Free Assassin by Nadene Seiters Page B

it’s getting close to
dinnertime, so he checks to make sure that the horse’s feed bins are full and
starts leading the rest of them inside. If he stands off to the side, they meander
to their stalls on their own. Grant pokes his head through the barn door that
leads to the driveway, and has a small grin on his face when he sees that Troy
has gotten the hang of letting the horses in.
    They both walk up to the house in silence, and during dinner
they discuss the different tools and equipment in the barn. Grant shows Troy a
few of the larger pieces of equipment and how to take them apart after dinner,
and then they head in to go to their separate quarters. Troy ends up falling
asleep rather quickly after a warm shower and a hundred push-ups. He’s hoping
that going to bed exhausted will get the nightmares to disappear.

Chapter Five
    It’s been seven, long, hard days without seeing her. The hay
has been harvested and stored in the loft of the barn, all with the help of two
men from in town. Troy wasn’t open enough to strike up a friendship with Blake
and Evan, but they included him when they stopped for lunch or talked about
their wives. He learned a lot about the town and their close-knit community
during their long discussions about the ladies book clubs. Apparently there’s a
community day coming up next week, and Evan asked if Troy would be attending.
    He’d said he wasn’t.
    “Hey Troy, you awake, son?” Grant’s voice breaks through Troy’s
reverie as he lifts the hammer up to hit the nail on the head again. He’s
building a new trough for Violet’s stall. The poor thing lost all her feed
yesterday morning on the stall floor.
    “Yeah, I’m here, what’s up?” Grant takes the hammer from Troy’s
hands before he hits himself on the thumb, and places it off to the side.
    “I said, Cassidy called and said there’s a foal at her place
that needs a home. I’m going to pick it up, but I was hoping you could come
help me.” With one quirk of his eyebrow, he hopes he conveys just how much he doesn’t want to help with a foal. It doesn’t deter Grant from waiting for a verbal
response.
    “Fine, but if it bites me or kicks me, I’m not feeding it!”
The spot where Beethoven kicked him still smarts from time to time, and he’s
not soon to forget about the incident. A foal that’s just lost its mother might
be inclined to have a tantrum.
    “You won’t have to. She’s going to stay here for a while
until she can find a suitable replacement mare.” Troy heaves a sigh as he
follows Grant from the barn to his pickup truck. He slides into the passenger
seat, and glances back at the trailer attached to the truck. They’re going to
put a shaky-legged foal in that?
    “How is this going to go down? We’re just going to swoop in
there and shove it into a trailer? Won’t the ride be too bumpy?” Grant glances
over at Troy as he starts his truck and starts down his bumpy driveway. He
doesn’t answer until they hit the pavement, and Troy’s already immersed in
studying the scenery as they pass. This will be his first time in town.
    “That’s why I’m bringing you. You’ll have to hold it steady
in the trailer. And try not to be seen by a cop.” Troy puts his hands on his
face as he has flashes of tiny hooves stomping on his face. He’s silent the
rest of the trip.
    At the end of the driveway, that’s surrounded by nothing but
forest there are more trees. Troy looks relaxed in the passenger seat, but
Grant can tell that the man is on edge about having to get into a trailer with
a horse. Cassidy told him about Troy’s confession that he killed people, but
she remained mute on the issue ever since. Yet a foal makes the man’s guts
twist.
    He turns onto the road that will take them into town, and
keeps up a steady pace with the truck. It’s slow enough that Troy can get a close
look at the townsfolk going about their business in their small homes. Their
houses might be small, but they have at least a