Broken [In Revision 2023]

Chapter 14 - Stranger

Helen took the opportunity to text her husband as they waited for the horse trailer to arrive, she couldn't quite find the right words and desperately didn't want to put anything too detailed in the message in case Adam got a hold of it first. She was so lost in her indecision that she barely noticed the large beat up truck heading towards them. Deleting the message and quickly typing 'I'm going to be late' and hitting send, she prepared herself to meet her son's new owner.

She tried to shake that thought from her head, predators were rarely pets, too wild. The closest anyone had come to that was her great-uncle Alfred, a bear that travelled with a circus around England in the Victorian era.

Jake had taken the time to wash his face and find a clean shirt, but his hair was a mess and the dark circles under his eyes told everyone he hadn't slept since the horse went missing. His first port of call was the horse, he snatched the rope out of Maddy's hand and turned him around to assess the damage.

"Did you hit him?" Jake said with his back to Helen, feeling the horse's legs for any sign of swelling. He took note of the minor scrapes, feeling relieved that there didn't appear to be anything major wrong with him.

"No, I swerved and scared him I think."

"Good," said Jake, standing up. He walked the horse to the back of the trailer, counting the evenness of the footfalls for any indication of lameness. "He's fine." Jake prised the door open, careful not to let it swing out into the road. He clicked his tongue and instructed the horse to get in.

Sunny obliged the pressure of the rope around his head; he jumped into the back of the trailer. Not wanting to draw suspicion to himself he buried his head in the hay-net and started eating.

"I'll get you some water," said Jake as he tied Sunny's rope to the tie- ring, "You're probably thirsty too."

Sunny hadn't noticed until it was mentioned, his mouth was painfully dry, and while the alfalfa was making him salivate he could feel his body was longing for a long drink of cool water. What the bucket provided was lukewarm, not fresh, but better than anything else on offer. He drained the bucket quickly and nudged it towards Jake in the hope that he would fill it.

"That's all for now, there's plenty more back home." Jake patted Sunny and picked up the bucket. He was busy putting it back in the messy trailer tack room when he noticed Maddy hovering over his shoulder. He turned to face her.

"I've invited her for coffee, she was really shaken up and I think we owe her an apology," Maddy said in a quiet voice so she wouldn't be overheard.

"Why? we didn't let him out, someone else did." Jake slammed the tack room door closed.

"Or he jumped out. We didn't see what happened," she said as she gripped his arm, "you're being rude, she could have easily called the cops and sued us for damages, do you know how much the paint job on that car is worth?"

Jake looked over her shoulder at the luxury car. The evidence was plain to see in the scarred paintwork. "Jees, I don't even think my soul is worth that much anymore."

Maddy punched him on the arm. "Don't say things like that, you are worth more than you think. Just let her come and see him safe and sound in the field and then we'll never have to see her again, she's from out of town visiting family."

"She'd have to be with a car like that." He winced as she hit him again, "Alright, I'll be nice, well as nice as I can be." Stashing his keys back in his pocket for a moment he walked up to Helen and offered his hand. "Sorry about all this, I'm Jake, you've already met Maddy and Sunny of course."

Helen shook his hand and smiled, her eyes judging him even though she had told herself to keep an open mind. This situation was not one she had been prepared for, there was no reference as to what was correct or incorrect in the current situation.