Leaping Hearts(14)

He disappeared into the house, leaving A.J. speechless on the front stoop. Numbly, she noted that the back of him looked as good as the front did.

She wanted to argue with him. However her actions might appear, she would never compromise a horse’s safety or security, but she didn’t feel as if she could afford the luxury of explaining herself. It appeared as if Sabbath had a stall for the night and she wasn’t going to put that in jeopardy just because she’d been misjudged.

Instead of waiting for him, she smothered a yawn and went back to the barn, wondering where she would spend the night. It certainly wasn’t going to be at the mansion. Approaching the trailer, she regarded the cab with a jaundiced eye, deciding that the space was probably roomy enough for her to stretch out. It wasn’t glamorous but at least she’d be horizontal.

Moving with the practiced coordination of someone who’d done it countless times, A.J. put down the ramp, freed Sabbath’s lead and backed him out of the trailer. He seemed perfectly content to have her take his head and she walked him around to stretch his legs as she waited for McCloud. The stallion was lipping at the ground happily when the man emerged from the house.

As he approached, she felt a stir go through her. It was hot and urgent, like a flash of lightning, and it seemed to her as if her body were communicating in some secret language with his. While she pushed the sensation away and focused on the lead line in her hands, she wondered if he felt it, too.

Silently, he went past her and unlocked the double doors of the stable. They slid back soundlessly on well-oiled runners and he reached in and flipped on the lights. Peeking inside, she saw six generous stalls, three on each side, separated by a spacious aisle. To the left, she could see the tack room, and to the right, a small office. The place was immaculate and had everything a horse and rider would need, but the moment she led Sabbath inside, she noticed something was wrong.

The silence of the place was overwhelming. All of the chatty background noise she was used to hearing around horses was absent. There were no stomping of hooves, no welcoming whinnies of curiosity, no sound of brass on brass as halters were shaken. The place was a ghost town.

Her heart ached for him.

“You can put him in here,” Devlin said, sliding open the gate to one of the first stalls.

She led the stallion inside and removed his halter, noting that there was fresh dirt on the floor but no water or feed.

“I’ve got some hay in the trailer,” she said, going out into the aisle, “and if you show me where the hose is—”

“I have an automatic watering system,” he replied, shutting the bottom half of the door. “But you’re going to want to bring in some feed.”

She headed outside.

When A.J. returned, she saw Devlin and Sabbath measuring up each other like two boxers in a ring. The stallion’s head was out of the stall and he was fiercely meeting the eyes of the man who stood, still as a statue, inches away. She slowed down, waiting to see what was going to happen.

Sabbath snorted against the jacket Devlin was wearing and stomped a hoof. Concerned he was going to bite, A.J. rushed forward, only to be halted by the sound of Devlin’s voice.

“Stay back,” he said. “This is between him and me.”

Feeling at a loss, she did as she was told.

The stallion breathed in a barrelful of air and threw it at Devlin. The man remained standing, his cane cocked at an angle as he braced himself against the force that hit him. Like his body, his eyes were steady, never wavering, even as Sabbath kicked the side of the stall and threw back his head, letting out a roar.

A.J. dropped the hay and ran ahead, only to stop in surprise. After the fuss was over, the stallion’s ears relaxed and he pulled back into the stall on his own.

“Round one is a tie,” Devlin said, a smile playing behind the straight lines of his lips. “And that’s one hell of a horse.”

A.J. found herself returning his grin as she tossed hay into the stall. Satisfied Sabbath was comfortable, she shut the top door and they walked back out into the night air.

“Thank you,” she said, pausing in front of the trailer.

He shrugged. “He’ll be comfortable for the night.”

“I appreciate it.”

“When will you be back tomorrow morning to pick him up?”

“Actually, do you mind if the rig takes up some of your driveway space tonight?”

“Of course not. But how are you going to get home?”

“I’m not going home.”

With that, A.J. wrenched open the driver’s-side door and crawled in, so tired she hurt.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m exhausted and, as you and just about everyone I’ve run into today has pointed out, not thinking all that clearly. If you don’t mind, I’m just going to spend the night here.”

“You can’t be serious.”

She shut the door and rolled onto her side, tucking an arm under her head. Abruptly, she found herself on the verge of tears.

A sharp rap sounded against the window.

A.J. put her other arm over her ear, trying to block out the noise. The last thing she wanted was to cry in front of him.

The butt of the cane continued knocking.

Bolting upright, she cracked open the window. “What?”

“You can’t sleep out here.”