Gold in the Fire by Margaret Daley

Author:Margaret Daley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2004-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Darcy relaxed on a bale of hay that sat against the wall of the barn. The second day of the horse auction was over and it had gone very well. One more day and they would be finished with this big annual event. Her gaze swept the long aisle down the middle of the fair-ground barn, checking each stall that was occupied with a Shamrock Stables horse. One yearling stuck his head out, looking around. Several were eating. She heard the one in the last stall neighing. They had six horses left to auction off; two still had to be picked up by their new owners—they were the only animals in this barn. In the other two there were six farms represented, but Shamrock Stables was the biggest one at the county fair this year.

Everyone had worked overtime, especially her father, and she had volunteered to stay the night with the last batch of horses. Sean had wanted to join her, and she had decided at the last minute that he should go home with her father. He would have kept her up the whole night with his excitement. She couldn’t afford to lose that sleep. Besides, it wasn’t as if she was alone here. Every other farm had someone staying with their horses.

Darcy rose, stretched her cramped muscles and rolled her head in a full circle, trying to work the tension out. She walked to the door of the barn and looked out. She saw several grooms sitting under the large maple, talking and laughing. The noise from the fairway was diminishing as the crowd left for the evening.

Darkness had settled over the area where the barns were, but the lights from the fairway were a beacon in the night. Their brightness comforted her. Her last two years living at home, she had stayed with the horses at least one of the nights at the fair, but this year she felt edgy.

“Hi, Mrs. O’Brien. How’s everything going?” One of the guards the farms had hired for the fair stopped in front of her.

“One more day and I can collapse.”

“Have you even gone home since this began?”

“Yes, Friday evening.”

“But you were here this morning at five, so you couldn’t have been home for long.”

“Just long enough to catch a few hours’ sleep.”

“Where are you sleeping tonight?”

“I’ll be in the tack room if you need me.”

“Except for a few teenagers who didn’t go home when they were supposed to last night, it has been unusually quiet. Good night, Mrs. O’Brien.” The guard ambled toward the next barn.

Darcy took a deep, fortifying breath and turned back into the barn. After walking its length and checking on the horses one final time, she made her way to the tack room, leaving the door open to give some light. Sitting in the corner was the cot her father had brought—a hard, uncomfortable cot with a thin blanket and a small pillow. Darcy eased down on it and listened carefully while untying her tennis shoes and removing them.

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