Sharon Dunn - Top Secret Identity

They made their way through the throng of people. Morgan seemed to grow more nervous. He saw fear in her eyes.

He touched her arm lightly. “Not much of a crowd person, huh?”

She nodded, edging closer to him. A cluster of people at the entrance jostled and pushed. He placed a protective hand on her back.

He leaned close and spoke into her ear. He could smell the light floral scent of her perfume. “It’ll seem less crowded once we get inside.”

The sale was set up with dozens of bidding arenas where the horses were paraded past the potential buyers. “The auction for the horses that might meet our needs won’t happen for a while.” He held up a catalog that contained a listing of all the horses for sale. “We can go down to the corral where they’re kept and have a look at them before the sale.”

They pushed through the crowd past a sign that indicated draft horses were being auctioned off. Morgan peered inside the arena. “Draft horses are so beautiful.”

“We have time to watch them. Why don’t we go have a seat?”

Morgan seemed to relax when they sat down. After a description of the draft horses, some single, some in pairs, and indication of the bloodlines, the auctioneer started the bidding while each horse was led back and forth in front of the spectators. A pair of draft horses went by with a rider standing on top of them, one leg on each horse’s back.

Morgan laughed and grabbed his arm. “Didn’t know I was going to see a circus act, too.”

It was good to see her enjoy herself. They shared some popcorn Alex had bought from a vendor who was walking through the bleachers. His shoulder pressed against hers. He glanced sideways at her. She blushed and turned slightly.

The glow of attraction didn’t surprise him. He’d thought she was beautiful from the moment he’d hired her. He liked that she had let her guard down even a little bit. The attraction wasn’t anything he would act on, though. After what his ex-wife had put him through, his desire for a romantic relationship was close to zero. Still, he felt at ease around her.

Maybe Morgan was running or hiding from someone. But he’d come to The Stables to escape, too. After Gretchen left him, the prospect of sitting behind a desk all day only added to his depression. He’d chosen to do that sort of dependable job for her anyway. The owners of The Stables hired him for his finance and marketing skills, but it was being around the horses that appealed to him most. Chalk it up to some boyhood dream of being a cowboy. He’d found an unexpected measure of happiness at The Stables. Maybe Morgan could, too.

Morgan glanced around at the crowd. Her mood seemed to shift slightly as she stared straight ahead.

“Everything all right?”

“Yes, fine.” She bit her lower lip. “I think I’ll go use the little girl’s room.”

Alex pointed off to the side of the arena. “Careful, you have to walk past the horses waiting to enter the arena.”

As he watched her descend the bleachers, he wondered what had stolen her good mood so quickly.

* * *

Morgan glanced up at the bleachers as she pushed through the crowd that had gathered on the floor of the arena. Up in the stands, Alex turned slightly to speak to the man next to him. She’d been having a pleasant time with him when she’d felt the press of a gaze on her. When she turned around, a man had stepped down the bleacher stairs and tapped the woman in front of her on the shoulder.

A false alarm. She was in a constant state of vigilance. Even her slip with Alex in telling him she was from Wyoming made her cringe. The information was benign enough, but she could not get into the habit of telling anyone who she used to be. The truth was, she felt relaxed around Alex. She wanted to share with him.

Morgan squeezed around several clusters of people.

“Wait a second, lady.” A burly man in a checked shirt with the sleeves cut off stuck his arm out to block her.

Becoming more aware of her surroundings, she stuttered in her step. She heard the screeching of metal and stomping of hooves. Two draft horses were led past her and into the arena. People crowded in on both sides of the entrance for the horses. The horse already in the arena must have been taken out the other side. Her heart beat a little faster at the sight of the huge animals.

The burly man pulled his arm toward his body. “Just didn’t want you to get stomped to bits.”

She nodded and walked past the gate, now closed, where a large grey Percheron stomped the dirt and nuzzled its handler.

Morgan used the restroom and then stepped outside. She was headed back toward the bleachers when she saw a man in a beige baseball hat standing by the restrooms. His eyes bore through her. He was a big man, built like a heavyweight boxer. The look of murder in his eyes reminded her of the look she’d seen in Josef Flores’s eyes in Mexico.

A group of women came between her and the man. When the women disappeared into the bathroom, the man in the baseball hat was gone. She took several steps back toward the bleachers. The gates screeched open and another draft horse thundered by. The animal yanked suddenly away from the handler and the crowd dispersed like cockroaches in the light. Panicked cries rose up. Morgan’s heart beat a little faster.

The handler regained control and three other men swarmed in to help. Once the spirited horse was secured in the arena, Morgan made her way to the bleachers. She spotted the beige hat moving through the crowd in front of her. On instinct, she pivoted. She couldn’t go back to the bleachers. If this man was after her, she’d be putting Alex in danger.

She scanned the area looking for a security guard. What would she tell them anyway, that a man in a baseball hat was staring at her in a menacing way?

To calm her nerves, she walked outside past several corrals containing different breeds of horses from quarter horses to miniatures and ponies. She crossed her arms over her chest and kept up a brisk pace until peace overtook the rising panic.

It’s not like beige was a unique color. Plenty of people probably wore that kind of hat. Still, the memory of the man’s sinister eyes narrowing as he looked at her made her keep walking. She stopped at a corral filled with Clydesdales. She watched owners and trainers bridle horses and lead them around the corral.

The day had warmed and the sun soothed her nerves. She closed her eyes. She had to let go of the notion that someone could come after her. The marshals knew what they were doing. Her fears about the prowlers had proved to be unfounded. Still, the memory of Josef’s words to her echoed in her brain: I will find you and kill you.

She opened her eyes and watched the horses awhile longer. A cluster of people slowly dispersed, leaving only a few stragglers. The man in the cap stood across the corral. Her breath caught even as her heart rate soared. He’d pulled his cap down so all she saw of his face was shadow and chin.

The man stepped in her direction.

She turned to run, smashing against hard muscle.

Alex gazed down at her. “What’s going on?”

“I...um...ah...” When she glanced across the corral, the man in the hat had vanished.

“You’re shaking.” He gripped her hands, his voice filled with concern.

Morgan struggled to pull it together, to at least manage the veneer of calm. What explanation could she possibly offer? “I thought somebody was following me, but I was wrong.”

He squeezed her hands a little tighter. “When I saw you turn the other way, I thought maybe you’d gone to check out the horses.”

She looked into his warm gentle eyes. She couldn’t lie to this man again, so she said nothing.

His voice held only compassion. “I can see that this has you upset. Why don’t we find a place to get a cup of coffee, and then we’ll go have a look at those horses?”