Wild Horses (Sadie's Montana #1)(58)

“I’m doing much better, thank you,” Sadie said politely, ducking her head to hide her embarrassment.

“You’ve come through a lot. Richard tells me your horse was killed.”

“He was put down, yes. His leg was broken.”

“Must be hard.”

“It is.”

Dorothy bustled over with the tea, setting it daintily on the table at Barbara’s elbow.

“There now. Try it.”

Barbara sipped appreciatively, then grimaced at the heat.

“Taste good?” Dorothy asked hopefully.

Barbara nodded.

Sadie got up, went to the closet, and got down the Pledge furniture polish and a clean cloth. It would be good to dust the beloved house again. She’d do the upstairs first, working her way down. She left the kitchen then, letting Dorothy care for Barbara.

Humming, Sadie started in the den—the great oak-paneled room that housed all of Richard Caldwell’s treasures. It was a massive room with great windows reaching to the height of the cathedral ceiling where fans moved quietly to ease the stuffiness of the baseboard heat.

She was whistling low under her breath, the way she always did when she dusted, enjoying the smell of the lemon furniture polish and the luster of the well made furniture under her hand.

“Hey! Sadie!”

Sadie jumped at Richard Caldwell’s booming voice.

Calm. I will be calm, Sadie told herself, giving one last swipe to the tabletop and turning slowly to face him.

“It’s real good to see you back, Sadie!”

“Thank you. It’s good to be here.”

“Sit down.”

Sadie obeyed, pressing her knees together nervously, smoothing her gray skirt over them.

He came straight to the point.

“What happened to…to your horse?”

Sadie thought of the fact that he always called Nevaeh “your horse.” Perhaps he wasn’t comfortable pronouncing her name. Either that, or he thought it was a foolish name for a horse.

“He tried to jump the fence. He…suffered a lot.”

Sadie stopped, the dreaded emotion rising in her throat.

“But why would he have the urge to try and jump the fence?”

Sadie shook her head, bit her lip.

Richard Caldwell got up, and in his abrupt way, grabbed the remote off the coffee table and pressed a button.

“I kept this for you.”

The huge flat-screen TV flashed to life on the opposite wall. Sadie saw the newscaster finish the story of a local murder in Billings, then look straight into the camera before beginning the news item Richard Caldwell wanted her to hear.

“There is increasing concern in the Aspendale Valley east of Billings as ranchers and landowners report seeing wild horses. The fact that it is a fairly large group is reason for concern. Stories of an enormous black stallion are circulating.”

The picture changed to a weather-beaten old rancher wearing a sweat-stained John Deere bill cap. He was in desperate need of a shave and a toothbrush.

“Yes, sir! They’re runnin’! I seen ’em. Big black devil’s the leader. They’re dangerous to other horses. Keep yer’s corralled or in the barn.”

They interviewed another rancher, and then the camera returned to the spokesperson.

“The Amish buggy accident may have been caused by this band of horses running loose. In the meantime, Harold Ardwin of Hill Country is offering a $20,000 reward to the person who can find his missing herd of blue-blooded horses. Could there be a connection between these horse stories? Local ranchers say it’s highly unlikely.”

There was music, the picture changed to a map of the weather forecast, and Richard Caldwell pressed the button of the remote control device.

He turned to look down at her.

“What do you think?”

Sadie shook her head, her eyes wide.

“Do you think there was a herd of wild horses that night—the night the buggy went down over the ridge?”

Without hesitation, she said, “Yes, I do. As time goes on, I remember bits of … well, more. Captain was scared. He was running scared… He…”

“Who’s Captain?”

“Our … Ezra’s horse—the horse that was hitched to the buggy. His ears were flicking back and forth, his head was up, his pace much too fast.”

“Did you see the wild horses?” Richard Caldwell asked intently.

“Yes, I did. Well, at first I felt them. Do you know what I mean? I knew some animal or some person, just something, I guess, was running behind us.”

She stopped.

“I’m not wording that very well, am I?”

“That’s fine.”

“A horse hitched to a buggy does not normally run uphill at breakneck speed, but Captain was doing exactly that.”

She shuddered, remembering, then continued.

“He was there, beside us. He was.”

“Who was?” Richard Caldwell sank back against his desk, crossed his arms over his chest, and watched her from beneath his shaggy eyebrows.

“The big, black one. The one the…”

She pointed to the television on the wall.

“You’re sure about that?”

Sadie nodded.

The door opened quietly and Barbara Caldwell entered, still clutching her white robe against her body. Richard Caldwell instantly moved to go to her, putting his big hands on her shoulders. His voice lowered as he asked her how she felt, and she looked up into his face with an expression Sadie had never seen before.