His Second Chance

Chapter Sixteen

By the time I woke up the next morning, Chloe had already left with Jack to head up to the yard we were discussing last night. I dragged myself out of bed and down to the kitchen. It was completely silent, despite the dogs walking in and out. I put the kettle on and grabbed the milk, just as I heard the back door open. I turned and saw Archie coming in. He looked like he hadn't slept in a week; his hair was dirty and bedraggled and there were big black bags under his eyes. He sat down at the table, rubbing his tired eyes.

"Coffee?" I asked.

He nodded.

"So, what happened yesterday, I didn't get the memo?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"What did you discuss yesterday with those policemen?" he asked impatiently.

I made him wait until I had made our drinks and sat down before revealing what had been discussed. He sat and listened without saying a word, which was unusual for him. As I finished, he stretched out across the chair, sighing.

"Any thoughts?" I asked.

"I'm too tired to think," he replied.

"When was the last time you slept?"

"Maybe for an hour or so last night," came the reply as he yawned loudly," So Chloe's gone with that detective?"

"Yeah, they've gone up to one of the yards," I replied.

"When will she be back?" he asked.

I shrugged and got up to make myself some breakfast. There was an odd atmosphere around the farm today; it was quiet. Too quiet. All I could do was mope around; there was nothing I was interested in doing today. Of course, I sorted out all of my horses, simply putting them out into their fields and mucking out. By the time I'd finished, it was barely halfway through the morning. I was about to walk into the tack room, maybe clean some tack and tidy up a little, but that's when I heard Guinness banging on his stable door. I hadn't noticed that Chloe hadn't put him out, and as he continued shrieking and banging on his door I was at a loss at what to do. I shuffled out of the tack room and snuck over towards the small door in the main barn that led into his little section. It was only partially open, and I was being totally silent, but as I peered through the gap, Guinness went totally silent. He could smell me, and after several seconds of searching for me, his eyes locked onto mine. I had been caught, and there was no point in hiding anymore. I pushed the door open and walked in. He watched me closely, not taking his eyes off me for a second.

"What are you fussing about?" I asked.

He snorted, shaking his head and pawing at the ground.

"What, are you hungry?" I asked, walking over to the large hay bale in the corner, pulling out a handful and offering it to him.

He shook his head and took a step back.

"Then what? What do you want?" I asked.

He peered at me, before pawing at the ground again and banging on his door.

"You want out?" I questioned.

For a moment, I felt stupid. Sure, he was an intelligent animal, but he couldn't understand me. Or could he? As soon as the words left my mouth, he nickered loudly and jumped up several times in excitement. I shuffled on my feet, not really knowing what to do. Chloe had obviously left him in for a reason, and I didn't want to mess with any kind of schedule she had in mind, but as I tried to leave, Guinness started crying to be let out again. To keep my sanity in tact, I decided to bite my tongue and put him out into his field. It wasn't far away, and all of the gates were closed, so there was no way he could get out if I lost him. So, I nervously grabbed his headcollar, slipping it over his eyes and ears, securing it tightly. He stayed completely still, not even moving a muscle. I tightened my grip on the lead rope, slowly opening the door leading outside, and then his stable door. I stood to his left, and gave the lead rope a slight tug.