Kate Sherwood - Dark Horse 01 - Dark Horse (10 page)

Dan raises his hands. “Yeah, of course he can.” It’s nice that they bothered to ask, but Dan really wonders how often people say ‘no’ to Evan Kaminski.

“He says ‘of course’,” Jeff tells Evan. “And I’ve been telling him that you’re not a total jackass, so make sure you mind your manners.” Jeff’s laugh is warm and intimate, and Dan has a quick flash of jealousy. He’s shocking himself with this. Two hours ago he’d been crying at his lover’s bedside, and now he’s getting possessive about the affection of a virtual stranger? He’d told Justin he was going to find a way to say goodbye, but this really wasn’t the method he’d had in mind.

Jeff hangs up and tells Dan, “He’s on his way up from the lobby.” Dan nods and plays with the label of his beer bottle. He’s feeling awkward again, anticipates feeling a little strange around Evan, now that Dan’s realized that he’s got a bit of a crush on the man’s boyfriend.
Evan appears in the doorway, and Dan stands to greet him. They

shake hands, and then Evan reaches out and gently grips Jeff’s shoulder. Dan remembers having little coded greetings like that with Justin, and his emotion this time isn’t quite jealousy, but he’s not sure what else to call it.

“There’s a booth free over there… do you guys want to grab it?” Evan is already moving toward the booth, and Dan feels a burst of resentment. He and Jeff were doing fine at the bar, and then Evan had to come along and ruin it. Dan squelches that idea fast—it’s insane to start imagining a relationship between himself and Jeff, and if the new job has any chance of working out, Dan needs to go into it with a better frame of mind. And he knows that three people sitting in a row is not a good conversation layout, so it’s not like he can find a fault in Evan’s suggestion.

Dan stays behind long enough to settle the bar tab, over Jeff’s polite objection, and then the two of them follow obediently in Evan’s wake. Jeff slides in next to Evan, and that leaves Dan to sit on the other side, staring at both of them. He really misses sitting at the bar.

Evan seems pleased with the situation, though. He smiles expansively. “So, everything went really smoothly this afternoon, and I think you’re going to like my new plan.” He looks at Dan as if he expects the admiration to begin flowing immediately, but doesn’t seem at all put out by Dan’s blank look.

“Well, the facilities aren’t totally ready for us in California—the barn’s in good shape, but they’re still working on the new rings and the cross-country course. Apparently getting the right footing is a big deal?” He looks at Dan for confirmation, and he just nods. Hopefully Evan already knows that, or he’s not doing a very good job of supervising construction. “And Karl and Molly don’t think they can be out of their house for at least a month. They’ve got to find somewhere else to live, pack up… whatever. So the new plan is for the horses to stay at the barn for another month or so. I can pay enough in rent to offset the loss from the developers, and you can keep working the horses just like you have been.” Evan smiles. “I mean, I’m hoping you’ll agree to take the job for at least that long. It can be a sort of tryout phase, you know? Tat’ll probably want to fly out for a weekend or two and get some riding in, but otherwise it’ll be just like it always was, but I’ll be signing your pay checks.”

Dan notices himself searching for a flaw in the plan, just so he can have the fun of pointing it out to Evan, but he has to admit he can’t find anything, and he chides himself for being petty. Evan has gone out of his way to make this work for Dan, and he deserves at least a little appreciation. “Uh, yeah, that sounds good, I guess.” He frowns a little. “Are Karl and Molly still going to be working there? If it’s just Robyn and me, that’s not really enough staff for twenty-three horses, not if we’re going to be training them.”

Evan nods. “I mentioned that to Karl and Molly, and they seemed willing to put in some time, but I told them I’d have to discuss it with you, that you’d have final say over hiring. Same with Robyn—she’ll get her severance pay from Karl and Molly regardless, but if you want to hire her again that’s up to you. It’s short term work, of course, unless you want to try to bring them out to California with you….” Evan catches himself and smiles winningly. “Assuming you decide to come. We can talk about that more after we see how this goes.”

Evan pulls a sheaf of papers out of his briefcase and passes them to Dan. “That’s a contract for your own employment, totally open-ended for now—either side can end the contract for any reason at any time. Not that I anticipate having to use that clause, but my lawyers’ eyes were bleeding when I suggested that we put the terms in for you and not for us. And the next sheet has some names you should know. Payroll and purchasing will go through the central office, but I don’t want you to get drowned in bureaucracy, so you can just call that number and speak to Becky, and she’ll take care of what you need. And the other name is Linda Davis— she’s my executive assistant, she knows everything that’s going on everywhere at all times… it’s a bit scary. So if you need something Becky can’t help you with, call Linda, and she’ll either help you herself or put you through to me.”

Dan misses the tranquility of his conversation with Jeff. Evan isn’t saying anything wrong, at all, but he’s just saying a
lot
. Again, Jeff notices and tries to make things better.

He chuckles, and nods at Dan. “Another victim of Hurricane Evan.” He points to Dan’s beer. “Drink up. I think my liver curses the day I met the kid.” Dan takes a long pull on the bottle, and Jeff continues. “I think the only decision you need to make right now is staffing, right?” He looks to Evan for confirmation, and Evan nods. The guy is trying so hard to subdue his energy that Dan worries that his head might explode. “Robyn is good, right?” Dan nods in confirmation, and Jeff continues. “And she’ll probably be interested in continuing to work there?” Another nod. Jeff pauses for a drink, and to let Dan catch up a little. Even with Jeff’s guidance, things are still happening pretty fast.

“So it’s down to Karl and Molly.” Jeff gives Dan an assessing but non-confrontational look. “Would it be uncomfortable for you to work with them? Either because they used to be your bosses or because of any personal issues?” Dan has to think about that one. He’s been in charge of training the horses for quite a while, so he doesn’t think there would be any change in the day-to-day dynamics of the barn. But he’s less sure about the personal issues.

“How did they seem?” he asks Evan. “When you mentioned them working at the barn—did they seem like they wanted to do it, or were they just trying to do you a favor?”

Evan looks like he’s thinking about what to say, for a change. “Honestly? I don’t mean to intrude on personal stuff, and I’m sure there’s tons I don’t know and none of it’s any of my business.” Evan casts a look at Jeff, as if the older man has had to remind him of these points a few times. “But since you ask… from what I could see, they don’t care one way or another about the jobs. They just seemed to be interested in doing whatever would make things easier for you.” Evan shoots a look at Jeff as if he’s afraid he’s about to cross a line. “They seem like they really care about you, and they seem upset about some sort of rift between you.” Evan seems like he might want to say more, but Jeff raises an eyebrow and Evan reconsiders. Dan notices the interplay—daddy kink indeed.

Then Dan is forced to consider the content of Evan’s appraisal. Dan knows he needs to talk to Justin’s parents. He’s just not sure he knows what to say.

“The deal closes tomorrow at midnight—we made it super fast because the lawyers are worried that some horse could go lame or something and all the valuations will fall apart. So you’ve got tomorrow to figure out staffing.” Evan is back into hurricane mode. “Contact Becky in the morning—I’ll let her know to expect your call. You can set up wage expectations with her—I’ll authorize a ten percent raise for Robyn… and we could maybe set the Archer pay at halfway between yours and Robyn’s?” Dan nods. He guesses that makes sense. “Or, if you decide not to hire them, you can use the equivalent amount of money to hire whomever you need. If that’s not going to work out for some reason, give Linda a call, and she’ll sort it out.” Evan’s on a roll, and Jeff just sits back and watches him. “You’re welcome to move back into the apartment if you like—I understand that it’s good to have some employee on site in case there’s trouble at night, so if you don’t hire the Archers and you don’t want to move back in, you should find someone else to live there, probably. And you can buy whatever supplies are needed for day-to-day operations; just send the invoices to Becky.” Evan pauses. “What else? Am I micromanaging too much?”

Dan just raises an eyebrow. “No, I guess not. I think I know what I need to do. I just….” Again he finds himself looking to Jeff rather than Evan. “I just don’t have any experience with this side of things. I mean, I know horses. That’s about it. The hiring and supplies and invoices and executive damn assistants… I don’t really know anything about that stuff.” He takes a deep breath, because he finds that when it comes down to it, he really does want this job. He turns to Evan and says, “I think maybe you should be looking for someone else for the job, if you want them to look after all this stuff. I… I didn’t even graduate high school. I’m not saying I can’t learn it, but for what you’re paying, you deserve to have somebody who already
knows
it.”

Evan looks thoughtfully at Jeff, who just shrugs. Evan grins as he shakes his head. “That damned honesty, again, Dan! I love it! We can train you for whatever you need to know, but we can’t train somebody else to be a stand-up guy.”

Dan drains his beer. Evan is exhausting, but he makes it really hard to not like him. “Okay, then. If that’s your call. Is there anything else we need to talk about tonight?”

“Becky will probably have a list of things for you—she’ll want to set you up with a laptop and a fax and God knows what else. But I think the big stuff has been handled. You know what you’re doing tomorrow?”

“It was really good to meet you, Dan.” Evan says. “I’m really looking forward to luring you out to California!” Dan just laughs, and tries not to look awkward as he turns to Jeff.

Jeff has pulled a pen out of Evan’s briefcase and reaches out for the sheaf of papers Dan has been given. He finds the page with the phone number, and writes another two on it. “Those are my numbers, home and cell. If you have any questions or need to talk, about horses or whatever, give me a call.” Evan is looking at Jeff a little curiously, but Dan just nods and shakes Jeff’s hand.

“Okay, well, it was good to meet you both.” Dan represses the strange urge to wave to the two men and instead turns and makes his way out of the bar. It’s odd to think that earlier that day he was thinking he might never see the barn again, and now he’s going back to living and working in it. At least for a while longer. He decides to ask Robyn if he can stay another night with her, and then gives serious thought to trying to get her to go out to California with the horses.

It still doesn’t feel right to think of going out there himself, not without Justin. But he knows that nowhere is going to feel right without Justin: not Kentucky, not California, not anywhere. He’s not sure whether it would be easier to be alone in a familiar setting or in a new environment. The big change, he realizes, is going to be trying to live without Justin. Everything else is just a petty detail.

R
OBYN
readily agrees to keep working at the barn, even before Dan mentions the raise. And she’s kind enough to not look overjoyed when Dan tells her that he’ll be getting off her couch the next day. Then she’s the one who raises the problem of other staff.

“I don’t know….” Dan leans back on her couch and runs both hands through his hair in frustration. “Is it just going to be weird if Karl and Molly come back? Evan said they weren’t too enthusiastic, and it’s not like they need the money anymore. I don’t want them there just to do a favor for me, you know?” Dan thinks for a moment. “You’ve gotten really good at riding—if I worked with you, you could take over a few horses a day, right?” Robyn looks a little hesitant. “I mean, if I found someone else to do the job you’ve been doing. It’d be easier to find a replacement for a stable hand than for a trainer.”

Robyn’s tentative. “It sounds great, Dan, and you know I’ve been looking to move more into that side of things. But… are you ever going to deal with Karl and Molly? You guys were all really close—are you just going to let that go?”

Dan tries not to show too much of his frustration. It isn’t Robyn’s fault, after all. “I don’t know that we ever were all that close. I mean, I thought we were, too, but really it was just Justin. Without him… I’m just some guy who used to ride their horses.” He pauses. “And that would be fine, as long as everyone admits that’s all there is. But if anyone keeps pretending that there’s more to it, it’s just going to be awkward. You know?”

Robyn sighs. “I think you’re taking things the wrong way, maybe. I mean, they always say that you’re like part of the family.”
“Yeah, I think they mean Chris. He’s the one they talked to when it really mattered.” Dan takes the bitterness out of his tone and smiles apologetically. “I’ve been ‘like part of the family’ before, Robyn… it never lasts. People say the dog is like part of the family, right before they get rid of it because one of the
real
kids gets allergies.”
Robyn looks at him sadly. “So that’s it? You just pack up and move on, and leave it all behind?”
“I’m not the one who packed up! I was sticking it out!” Dan shakes his head in frustration. “But if everyone else is packed and gone—sorry, I’m not going to hang around and wait for them to come back.” The words remind him of Justin. “Nobody’s coming back, Robyn.”

He stands up suddenly and moves around the small living room. “But you’re right; I should at least talk to them. Make sure they don’t want the jobs for themselves. I mean, I can’t see why they would, but since Evan mentioned it to them, I’d better follow up, I guess.”