moonshadows

The phone call comes mid-afternoon, and it's Audrey.

"Julia, I need your help." She sounds at her wits' end and at the same time, like she's either going to laugh or cry.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, Nathan chased Duke into the woods but now they're in a meadow and I'm afraid one of them is going to hurt the other."

That doesn't make sense. "What are they fighting about? Can't you talk Nathan down?"

"No!" she wails.

"Ooookay. And what happened before Nathan chased Duke into the woods?"

Audrey whimpers. "They both turned into horses."

Horses. Okay then. "Can I call you back in three?"

Without waiting for her answer, I hang up and poke my head into the front room. "Uncle Vince, have we got anything on a Trouble that turns people into horses?"

He swivels around and looks at me funny. "Horses? Not that I recall."

Uncle Dave snorts. "That's because when we ran into it, you were the horse. Big, strapping Clydesdale. Good thing, too, because Sarah'd never ridden a horse so she went pillion behind me."

"Really?"

"Really."

Uncle Vince thinks about this a minute. "Huh. I guess you're right."

I step out of the back room fully and move closer. "So whose Trouble was it?"

"Betty Johnson," Uncle Dave says cheerfully. "Strong-willed but sexually repressed young woman. Family's been in horses almost since the founding of Haven. Couldn't stand to see attractive young men dominating women instead of being beneath them like she thought they should be."

"She passed on years ago," Vince says doubtfully. "Does the family even have...oh. Oh, I guess they do."

"Who?" I ask, moving around to try to peer over his shoulder at the genealogy.

"Candace Johnson, sixteen years old."

I call Audrey back. "Hey, it's me. Where are you? Wait - where were you when Nathan chased Duke into the woods? Okay," I say when she describes the place. "I'll be there in a few minutes, but first...have you ever ridden a horse? By yourself?"

"Not that I know of."

"How about a motorcycle?"

"Yes."

"Good. I just need to pick up a few things and I'll be right there."

The trail isn't hard to find; luckily, Duke found a game trail. I walk my bike down the trail - no use spooking them - until it ends in a meadow where a palomino stallion is facing angrily off against a black-and-white with ridiculous amounts of leg feathering. Audrey looks relieved beyond words to see me.

"What did Vince and Dave say?" she asks anxiously. "How do we fix them?"

I choke back a laugh. "Do you really want Nathan fixed, or do you want him human again?"

She blushes.

"Stay with the bike," I tell her as I pull a coil of rope out of my backpack.

Duke shies away when he sees me with the lasso, even though I'm nowhere near him. Nathan just stands there, letting himself be roped with ease, although I have to walk him forcibly back to Audrey and tie him to a tree.

"You really are a tiny cowgirl," she says in admiration as she pets Nathan's nose and he wuffles her hair.

"Aw, shucks," I tell her, grinning. "Y'all ain't seen nuthin' yet."

"Wait," she calls as I start walking towards Duke. "Don't you need the rope?"

"He doesn't like things around his neck. Why do you think his shirts are half open all the time?"

That makes her blink. "I thought he was just...really, really casual."

I have to give her the point, considering I did tell her he tends to forget clothes. "...that too. But things around his neck really bother him. Stay there," I remind her, and continue stalking towards Duke.

When I first learned this technique, I was afraid I'd be too small to make a convincing predator. But being a predator is all about attitude, and I've got plenty of that. Duke rolls his eyes and flattens his ears as I approach, teeth bared, backing away slowly. Mindful of the fact that we're not in a pen, and he could escape, I stop before he bolts and switch to passive body language. Confused, he steps closer to sniff at me and try to figure me out. Once he gets my scent, though, he nearly bowls me over with an enthusiastic greeting. In no time at all I'm on his back, directing him with leg cues, and hands, and voice. Once I'm sure we understand each other, I ride him back over to Audrey. Nathan tosses his head, but Duke bares his teeth and the other stallion backs down, almost hiding behind Audrey. I pat Duke's neck as I dismount.

"I am impressed," she says, clapping slowly. "And, I can't lie, seeing you boss Duke around like that is pretty funny."

"Bet you wish you knew how to ride a horse," I tease as I fish in the backpack for the halter and lead rope.

She looks appraisingly at Nathan. "The thought had crossed my mind, yes. Now what?"

I slide the halter easily over Nathan's head and adjust it before clipping the lead on. "Now, you're going to walk my bike back along the trail holding this lead," I tell her, handing her the colored nylon cord. "I'll follow behind, riding Duke and holding the lasso rope in case he bolts. We'll wait to see how he reacts to the bike's motor once we're out of the woods."

"We still have to find whoever's causing this," she says as she mounts the bike.

"I already know who it is," I say, untying the rope from the tree and looping it around one hand. "We just have to find her, and I've got the uncles working on that."

"Maybe I should start taking you out on Trouble cases," she jokes as she starts moving down the game trail. Nathan follows even before the rope goes taut, which comes as no surprise.

Duke's ears flick back towards me as I mount again, and he walks calmly after Nathan at my direction. It's actually pretty peaceful riding down the game trail, and I wonder if he'd mind if I took a real ride before talking Candace down. Maybe...we are a good distance from the Johnson family ranch. We'll see.

Once we're out of the woods, I tie Nathan to another tree without dismounting. "Okay," I tell Audrey, "give me a count of twenty to get Duke away and then rev the bike's motor. If Nathan doesn't freak out, you'll be leading him again."

"And if he does?" she asks, eying the palomino.

"Then I'll lead him and you'll meet us there. Start counting."

Duke canters easily away, tail flagged. When we're about fifteen seconds out I bring him to a halt and turn him so I can watch Nathan - but it's really not that subtle. The instant the bike's motor growls to life he tosses his head and backs away, wanting to flee and failing that, half-rearing. Audrey cuts the engine and walks the bike away before coming back warily to pet him into calm again.

"Looks like I'll be meeting you," she says unhappily as Duke prances to a stop next to her.

Show-off. I stroke his neck and he arches it, clearly pleased with himself. "Yeah. Let me see where we're going."

There's a voicemail waiting for me - I'd put my phone on silent in case the ringtone spooked either of them. Uncle Dave's voice informs me that Candace is at home and expecting two women to come by asking for advice on handling horses. I give Audrey the address and hold Nathan firmly while she walks back to the bike and rides off. Then I untie him and lead him away, coiling the lasso rope and shoving it back into my backpack, relying only on the lead rope, making sure he'll follow before bringing Duke up to a trot and then a canter.

It's a really pleasant ride. Once Nathan grasps that we're going somewhere, he stretches to keep up with Duke's feathery legs and they practically race each other around the outskirts of town. Duke still reacts easily to my commands, and Nathan - surprisingly, or perhaps not - doesn't seem eager to get ahead. By the time we reach the Johnson ranch I'm flushed and I know my eyes are sparkling. A dark-haired girl who I assume is Candace is talking to Audrey outside, but our arrival disrupts that conversation.

"Wow," she breathes, moving carefully to take Nathan's lead from me and walking him a bit away. "Audrey said you two were looking for advice on handling horses, but I don't think I know anything you don't."

I dismount and pet Duke's nose. "It's been a few years since I've used those skills," I tell her, "but some things you just don't forget. It helps that he has a sweet temper. Watch that one, though." I point at Nathan. "He's got a hard body to match his hard mouth."

She frowns at him. "Yeah. He's not responding at all. A shame, because he's gorgeous. And where'd you get a Gypsy Vanner around here?"

Audrey comes up and pets Nathan's nose. "Candace...have you heard of the Troubles?"

"Stories," she hedges.

Okay, time for work. "Hey, Audrey, why don't you let me handle this one? Just...keep him from running off." I jerk my chin at Nathan; not real likely that he's going anywhere.

She nods, and I lead Candace out of earshot. Duke follows, pretending to lip at the grass but really hoping for more attention. I indulge him.

"You saw Audrey earlier today, didn't you?" I ask casually.

"Yeah. She was with two guys. They looked like they were fighting over her and it made me so mad...I thought...it would serve them right if they found out what it's like, being treated like a dumb animal. Don't you ever feel that way?"

I have to laugh. "Candace, I went ten years between boyfriends because I got sick of being talked down to because of my size, or because I'm a girl, but I'll let you in on a secret."

She looks intrigued.

"Do you know who Duke Crocker is?"

"The smuggler? Ma says he could charm a nun out of her habit and Dad says he's a no-good scoundrel."

Duke's ears go back and I shush him. "He was a wild one when he was younger, but he's been pretty well tamed now. Is there a boy you like at school?" She blushes and I smile at her. "Let me guess, he's really cute and all the girls try to tell you he can't possibly be interested in a bossy tomboy like you?"

"...something like that," she mutters.

I pet Duke's nose some more. "I had a real thing for Duke when I was your age," I say casually. "Girls did their best to convince me I'd never have a chance with him, and I believed them. So when I turned eighteen, I left town and didn't come back until this year." I give her a sly look. "If I'd just walked up and kissed him, though, he'd have been mine. I know, because he's my boyfriend, and you know what?"

Candace shakes her head, eyes wide.

"He loves it when I'm on top."

She claps both hands over her mouth. "Really?" she whispers between her fingers. I grin.

"Really. I guess they didn't cover that in sex ed class, huh?" When she shakes her head, I laugh. "It doesn't have to be the boy on top," I assure her. "The girl can be on top, too, and it's just like riding a horse bareback only it feels a whole lot better. And let me tell you, Candace, guys are just as insecure as girls are. If you show them you're in charge..."

"...they'll eat out of your hand?" There's an eager, predatory air about her that warms the cockles of my heart.

"Sometimes you just need to be firm with them. You wouldn't just put up with a stallion blowing up to keep his girth from being tightened, right?"

She shakes her head. "No. You need to check him and make sure everything's okay."

"And once he trusts that you're not out to hurt him, he behaves."

Duke wuffles my hair while she thinks about this.

"Grandma said once, when I was a little girl, that one time she turned unruly boys into horses and tamed them."

"She told you the truth," I say evenly. "This gorgeous, sweet-tempered gypsy stallion? This is Duke."

Her eyes go very wide. "And you were riding him bareback, without a bridle or anything! But he's...and you're..."

My smile this time is smugly satisfied. "I told you: he's been pretty well tamed, and I'm the one who tamed him. He's so obedient as a horse because I tamed him as a man. Talk to your cute boy; tell him in no uncertain terms what you want. I bet you'll have him eating out of your hand."

Candace thinks about that for a minute. Then a slow smile spreads across her face and I can see the palomino shrink into Nathan, face pressed into Audrey's hand, while the wuffling lips in my hair turn into Duke kissing the top of my head.

"Julia?" He steps away in confusion and a little alarm, but the other two aren't paying attention.

"This is Candace," I say brightly. "I've just been telling her about my experience breaking wild stallions."

She's giggling too hard to answer, but Duke's attention is elsewhere. "Why is Nathan nuzzling Audrey's hand, and why is there a harness around his neck?"

"Because she doesn't know how to ride a horse bareback and he wouldn't be able to feel the reins."

Duke makes a series of entertaining faces and gestures before finally asking, "Was I a horse?"

"Gypsy Vanner," Candace offers gleefully. "She rode you bareback. You have a sweet temper. Did she really tame you?"

"What have you been telling her, wench?"

"Careful, Boss." I grin unrepentantly up at him. "Whether or not you sleep in a stable tonight hinges on how you answer."

He hangs his head before raising it ruefully to the heavens, silently bemoaning what the world has come to when a teenage girl is demanding the details of his private life and his tiny cowgirl is helping. "Yes," he sighs. "Whatever she's told you is the truth."

"I told her you like to be ridden."

"True," he says shamelessly. Then he grins. "So...you rode me, bareback, in front of Audrey and Nathan?"

"You had very smooth paces," I assure him.

"I'm sorry I missed it."

"We can reenact it tonight."

"You," he says, trying to sound solemn, "are a very wicked woman. Just my type," he adds before I can. "Now," he says to Candace, "is that enough to keep me out of a stable?"

She nods cheerfully before turning a bit bashful. "I guess I just needed to hear that it was okay to not be a proper girl. I'm sorry I turned you and your friend and probably a bunch of other people into horses, but you really were gorgeous."

"You're going to grow up to be a wicked woman," he tells her sternly. "Good job. Keep it up."

She giggles.

"C'mon, Boss. You can ride behind me if you tell me where you left Nathan's truck, and I'll let you come back for those two while I go back to work."

"You drive a hard bargain, tiny evil cowgirl," he says, but he's smiling.

"That's what I'm hoping," I tell him in a low, wicked tone, and we hurry towards my bike while Candace saunters over to Audrey and Nathan.

It's not until I'm almost back to the Herald that I realize Duke-the-horse shied from a lasso and that horse-memories and human-memories don't seem to mix. How did he know what a lasso was, and that it would go around his neck?

"How did it go?" Uncle Vince asks idly as the door closes behind me.

"Slick as a whistle. This ain't my first rodeo, y'know."

Uncle Dave chuckles appreciatively. "Did Audrey have any problems talking Candace down?"

I take my chair and turn it around to sit backwards. "Naw, I took care of it. Hey, Uncle Vince, did this Trouble manifest at all last time?"

He thinks about it for a long minute. "It did," he says finally. "Only it seems Betty realized what she'd done and - if you'll pardon the expression - reined herself in. I guess a class field trip to the ranch ended with some of the male children getting lost in the herd and left behind. So easy to explain as them sneaking away that it never even came to our attention."

My hands are tight around the back of the chair. "Can you see, did Duke get transformed?"

"You mean aside from today?" Vince asks over the frame of his glasses. "Yes. It appears he was being...unruly...and nearly throttled himself."

"Well, that explains that," I mutter as I stand up.

"Oh? What exactly does that explain?" Uncle Dave sounds far too interested in the answer, and Uncle Vince looks equally interested.

Sorry, not today. "Oh, he shied from my lasso. Had to break him by hand. Almost a shame he transformed back; he was a very sweet ride."

And while the uncles are giving each other significant and horrified looks and choking on their own naughty thoughts, I go into the back room to continue my work.

"You, uh, left this," Nathan says awkwardly as he passes the halter and lead rope to me. Looks like he was waiting for me to get out of work.

"Thanks!" I take it calmly. "Yeah, you and Audrey looked like you were having a pretty deep conversation. I didn't want to intrude."

"I appreciate that," he says quietly. "Listen...you remember what you said to me at Eleanor's house?"

My expression closes. "What about it?" I ask warily.

"Will you do me the same courtesy?"

Well. Isn't that interesting. "Yes. I promise. Word of advice, though?"

It's his turn to be wary. "I'm listening."

"If she feels the same way, you're both going to frustrate yourselves not saying what the other wants to hear. Duke knew how I felt when I was a silly teenager, but he said no and neither of us acted on it and we were still friends."

Nathan thinks about that for a minute. "I trust you and Duke won't miss us too horribly if we don't drop by the Gull tonight."

"We can probably find something to do," I say blandly.

His eyes dart over to his truck briefly. "Thanks for taking Duke with you so he could come back for us," he says stiffly, as if what he really wanted to say was being held forcibly back.

There are so many things I could say, but I just smile brightly. "You're welcome! If you'll excuse me, though, I need to go get dinner started."

"Of course. Have a good evening." He nods briskly and climbs back into his truck.

As I ride back to the Cape, I wonder if they're actually going to do anything other than talk.