Soul Deep by Pamela Clare

snorted, then walked over
to Janet, still trembling.
    “Good boy.” She patted the animal's neck,
took hold of his halter. “You’re all sweaty. I don’t want you to
get chilled out here.”
    Jack stopped just outside the stall. “Chuck,
go get Chinook’s blanket and a curry comb and brush.”
    “Right, boss.”
    Janet crooned to the stallion, stroked him,
and Jack could see Chinook calm under her touch, his trembling
subsiding.
    Then the stallion stretched his neck out
toward her, lowering his muzzle almost to the straw in a gesture of
affection and submission.
    Well, I'll be damned.
    “We ought to move him,” Janet said. “The
sheriff’s department is going to need to come in here and take
photos and comb the place for evidence. That won’t be good for
Chinook.”
    She was right.
    Chuck returned, blanket over one arm, curry
comb and brush in his hands. “Here you go, boss man.”
    Jack took the items from him. “Get the other
stallion stall ready. We’re going to have investigators tearing
this place apart soon. We need to put Chinook somewhere he feels
calm.”
    Chuck nodded. “I just can’t believe Kip would
do this. Yeah, he drank sometimes, but he was never the violent
sort.”
    That thought had crossed Jack’s mind, too.
“Anger and pride can make a man do some pretty foolish things.”
    “That’s true enough.” Chuck hurried off.
    Jack carefully and quietly entered Chinook’s
stall, draped the blanket through the feed opening, then handed
Janet the curry comb. “You didn’t tell me you were a horse
whisperer.”
    “I’m not—at least I don’t think I am.”
    “Well, you nearly gave me a heart attack. If
you were one of my men, I’d fire you on the spot for being
reckless.”
    “I’m not one of your men.”
    “Thank God for that.” Still, he needed to
make his point. “You could have been killed. I’ve seen stallions go
crazy and injure experienced horsemen, men who raised them. You
took a real chance stepping in here.”
    “I’m sorry I frightened you. I saw how afraid
Chinook was, and I just had to do something.”
    He handed her the curry comb. “Most people
who saw a stallion in that state would see only aggression and feel
afraid. But you saw that the stallion was afraid, and so you had no
fear. You amaze me.”
    She looked up at him and smiled. “That goes
both ways.”
    He was glad to hear that. In the course of
the evening, he’d come to realize that he loved her. For the second
time in his life, he’d fallen head over heels in love with a
woman.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER EIGHT
    Janet helped Jack rub down Chinook, then
watched as he and Chuck got the stallion settled in a stall on the
other side of the building.
    “I’ll stay with him tonight, boss.”
    “Thanks, Chuck. Stay sharp. I’m walking Ms.
Killeen back inside.”
    Janet wasn’t used to feeling protected. She
was used to being the one doing the protecting. Having a man fuss
over her like this felt strange, but it also felt good. If given
the chance, she might even be able to get used to it.
    Jack walked over to her, took her arm in his
as they left the stables. His voice was calm, but Janet could feel
his rage. One of his men had been shot, almost killed, and his
prize stallion had again been threatened. He felt responsible.
“Burt and I are taking Luke to the hospital in Scarlet. Detective
Sergeant Taylor is meeting us there. As soon as I’ve paid the bill
and Luke has given a statement, I’ll catch a ride back home with
Taylor. He wants to search the scene for evidence tonight. Burt and
Luke will come back in the truck when Luke is released. It’s going
to be a long night. You should get some rest.”
    “It doesn’t feel right to me to crawl into
bed with all of this going on.”
    They stopped in the mudroom, and he helped
her out of her parka. “I’m sure it must be hard for you to sit
things out, but you didn’t get much sleep last