Paternity Lessons. Maris Soule

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      Chapter Two

      Tyler and his daughter arrived promptly at ten o’clock Saturday morning. Shaunna watched the two of them get out of the car. Tyler was less formally dressed than the first time she’d seen him, his suit replaced by khaki pants, a tan golf shirt and brown loafers. He looked like an ad from GQ, and she knew what an hour of working with horses would do to his clothes.

      His daughter was more appropriately dressed. The girl had on jeans, a Western-style plaid shirt and cowboy boots. She was as leggy as a colt, thin and pale, and her reddishbrown hair lacked luster. In some ways, Lanie reminded Shaunna of the Mustang they were about to discuss. Both showed the effects of trauma, Lanie’s the result of an automobile accident, Magic’s caused by the actions of his caretakers.

      Lanie limped slightly as she walked toward Shaunna, and Shaunna could see that the girl had a scar on her forehead. It disappeared into the uneven part between her two braids, and considering the stray hairs hanging down the girl’s neck, Shaunna guessed that Lanie had braided her own hair.

      What she found intriguing was how little the girl resembled her father. Although Shaunna could see that both Lanie and Tyler had blue eyes, the shapes of their faces were entirely different, along with their hair coloring and body builds. Then again, Shaunna knew she resembled her mother far more than she did her father, especially in her eyes.

      Besides the differences in their looks, there were other things Shaunna noticed about the pair walking toward her that piqued her curiosity. Father and daughter kept a distance between them, didn’t touch and didn’t look at each other. Both were staring at her, each with a different expression.

      With Lanie, the look was defensive... almost defiant. Her back was rigid, her chin high and her eyes narrowed. Shaunna could tell that the child was measuring her, judging her merit. She looked ready for battle.

      Shaunna had seen the look before: in green horses brought to her to be broke; in abused horses that she was asked to salvage; and in the renegades who couldn’t be reclaimed. In the first meeting with those horses, they would approach her as the enemy, the predator they should fear. With most, she was able to eliminate those fears and establish communication. With people, she’d learned, that wasn’t always possible. She’d never been able to communicate with her mother.

      Tyler’s look was totally different from his daughter’s. His expression showed concern. Silently, he was pleading with her, though Shaunna knew he probably wasn’t aware of that. And if she’d been a less scrupulous person, his look would have given her an advantage. He was desperate for her help.

      Having seen the Mustang, she understood why.

      “Good morning,” she said as the two approached.

      “Good morning,” Tyler responded.

      His daughter said nothing, merely narrowed her eyes a shade more.

      He stopped a few steps away from Shaunna and glanced down at the girl. “Lanie, this is Ms. Shaunna Lightfeather, the horse trainer I told you about.”

      “Glad to meet you, Lanie,” Shaunna said, and held out her hand.

      Lanie ignored the hand and looked at Tyler. “I don’t want Magic here,” she said. “I want him with me.”

      “I explained all that to you,” Tyler said, giving Shaunna a quick, apologetic glance. “We can’t keep a horse where we live.”

      “We kept a horse where my mother lived,” Lanie argued.

      “That was different. Your mother lived outside of town. My house is in town, and city ordinances don’t allow horses.”

      “Why can’t I live where I used to live?”

      Lanie’s voice was tense, and Shaunna sensed the girl was close to tears. Tyler softened his tone. “Honey, we’ve been through this before. That house has been sold.”

      “I am not your honey,” Lanie snapped. “You shouldn’t have sold that house. I could’ve lived there. I could’ve lived there by myself and taken care of Magic.” Her attention switched to Shaunna. “Magic never should have been taken to that stable.”

      “No, he shouldn’t have,” Shaunna said in full agreement.

      For a moment, Lanie stared at her as if surprised by her response, then the girl looked around, her gaze skimming over the round pen, the two riding arenas, the barns, the paddocks and the house. When she looked back at Shaunna, her attitude was clearly arrogant. “This place is a dump.”

      “It could use some sprucing up,” Shaunna agreed. “You have a couple hundred thousand to give me?”

      The girl’s eyes merely narrowed again, her chin lifting, and Shaunna knew she hadn’t taken the right approach. Working with horses was much easier, but with them, you also had to listen. Lanie was telling her she wasn’t happy with the way things were. Problem was, Lanie couldn’t go back to the way things had been.

      Shaunna tried another tack. “I take it you had a nice place for Magic.”

      “He was happy there.”

      I was happy there, Shaunna read in Lanie’s body language.

      Shaunna looked at Tyler. “If your daughter doesn’t want her horse here, it won’t work.”

      “I can’t leave him where he is,” Tyler said.

      “They made him mean,” Lanie interjected. “He was never like that before. He loved me.” She looked accusingly at her father. “You put him there.”

      “I didn’t know,” Tyler said, then looked at Shaunna and repeated the excuse. “I never would have if I’d realized what they would do to him.”

      She couldn’t fault him. He’d already admitted that he didn’t know anything about horses. He’d had no idea that the stable he picked had a reputation for abusing horses.

      “Have you seen him?” Tyler asked.

      She had, and she’d been appalled by what she’d seen. She looked down at Lanie. “What did you think when you saw him?”

      “It СКАЧАТЬ