He sat with the pen in his hand, trying to think of something else to write. After a minute or two, he gave it up, figuring maybe there wasn’t anything else he had to say about that.
He laid the pen down on his desktop and picked up the cell phone that was lying there. He didn’t much care for the damn thing, never had really got the hang of using it, but Sage had bought it for him and made him promise to carry it with him
He pushed the two buttons now, and Sage answered on the second ring, the way he always did, even though it was the middle of the night. He told the kid what he wanted, then tucked the phone in his shirt pocket and picked up his hat and put it on. He left the room, locked the door behind him, then took the chair lift down the spiral staircase to the ground floor. He was still perfectly capable of making it up and down those stairs on his own steam, but like the cell phone he put up with it because Sage had got it for him and Sage wanted him to use it. And…to be perfectly honest, the kid had a good practical head on his shoulders, and he did have a point. Which was that the old knees-maybe the hips, too-weren’t as dependable as they used to be, and the last thing he wanted was to end his days laid up in a hospital bed or some rest home somewhere. He planned to go out swinging, if he possibly could.
Outside, the moon was bright enough for him to see his way, so he went carefully down the flagstone steps to wait in the lane for Sage. He could hear the soft clip-clop of hoof beats long before the horse and rider emerged from the shaded part of the drive, and as he watched the kid and his favorite painted horse come into the moonlight, he was thinking back to his Hollywood days. Thinking it was too bad Sage had been born too late for those old Westerns, because he’d have made one-helluva fine looking Indian.
Of course, they’d used white guys to play the Indians, back then, instead of real ones, which he’d always thought was a damn shame.
Sage pulled the paint up beside him and got off in the way he had of making it look a whole lot easier than it was. The paint whickered softly and bumped Sage with her head, and he scratched her under her jaw and slapped her on the neck, then turned to help him into the saddle-help he wasn’t too proud to accept.
“You going to tell me where you’re going?” Sage asked, once he’d got him settled.
“Thought I’d go up to the cabin for a while.”
“Aren’t you going to stick around to meet your granddaughter?” The kid’s voice wasn’t accusing, just curious.
“Naw…thought I’d wait till they all get here. Get it all over with at once.” He could see the kid turn his head to hide a grin, but didn’t call him on it. After a moment he said, “What do you make of the fellow came with her?”
“The sheriff?” Sage shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Too soon to tell, maybe. But I like the look of the man.”
He thought that over. Then he nodded. “So do I. I think he’ll do right by her and the baby.”
“Yeah,” said Sage, “that’s what I think, too.”
He picked up the reins and clicked his tongue to the paint.
Sage said, “Need a light?”
“What for? Moon’s high and bright and the horse knows the way.” He leaned forward and the paint picked up the cue and broke into an easy lope. The horse’s rhythms moved into his body and the years fell away and he was a young man again, riding with the night wind in his face and nothing but stars for company.
“I heard a horse last night,” Rachel said to Josie as the housekeeper came through the doorway with a breakfast tray.
They were being served on a small flagstone patio off the kitchen, warm and golden where the sun hit it first thing in the morning. J.J. watched the housekeeper unload the tray’s contents onto the wrought-iron tabletop-bowls full of cereal and strawberries and a big glass of milk for Rachel; black coffee for him. Josie gave him a nervous smile and waited as he picked up his steaming mug and took a sip. He nodded his approval, then turned and strolled away toward the low wall that bordered the patio, providing an inviting front-row seat for that incredible view.
It was one of those times he wouldn’t mind being a smoker, he thought. It’d give him an excuse to wander off by himself. He felt the need to do that-restless, uneasy.
He heard a faint clank as Rachel laid the baby monitor-another one of Katie’s ideas-on the table.
“It sounded like it was right outside the house.”
“Oh-that was probably Sage. Sometimes he likes to ride at night when the moon is bright.”
The woman’s words were reasonable enough, but there was something in her voice-a certain breathlessness- that made J.J.’s spine stiffen and his breathing go quiet. She’s a lousy liar, too, he thought.
“Oh,” Rachel said, stretching the word with a sigh, “it sounds wonderful.”
“You like to ride?” Now Josie’s voice was bright and eager.
“I love to ride. But it’s been a long time…”
Suddenly he wasn’t wishing he could find an excuse to leave. He made himself comfortable on the low wall, half turned so he could watch Rachel without seeming to while he sipped his coffee.
He’d already noticed the fact that she’d pulled her hair up in a high ponytail, then braided it so that it hung thick and glossy to brush the top bumps of her spine. And that she was wearing one of the outfits Katie had helped her pick out-loose-fitting top long enough to hang over the elastic waistband of the blue denim pants, for easy nursing and comfort while she was getting her figure back, according to Katie, who he figured ought to know.
Now, smiling, with pink in her cheeks and her bruises fading, Rachel looked both sweet and exotic…and a stranger to him.
He found himself flashing back to the woman he’d held in his arms not so long ago-vulnerable, sweaty and scared, not just a memory but a full sensory recall, the smell of her hair, salty with that hint of sweet flowers…the dampness of it against his cheek…the salty taste of it. The wiry strength of her body, and the way she’d trembled in spite of it. And he felt a twinge of something like sorrow…like loss. Hated himself for it, for wishing that traumatized girl back, but he couldn’t deny the fact that he missed her. Then, touching her, holding her-it had seemed so natural. Now, to take her in his arms, kiss her-even chastely on her forehead, though God knew he’d rather taste her mouth instead, and not at all chastely-seemed all but unthinkable.
“You’re more than welcome to ride,” Josie said, propping the empty tray against one hip. “Maybe not now- when you’re ready. You just tell Sage-he’ll fix you right up.” She looked over at J.J. and smiled. “You, too-you’re both welcome to use the horses, any time.”
She went back into the house, and J.J. strolled over to the table, still sipping his coffee. He stood, casting a shadow across her sunny yellow blouse and pink cheeks, and said in a low growl, “Are you nuts? You can’t go horseback riding. You just had a baby.”
He could actually see her puff up, as if her body had suddenly grown quills all over, like a porcupine. Which didn’t surprise him. He even wondered if he was trying to pick a fight with her on purpose.
“Give me some credit for knowing my own body,” she said in a cold, clipped voice. She jerked back her head and aimed a brilliant black look at him. “I think
“Yeah?” He felt like a jerk, remembering belatedly that she’d been held a virtual prisoner for the past several months, so it was no surprise she wouldn’t take well to being told what to do. Throttling back to a conversational tone, he asked, “Where’d you learn how to ride? Don’t tell me Carlos keeps a stable.”
She tossed her head so the braided ponytail took on a life of its own. “No, actually, my grandmother taught me. She loved horses, loved to go riding. I started riding lessons when I was about five. In fact, I could ride before I could speak English. We used to go almost every weekend, in Griffith Park. She had friends out in-” She broke off, shaking her head, and when she picked up her glass of milk and drank, he thought he caught the sheen of tears in her eyes.
He pulled out a chair and the wrought iron made a loud screechy sound on the flagstones. He cleared his throat as he put his coffee cup down and sat. “Well,” he said, trying for a reasonable-not bossy-tone, “you can’t go alone.”
There was a long pause. Rachel set her milk glass down, licked milk from her lips and wiped the mustache that
