Haunted (A Bishop/SCU Novel Book 15) by Kay Hooper Read Free Book Online Page B

risk, John David,” Melanie told him with a smile as she gave the paperwork a final check. “Hey, how is that pinto mare coming along?”
    “My daughter’s training her, says she’s smart and good natured. No vices. You still interested in her?”
    “Definitely. I’ve been saying for the last year that I wanted to have a good riding horse, mostly for weekend trail rides.” It was a favorite activity among several of her friends, enjoyable because the area was crisscrossed with miles of mountain trails.
    Also because there really weren’t a whole lot of options when it came to things to do in Sociable.
    “The pinto would be a good choice.”
    “For a Sunday rider?”
    He smiled. “I’d say. Sophie trains with kindness and takes her time; her horses always seem to take on her own sweet nature. With a pasture to run in when you aren’t riding so she gets plenty of exercise, the pinto’s bound to be a calm mount.”
    “Good. Maybe I’ll come see her this weekend, if it’s okay.”
    “’Course it’s okay. I’ll tell Sophie you’re still interested. You can call the house and let her know if you do decide to come.”
    “Great, I’ll do that. And you be thinking of a price, okay? I’d be boarding her with you, of course.” Her downtown apartment was nice but hardly boasted a stable or pasture. And John David provided fine care at a reasonable price for any animals boarded with him.
    His rugged face appeared mildly pleased, which for him was as good as a broad grin; training and boarding fees, along with the occasional guided trail ride, made up most of his income from fall to spring, so a prospective new boarder was welcome news. As was the strong possibility of a horse sold.
    Still, being a practical man, he said, “You know you can always borrow a horse if you want to ride. Don’t have to have the expenses of buying and boarding.”
    Melanie gathered up the signed paperwork into a neat stack and smiled at him. “Little girls dream of owning their own horses one day. I did. Now I can actually do it. And I’ve got my eye on that pinto, John David.”
    “Consider her reserved.”
    “Thanks. Now—here are your copies of everything, and here’s your check. Always a pleasure doing business with you.” The words were conventional, but her tone made them friendly and personal.
    “Thank you, ma’am.” He smiled as he rose, and they shook hands before he headed out into the bank to deposit his check.
    Melanie rechecked to make sure all the paperwork she needed was in his file, then closed it and for a few moments gazed down at the folder on her blotter without really seeing it.
    Good job. Good town. Good people. She had friends. She had dates when she wanted them. She had a nice home she enjoyed and money enough to live comfortably, even well.
    It was a good life.
    Or, at least . . . it had been.
    Until the dreams had started. Until she’d begun to catch glimpses of . . . something . . . from the corner of her eye, just quick enough to be gone when she looked.
    Until she had begun to feel that too-familiar, almost gleeful sense of being watched from the shadows.
    Until they started hearing about what was happening in the mountains so near.
    Until people started dying.
    The cold knot in the pit of her stomach was never very far from her awareness now. Because something was very, very wrong in Sociable, something . . . unnatural was here. Something a deeply primal part of herself recognized.
    And she was afraid that meant at least one person in her life wasn’t at all who or what she believed them to be. In fact, she was almost certain that was the case.
    Not a stranger, Trinity had said, eyeing Melanie calmly. No evidence of that, and plenty going the other way.
    It was entirely possible, Trinity had said, that someone in Sociable was a murderer.
    It’s not natural, what happened to Scott. It’s not . . . normal. Normal is when somebody gets mad and somebody else gets dead. Shot.