Wild Horses (6 page)

“Now, when you take the saddle pads down to the house to wash them, make sure you take no more than half of them so we still have enough to use up here. You can spread them along the fence to dry.”

Hal regained his voice. “That’s a lot of work for getting into a fight with my brother, Uncle ’Tila.”

Attila looked him up and down. “That wasn’t your most shining moment, that is true. However, Hal”—he gave him an arch look—“I happen to have overheard the way you talk to Kai. After seeing your lack of control with your own kin…” Attila took a deep breath and squared his shoulders like his Grandpa used to do right before he delivered one of his infamous lectures. “Had it been you who’d been jobless forever and who had slept on a loading dock in the Strip District for several weeks, I wonder….” Attila trailed off, lowered his volume, and tried again. “You, Hal, are a privileged punk. You have talent, and all your needs are being met, and you can work when you put your mind to it. But you have never been tested. You have never been in a situation like Kai, or even like your mother’s cook or the guys who work for your parent’s landscaping service. You don’t know how you will act, until you have felt out of your depth.”

“You think I’d be a thief, too?” Hal blurted out.

“I am not saying you would, and I hesitate to make comparisons. I am, however, saying that everyone has a certain limit, and if they are pushed far enough, they will misbehave. A good horse may kick and a good dog may bite. I myself have not always acted in the most desirable way.” Attila opened his mouth to say more, but thought better of it and pressed his lips together again. He knew what it was like to feel out of his depth, inadequate, and almost helpless, but his nephew did not need to know that. A few heartbeats later, he found his voice. “Everyone comes with a history. You just never know unless you’ve been there.”

Hal’s gaze was drawn to the interesting textures and colors of the debris on the concrete floor. The silence in the barn was broken only by the occasional movement of a horse or the loud whuff of an equine exhalation. “You mean he actually slept outside? On the street?”

“That’s his story to tell. Perhaps you will ask him someday. Now, however, you have work to do.”

K
AI
stopped shoveling almost as soon as he heard Mr. Keleman’s voice. If he made any sound, Hal would be reminded of his presence during Attila’s dressing down and would never forgive him. He stood still in the shadows, his back against the wooden wall and his pronged shovel motionless in his hand. He didn’t fault Hal for hitting Brent—the teen had said some things to his older brother that should not have been aired in front of a stranger. Brothers fought. It was the way things were. Likewise, he could hardly fault Hal for not trusting him—it just came with the territory. He felt his shoulders relax as Mr. Keleman’s soothing baritone assigned Hal his tasks. When he heard a description of his own circumstances, though, his throat tightened and his eyes began to sting.

You are above such petty acts of thievery.

The man who wrote those words over a week ago in an effort to reclaim his stolen iPhone now cast Kai’s actions in a different light altogether. Not defending them, no—but explaining how such a thing could be. How an otherwise good man—or a horse, or a dog—could suffer a fall from grace. He went to bat for Kai. Nobody had ever done that before, nobody in Kai’s memory. The dust and hay must have been irritating because his eyes began to itch. He pushed himself into the dark corner, silent as he slid down the wooden wall, careful not to snag his new T-shirt. Knees in his face, he tried to wipe the hated tears on his jeans. Kai wished a horse were in the stall with him to cover for any sounds that might escape him. He wished for a horse neck to lean against; warm, secure, and fragrant. He choked back a sob, waiting for the other men to leave.

A
FTER
leaving Hal to pursue his tasks and reflect upon his actions, Attila peeked into Dale’s stall. He would have sworn Kai was still there, mucking it out. The enclosed space was dim, except for a slender ray of sunshine that pierced the dirty glass of a small window. Motes of dust danced in the warm beam of light. Somebody had been there to disturb the bedding. His eyes adjusted enough to see the wheelbarrow against the wall, the half-cleaned floor. Kai sat folded in the corner, one arm flung across his knees, the other clutching the long handle of the pick, his knuckles white. Attila took several slow and silent steps toward him. He arched his eyebrows as he took in the tension in Kai’s shoulders and the occasional shudder.

He closed the distance, knelt down on one knee and settled his hand on Kai’s blazing hair with the softest touch. “Kai….”

The shoulders froze. Slowly, Kai’s head lifted just enough for his bloodshot eyes to peek at Attila’s face.

“Shhh….” There was no need for words. Just like he wouldn’t launch into a discourse with a distressed horse, he saw no reason to elaborate upon what had already been said. “Shhh….” He let his hand stroke the wild, luminous tresses that snaked into a thick braid down Kai’s neck, and was satisfied to see the other man relax marginally and drop his forehead onto his knees again. He was still stiff and distressed, though, so Attila leaned his back against the wall right next to Kai and draped his arm across Kai’s shoulder. He felt a sudden urge to pull Kai closer, and stilled his hand in surprise. Attila had never coddled his stable hands, yet Kai awoke a new, protective impulse within him. An impulse he had to resist—Attila knew he had been down this road before and no good came of it. As he felt the wavy, glorious hair, Attila suppressed the impulse to plunge his fingers into its unruly mass. His heartbeat pounded in his ears, and his chest felt like it would explode if he didn’t pull the other man in a little closer. And once he was in, he would, naturally, kiss the wavy hair and the wet eyes, and… no. The attraction was there, no doubt about it, but he could never take advantage of someone in that state of mind.

Attila felt Kai loosen his shoulders and shrug a little and took that as his sign to let go. He withdrew his arms as he pushed against the wall behind him and forced himself to stand up. He fished inside his pocket and produced a packet of paper tissues. “Here.”

“Thanks,” Kai replied in a stuffy voice as he wiped his eyes, blew his nose, and stood up. “Sorry… I… I just….” He gesticulated with his hands in an effort to grasp for words.

“There is no need to explain,” Attila said, his voice cool and remote. He accepted the unused tissues, noting how Kai stuffed the wet ones in his pocket in an effort to hide his embarrassment. Perhaps focusing on the here and now would distract him. “So how is everything, Kai?”

Kai exhaled, as though exerting an effort to control himself. This did not prevent the flush of heat from creeping into his face under Attila’s scrutiny. Attila took in the picture Kai presented, in his old hand-me-down boots caked with horseshit and his jeans and T-shirt that were covered in hay, cobwebs, and dust. Not even the layer of dirt could conceal Kai’s keen embarrassment. Attila gave him an encouraging nod, prompting him to speak.

“The stalls are all clean except for one, all the water buckets are filled, I gave all the horses hay, and… I thought I’d wait till five to give them grain. Is that right?”

“Yes.” Attila looked around, satisfied. “What will you do next?”

“I thought I’d sweep the floor, and… I meant to ask you, Mr. Keleman….” His freckled face was now positively burning.

“Yes, Kai?” Attila’s eyes wandered down the other man’s profile, mesmerized by the strong trapezius and the defined deltoids of shoulders that barely peeked through his sweaty T-shirt.

“Do you have a book I could read on how to take care of ’em? ’Cause I hate asking all the time, and I don’t really know anything.”

Translation:
I hate to bother you, I hate asking Hal because he hates my guts, and Brent isn’t around enough, and neither is Sally or May.

Attila nodded. “I’ll get you a book after dinner. Now, once you’ve swept up, I want you to clean yourself up and change into your riding pants and put on those old riding boots that fit reasonably well.”

“Eh?” Kai straightened, and Attila suppressed a grin that threatened to bloom on his otherwise stoic face.

“You need to learn to ride, Kai.”

“Really?” There was no mistaking the excitement that broke through the despondent gloom of the younger man’s face. “You’d let me?”

“If you’ll keep making friends with Vermillion, then absolutely. You didn’t think I would just have you do menial tasks, did you?”

B
Y
THE
time Kai returned from the house—rinsed down with cold water and dressed in his riding pants, boots, and clean T-shirt—Attila had Sen and Dusty saddled up.

“Grab a helmet,” he said. Once Kai was properly equipped, he handed Dusty’s reins to him. “Follow me.”

And Kai did. He was aware of staying on the large, gray horse’s left side, aware of the saddle and the structure of straps that comprised the bridle and reins, and he wondered if they would get to canter like he did on Vermillion when he rode him bareback. They entered the indoor arena, where both sliding doors were left open to keep the air flowing.

Attila threw the reins over Sen’s head and told the horse to stay. Then he motioned Kai and Dusty toward a plastic stepping stool. “You’ll want to use the mounting block every time,” he said as he tightened the girth with strong fingers. “It’s easier on their backs. Especially for bigger riders like you.” He eyed the stirrups and the length of Kai’s legs, then extended the length by several notches. “Okay, mount.”

Kai did as he had seen other riders do, placing his left foot in the stirrup. He grabbed the saddle with both hands as he pulled himself up and settled in with care.

“Good. Now the other stirrup.”

Kai had trouble finding it with his toe; it took some time before both his feet were anchored.

“You want the ball of your foot on the stirrup, more or less. You’ll want to push your heels down, so you don’t slide too far in.” Attila moved Kai’s boot with his hands, getting him to a better position. When Kai and Dusty looked good to his expert eye, he called Sen and brought him over to a second mounting block, then swung himself into the saddle. “Now, sitting straight like you are, Kai, I want you to make him go forward. Squeeze your calves into his sides.”

Kai did, and the horse shifted under him, one lazy step at a time.

“How does that feel?” Attila moved Sen to be next to his student.

“Okay, I guess.”

“Good. Now, we’ll walk around a bit to warm up. We warm up both the horse and the rider, even on a hot day like this. Then I’ll show you some balancing exercises. This is how you hold the reins….”

Kai nodded, focused on keeping his shoulders back and heels pressed down. He felt the muscles between his shoulder blades working already, and a thin bead of sweat begun snaking down from under his helmet. Going wild on Vermillion had been fun, sure, but keeping his posture on Dusty and keeping all the instructions in his mind occupied him 100 percent.

“Your hands must be in front of you. Straighten your elbows a bit more… there, good. Keep your hands down. Almost touch Dusty’s mane. Heels down.”

Kai adjusted, obeying the soft voice on his right.

“Don’t hold your breath, Kai. Breathe in, breathe out….”

A
N
HOUR
later, Kai’s legs were so sore and stiff he could barely slide off the horse without tumbling to the ground. He was thankful Attila held Dusty’s reins and doubly grateful Hal was still stuck cleaning tack and did not witness his humiliating ineptitude.

“Now that they have cooled off, we’ll untack them and I’ll show you how to take care of your horse after you ride him.”

Kai didn’t quite groan, but his self-control didn’t succeed in keeping an expression of pain and dismay off his face.

Attila raised his eyebrows. “Kai?”

“Yes. It’s just… I’ll be walking mighty funny for a while,” Kai quipped, flashing his boss a wry grin. To his surprise, the older man’s cheeks dusted with a faint blush and his eyes darted away. Slender fingers moved to brush nonexistent hair off his forehead—a gesture that Kai now knew was a “tell.” Mr. Keleman did that when he was embarrassed or uncertain, and right now it was more the former than the latter.

“Your body will adjust,” he said once he cleared his throat. “After we take care of these two guys, we’ll saddle up for the two group lessons I have coming up. I will show you what to do. May will be in shortly. When we’re finished here, you will follow her lead as to what needs to be done.”

A
TTILA
spent most of his time greeting his students and directing them to their horses while Kai did whatever May asked him to do. She was a diminutive woman, full of energy, and her blonde braid shone in the dim light of the stables like a beacon, making her easy to find. She asked Kai to bridle one of the horses since he was a lot taller. He found it wasn’t too hard to slip the halters off the horses’ heads. Slipping the bridle on was a different matter entirely. Tall or not, Kai still had to figure out which part of the harness was up and which was down. His face burned with embarrassment when he put the bridle on the horse’s head upside down and fastened all the buckles, only to have May come over and tell him to try again. Kai saw her mouth twitch in amusement.

“Okay, okay.” Kai sighed. “I admit I didn’t think they were supposed to have a carry handle between their ears, but… what do I know, right?” Between the heat and the extra handling, Cannon became restless under Kai’s hands and May had to finish up for him.

“You’ll get it in time. Now I need three saddle pads and three fleece pads, and saddles number two, six, and seven….”

While Kai was focused on doing all his new chores correctly, Brent called out casual greetings to everyone, and they fell into their own familiar pattern. Brent moved around the horses like a swift shadow, cajoling them and their riders and expediting their progress into the arena. A good twenty minutes later, the barn was quiet again.