Sometimes You Just Know

Justin isn't really all that interested in the horse. It's the rider he came to see. He can feel Wendy almost vibrating with frustration beside him, and he knows his mother is doing her best to calm her down. There's no point in exploding, and they all have reputations to protect. Well, Justin and Molly have reputations to protect; Wendy hasn't got much other than her pride, and it's taken a beating lately.
The horse and rider in question are at the far end of the ring, and Justin can't get a really good look at either of them. The horse is moving well, he can tell from a distance—not spectacular, but solid. The rider is barely noticeable, which is as it should be.
Everything is as it should be, and Justin wouldn't be paying any special attention, but Wendy is an old friend of his mother's, and she'd asked for help.
He feels a sharp elbow in his ribs and hears Wendy frantically hissing, "There she is! The blonde, the tall one—looks like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth…." Wendy's sneer is only a little melodramatic.
The blonde calls the rider over to her, and Justin sees them confer. They certainly don't seem too familiar with each other, but if Wendy is right, they've been working together for at least half a year. Justin sighs inwardly. Even if Wendy is right, he's not sure what they can do. According to Wendy, she'd bought a horse from the blonde after seeing it perform well with its current rider. The blonde (Carol, Justin's memory supplies) had said that the rider was untrained and inexperienced; if the horse could do well with him, surely he would do well with a rider as talented as Wendy. And the horse had seemed good when Wendy rode it that day. He was little green, maybe, a little wild, but Carol had been quick to explain that the horse was just picking up on Wendy's own nerves, and that it hadn't been exercised much lately so it was a little hyper, and…. Wendy had trailed off after a while in embarrassment. It hadn't taken long after getting the horse home for Wendy to realize that she had been sold a horse with hardly any training and an attitude problem as well. She hadn't wanted to tell exactly how much she'd spent, but her reticence made it clear that the horse was no bargain.
Justin thinks it seems like shady dealings, but he's not sure there was anything actually illegal about it. It seems like the rider is a bit better than Carol had let on, but it's not like there's a precise system for measuring rider quality, so how can they prove that Carol lied? Justin really doesn't know what they're hoping to accomplish with their little intervention, but Wendy and Molly are intent, and it's rarely a good idea to get in their way.
So Wendy steps back a little and Justin and Molly step forward, Molly taking the lead as they walk towards the pair by the horse. As they approach, Carol looks up and notices them, and she smiles warmly. Even knowing what he knows about her sales technique, Justin feels himself being taken in. But the draw to Carol is nothing compared to the way he feels when he gets his first good look at the rider.
The man is absolutely beautiful. Strong, lean body, expressive green eyes, lush lips… Justin has to call himself back fairly sharply. Both the rider and Carol obviously use their looks as a way to distract potential buyers, and Justin shouldn't let that happen to him. Still, he catches himself sneaking another look at the man. Damn.
His mother stretches a hand forwards to the blonde. "Carol? I'm Molly Archer; this is my son Justin. He's the one we're shopping for. It's so rare to find a young man interested in his mother's hobbies, so I like to encourage him however I can!" Justin hadn't been sure about this strategy; his family has been working with horses, in its own small way, since before he was born, so it's entirely possible that Carol will have heard of them. So pretending that they're neophytes and that this is all just a hobby seems a little risky. But Wendy and Molly had both agreed that Carol wouldn't try the trick if she knew that she was dealing with professional trainers, so….
Justin extends his own hand. "It's great to meet you. And what I saw looked really good. He's beautiful." Justin's eyes cut involuntarily to the rider, and he clarifies, "The horse." Yeah, that was smooth.
Carol doesn't seem to notice. "Well, I think you'll be really pleased with Magic. He's a thoroughbred, off the track, so that means he loves to run! But we've got him trained to keep it in check when he needs to." She gestures for the first time at the man standing next to her. "My trainer couldn't make it, but… Dan's new to all this, only been riding for a few months, really, and you saw how well they did together."
So there it is. There's the lie that turns all this from something unethical to something illegal. But what exactly do Molly and Wendy think is going to happen now? There's no hidden camera, no police officers waiting to swoop down on the pair. There's nothing but two angry women and Justin.
Molly doesn't seem to be ready to call things off quite yet. "Oh, really, he's a new rider? I never would have guessed! Things seemed to be going so smoothly."
Carol nods and smiles. "That's the beauty of this horse! He's called Magic for a reason; I honestly don't know how he does it." She pauses. "Now, there may be a bit of an adjustment period. Part of what makes the horse so wonderful is how sensitive he is to his rider; it's like he's reading their minds! But it takes a while for him to figure each new rider out. Dan rode him yesterday, and it really wasn't pretty. Magic was excitable and didn't really seem to understand what Dan wanted. But they both slept on it, and they came back, and…." She shrugs. "Well, you saw how they looked."
Justin looks over at the rider to see if he's backing this story up, but he can't catch his eye. He doesn't seem bashful or ashamed, just…disinterested, really. Justin wonders if that's part of the act. After all, an exercise rider wouldn't really care too much about a prospective sale.
Molly wants more than that, though. "Dan, is it?" She walks over to the horse, and Dan obligingly swings off its back. "So you haven't been riding for long, Dan?"
Dan looks at her, then at his watch. "'Bout half an hour, maybe." He leans around her and holds the reins out to Justin. "You going up?"
Molly shifts a little so she's in between the two men. "I didn't mean today, Dan. I meant in your life. How long have you been riding horses, in your life?" The question is much too pointed, and Justin can see Carol realize that Molly's on to them. He doesn't see any reaction from Dan, though.
"I don't know—a while." Dan leans again, finding Justin's eyes. "If you're not sure you're up for it, I could put him on a lead rope or something…."
And that's more a challenge than Justin is ready to walk away from. "No, I think I'll be okay, thanks." He steps forward and collects the reins. "Lengthen the stirrup on the far side, will you?" He glances at the other man. He's not short, but he's not as tall as Justin, and there doesn't seem to be a man alive that likes having that sort of thing pointed out to him. "I'd say about three holes, wouldn't you?"
Dan doesn't react to that either, just moves around and starts on the stirrup. Molly intervenes. "Well, Justin, I'm not sure you need to actually ride him…"
Carol agrees. "Yeah, he might not be quite what you're looking for." Now that she knows that Molly isn't going to fall for the scheme, she seems ready to get out of there.
But there's something else going on now, something between Justin and Dan. Justin isn't quite sure what it is, but he's not going to be the one to break it off. "Well, we came all this way—I might as well give him a try."
Neither Carol nor Molly can object to that without giving a reason, and neither one seems quite willing to admit that they both know what's going on, so they step back and Dan moves to Magic's head. He nods a little at Justin, and quietly says, "You need to ride him a lot from your seat. Don't tighten up the reins or he'll take off. He can't stay collected for more than a few strides yet, but he's scopey as hell and he's fast."
Justin's taken off guard. That sounded less like a scam and more like an honest assessment of a green horse with some potential. He nods to show that he understands, but he's so preoccupied with trying to figure out the other man's goals that he automatically gathers his reins as he mounts. Magic starts away, but Dan catches his head and lets Justin get a better seat. Justin looks down a little embarrassedly, and Dan grins at him. "Yeah, I meant don't tighten up the reins."
Justin's too lost in the smile to come up with a good response. He just nods, and Dan steps aside so that Magic can move forward. Justin follows Dan's advice and lets the horse get comfortable with his new rider, and then asks for a trot. By the time they're half way around the ring, Justin has come to the conclusion that Dan isn't just a competent rider, he's excellent. The horse is almost more than Justin can handle, and Dan had made it all look so smooth. He remembers the other man's advice and loosens the reins a little more, using his weight to communicate with the animal, and that helps.
They finally make it to a canter, and Justin is again impressed that Dan had been able to control the horse. It had seemed effortless, but Justin knows now that it clearly wasn't. He circles a few times, then takes the horse to a low cross-pole jump. Justin feels the horse's muscles gather, feels him launch them far above the railings, landing way out on the other side. The horse is balanced immediately, ready to run, and Justin almost laughs out loud. Is this what Dan had been trying to tell him? Or is he putting too much weight on a few little words?
He circles the horse around and targets another jump, a little higher this time, and again Magic clears it easily. Justin canters past Dan, and they're going pretty fast, but Justin could swear he sees Dan raise his eyebrows a little and shake his head. Justin thinks for a second, and then he tightens up on the reins. Magic surges forwards, tossing his head in excitement, and Justin tightens up a little more, as if trying to bring the horse back to the trot. He circles a few times, bringing them in tighter and tighter, until Magic finally has no choice but to slow down a little. As soon as it's safe, Justin jumps off, landing on his feet and breaking into a jog right away to keep up. But once the rider's off his back, Magic is calm, and Justin is able to lead him over to where the others are standing.
Justin isn't really sure how to play this. Wendy has joined the party, and she and Molly are berating the increasingly flustered Carol and totally impassive Dan. When Justin gets close enough, Dan gives him a questioning look, and Justin responds with a slight eyebrow raise as he hands the reins to the other man.
Molly waves her hand at Justin. "Justin's an excellent rider, and he could barely handle the beast! You've obviously been running this scam for quite a while, pretending that your boyfriend can't ride…"
The 'boyfriend' catches Justin's attention. Lord knows they'd make a good looking couple, but Justin hasn't sensed any real rapport. Unless his own connection with Dan has all just been part of the scam, a second-wave of deception for those who see past the first attempt. But they couldn't fake jumping ability like that. He decides to take the chance.
"I can ride him, mom." Justin tries to sound a little petulant. He hopes that Molly picks up on the act but that Carol doesn't. He's really not sure if he's doing this right. "I mean, obviously he's barely trained, so the price is outrageous, but…I can do it."
Molly looks flabbergasted, as does Wendy. Molly speaks first. "What are you talking about, Justin? That's not why we came here…"
"But you think I can't do it." He nods a little towards Dan. "He thinks I can't do it." Now for a little more drama. "You all treat me like I'm still a kid, and try to protect me all the time." Justin hopes that the falseness of that statement will be a clear enough signal to Molly, letting her know that he's up to something. "I'm tired of it. Obviously the horse is crap, but that doesn't mean I can't ride it. It doesn't mean I can't make something out of him…."
"Justin, please. You know we just want you to be safe." Justin wants to hug her. She's caught on. Wendy, on the other hand, looks like her head's about to pop off. Dan quietly walks away, going to cool off the horse, but Justin wishes he would stay. He wants Dan to see what he's about to do. He has a feeling it's going to be worth remembering.
"Yeah, well, I'm tired of it." He turns to Carol. "Okay, yeah, they're mad about your little trick, whatever. We both know you probably paid a few grand for the horse a couple weeks ago. I'll offer you five grand right now."
Carol tries to look indignant. "The asking price is twenty thousand dollars."
Justin shakes his head. "Yeah, but you're not going to get that. Not from us, obviously, and not from anyone else in Kentucky once the two of them start talking. Not from anyone in any of the neighbouring states, either, I expect. A scam like this can only last for so long, right? Before word gets out?" Justin shrugs, trying to look philosophical. "So, the word's out. And you're stuck with a horse that you won't be able to sell at the asking price or at any other price, with the reputation you're going to get. I'm just saying I'll take him off your hands for five grand."
Wendy grabs Justin's arm. "Justin, what are you doing? Why are you helping her out? She sold me that worthless creature! She tricked me!"
Molly gives Justin a frustrated look, then rubs Wendy's arm soothingly. "Come on, sweetie. We've got what we came for. If Justin wants to play games, that's his choice." She shakes her head. "But it's your money, Justin. This is your baby."
"Fine, yeah." He waits until they leave, trying to look impatient rather than nervous. Once they're gone, he turns back to Carol. "Uh, yeah, that changes things a bit. If it's my own money, I've got, uh…four grand." He's not sure if Molly was serious about it being his money, and he knows he's got more than enough to cover his earlier offer, but he's kind of getting into this conning thing. It's fun.
"Four grand." Justin can't read her expression. Her voice sounds…grumpy? Which makes sense, really—five minute ago she'd been hoping to get twenty thousand for this horse, and now she's being offered four. He guesses the fact that she sounds annoyed rather than amused is a sign that she's taking the offer seriously. "For that horse? Are you kidding me?"
"No, not really. That's what I've got. I don't think you're going to get a better offer. But it's up to you, obviously." Justin's already seen the vet report on the horse, knows that he's sound and healthy, so four thousand is a good offer for an untrained horse. If Justin's right about the horse's potential, the price is very low, but Justin has a feeling that Carol doesn't know about the potential. He has a feeling that Dan hasn't told her; Justin really has no idea what that means, and even less idea what it means that Dan seemed to want Justin to find out.
Carol looks like she's eaten something unpleasant. "Well, I'll need to think about that…."
"But I thought you were on your way out of town? When you were speaking to my mother, you said that we'd just caught you, you were on your way out of town and if we wanted the horse we had to take it today." Justin really doesn't expect her to care about this. The scam is obviously exposed, but still, it seems worth a try. "We brought the trailer today, and it was quite a drive. I don't want to come back when you've decided that you want to sell." He leans in a little, tries to sound less confident. "And, honestly, once my mother starts in on me about what a bad idea this is… I doubt the offer's going to be on the table for long, you know?" He pulls back, and glances over to where Dan is walking the horse. "I don't know what I'm thinking, really. I mean, he's worse than green, isn't he, because he's got some really bad habits…." Justin shakes his head. "You know what? I really don't need the headache. Nevermind…." And he makes himself turn to leave. He's taken a few steps and is just about to kick himself for misplaying the situation when he hears Carol speak.
"Wait. Four thousand? I honestly…" She sounds defeated. "I honestly can't do four thousand. I paid that for him, and I had to pay for the vet check, and boarding him for a month, and riding fees…"
Justin thinks about it for a second, and is about to offer a little more, and then he remembers Wendy's experience with this woman. "Yeah, okay then, I guess I can't buy him. I only have the four thousand." He turns to walk away again, and again she speaks up. This time she sounds angry.
"Fine. Four thousand, done. I've had enough of this crap."
Justin doesn't really know what crap she's talking about, and doesn't bother to ask. "Okay, four thousand." He extends his hand, and she shakes it with a distinct lack of grace. "My bank has a branch in town—I can be back in twenty minutes with cash."
"Yeah, fine. And you load him up and take him with you today, or else you pay for his damn board." She looks around the stable yard in disgust.
Justin follows her eyes, assessing the stable set-up. It's not high class, but it's clean and tidy, and there's nothing that makes it unsuitable or unsafe for horses. If he was looking for somewhere to board a horse, he could do worse. It makes Justin wonder what Carol and Dan are really up to. If they were total scammers, they probably should have chosen a ritzier-looking place, somewhere that would appeal to their target audience. Or somewhere cheaper, so they could save their money. This place looks like a good place for someone who cares about horses but is on a tight budget.
Justin calls his attention back to the matter at hand. "No, we can take him with us. I'll be back soon." He heads out towards the cars, and finds Molly and Wendy waiting in the parking lot. Wendy looks confused, Molly amused. Molly speaks first.
"So, that was a bit of a deviation from the plan…." She waits for an explanation.
"Yeah, sorry, it's just…." He looks over his shoulder to see if anyone's listening. "Uh, I've got to go into town. Can we talk as we drive?"
Molly nods and they all pile into the pickup. It's slow driving with a horse trailer, but Wendy had thought it was important to have it as a prop, a way to show that they were serious. She seems aggravated to think that it's going to be put to an actual purpose.
Justin backs up carefully, and then they're out on the road and he takes a moment to put his thoughts in order. "So, the horse… I offered her four grand, she said she'd take it."
Wendy frowns. "The horse she was asking twenty thousand for? She's going to give it to you for four?" She seems to realize the implications of this. "Does that mean that Wellington… I should only have paid four thousand for him?"
Justin looks at his mother, who shrugs. She tries to answer the question, assuming rightly that she'll be a little more gentle than Justin. Even so, it's not an easy thing to hear, Justin expects. "Sweetie…you probably shouldn't have paid anything for Wellington. He's…he's got nice coloring and a pretty face, but he's really not much of a horse." She makes a bit of a face. "I really wish you'd taken my advice."
Wendy makes a dismissive gesture with her hand. "Oh, those horses you were showing me! They were ugly old plugs! And when I wanted one of your own horses, you wouldn't sell it to me!"
"That's not quite true. I just said you weren't ready for her yet."
"So, someday, maybe I could be special enough for your baby? Come on!"
Justin can see how Carol and Dan manage to make their scam work. There are a lot of people in the horse world who have more money than sense. He seems to have one of them in his back seat.
Molly doesn't bother to respond to her friend, turning instead to Justin. "So, you think the horse has potential?"
Justin nods emphatically. "Absolutely. He's green, but…" He remembers Dan's words. "He's scopey as hell, and he's fast." Justin wonders again why the other man had seemingly wanted Justin to try the horse. He really doesn't see how it could be a trick; four thousand dollars is a low price for what Justin thinks he's getting, but it's a fair price even if the horse never really amounts to anything.
Justin's mother sometimes has an uncanny ability to read his mind. "So this has nothing to do with that handsome man who was riding him? You aren't just being taken in by a pretty face, are you?"
It's lucky that Justin has already had this argument with himself, so his response is quick and sure. "Four thousand is a good price." He turns a little to look at Wendy. "And if the horse works out, then four thousand is a steal of a deal, so you'll be getting a bit of revenge on them that way."
They continue into town, and Justin has another moment of doubt when he has to sign for the cash, but he remembers the horse's explosive power over the jump, and signs. He's fidgety and anxious on the drive back, and his mother gives him a few strange looks. True, he doesn't normally use his own money to buy horses, but it's all family money, and he's certainly been involved in much bigger sales than this one. He thinks she suspects that his tension has more to do with the other rider than the horse, and he has to admit, at least to himself, that she may be right.
His suspicion is confirmed when they get to the barn and it's Carol who's standing by Magic's side, holding his lead rope. Dan is nowhere to be seen, and Justin's stomach drops a little. He tries to dismiss the feeling, but the excitement of the deal has drained away, and he finishes the transaction with much less enthusiasm. He's got Magic loaded and they're ready to go, but he finds himself reluctant to give up altogether. He excuses himself, and ducks into the barn, ostensibly to use the bathroom, but he takes the opportunity to look around. No sign of Dan, but Carol does catch him.
"He's gone," she says, a trace of amusement in her voice. "And I have no idea where to, so I couldn't help you even if I wanted."
Justin doesn't see any point in pretending. "Can you get a message to him, do you think?"
Carol quirks an eyebrow. Now that the paperwork is signed and the money's in her pocket, she seems to be happy to show a little attitude. "Do you really have anything to say that you think he hasn't heard before? Hell, every buyer we get wants into my pants or into his…what makes you special?" She comes a little closer. "I'm not saying you're not nice to look at, but a boy like Dan…he's got enough good looks on his own. I really think he's looking for something a little more…rewarding…from his lovers."
"Yeah? Is that your rule too? Or is it just yours, and you're projecting it onto him?"
"Projecting? Oooh, pop psychology! How impressive!" She's clearly enjoying the opportunity to get some revenge. "If you want to imagine him as the pure, misunderstood virgin lured into a tawdry life…hey, it's your fantasy." She smiles a little as she runs a hand lightly along Justin's shoulder. "But don't forget why you came here. Don't forget that he's the one who tricked your friend out there into spending a hell of a lot of money on a worthless horse." She steps away and smiles. "And we laughed about it afterwards. All the way to the bank."
Justin nods tightly. He doesn't really want to hear any more of this. She's right, he guesses. There's no point in trying to ignore Dan's part in all this. But Justin remembers the clear dare in Dan's voice when he wanted Justin to ride the horse, and he can't get the man's smile out of his mind. There's something more going on there, Justin knows it. But he can't figure it out on his own, and if Dan is gone, there's no real chance to get any help. He turns silently and heads out of the barn, Carol's mocking laugh trailing out after him.

It's almost a year before he sees Dan again.