We drove to Logan and Emily’s farm, which was in King City, about a half-hour drive from the city, and Killian kept the conversation revolved around me. He asked questions about the foster homes where I’d lived, jobs I’d done, dance classes I took. I noticed David’s name never crossed his lips as he skirted around the subject. I told him about Ms. Evert and her greenhouse and learning about flowers, but I failed to mention the orchid, and he never brought it up.
He was a perfect gentleman, keeping his hands to himself and I even found myself laughing as he talked about Emily taking him and his bandmates horseback riding and how Crisis fell off four times on the trail.
But by the time we arrived, I was on edge, probably because I’d been breathing in his deliciousness for the past half hour and my body was reacting to it.
He drove through massive iron gates, up a winding driveway, and then stopped in front of a stable. The house was off to the left, so I wasn’t sure why we were parking here.
But what I did know was that I needed out of the car so I could finally inhale a breath of non-Killian air.
As if he knew exactly what I was doing as I scrambled out, he smirked while walking around the front of the car. “Problem?”
“No. My legs were cramped.” I nodded to the stable. “The word farm gives an impression of manure, rusty hinges, and a crappy wood barn. This is like a five-star hotel for horses.”
He grinned. “Emily loves her horses.”
We walked side by side toward the large double doors with iron hinges. “Are we having brunch in the stable?”
“No. But I thought you’d like to see the horses. Plus, I wanted to check up on one in particular.”
“Oh, I never saw you as a horse person.”
“My father had a number of horses growing up, still does. I never rode, but I heard a lot about them when he was bitching about losing a polo match.” His jaw clenched and back stiffened. “He wasn’t nice to his horses, and he isn’t now.”
He also hadn’t been nice to Killian. “Do you… talk to him?”
There was a tick in his jaw as he nodded. “Yes, but only recently. I didn’t for eleven years.” I decided to not ask anything more because his father had always been an issue, and a touchy subject.
We walked the rest of the way in silence, but it wasn’t uncomfortable; instead it was… nice, our breaths synchronized, our hands occasionally brushing against one another.
A small side door of the stable opened. “I thought I heard voices.”
I recognized Emily from Compass, and I’d seen pictures on the Internet of her, with Logan, of course. There were also numerous videos of her working with some dangerous horses. I’d only watched one, but it was really impressive. The horse had reared up right in front of her, yet she had been so calm about it. She had a quiet strength about her, and I imagined she needed that strength with Logan. He was intense and a famous lead singer in a rock band with tons of fans. Mostly girls.
“Savvy, nice to see you again. It’s so great you and Kite have reconnected.”
“How is Lucifer?” Killian changed the subject.
“As well as can be expected.” Her smile faded. “It will take time before he’ll trust anyone again. What he did to him….” She glanced at me.
“She’s welcome to hear anything you have to say,” Killian said. “She knows Seamus is an ass.”
Seamus Kane wasn’t a father of the year, and he was the first person I’d considered may not have any good bits, and that was only from a brief encounter.
Her eyes curiously landed on me then shifted back to Killian. “Seamus put some severe wounds on him. They’ll heal, but his spirit… I don’t know, Kite. It will take a lot of time.” She lightly touched his arm. “At least he has that chance now. You’ve given him that.”
Killian nodded.
Sounded like Emily had an abused horse, and Killian’s father was responsible. What I didn’t know was how the horse came to be in Emily’s care.
Killian’s hand slid down my back as his eyes shifted to me. “Savvy, why don’t you go in the stable and visit the horses.”
“Only Lucifer is inside. He’d love a visit,” Emily said. “Apples are in a bin across from his stall.”
“Yeah, sure, of course.”
I walked toward the stable doors and just before I went inside, I glanced over my shoulder at Killian and paused. His face was void of expression.
Nothingness. No inhales or exhales. No swallowing. No stiffening of the spine or jaw or fist clenching.
Stillness. Complete and utter stillness.
Was this what he did with the anger? Put it behind a wall of numbness? He had to be furious at his father for abusing a horse.
Killian had been a fighter, but he protected the kids who needed it, and now being older, I wondered if there’d been a reason for his vigilance to protect those who were weaker. What drove him to do that? Why was he so angry?
My eyes adjusted from the sunlight to the shaded barn. I took in the wide cobblestone aisle, which was cleaner than my kitchen floor, and high ceilings that had skylights throughout. The stalls were large and currently empty of horses. When I inhaled, it was to the scent of shavings and freshly cut hay.
As I strolled down the aisle, I noticed all the stalls had half doors at the back of them as well as the front and it offered a heavenly cross breeze.
I stopped when I saw the horse in one of the stalls.
“You must be Lucifer,” I cooed.
Smiling, I approached his stall, but the minute I saw his body, my heart dropped. There was an extensive bandage-like cast on his front legs and welts on his rump and side so deep, they cut into his skin.
His head hung low and he didn’t even acknowledge me.
“Hey, boy.” I leaned over the half door as I wasn’t brave enough to actually go in the stall with him.