Kate Sherwood - Dark Horse 01 - Dark Horse Read Online Free PDF Page B

when he can leave the building entirely, breathing in the fresh outside air. He doesn’t like to think about Justin being stuck in there permanently. He doesn’t like to think about having to go back himself for his next visit. But he knows it’s really not about what he wants. It’s about doing the right thing. There have been times when Dan hasn’t been sure what that was, but this isn’t one of those situations. As long as Justin needs him, Dan will be there. He knows that as well as he knows anything.

Chapter 4
    W HEN Dan gets back to the barn, Robyn is at his truck before he’s even turned the engine off. He actually has to wait for her to step back before he can open the door.
She stares as if waiting for him to say something. When he looks blankly back, she says, “You were with Justin? Is he okay?” Dan doesn’t really know how to answer that question. “I didn’t actually talk to the doctors, but he seemed the same. Why?”
    She backs up a few steps more. “Karl and Molly were down here looking for you, and it looked like they’d both been crying. They didn’t say what was wrong, so I thought, you know….”
    Dan feels a burst of panic, but fights to keep himself calm as he tries to work out the timing. “When were they here? I left Justin about an hour ago.”
Robyn thinks for a moment, and then looks relieved. “No, it was longer than that ago. A couple hours, probably.”
    “It’s still nothing good, though… they were both crying? I mean, Karl cries at TV shows, but Molly’s pretty tough.” Dan has only seen Molly cry once, when the doctors had first told them the extent of Justin’s injury, and he really, really hopes to never see it again.
    “Well, neither one was actually crying when they were here, but they both had red eyes. They both looked upset.”
Dan doesn’t know what to do with this new information. He hates not knowing what’s going on. “Their car wasn’t in the drive when I pulled up. Do you know where they went?”
    “They said they were going into town… and, Dan… they said to tell you not to ride.”
This makes no sense at all. “What? Not to ride anybody, or just not Monty or Sunshine or something?”
“No, they said not at all. Said you could help me, or take the afternoon off, but to not ride.”
    Dan pulls out his cell phone and hits a speed dial number. He hadn’t wanted to involve Chris the night before, but things are getting ridiculous. When Chris’s cell goes to voice mail, Dan tries his work number, but the receptionist says that Chris is in a meeting.
    “Well. Great.” He’s at a loss. “Do you need any help?” “Not really, to be honest. Without you guys around to mess things up, I’m actually ahead of schedule.” Robyn shakes her head. “I’m starting to get a really weird feeling about all this, Dan. I mean… what’s going on?”
Dan doesn’t have an answer for her. Even though she’d said she
    didn’t need it, he helps Robyn haul some hay in from the feed shed, and then he cleans tack until his fingers ache. There’s still no sign of Karl or Molly by the time Dan has to go and get cleaned up for his shift at JP’s. It’s their turn to bring the horses in and do the evening feed, and he’s a bit worried that they haven’t appeared. He doesn’t want to cause an inconvenience for his boss at the bar, but he also doesn’t want the horses to be neglected if their owners don’t come back from wherever they are. On a normal day, he’d be totally confident that Karl and Molly would look after their animals, but this has not been an ordinary day. Robyn solves the problem.
“I’m just going to watch TV anyway. Let me watch at your place for a couple hours, and if they aren’t back in time, I can help out.”
    He makes sure she really means it, and then they go upstairs together, Robyn to the couch and Dan to the shower. As he heads out the door, he tells her to help herself to anything in his fridge, and she rolls her eyes.