The Chase (28 page)

“Oh, I hope so, too. Are you any good?”

Stephen smiled broadly at her. “I do all right.”

“What’s your handicap?” Margaret asked.

Stephen hesitated for an instant. “Three goals.”

“Really?” Margaret raised an eyebrow. “Is that your arena handicap, or grass?”

“Arena.”

“That’s quite impressive.”

“Thanks.”

“I should get your phone number,” Helen said, taking a pen out of her purse. “I know some gentlemen who would be thrilled to have you play on their team. Here, you can write your number on my napkin.”

Stephen took the pen and napkin from her. “Sure, no problem.”

Margaret watched him write. “You’re left-handed and you’re a three-goal player?”

Stephen shrugged as he handed the pen and napkin back to Helen. “It’s no big deal. It’s just like swinging from the other side of the plate in baseball. In fact, I think it works to my advantage. It tends to throw the other players off.”

Margaret regarded Stephen thoughtfully over the rim of her glass as she took a long sip of her drink. “What’s your grass handicap?”

“I don’t play on grass.”

Margaret gave him a quizzical smile. “That’s interesting.”

Stephen nodded dismissively at Margaret and slipped his arm around Kendall’s waist. “Want to go closer to the arena and look for a place to sit?”

Kendall stiffened against Stephen’s touch, but he acted as if he didn’t notice and drew her closer, tilting his head towards the arena. “Come on, it looks like they’re getting ready to start the match.”

“I’d better get back to my box before my guests wonder what happened to me,” Helen said, rushing off with a smile and a wave. “Nice to meet you, Stephen.”

Stephen lifted his hand and waved at Helen with his drink, then tugged at Kendall’s waist. “Kendall, let’s go.” There was an edge to his voice.

The warmth of Stephen’s hand radiated through Kendall’s linen blouse and she resisted the urge to shove his hand away. She cast a glance in Jake’s direction. “Sure.”

“Do you mind if we join you?” Margaret asked. “I enticed Jake to come here tonight by telling him I’d do my best to explain the rules of the game to him, and I might be able to use a little help from you, Stephen.”

Before Stephen could respond, Jake spoke up. “Thanks anyway, Mrs. Southwell. I’m feeling a little
off my feed
all of a sudden. I think I’ll be heading on back, if you can find another ride home.”

Margaret gazed intently at him. “Don’t you worry about me; I’ll find my own way home. But I’m sorry you’re not feeling well, Jake. Can I do something to help you?”

Jake shook his head. “It’s nothing time won’t cure.” His eyes locked with Kendall’s for an instant. “Good-bye, Kendall.”

Kendall placed her hand on his arm. “Jake, wait.”

He turned away.

“
Jake.”

Stephen tugged on her again. “Come on, Kendall, are we going to watch the match or not?”

Kendall watched Jake disappear into the crowd and she shook her head, barely bothering to look at Stephen. “You and Margaret go ahead. I have to talk to Jake about something.”

Stephen groaned and dropped his hand from her waist. “I don’t believe this.”

Kendall ignored him and took off after Jake. She worked her way through the crowd, mumbling “Excuse me” as she pushed past them, zigzagging amid the maze of picnic blankets spread out on the hillside. By the time she caught sight of Jake again, he was almost to the parking area.

“Jake!”

He half turned and looked back at her, slowing his pace, and she hurried down the drive after him.

“Jake, please stop. I want to talk to you.”

He took a few more steps forward, then stopped abruptly and spun to face her, his hands on his hips. The arena lights cast a soft glow over him, and Kendall could tell from the way he clenched his jaw that he was angry.

She stopped a few feet from him, suddenly unsure what to say. The drawl of the announcer’s voice boomed over the sound system above their heads, announcing the start of the first chukker.

“You said you wanted to talk, so talk,” he said.

“I …” She drew in a breath to slow her pounding heart. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

“Sorry for tonight.” Kendall gestured towards the polo arena. “For Stephen.”

“You’re apologizing for Stephen?”

Kendall felt her face redden. “I mean, I apologize for being with Stephen. For your having to see me with him.”

Jake’s expression was unreadable. “No need to apologize, Kendall. You’re free to date whomever you want to.”

“It wasn’t a date. Not really.”

“Not really?”

She shook her head. “No, not really. At least I didn’t think it was. I told Stephen I wasn’t ready to date yet, and I thought we were just coming here as friends.”

Jake’s mouth curved into a cool smile. “He was sure being mighty friendly.”

“I know. It took me by surprise, and I didn’t know what to do about it.”

“How about telling him to take his goddamned hands off you?”

Kendall flinched at his tone. “It’s not like Stephen was molesting me, Jake. I didn’t want to make a big deal about it.”

“You didn’t want to make a big deal about it?” Jake narrowed his eyes at her and slowly shook his head. “Back where I come from, it’s a big deal if a guy touches a woman when she doesn’t want him to, and if she has any self-respect, she tells him so.”

Kendall stiffened and looked away.
That’s the problem, Jake. Peter stole my self-respect
.

Jake studied her for a moment, then exhaled loudly and shook his head. “I don’t know what I was thinking last night, Kendall. I’ll never fit into your world.”

He stepped towards her and ran the back of his fingers across her cheek. “You take care of yourself,” he said softly, then turned and walked away.

Kendall felt her throat close up. “
Jake!”

But he just raised his hand in a backwards wave and kept on walking.

Z
elda flopped down in the motel room chair by the air conditioner, furious with Earl for wanting the three of them to go over the plans one more time. Zach knew she was pissed, and he’d retreated to the bed farthest away from her. She turned her face towards the window unit and closed her eyes, letting the icy air blast her face.

“Are you paying attention, babe?” Earl asked.

She ignored him for a minute, then nodded, keeping her eyes closed. “Um-hmm.”

“Then would you mind doing me a favor and looking at me when I’m talking to you? Timing is key to pulling this off tomorrow.” Earl’s tone was as frigid as the blast from the air conditioner.

Zelda rolled her head in his direction and opened her eyes. God, he was so damned hot-looking; it was hard to stay mad at him. “I’m listening,” she said, arching her back against the armrest of the chair to show off her chest.

“The field trip is scheduled for nine o’clock, so make sure you don’t show up at the barn until a few minutes before that. We don’t want to give them enough time to check on the driver substitution. Zach will be at the barn, and he’ll create a distraction if they start asking you too many questions.”

Zelda tugged her shirt tight. “I know. We’ve already been over this a hundred times. We’ll leave here at seven and get to where the bus is kept at by seven-thirty, in plenty of time to ambush the driver, who usually gets there around eight. I’ll drive the bus to the barn, but I’ll make sure I don’t get there too early.”

Earl nodded at her. “Right. And after you hit the road with the bus, I’ll take care of the bus driver. Once you leave the barn with the kids, I’ll meet up with you and we’ll deal with the guard; you know that drill.”

There was something about the way he said “take care of the bus driver” that caught Zelda’s attention. “You ain’t getting any crazy ideas about the bus driver, are you?” she asked.

“That’s my department, babe. You don’t need to worry yourself about that.”

Zelda sat upright in the chair. “Tell me what you’re going to do to the bus driver.”

“You’re better off not knowing.” Earl glanced at Zach and held out his hand. “Give me that knife you’re wearing.”

Zach looked down at the knife on his belt. “What for?”

Earl didn’t answer. He wiggled his fingers. “Come on. Hand it over.”

“What do you need it for? You got your own damned knife,” Zach muttered. But he unclipped the knife from his belt and tossed it to Earl.

Zelda narrowed her eyes at Earl. “What’s going on with you? We’re partners in this gig. You can’t be calling all the shots and keeping Zach and me in the dark about everything.”

Earl’s mouth twisted into a sneer. “Sure, babe. Whatever you say.”

Zelda felt blood rush to her face and she jumped up out of the chair. “This is bullshit!”

Earl’s hand shot out and grabbed her arm. “Don’t push me, babe.”

The look in his eyes sent a chill through Zelda, and she bit back a retort. She knew she had gone too far. “Sorry.”

“That’s better.” Earl relaxed his grip, pulling her into a long kiss, and Zelda crawled onto the bed.

“Zach, that’s your clue to get out of here,” she said, closing her eyes and parting Earl’s lips with her tongue.

“Suits me just fine,” Zach said, slamming the motel room door as he left. Zelda felt a twinge of guilt about Zach, but she rolled Earl onto his back and slid on top of him. “Show me how much you missed me.”

His hands slid down to her buttocks and pulled her close to him, but she didn’t feel the familiar bulge in his pants. Zelda began to rub against him in the slow, rhythmic motion that usually drove him crazy, then pulled back and frowned.

“What’s the matter? Ain’t you happy to see me?”

Earl turned his head to the side and closed his eyes. “I’m just exhausted, babe.”

Zelda felt a flicker of panic. Earl had never been too tired before. “Oh yeah? Let’s just see if we can’t change that,” she said, unbuckling his belt.

K
endall had a pounding headache, probably because she hadn’t slept well the night before, and she had to bite her tongue to keep from yelling at the girls for being too loud as they jumped over the fences in the indoor arena, pretending to be horses. She leaned against the railing and glanced at her watch.
Where was Elizabeth?

Todd passed in the aisle with a wheelbarrow full of fresh shavings. “Everything okay, Miss Waters?”

“Good morning, Todd. You wouldn’t happen to know why Elizabeth is late today, would you?”

Before he could answer, the door to the office opened and Margaret stuck her head out. “Kendall, you have a phone call.”

Kendall sighed. “Thank God. I hope that’s Elizabeth. I left a message on her cell a few minutes ago. Would you do me a favor and watch the kids for a minute while I get the phone?”

“Sure, no problem.” Todd lowered the handles of the wheelbarrow and walked to the arena gate.

Kendall hurried to the office and picked up the receiver on the desk. “Hello.”

“Good morning, Kendall; it’s Anne.”

“Anne, hi. Is Samantha on her way? We need to leave in about ten minutes.”

“No, that’s why I’m calling. Samantha woke up with a sore throat and a fever, so she won’t be going on the field trip today.”

Kendall heard Samantha wailing in the background. “I don’t feel sick, Mommy. I really want to go to the Land of Little Horses.”

“Poor Samantha,” Kendall said. “I’m so sorry she’s sick. I know how much she was looking forward to the field trip. Tell her I’ll bring her a special souvenir.”

“Thank you, Kendall. I’ll tell her.”

“Okay, and give her a hug for me. I’ll call you later to see how she’s doing.”

Kendall hung up and turned to Margaret. “As you probably heard, Samantha’s sick and won’t be coming along on the field trip today.”

“That’s too bad. I’m sure she’s disappointed.”

“She is, and we’re going to have seven more disappointed children if Elizabeth doesn’t show up soon.”

“Have you tried to call her?”

“Yes. There’s no answer at her house or on her cell.”

“She’s been on time all week, hasn’t she?”