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“Sure,” he responded politely. “Ray and I'll review the staffing schedule for the next couple of weeks to see who we can move around to cover your duties and where we might put you in the interim.”
“I appreciate that, Trey.” And then he was gone.
CHAPTER 7
At 9:30 a.m. the following morning Denise barreled through my hospital door, carrying a bag of clothes with her. “Ray let me into your cottage sweetie. I got you a pair of jeans, bra, panties, tee shirt, and these sneakers. Will that do?”
“Denise, you’re an angel,” I said.
As Denise drove us back to Sinclair Stables, I quizzed her. “Have I missed anything good since I’ve been out of commission?”
“Well, honey, I’m not sure what you considergood. Let’s see. I did hear Ray say that Derringer is eating well again. Oh and the races will start over at the track Saturday evening. Everybody’s excited about that. Ray said you're to take it easy today and he'll stop over later to fill you in on your revised schedule.”
“I can hardly wait to get back to work. I feel perfectly fine you know. I hope Trey didn’t tell Ray to schedule me somewhere boring, like over at the Belle.”
“Well, whatever you're instructed to do, Tylar, it’s for your own good. Keep that in mind, you hear?”
“Yes, Mom,” I teased.
Pulling down the long drive at the Sinclair estate, I spotted Clint and Luke out in the pasture, exercising Ariel and the brown chestnut, Socrates. Both horses were being worked to race at the track over at the Belle. Denise tapped her horn, getting Luke and Clint’s attention. I waved eagerly at them from the passenger seat. Clint recognized me immediately, pulling off his hat and waving it back and forth while Socrates, startled by the car horn, pranced.
“I can hardly wait to ride again! I want to help them get the quarters ready for this weekend’s races.”
“Well I wouldn’t count on doing that anytime soon, hon.”
“What do you mean Denise?” I turned to look at her.
“It’s just that when Trey came by early this morning to speak with Ray, uhh, I did hear a few things.”
“Spill it, Denise! I mean it.”
“He instructed Ray that under no circumstances were you to be working in the stables, exercising the horses, or even pleasure riding until further notice.”
“What?” I exclaimed. “What will I do, then?”
“I think maybe you'll be working over at the Belle,” she said, almost inaudibly.
“Oh, God! Dressing up and giving tours? No way, no fucking way!”
“No, no,” she assured me.
I felt some relief.
“I think you're scheduled to work in the main building.”
Oh great. I'd be bored stiff over there. There were just old ladies in that building working the gift shop, restaurant, and special event planning. I looked over at Denise.
“It won’t be forever, hon. He’s just worried about you after what you’ve been through and all. I heard him tell Ray about your nightmares. I really do think it shook Trey up. I’ve never seen him so concerned about anyone like he is with you. Seems to me he’s quite protective of you, sweetie.”
I gave her a sidelong glance, with an unspokenPuleeze.
“I don’t care if you believe me or not, you’ll see in time.”
“I had a concussion, Denise. Of course I was having dreams, nightmares, whatever. But there was nothing on those discharge papers saying anything about me not riding or working around horses.”
“He’s just being a bit over-protective, sweetie, you know after that accident back there in—” She stopped abruptly, realizing that she'd said too much.
“C’mon Denise, finish what you started. I’ve already heard some rumors about him and a fiancée that ditched him tell me what else you know.”
