Chapter 6

6

The barn Cath led them to was spacious and open concept. Meticulously clean, the pine board floor was ancient, well-worn but clearly maintained by loving hands as were the fixtures lining the walls. Set around the room were various stalls and exhibits containing everything from cows and horses to fresh produce, and tractor parts for sale. Tables of antiques were set out sporadically while bags of grain and feed were stacked close to the walls along with tools and pieces of tack, like saddles. The noise level was tremendous; voices rose and fell interwoven with the sounds of chickens and goats and the shuffling of feet as people wandered from stall to stall. At the end of the room, a large stage had been set up and a poster board was perched nearby on an easel advising of an upcoming auction that day. Sunlight poured in through windows set close to the high ceiling and the smell of clean hay, strewn loosely around the floor, was fragrant in the air.

It was the smell of hay that hit Cath first, a sharp sweet smell that reminded her of home, and the barn on her grandparent’s farm where she spent so much time growing up. She would never ever have admitted to anyone, not even Kris, how much she loved that smell, or how it brought back happy memories of helping take care of the few animals they owned, of weekend chores and afternoons spent loitering in the hay loft when she would have been studying. She often heard it said, when you became a soldier, you gave away your sentimentality in exchange for your gun and dog tags, but secretly, she could never have distanced herself from that scent or the memories it evoked; they were too precious and too few.

Dragging Kris along behind her, she cast her eyes over the space, taking in the animals on view and the people wandering about. They had half an hour until the antique auction, the whole reason she insisted on driving almost two and a half hours from base to Ventura on the only entirely free Saturday she had until after Christmas was over. She was on a mission, as important to her as anything tactical, and while her focus was locked in on her target, she was glad they arrived early, that she had the time to spend wandering around with Kris. This was definitely more her world than his, and having the extra time meant she wasn’t just dropping him off the deep edge into the breach of country life.

Hearing a soft huff, she felt her attention drawn to a wide pen to her right and the very large chocolate-colored horse it contained. Standing a little more than eye level with her, and watching her with dark eyes, the mare gave a gentle throw of her head and nickered as if asking Cath to acknowledge her presence. Cath altered her direction and wandered over to the stall, running her eyes over the horse in appreciation and respect. With the familiarity of someone who grew up around horses, she approached murmuring gentle platitudes and waited for the mare to get used to her scent. Reaching up cautiously, she let the animal sniff her hand, before running her hand down the corded length of her neck and scratching gently. The mare made a noise of approval and butted Cath’s shoulder eagerly with her nose.

“Well, you’re certainly friendly.” She murmured with a chuckle as she looked around for the current owner. She picked up the card attached to the stall, but it contained very little information, only a short description, Breed: Shire. Age: Five years. Sex: Female. Cath let out a snort of annoyance at the lack of details, then caught herself. She had come here to look for something at the auction, not buy a horse. She barely had the time to have a life as it was, and she definitely didn’t have time to care properly for a beautiful animal like the one in front of her. Still, for a brief moment the idea was dangerously tempting, another form of nostalgia she couldn’t afford to indulge.

She felt Kris come up behind her, and a moment later felt him rest his chin on her shoulder. She reached up, tousled his hair briefly before returning her hand to the horses' neck and stroking gently, completely distracted by the animal in front of her.

“So, remind me again why we’re spending our Saturday looking at livestock?” His voice was playfully incredulous as he tore his eyes off the horse stealing his girlfriend’s affections and gazed around the large indoor pavilion with a look of curiosity and mildly comedic horror.

“We’re not looking at livestock, we’re here for the auction. Vera and I have been looking for something specific for Danny for Christmas.” She stroked along the mare’s forelock tenderly, receiving a contented nicker back in response.

“And that would be?” She felt him lean into her, being careful not to put any pressure on his healing arm, and a moment later felt the brush of his lips as he began to trail slow kisses along her neck. The heat of his body combined with his touch made her shiver and she leaned her head back, closing her eyes and enjoying the sensation. She felt his free hand graze along her waist to her hip bone and settle under the edge of her shirt, tickling the skin with feather light caresses.

“A tractor, specifically the Allis Chalmers WD45 they have on the auction list.” She suppressed a laugh as the mare, taking a decided dislike to the fact that Kris was barging in on her new territory, curled her lip and shook her head with an annoyed huff. She gave a stomp of her hoof and snorted at him, a clear warning that she didn’t like him so close to Cath while she was around.

“Back off Flicka, I saw her first.” Kris looked over the top of his sunglasses and growled playfully.

“Behave yourself,” Cath said in a chiding tone as she pushed the horse's mane out of the way and gave her neck a reassuring pat.

“See, she’s on my side.” Kris made a face at the horse and kissed the top of Cath’s head. “So there.”

“I wasn’t talking to her,” Cath said mildly as she looked over her shoulder at him.

“Oh, oh, I see how it is.” Kris scoffed and made a dramatically offended face. “Replaced and so easily!”

“She’d probably give me less trouble than you,” Cath joked as she started to pull him away. “And I do like to ride.”

Kris gave her a devious grin and slipped an arm snugly around her waist, pulling her close. “Oh, believe me, I know it well.”

Cath rolled her eyes, feeling a tinge of heat flood her cheeks. Noticing that people were starting together at the end of the room towards the auction platform, she craned her neck trying to look over people’s heads. Knowing she wanted to get a good spot, she grabbed Kris by the hand and began heading them through the crowds. “Come, I think it’s getting close to showtime.”