Page 26 of Sean

“Sounds like people,” she commented. “He’s looking at you like you’re his long-lost friend.”

Sean studied the horse. His nose was within six inches of Sean’s hand that sat casually on the top of the stall door. Sean might be able to reach out and stroke the animal or he might get his hand bitten. It could go either way. Tara mentioned giving the horse a treat, but if Sean recalled correctly, Maverick loved Sweet Feed more than carrots.

“Can you go into the room on the right near the door?” He didn’t want to lose the ground he’d gained with Maverick by stepping away. “You should find a five-gallon bucket in there labeled Kelly’s Sweet Feed.”

“Should I bring it out?” she asked.

“Just put a couple of scoops in a smaller bucket.”

She slipped away and returned with a metal pail a few minutes later. “What’s Sweet Feed?”

“Depends on the mix. Mom makes her own, which is a blend of oat, corn, and molasses.”

“I saw a bag labeled Sweet Feed, too.”

“An enriched commercial mix. Nice for active horses daily. Mom’s stuff is a treat—and it used to be Maverick’s favorite. Let’s see if it still is.” He kept his right hand on the stall door while taking a handful of the sweet mix in his left. Maverick made a whuffling sound, showing his interest. The horse could smell what Sean had.

“He’s tempted,” she whispered. “Maybe when you’ve tamed him some, I could try. I don’t know much about horses, though.”

“You’ll have to learn some if you hang around here,” he said. But even as he said it, he knew Julia wouldn’t hang around, not past when the danger was over. She’d take the kids and go back to her life. In some ways, that was what he wanted for her—to be safe, to be able to live normally without having to look over her shoulder. But he was less and less fond of the idea of not seeing her again. Not after the kiss they’d shared. There was an attraction between them. He wasn’t going to deny that, but he felt drawn to her, too, in a different sense.

Maverick’s ears came forward, a sign that his fear was lessening, and he was interested. Julia was close by, but completely silent and still as she watched. She’d make a good horsewoman. She had the right temperament.

“When you feed a horse, you want your palm to be flat and your fingers down. Don’t cup your hand.” He brought his left hand up slowly to where Maverick could get it with just a tiny step forward. “Come on, boy, you know that’s the good stuff. You want it.” After about ten seconds, Maverick shifted forward. His rough tongue slid along Sean’s hand as he lapped up the treat.

“Must be yummy stuff,” Julia said.

“He thinks so.” Sean was able to rub the star on Maverick’s forehead without getting snapped at, which was real progress. He wasn’t going to be tossing a saddle on the horse and going for a canter anytime soon, but it was progress all the same. With some dedicated work, Sean should be able to get the horse to trust people again, enough that they could care for him.

“Do you think he’d let me feed him?” she asked. “I’d like to.”

“What do you say, boy? You’d have to be a gentleman.” Maverick eyed him as if understanding the words. “Let’s try it. Nice and easy. Get some feed and step closer to me. Slowly extend your open hand toward him. He’ll take the treat when he’s ready. It’s okay if you talk to him. He likes that.” And Sean liked having Julia right next to him where their hips bumped.

“What do I say to a horse?”

“Whatever you like.”

“I’d like to photograph you,” she spoke to the horse. “Out in the pasture, maybe at daybreak with mist gathering around you. I’d want you to be running free, which would be a little hard to capture. Oh,” she gasped when Maverick extended his neck and ate from her hand.

Sean smiled. “You’ve got a new friend. Go ahead and touch his nose or neck. And keep talking.”

She kept up a steady stream of words with Maverick, talking about how picturesque and majestic he was. Like the horse, Sean was lulled by her voice, so he almost missed it when she changed the subject.

“I’ve made a decision about my sister’s death.” She paused. “Murder, I guess. Mira was intentionally killed. It feels so much worse knowing that. Her life taken away by the very person who was supposed to be her soulmate…”

He wasn’t sure how to comfort her. “It’s okay to be upset.” He remembered that from the tiny bit of grief counseling he’d gotten after JP’s death. Ironically, Sean had been dating a psychologist at the time, who had been all for talking about feelings. He’d closed himself off instead and broken up with her, refusing to accept the help she’d offered.

“I’m angry now. Upset will come later, probably in the middle of the night.” Would she cry alone? He didn’t like to think about her doing that. His imagination conjured up a scene where she came to him, and he held her. He cut that fantasy off. He was barely dealing with his own emotions after years of suppressing them. He was incapable of managing someone else’s. “I don’t just want to just hand it over to the police. They’ll investigate, I assume, but I won’t know what’s going on.”

“You want to look into it yourself,” he guessed. He would, so he understood her need.

“I do. I want to try to figure out what happened to Mira.” She was smoothing a hand over Maverick’s glossy coat, the horse leaning into the attention. “I’ll need your help to do that. Once we have some answers, I’ll let Sophie know what I want to do with the video.” She kept her focus on the horse and her voice soft. “Sean, I know it’s a big ask of you, and I’ve already imposed so much.”

“I’ll do whatever I can,” he assured her.

FOURTEEN

Julia spent a restless night. She’d checked on the kids three times in their room. Each time, she found them sleeping soundly. But she couldn’t. Like she’d expected, the sadness about her sister’s murder came at night. She was still angry. That wasn’t going to fade anytime soon. But she was also sick at heart over the idea that Lucy and Amos were denied their mother’s love because of the cruelty of their father. It wasn’t fair; so little was fair about this situation.

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