Lisa by Bonnie Bryant Page B

jokes were his way of trying to be friendly.
    After that we changed the subject to dinner (which we were definitely ready for by then) and the party. I didn’t think much about John again until after dinner that evening. We were playing Pictionary with some of the other guests in the ranch house when I noticed my watch wasn’t on my wrist. I remembered that I had taken it off after our ride when I was giving Chocolate a bath.
    While the others were arguing good-naturedly about something or other, I slipped out of the room and headed to the kitchen to grab a flashlight and a jacket. It got awfully cool out there in the desert at night.
    I didn’t even need the flashlight as I walked to the barn. The sky was clear, and the moon and stars provided plenty of soft, silvery light. The barn was another story. It was pitch black, and I didn’t remember where the light switches were, so I flipped on the flashlight. It cast weird shadows all around me, making the familiar barn seem strange and almost frightening. I shivered slightly, telling myself that I was getting spooked because it was almost Halloween. The sudden stomp of a horse’s foot on the wooden floor made me jump, but when it was followed by a whinny, I relaxed. The sound was so familiar that it was comforting.
    “There, there, girl,” came a human voice.
    That startled me even more than the stomp. I’d thought I was alone in the barn.
    “Who’s there?” the voice called softly.
    “It’s me,” I called back automatically. Then, realizing that wasn’t much help, I added, “Lisa Atwood. Who are you? Where are you?”
    “It’s John. I’m with the mare over here.”
    I followed the sound of his voice to a big box stall at the end of the barn. When I got closer, I noticed the warm glow of a portable lantern. John was sitting on astool inside the stall. A mare, almost ready to foal, stood nearby.
    “She seemed restless,” John explained softly when he saw me. “I don’t think she’s ready yet, but she calmed down when I came in. I figured she just wanted company.” He patted the mare on the forehead. “What are you doing out here?”
    “I think I left my watch out here this afternoon,” I said.
    “Gold watch, white face, black leather band?”
    “Yes.”
    “Haven’t seen it.”
    I couldn’t help laughing. John really had a great sense of humor. He grinned, then fished my watch out of his pocket. “Thanks,” I said, slipping it on.
    John stood up then and stepped out of the stall. He closed the door softly behind him so as not to disturb the mare, who seemed to be asleep. As I glanced up at him, I found myself suddenly very aware of him. Of how close he was. How tall he was. Of the way his eyes seemed to see everything.
    I shivered again. Not wanting John to guess what I was really thinking, I quickly commented, “It’s a little spooky out here in the dark.”
    “Don’t worry,” John teased. “I’ll fend off any bats or gremlins who try to attack you or drink your blood.”
    “What a relief you’re here,” I teased back.
    “I’ll also walk you back to the main house,” he offered.I was surprised to find that it was exactly what I’d been hoping he’d say.
    As we left the barn, John asked about our ride that afternoon.
    “We went out and found the herd of wild horses,” I told him. “You know, the ones that are going to be put up for adoption. Kate has her heart set on the stallion. What a beauty he is—pure white, with a nick in his ear.”
    “No,” John said abruptly.
    I glanced at him, surprised. “Sure. It’s his right ear.”
    “No,” he repeated. “She can’t.”
    I was startled by the sharpness of his voice. Suddenly the gentle, caring guy I’d seen in the mare’s stall had disappeared. I could feel his tenseness—or was it anger? He halted and faced me squarely, and as I met his grim look, for a second I almost felt afraid.
    “What’s the matter?” I asked.
    “The stallion. She can’t have him. You can’t