wagosh. The fox refused to reintegrate fully back into the wild, and he always checked in on new arrivals. Kimi relaxed some more. Wagosh would be the reason Onigis had startled. The fox wasn’t shy and had probably come to check out Onigis. “Our local fox is hanging out in the bushes. He’s nosy and likely the one who startled her. I’ll check the mare over. You can go.”
The man didn’t even bother looking at her. Instead, he continued to ease closer to the horse. Eyes steady, body calm. She could warn him that the mare might be dangerous, but she figured he knew that.
Now that her panic for Onigis was fading, Kimi let her people sense take over. This wasn’t a man who was going to harm her or her horse. She hadn’t taken the safety off the rifle before. Now, she did that, opened the action and unloaded the round.
The man nodded without looking at her. “Thanks.”
Kimi placed the unloaded weapon on the ground outside the paddock and moved closer to the group. Popcorn had calmed Onigis down and was bleating cheerfully at her. The other two goats were bouncing around the man as if trying to make friends. He absent-mindedly patted them while keeping his eye on the horse.
When Pretty and Awesome, the two peafowl wandered around the side of the barn and peeked into the paddock, he didn’t spare them more than a glance. Snoops brayed his annoyance to the world, but that didn’t startle him, either.
Stetson knew his way around a farm and animals. Animals knew when someone wanted to hurt them, and they didn’t get the vibe from him, either.
When Onigis whinnied, he stopped his approach. “Easy, girl. I’m not here to hurt you. Just want a look at that hoof of yours. We might have to see if this town has a vet if you’ve got a serious problem.”
Kimi snorted .
The man’s gaze moved to her. “What?”
“I’m the vet.”
His eyes widened, and a moment later, a lightning-quick lopsided grin changed his face from handsome to movie-star gorgeous. A sexy, whisky-eyed cowboy who liked animals. She firmly told her heart not to soften. She didn’t even know his name yet. Or why he was on her land. But her instincts never failed her. He wasn’t a threat.
He studied her for a moment, and then his face turned serious. “What’s wrong with her?”
“I was going to look at her this morning. She’s new and was too antsy when she arrived last night.”
He nodded as his gaze roved over her. “What did the owner say?”
“Not a word.” Because she was the new owner and the previous owner had been a creep. Stetson didn’t need to know any of that.
“Want some help checking her out?”
“I’m fine.”
The man’s gaze returned to her, and his eyes coasted up and down her body. Hell, she’d forgotten she wasn’t really dressed. She hadn’t brought clothes into the bathroom with her, so she’d jumped back into her sleep shorts and tank top.
He hadn’t ogled her, but her skin heated anyway. She’d given him the once over as well. Turnabout was only fair.
Realizing he had no intention of leaving until they’d checked out the mare, Kimi turned her back on him and moved to pick up the rifle. Then she walked back to her cottage. No way was she squatting down to check out Onigis before she had clothes on. No sense in giving Stetson any more of a show.
Needing the caffeine, she turned on the pot before dressing in her usual jeans, long-sleeved t-shirt, and boots. If deference to the morning chill, she shrugged on a flannel shirt as well.
With a sigh, she filled two reusable mugs. If Stetson didn’t take it black, he didn’t have to drink it, but she had a feeling he would.
With another sigh, she straightened her shoulders and stepped outside. It was going to be a long day.