Kenzie sat up in bed and swung her legs over the side. She yawned, then remembered the fight she’d had with Logan. She didn’t want to dwell on it, but it was hard to get the ugly confrontation out of her mind.
Kenzie pushed herself off the bed and sauntered into the bathroom to perform her morning ablutions. She washed her face, styled her hair, applied a touch of makeup, and then got dressed. Her outfit wasn’t the most stylish – she had on a turtleneck sweater with a fall leaf pattern matched with a pair of jeans with a design on the back pockets – but she didn’t care today. She wanted to solve the case of the missing animals. Something had to turn up. She’d talked to all the pet owners but that hadn’t gotten her too far.
She’d also looked up the unicorn she’d seen last night but no one had seen one with that appearance. However, she had found that there was more than one unicorn, for some had reported seeing baby unicorns and taken pictures of them, then sharing them on several sites. So it wasn't just one unicorn changing its appearance - there were several different ones running amok.
She thought about calling Chief Allington and reporting the unicorn, but she decided not to. He, like Logan, didn’t believe in mythical creatures, so telling him would be a waste of time. With her luck, he’d say she was crazy and dismiss her from the case entirely. And Kenzie wouldn’t stand for that.
Heaving a sigh of exasperation, Kenzie glanced at the clock and saw that it was only 9am. Was it too early to visit Austin? Surely not – a genius such as him most likely got up at dawn to work on some sort of experiment. Besides, he was expecting her, since she'd promised to see the rest of his pets today.
Not wanting to wait to find out if it was too early, Kenzie headed outside. The air was warmer today, comfortable enough so that she didn’t need a jacket over her warm sweater. Kenzie trudged to her car, got in, and headed for Austin’s house.
********************
Kenzie had been right. Austin was already up and about when she parked in front of his house. Rascal was outside and began barking enthusiastically when he saw her pull up. Austin himself was in the second stall of his garage, hovering over the chemistry table.
Kenzie approached from behind and said, “Good morning!”
Austin jumped, spilling something on the floor. He spun around and his look of shock molded into a look of contentment.
“Good morning to you too!” he said as he stooped down to mop up the puddle. “How are you feeling? Any better after last night?”
“Maybe a little. I just can’t believe he didn’t believe me. I thought boyfriends were supposed to be understanding. I mean, he can have a different opinion, but to exert it on me with such oppression?”
Austin walked over to Kenzie and gave her shoulder a squeeze. “I’m sorry that happened. I wish there was something I could do to help.”
“Right now, the biggest thing that will help me is solving this case.”
“Have you caught any new leads yet?”
“No, and I’m getting worried about the animals. If this were a child kidnapping, by this time, there would only be a body found, if anything at all. Who’s to say the same wouldn’t happen for animals?”
Austin nodded understandably. Something on the table behind him began to bubble.
“What are you working on back there?” Kenzie asked, peeking over Austin’s shoulder.
“Oh, just a little project that I was working on before my hiatus. Like I said, long story.”
“I’ve got plenty of time for long stories. Come on, what was the project?”
“Well, I’d like to tell you, but the information’s confidential. I could lose my job if I told you, and believe me, that’s the last thing I want.”
“How about a hint? You’re such a genius, it could be anything. I doubt I’d even understand it.”
“You’d understand the concept of it easy enough, but even that would be telling you too much. I’m sorry.”
Kenzie was about to probe Austin further, when a whinny sounded from behind them.
“Oh, drat,” Austin said as he scooped up a notebook. “The horses are probably itching for exercise. Hey, why don’t you come see them? You said you would, remember?”
“Yes, I did say that. Okay, I’d love to.”
“Great. Let me just put these notes away in the house, and I’ll be right back. Play with Rascal,” he added as Rascal galloped into the garage, a toy rope in his mouth.
Kenzie chuckled as Austin headed for the house. She grabbed the rope Rascal held and began a fierce game of tug of war.
When Austin came back outside, he led Kenzie, who begrudgingly let go of Rascal’s rope, to the stable. The stable was a very good size, with a high ceiling and tall door for the horses to get through. There was also a smaller door for her and Austin to get through.
Inside two horse stalls were some very pretty-looking horses. One was black and white, and Austin called him Blaze. The second was a tan speckled female named Clover.
“Clover’s a little shy,” Austin said as Kenzie went to get a closer look at the mare. “Let her sniff your hand, and she’ll probably warm up to you pretty soon.”
Kenzie stretched out her palm and Clover’s muzzle nudged it. It reminded Kenzie of the unicorn’s touch last night, and Clover even somewhat resembled the unicorn with her tan speckled coat. But she didn’t have a horn protruding from the top of her head, and Austin wouldn’t have let her out at night anyway, so it couldn't have been her in disguise.
Plus, the unicorn’s horn hadn’t been held on with a strap or some other mechanism – it had been a part of the horse’s head, which Kenzie saw clear as day in such proximity to the creature. The trail of sparkles left behind hadn’t been fake, either.
“Hey, have you ever ridden a horse?” Austin asked from inside Blaze’s stall, where he was feeding the stallion some hay.
“No, I haven’t.”
“How would you like to?”
“Uh…I don’t know, I might fall off, or worse, get stuck on the saddle because the horse got so scared it wouldn’t stop running.”
“Relax, there’s nothing to it. You ride Clover, she’s a little more obedient than Blaze. These guys need exercise anyway. Let’s ride them down to the equestrian center. I can show you some of the tricks I’ve taught Blaze.”
“You taught him tricks?”
“Yeah, some jumping, stepping, galloping, you name it. He isn’t the best yet, but hopefully I can get him into a horse show someday.”
“I’d like to see that.”
“Come on, let’s go for a ride. What do you say? I’ll stay close and help you out. Don’t worry, you won’t fall. I promise.”
“Well, okay. Just don’t go too fast.”
“I won’t.”
Austin retrieved two nearby saddles and had Blaze and Clover saddled up in a matter of minutes. Both horses seemed to be very friendly and obedient, making the task much easier. When they were both saddled up, Austin led them, one by one, outside the stable and into the morning light. They whinnied in anticipation.
“Okay,” Austin called to Kenzie, who was trying to keep her distance. She knew that horses could kick very hard if they got startled. “Come on over, I’ll help you get on the saddle.”
Kenzie walked closer, and Austin was holding onto Clover’s reins. She gulped, then put her left foot into the stirrup. She grabbed onto the saddle for support and hoisted herself up onto Clover’s strong back. The horse’s ears twitched slightly, but other than that she stayed still. Kenzie swung her other leg over the saddle to the other stirrup, and then Austin handed her the reins.
“It’s pretty easy to ride and control a horse,” Austin explained as he began to mount up onto Blaze. “To go forward, just lift the reins up a little bit, then gently lower them so the horse can feel them graze their neck. Don’t do it yet though,” he said as Kenzie began to lift Clover’s harness, “I have to tell you how to turn and stop first.”
Kenzie stopped moving the reins and giggled.
“Okay, to turn, just gently tug the reins in the direction you want to go. Not too hard though, you don’t want to hurt them. And to stop, just pull back on the reins. But not too hard, or you’ll end up going backwards.”
Austin demonstrated his instructions to Kenzie, and when she was sure she had the hang of it, they both began riding to the nearest equestrian center.
Riding on a horse was a whole different experience from riding in, or driving, a car. At this slow, relaxed pace, and with Austin staying close to her in case she needed help, Kenzie could really take in her surroundings. Appaloosa Plains was very beautiful, and she even saw some other locals riding horses through town. They were giving their horses exercise and being eco-friendly. Kenzie couldn’t imagine giving up her Requiescence, though.
Before long, they arrived at the Equestrian Regional Training Grounds. Austin guided Blaze toward an obstacle course, with Kenzie following close behind. She wanted to try some of the tricks, but not being experienced with horses at all, she instead instructed Clover to stop so she could just watch Austin.
“You should teach me some of the tricks you’ve taught Blaze,” Kenzie called to Austin on the other end of the course.
“I might do that,” Austin called back, “but Clover needs a little more practice herself!”
Clover shook her head and grunted in response. Kenzie laughed. Then, she watched as Austin guided Blaze toward a fence that probably would have reached a person's waist, gained speed, and when Blaze got close enough…
…he jumped it and cleared it with precision! Kenzie did a silent cheer so as not to startle Clover underneath her.
Austin navigated Blaze through the course, taking him over fences and poles (some of which fell over). After a while, Austin stopped and rode over to where Kenzie was sitting on Clover.
“What did you think?” he asked her, slightly out of breath.
“That was great! If you ever do enter a riding competition, or a jumping one or whatever, I want to know about it. I’d love to come.”
“Sounds great. I’d love for you to come.”
Kenzie smiled, then Austin suggested they go for a little ride through town. Kenzie knew that she should get back to work on the case, but she was having so much fun. Besides, maybe while riding through town, she’d see something. It couldn’t hurt.
Kids were now in school, but a few adults and elders were outside, some doing yard work, some relaxing on their front porches, and some playing with their pets (though the pets appeared to be birds, small critters, or horses). Just watching them together made Kenzie want to adopt a dog more and more.
When they arrived back at Austin’s house, he put the horses away after taking off their saddles, and invited Kenzie inside. Once she got in, her cell phone rang.
Pulling it from her pocket to check the ID, she saw that it was her mother.
“Sorry,” she apologized to Austin, who just nodded his head to indicate that she could take the call. She walked down the hallway toward the back door to do so.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Kenzie! How are you? I haven’t heard from you in a couple of days.”
“I’m doing good. I’m actually at Austin’s house now. We just got back from horseback riding.”
“What? You rode a horse? Kenzie, you’ve never ridden a horse before! You could have gotten hurt!”
“Mom, relax. Austin was right there with me, and I did fine. I didn’t jump or anything, I just sat on the horse and let her do all the work. Austin has two horses, and he took one jumping though. I watched him.”
“How is Austin? Tell him your dad and I said hi!”
Kenzie relayed the message, and he requested that she return the greeting to her parents.
“It’s so nice that you get to see him again,” Constance continued into the phone. “Have you managed to adopt a dog yet? Or some sort of pet anyway?”
“Not yet, did Dad tell you about the case?”
“He mentioned it. Those poor animals. I hope you find whoever did that, because that’s just sick. Imagine, someone kidnapping animals for no reason! Well, even if they had a reason, it wouldn’t be good enough if you ask me. Maybe Austin can help you out.”
“Actually, he has been. Oh, and I’ve got something exciting to tell you. I saw a unicorn last night!”
“You did? Oh, I wish I could have seen it!”
“I got pictures, don’t worry. Maybe I’ll even see it again.”
“That would be nice. Now we know that unicorns exist. I wonder if any other mythical creatures do. I just hope not zombies. The idea of the dead coming back to life and eating humans makes me feel nauseous.”
“I’m with you. How’s Flossy?”
“She’s doing great, I think we finally got her trained to go to the bathroom outside instead of inside the house. Your father is thinking of putting a dog door in the back door so she can come and go as she pleases. You know I already told him we need to build a fence around the yard so she doesn’t run away. Maybe you can help me talk him into that.”
“That does sound like a good idea. I’ll see what I can do. Anyway, I better get going. I have a case to solve!”
“All right, just be careful. I just wanted to see how you were.”
“Okay. Bye for now Mom!”
“Bye, sweetheart. I love you.”
“Love you too.”
Kenzie hung up her phone and headed back to the living room. Austin was just hanging up the phone on his desk.
“What are you doing?” she asked as she sidled up to him.
“I thought you might be hungry, so I took the liberty of ordering us some pizza.”
“Pizza sounds great. Thanks, I am getting hungry.”
“Is sausage still your favorite?”
“Yeah, but now I like mushrooms, pepperoni, and olives on it too. So if you ordered any of that, that’s fine.”
“Well, I went ahead and just ordered plain sausage, since I like that too, but I can amend that if you want.”
“No, it’s okay. Sausage sounds fine.”
The two smiled at each other and Kenzie felt her cheeks heat up again. Why did that keep happening?
“Hey, how about we see Lizzie now?” Austin suggested. Kenzie nodded and followed Austin down the hall. He entered the door on the left side.
Austin’s bedroom reminded Kenzie of a horse ranch, similar to the Ranch Inn. Rascal’s bed was in a corner and in the opposite corner was a lizard terrarium. Inside was a small brown lizard.
“This is an Anole lizard,” Austin explained as he extracted the small reptile from her cage. “I just found her roaming around outside one night, and Rascal was barking at her, so I decided to give her a home. I looked up some information on Anole lizards and I found out that the females have yellow eyes and the males have red eyes. As you can see, she has yellow eyes. Her name isn’t the most original, but I didn’t know what else to name her.”
“I think it suits her just fine.”
Austin gently rubbed Lizzie’s scaly skin, and then he held her out to Kenzie so she could do the same. Lizzie’s scales felt slightly rough, yet smooth at the same time. She didn’t bite, much to Kenzie’s relief. After a while, the doorbell rang so they put Lizzie away and retrieved their delivered pizza. They then sat at the dining table and dug in. The pizza tasted better than the grilled cheese had, since it wasn’t burnt.
“So how are your parents doing?” Austin asked as they ate.
“Good, except Mom’s having a midlife crisis. She talked Dad into getting them a dog, but now she’s wanting a hot tub. Dad called me and said she wants to change careers, too. I hope this thing blows over. It can’t be good for her health. Or Dad’s sanity, either.”
“I’m sure she’ll be fine. My dad went through one of those. I still keep in touch with my parents, too, and he wanted to get a fancy new car. Ended up buying an old classic and started fixing it up. He still loves that car, but I think his crisis is over.”
“Well, another thing about Mom is that she keeps asking me when I’m going to get married, and when she’s going to be a grandmother. I’m her only kid, so I can’t rely on siblings to take care of that for me. Mom wants to experience those things, but with how busy I am all the time, I don’t know if it’ll ever happen. It’s not that I don’t want a family someday, or that I haven’t considered it. It’s just...”
“Just what?”
Kenzie set down her piece of pizza and sighed. She looked up to face Austin and said all in a rush, “It’s just that I don’t know if I’ve found the right guy for that.”
Austin raised an eyebrow as he also set down his slice of pizza. “So, you don’t think Logan’s the type of guy you want to spend your life with?”
“I never really looked for short-term relationships. I was always thinking of the long-term. When I picture a future with Logan, well, I just can’t see it. I haven’t mentioned the idea of marriage or kids to him. He’s so busy with school, and I’m so busy with work...”
“Kenzie, that’s a pretty serious subject. I think you should stop procrastinating and talk to him about it.”
“I know, but after that fight we had last night…I don’t know. I really don’t even want to think about it right now. I need to solve this case. That’s my top priority. In fact, not to be rude, but I should be focusing more on it than…well, than being here with you.”
Kenzie looked away and faced the window. That sounded bad, and it would have no matter how she’d said it. Still, she had to face facts. She was in Appaloosa Plains for a reason, and it wasn’t for a social call.
To her surprise, Austin stood up and pulled Kenzie off her chair to stand in front of him. He held her hands in his as he said, “Kenzie, I get what you’re saying, and I understand. But for what it’s worth, I’ve really enjoyed the fun we’ve been having while you’ve been in town, but you’re right. I shouldn’t be distracting you from your job, and I’m sorry. I’m equally sorry for the problems and confusion you’re having with Logan. Yet, I hear about those scenarios, and I realize something.”
“What would that be?”
Austin’s hazel eyes looked into her own. Her heart rate sped up, and suddenly she got frightened.
No, this couldn’t be happening. As if things weren’t complicated enough.
“Kenzie, I…”
Kenzie slid her hands out from Austin’s. She felt tears stinging her eyes, but she managed to get to the front door without them bursting into a tirade.
“Kenzie, wait,” Austin begged.
“Please,” Kenzie said to the door, her hand on the knob. “I’m sorry, I…I can’t.”
With that, Kenzie flung open the door, dashed to her car, and started toward the hotel.
As she drove, Kenzie replayed what had just happened over and over in her head. She was fighting this with all her might. All her mental strength was going to warding off what was clearly indisputable evidence – Austin, after all these years, still had feelings for her. In fact, she was what he’d described as the type of girl he wanted – she saw past his intelligence, knew him for who he truly was, and didn’t treat him like an outcast. That’s what he’d undoubtedly wanted to tell her.
Too bad she was already taken.
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