The Lost Daughter of Pigeon Hollow by Inglath Cooper

Author:Inglath Cooper
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2005-11-05T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

IT WAS DARK WHEN CLINE rolled his chair out of the house and down the paved drive to the barn. He’d been up in his room the past couple hours surfing the Internet when it occurred to him that he was sick of going into chat rooms where he only talked to people who had no idea who he really was.

Of course, he never told them he was paralyzed. It was the only place he could go where nobody knew, where he could be a guy who flirted with girls and no one could judge him by anything except the words he offered them. But something about it tonight made him feel like a pretend person. As if he had no idea who he was or who he might ever be.

He slid open one side of the barn’s main entrance, wheeled his chair down the asphalt aisle-way. The barn lights were dim, Jake already having come through for night check.

Cline stopped in front of one of the stall doors. A young filly stuck her head out and nuzzled his shoulder. “Hey,” he said, pressing his face against her soft nose. She nudged him gently, and he inhaled the wonderful horse scent of her.

He would never ride again. He didn’t let himself think about stuff like that often, but sometimes a yearning for something he used to do would hit him so solidly in the chest that he could barely breathe for wanting that ability back.

“What’s with the long face?”

He jerked his head around. Katie stood to his right, arms folded across her chest. He gave her a glare meant to send her running. “What are you doing down here?”

“I asked you first.”

“No long face,” he said.

“Hm. Not what I see from here.”

“Hey, you know, Katie, I’m not in the mood for your tough act tonight.”

“So what’s wrong?” Her voice had softened, and he caught a glimpse of who she might be underneath all that toughness.

He shook his head. “I wasn’t very nice to your sister earlier. Sometimes, I’m a real jerk.”

White teeth worried her bottom lip. “If anybody could justify it, it’s probably you.”

“People have far worse things happen to them than this.”

“Yeah. It still sucks.” She stepped closer, rubbed the filly’s nose, reached in her pocket and pulled out a sugar cube, which promptly disappeared. “Jake said it was all right to give them treats now and then,” she said.

“So you do have a warm and fuzzy side?”

“Don’t get carried away.”

He smiled. “I think I already know better.”

Down the aisle, a horse nickered. Another answered. They said nothing for a bit, and Cline found himself hoping she would stay.

“You have any friends?” she asked, breaking the silence.

“I’m not a complete recluse.”

“No need to get prickly. I was just wondering if there was anything fun to do around here.”

“Let’s see, we’ve got putt-putt. And there’s bingo over at the seniors’ lodge on—”

She laughed a deep belly laugh.

He smiled, thinking what a good sound that was. And at the same time, enjoying the fact that he had given her a reason to do so.

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