Deadly Touch - Heather Graham Page 0,50

still smiling. “Sorry! I’m so sorry,” she murmured.

“Don’t be sorry. You evidently needed sleep.”

She saw Andrew was outside, waiting for them. Titan bounded out of the car and raced happily to see him.

Andrew ducked down with the dog. “I love this mutt!” he called to Raina.

Then he straightened. “Nigel called. He should be here in thirty minutes to an hour.”

“Raina wants to see Wild Thing,” Axel said.

“Come on, then,” Andrew told her. “I’ve been busy. He needs much more attention than he’s gotten from me. Jacob is in there, too. You said you work with horses, as well, right?”

“On occasion,” she said.

“You ride, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“Want to take him around the paddock?”

“Love to. And I’ll talk to him first, bridle him myself, if that’s all right?” she asked.

“I heard about Titan harmonizing. If you can pull that off, I’m sure you’re going to be okay with Wild Thing. He may try to throw you, though.”

“He may try.”

Andrew smiled. “Go on, then. He’s in the stables.”

Raina hurried along, Titan following.

She passed Jacob’s stall. The old quarter horse was munching on some hay. He seemed to say hello with a soft whinny and then returned to his munching.

Wild Thing was in his stall, snorting, pawing and kicking his door. Raina hurried to him and began speaking in a soft tone. She saw his bridle on a hook and took it down, telling him she was coming in. The horse looked at her mistrustfully. She just continued talking and stroking his nose.

Andrew didn’t come in and she noted that Axel had shifted his position. He was still outside the stables with Andrew, but he could see her.

She smiled. He was worried. That was nice.

She wondered what might have happened if they’d met under different circumstances. Not at a police station where she was trying to defend herself because she knew where a body could be found.

Wild Thing snorted; she gave her full attention to the horse and bridled him without incident.

Titan was a help. She always wondered about the way different animals seemed to communicate. Titan met Wild Thing’s nose with his own, wagging his tail. They were introduced. They seemed to like one another.

Opening the gate, she led Wild Thing out of his stall and, while still inside, asked him politely if she could ride him, then caught up the reins and leaped onto his back. When he started to shy backward, she leaned forward, stroking his long soft neck and whispering her thanks again.

She was able to lead him calmly out of the stables.

“Told you,” Andrew said to Axel.

She grinned at Axel. “Nice. You doubted me.”

“Not for a minute,” he said, and then shrugged. “Okay, maybe I worried. Just a little.”

Smiling, she led him toward the paddock and then paused, looking back at Andrew.

“There’s a path. Where does it lead?”

“Through reservation land. You take it far enough, you reach the village,” Andrew told her.

“Could we ride the trail for a bit?”

Andrew shrugged. “As long as you don’t come along any snakes on the way. Wild Thing is not fond of snakes. He’s big for a mustang, and any alligators in the ponds will just stare at you. And Titan—he won’t go after a snake or a gator or anything, right?”

“He will not.”

“Sure, take the path a bit. Don’t go too far, though, okay? We’ve been having torrential thunderstorms out here lately. The landscape is always changing,” Andrew warned.

“I won’t go far, and I’ll be careful.”

“And if anything—”

“Trust me. I can scream like a banshee.”

Andrew grinned. Axel still looked worried.

“Wonderful!” Raina said. “I’ll just go for a bit. Wild Thing and I can get to know one another.”

“Wait—” Axel began.

But she smiled and trotted on before he could stop her. Titan followed.

Axle might know criminals, but she knew animals. And she loved horses. Wild Thing had personality, and it could be a sweet one.

And riding away—from people, murder and bodies. That was wonderful.

* * *

Axel watched Raina go, and while he didn’t possess her ability to touch things and feel anything from them, he did have an inner warning system. Intuition? He didn’t know. He couldn’t stop her from moving. She clearly loved horses. This property was off any known byway unless you were a member of Andrew’s family, his circle of friends or among those living in the village.

She wasn’t stupid enough to want a picture of an alligator, and she would avoid any snakes. She might get some mosquito bites.

“That path is pretty safe,” Andrew reminded Axel. “She’s okay.”

“I know.”

“She’s