HORSES AND HEROIN (Romantic Mystery) (13 page)

Megan followed, gripping her reins a little too tightly, hiding her discomfort. Scott was, after all, Garrett’s employee, yet it had almost sounded like Scott had been giving the orders. He seemed preoccupied too, his mouth set in a grim line. When he wasn’t smiling, Scott did have a forbidding look.

“You obviously know Garrett well,” she said cautiously. “But do you think he minds me riding over there?”

“Braun is stabled in the cowshed. Obviously I have to ride there,” Scott said, although she noticed he didn’t really answer her question. “Do you know anyone called Miguel?”

“Yes. He’s a part-time jock student. His dad owns the Baja Tinda.” She paused, doubting Scott wanted to hear about her roommate’s infatuation. “He’s cocky, but okay, I guess. I don’t know why Rex would growl at him.”

“Rex is a very smart dog,” Scott said.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“Sorry you missed lunch again,” Tami whispered, her pretty face glowing with excitement. “Miguel sat with me. He even gave me his Jello.”

Megan nodded, careful to keep her eyes on the instructor. Lydia wheeled from the whiteboard, still talking but searching the classroom for the origin of the whispers.

“Injuries can occur at any time,” Lydia said. “As riders, you need to be able to feel when a horse is moving differently. The quicker you can pull up, the safer it is for both horses and humans.” Her eyes narrowed. “Do you have something to contribute to the lesson, Tami?”

Tami hunched her shoulders and shook her head.

“Then that’s it for today. Next class we’ll be looking at video clips of some breakdowns and catastrophic falls. You all need to understand that riding is an extremely dangerous career choice.”

Odd. Megan rose and packed her notes. Normally she would have been Lydia’s target, not Tami. Yet today, Lydia hadn’t sent a single snide comment her way. It appeared any fear she had about angering Lydia by leaving her riding class was groundless.

Relieved, she pulled her headphones from her bag. Whatever Scott had said to Lydia, he’d obviously been diplomatic.

He’d also been correct about her stiffness. Her muscles ached from the long morning ride, and she stiffly followed Tami toward the exit.

“Where the hell did you get that iPod?”

Both Megan and Tami wheeled toward the accusing voice. Eve stood behind them, flashing eyes as dark as her short raven hair. Tami looked at Megan, obviously expecting her to admit she’d found it in the cowshed. But Megan’s hand tightened around the headphones. She didn’t want to give up Joey’s iPod. Listening to his music gave a sense of connection, a connection she wanted to keep.

“So? Where’d you get it?” Eve rammed her hands on her hips and stalked closer. She was slight and five inches shorter than Megan, but at that moment she radiated such ferocity, she seemed to swell.

Megan glanced toward the front of the room. Luckily Lydia stacked papers in her briefcase and wasn’t looking their way. Except for Tami and a few stragglers, the classroom had cleared.

“It’s Joey’s,” she said softly, wishing Eve would lower her voice.

“I know it’s Joey’s. I see his initials.” Eve’s voice sharpened. “But you didn’t answer my question. Where did you get it?”

Lydia snapped her briefcase shut and turned around. “Is there a problem, ladies?”

“Yes, there’s a problem,” Eve said. “Either this student stole Joey’s iPod or else she found it and intends to keep it. She certainly didn’t report it to the lost and found.” Eve gave a contemptuous snort. “I’m sure his family would love to have it returned.”

Megan jerked her head back, her mouth opening. Finally. Someone who empathized. Yes, indeed. The family would treasure Joey’s iPod. Lying in bed last night, listening to his songs had been bittersweet. Even learning about his music tastes had been comforting. He’d always teased her about liking Taylor Swift. Yet, he had downloaded several of her songs—many of them Megan’s favorites.

“That iPod belongs to Joey Collins?” Lydia asked. “Give it to me.” Megan opened her mouth to protest.

“Now.” Lydia circled her desk and thrust out her hand.

Megan hesitated a moment then reluctantly dropped the iPod into Lydia’s grasping palm. “Eve’s right,” she said quietly. “It should be forwarded to Joey’s family. I think they’d really want it too.”

Her gaze caught Eve’s and for an unguarded moment she spotted the other girl’s expression, a blend of wistfulness and sorrow that seemed to mirror her own.

“I’m sure Mr. Baldwin is capable of deciding what to do with it,” Lydia said. “However, there’s a bigger issue here—this item wasn’t voluntarily turned in. And theft is cause for immediate dismissal.”

“I didn’t steal it,” Megan said quickly. “I found it in the cowshed.”

“An area which is off limits to students.” Lydia’s mouth thinned. “I’ll be filing an incident report, but I think you’re in a great deal of trouble. Thank you, Eve, for bringing this to my attention.”

Eve’s gaze flickered to Megan. She turned and left the room. Megan followed more slowly, with a wide-eyed Tami trudging beside her.

“You planned to turn the iPod in at suppertime,” Tami said, after a moment of heavy silence. “That’s what I remember. And I’ll make sure that goes in Lydia’s stupid report.” But she sounded troubled. “I don’t mind lying for my friends if it doesn’t hurt anyone. You should have guessed someone would notice though. It’s a pretty expensive model.”

Three hundred and twenty-two dollars.
Megan’s fingers curved into her palms. She hadn’t been thinking. It would have been prudent to leave the iPod safe in her room. Now it would be even more difficult to befriend Eve, who obviously had shared something special with Joey.

“Don’t worry,” Tami went on. “It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours. Last year at school I was caught in a situation like this, and there was a twenty-four hour rule. And I think if Garrett is mad, tears definitely would help.”

Megan’s breath escaped in a shuddery sigh and she reached over and impulsively squeezed Tami’s hand. “I’m glad you’re my roommate. I really appreciate you.”

Tami gave a rueful laugh. “Yeah, well, could you show your appreciation by staying away for a bit tonight? I invited Miguel over. Ramon doesn’t let him invite people to the villa. He’s not supposed to get too close to the other students.”

Megan gave a distracted nod, still picturing Eve’s face. Maybe she should tell Eve she was Joey’s sister. Drop by the jock dorm and talk.

“Be sure to knock,” Tami said.

”What?” Megan yanked her attention back to Tami. For a moment, she feared she’d been thinking out loud.

“Be sure to knock,” Tami said. “You know, when you come back tonight. In case, Miguel is still there.”

“Okay,” Megan said. “I’ll knock first.” Besides, it wouldn’t be a chore to stay away. Scott had already invited her for supper.

“I saw you riding with the hunky professor.” Tami seemed to have perked up thinking of men and even gave a happy skip. “Next to Miguel, he’s the hottest guy on campus.”

“I guess,” Megan said, amused Tami considered Miguel more attractive than Scott. “You really like Miguel?”

“Oh, yeah.” Tami’s expression turned dreamy. “You should see him ride. Yesterday one of the horses was giving a student trouble, and Ramon asked Miguel to switch. Miguel sure made that horse sorry.”

“Sorry?”

“Yeah, Miguel showed the horse who was boss. He’ll be a good jockey someday. Bet he’ll be as famous as Ramon.”

Infatuation seemed to cloud Tami’s judgment, and Megan shot her a cautious look. Miguel had too much spit and swagger for her liking. And the tractable lesson horses might listen, but she doubted a racehorse would give Miguel any extra effort, not if he were in the habit of roughing them up.

“I wonder how a horse would respond at the end of a race?” she asked mildly. “When they’re exhausted and the jockey is pleading for every last drop of energy. When they both need to work together and dig deep.”

“Dunno.” Tami shrugged but her voice turned thoughtful. “Guess the horse was rather pissed. His ears were back and he was wringing his tail. He was listening to Miguel but not really trying.”

“Guess that’s why we take horse psychology next month,” Megan said. She, of course, wouldn’t be here for that course, but Tami would and she was going to make a good exercise rider. Despite Tami’s obsession with Miguel, it was clear she was open to a wide range of training strategies.

“Maybe Miguel lost his temper a bit,” Tami added. “Ramon yelled at him for being too aggressive with his whip. But Miguel can stick to a horse better than anyone else, except Eve.” Her voice turned rueful. “Both Peter and I fell off this morning. The gate is tough, especially if your horse breaks hard. My ass still aches.”

Megan laughed, realizing both she and Tami walked like old women. Her thighs throbbed, and the thought of Scott’s Jacuzzi was doubly appealing. So was the prospect of seeing him tonight.

She gave a little hop but it only aggravated the muscle ache so she resumed her sedate walk, relieved Tami was too absorbed with Miguel to ask any more questions about their sexy new addictions instructor.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Rap, rap
. Scott clamped the phone to his ear and walked toward the front door. Garrett wouldn’t knock and the food had already been delivered from the cafeteria. Must be Megan.

“Okay, Snake,” he said. “That sounds good. We can review the rest tomorrow.”

“But guess who the husband’s banging.” Snake’s voice rumbled with laughter. “T-Bone bet it was the insurance agent. You wouldn’t believe—”

“Fine. You can tell me tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? But don’t you remember that lawyer with the big ass? And what about the other files? You feeling okay?”

“Yeah,” Scott said. Actually he was more than okay. Megan and the horses were like a tonic, and he didn’t want to think about insurance scams or surveillance or bogus credit card charges. Belinda had been right. It was time for a vacation. Maybe even for a lifestyle change. His business was established. He could cut back on work, hire a few more ex-cops.

Snake turned silent. “What if I called back about midnight?” he finally asked.

“Tomorrow morning,” Scott said. “Mid morning.”

“Oh, man.” Snake’s voice rippled with amusement. “I should have guessed. You met a woman—”

Scott cut the connection, silencing Snake’s snicker. He flung open the door. Blinked in surprise. “Hello, Lydia,” he said.

She stepped in, carrying a bottle of red wine and a cloud of flowery perfume. “A little housewarming,” she said. “A friend of mine owns a winery in the valley.”

“Thanks,” he said. “That’s very kind.”

“Should we drink it now? I wasn’t sure if your kitchen had a corkscrew so I brought one along, just in case.” Her throaty laugh sounded forced, her voice uneven, and it didn’t take a trained investigator to realize she was nervous.

“I’m busy tonight,” he said gently, “but maybe we could try it tomorrow. With lunch,” he added. The wine was a nice gesture and she was obviously lonely, but he didn’t want to be close to her when the sun came down.

“You’re busy tonight?” Her gaze darted over his shoulder. “I guess tomorrow would be fine. But we can’t drink wine in the cafeteria, not around the students.”

“Of course. We’ll eat here. I’m sure Garrett would like to join us as well.”

“But he never eats lunch. So it’ll just be the two of us although you can always ask him…that is, if you’re seeing Garrett tonight?”

“All right. I’ll ask him.” Ignoring her clumsy attempt to probe, he stepped back and held the door open. “See you tomorrow around one, Lydia.”

“All right,” she said.

He closed the door with a sigh, relieved Megan hadn’t arrived yet. Garrett had already admitted Lydia was tough on pretty girls, and he didn’t want to make Megan’s situation worse. And Garrett would be joining them for lunch tomorrow. He’d insist.

He carried the wine into the kitchen, debating about calling Snake back and finishing their conversation. His money had been on the insurance agent too.

But he wasn’t really that interested and there wasn’t anything Snake couldn’t handle. Besides, Belinda would be back tomorrow. His time would be better spent removing the cover from the hot tub and getting ready for Megan.

***

“Do you want dessert now or after?” Scott asked as Megan finished her last bite of steak.

“After?” She raised an eyebrow, looking very poised, but he noticed that her fingers played with the wine glass.

“After the Jacuzzi,” he said. She’d walked stiffly when she arrived and he’d already decided to make tomorrow’s session a little easier. Of course, she’d still have to do some gate work, especially if she was moving into Ramon’s class.

Those jocks were flying from the gate, although some of the exercise riders looked damn green, much greener than Megan. But he wanted to make sure she was prepared while he was around to help.

“Maybe you should stay with the private lessons until next week,” he said thoughtfully. “Get used to galloping with the shorter stirrups. Toughen up your legs.”

“Oh, no, I’m fine,” she said quickly. “I’m not sore at all.”

“All right. Then we’ll do three long sessions tomorrow so you’re good and ready for Ramon.”

Her eyes flared with such panic, he chuckled and tugged her from the chair and onto his lap. “I’m teasing, sweetheart,” he said. “But this is a risky sport. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

And he was a little chagrined she didn’t want to ride with him, that she preferred to move to Ramon’s class. However, she was in his arms now. He adjusted her into his hips, enjoying the feel of her soft curves. “Did you bring a swimsuit?” he murmured gruffly, reluctant to let her go.

“Yes. It’s in my purse.”

“Good. Sounds like it’s tiny.”

“It’s my grandmother’s old one-piece.” But she twisted, looping her arms around his neck, and her mouth curved in a teasing smile. This was the first time she’d smiled at him like that, deep and full of such promise it made his breath thicken.