They go down the hill in the dark. What is Hank supposed to do now? Stop thinking about her twenty-four hours a day because they are somehow related? Well, he can’t do that. He’s not going to do that.
“Get off,” Hollis calls when they get to the fence.
Gwen and the horse, who have been walking through the meadow, stop dead when they hear his voice.
“Right now,” Hollis shouts.
Startled, Gwen quickly swings her legs over and gets down. The horse hovers behind her.
Hollis tosses the rope to the girl. “Put it around his neck and lead him out.” He swings open the gate.
As far as Gwen is concerned this guy has a lot of nerve to boss her around, but the horse seems to belong to him, so she does as she’s told.
“That’s dangerous,” Hank says. “She can’t lead Tarot.”
Gwen shoots Hank a look of what she hopes is contempt, but says nothing. He’s gorgeous, she sees that—she’d have to be dead not to. If she was at a mall with her friends back home, they’d probably follow him anywhere. But it’s different here, and Gwen feels as if something major were at stake.
“Take him down the road, then into the barn. It’s too cold to keep him out all night anymore.”
Now that her ability has been put in question by the boy, Gwen ignores the way the older, bossy guy is ordering her around. She’s dealt with bullies before, and she knows you can’t win an argument with his type. She leads the horse down the road, and Tarot follows, mild as milk, all the way back to Guardian Farm. The air is silvery and sharp; Gwen is shivering, but she wouldn’t think of complaining, not about the cold and not about how far they have to walk to reach the Farm.
All the dogs begin to bark when they reach the driveway.
“If you want to ride this horse, that’s fine,” Hollis says. “But make sure you use the right equipment, and put him back in his stall when you’re done.”
Hank is shocked by this magnanimity, it’s not at all like Hollis but he isn’t about to ask any questions. Gwen is trying her best to keep her euphoria in check. It will be just as if the horse really belonged to her.
“Show her where to put him,” Hollis tells Hank.
Gwen follows Hank to the barn, and waits while he opens the door to the first stall.
“He’s hard to get in there,” Hank warns. “He broke one of the dogs’ backs last year, so watch out.”
Gwen pats the horse, and Tarot goes into his stall, as calm as any lamb.
“How did you do that?” Hank asks, following her out of the barn.
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Gwen uses her snippiest tone.
“That’s why I asked,” Hank says, confused. “I would like to know.”
Gwen laughs. “Are you for real?”
She’s ready to laugh again, but then she sees the way he’s looking at her. He’s extremely real, she sees that now, and he’s not like anyone she’s ever met before. Most people are so guarded, but what he feels is right there in his face. He’s not hiding his interest in her, and what Gwen doesn’t know is that he couldn’t hide it even if he tried.
“Let’s go,” Hollis says. He’s in the truck with the engine running, that same old pickup of Mr. Cooper’s Hollis refuses to get rid of, though he could surely afford far better. “I’ll give you a ride home.” Hank and Gwen both approach the truck, which gives Hollis a chuckle. This boy’s got it bad. “You don’t need a ride home,” Hollis tells Hank, who’s hanging around this girl like a lovesick pup, and is left to mope in the driveway when they make the turn onto the road.
The truck smells like gasoline and it rattles when it goes over inclines and through ditches. All the way to Fox Hill, Hollis asks Gwen questions. She figures it’s like an interview. After all, she’ll be responsible for his horse. No, she doesn’t know how long they’re staying, and her father isn’t with them. he’s a professor with too many deadlines to be here, and all her mother’s been doing is looking through mementos from the past.
The way Hollis sees it, this girl is going to assist in keeping March in town until they’re together again. She’s going to be his little helper, and she won’t even know it. She wants that old horse? Fine. Let her have it, if that’s what it takes to get March to stay.
When they get to the top of the hill, and the house is in sight, Hollis pulls over. “I’d appreciate it if you gave your mother a message from me,” he says, in that strange, inhuman voice he’s got.