Bird eyed the house and smiled at us. “I think Sarah is having her afternoon nap. This is usually the time that Will does some work around the house, you know, time to himself. I can give you a tour of the ranch first. There will be plenty of time to unpack after.”
I looked at Dex. “Should we bring the camera?”
He looked at Maximus, who in turn looked at Bird.
Bird laughed. “She’s an eager one! It’s probably best to leave that for afterwards, some folk here can be a bit, er, picky.”
His expression on the word picky made me pause. Hesitation noted.
We followed Bird across the dusty paddock and around the side of the larger barn. In the shade of the roof’s overhang, a diminutive man of Latino descent was bent over a bench, hammering some nails into the horn of a western saddle. He didn’t look up, even when we had all stopped in front of him.
Bird cleared his throat. “Miguel.”
Miguel paused ever so slightly, but kept working for a minute. Either to finish the job or to make us wait.
He eventually looked up. His eyes were narrow, as if he prepared to hate us off the bat, his lips set in a dry, straight line that a crowbar couldn’t have pried open. This must be the “picky” one. I’m sure if we did have the camera out, we would have gotten a good Cameron Diaz-style paparazzi beat-down.
“Miguel.” Bird cleared his throat again. Even though he was three times the size of Miguel, it seemed like Bird was a little afraid of him.
Miguel looked straight into Bird’s eyes.
“What do you want?”
I’m not sure if was my imagination or not but I could have sworn Miguel gripped the hammer tighter.
“These are Maximus’s friends, Perry and Dex,” Bird said quickly, with a loud, forced friendliness.
“The ghost hunters, yes?” Miguel said with a trace of amusement. Not the funny kind. He gave Maximus and Dex a quick, dismissive glance then set his sights on me. His expression changed from annoyed to predatory.
“So you’re the girl, yes?” He snarled at me and looked me up and down. Now, I know I was looking all shades of hell which made his lustful gaze even more disturbing. I guess they didn’t get many women out here.
“Easy Miguel,” Bird cautioned. Miguel took a quick step towards me, an uncanny sense of speed at his disposal. He was just inches away, smelling like sweat, dirt and beer.
I tried not to look at him but he made it impossible. Then he smiled.
“You won’t last a day,” he said slowly, exaggerating each word. He leaned in further. I wasn’t sure if he was coming to kill me or kiss me.
Before I could get out of his way, an arm shot out around me and pulled me to the side. It was Dex and I was snuggly pressed up against him.
“My wife would last longer than any of us,” Dex challenged. The term “wife” was jarring to my ears. I had forgotten all about that, again, but I was immediately grateful for my fake husband. He was smiling broadly at Miguel but his eyes meant business. Beat still my heart.
Miguel scoffed and turned back to his saddle. “Just keep out of my way, Birdy.”
Bird nodded grimly and pointed at the smaller barn which was down a bit of a slope and surrounded by spindly corrals. “OK, let’s go see Shan with the horses. He’s a bit more welcoming than Miguel here.”
He walked off and Maximus followed, giving Dex a shrug by way of explaining the situation. Dex took no notice. He kept his arm around me, watching Miguel hammer back at the saddle. He didn’t look up. I wanted to get the f**k out of there but apparently Dex was feeling a bit confrontational. There was now something as equally intense in his eyes as there had been in Miguel’s. I’d seen that look a few times before.
I poked him in the side and gestured at Bird and Maximus and tried to walk in that direction. His arm held me in place, then relented and off we went. We didn’t say anything to each other and as we neared the horse barn, he took his arm off me. I felt both vulnerable and free.
We followed the tall frames of Bird and Maximus into the barn. The happy smell of horses and hay contrasted with the musty darkness. We walked down a row of empty stalls, the doors covered with heavy cobwebs, the interiors looking strangely damp.
One stall had a lone, lit bulb that was swinging subtly back and forth, casting an eerie moving glow on the cruddy walls. I poked my head through the stall, expecting to see an impatient horse inside. There was nothing.
But something in the shadows caught my eye. It was like the shadows were moving. Was it a trick of the light? My eyes? I tried to focus until I picked out a shape.
I saw a pair of yellow eyes, low to the ground. I would have screamed at the sight, or moved, or something, but all I could do was stand there and stare. I felt like I couldn’t look away even if I wanted.
Then they slowly faded into the blackness. It was like they were never there to begin with. With them gone, I felt the weird trance-like sensation leaving my body. I took my head out of the stall and looked down the dark corridor at the three guys. I saw Dex looking in my direction but I couldn’t see his expression.
“Shan?!” Bird called out, his voice echoing against the wood walls. No response. Bird walked further on and said it again.
“Hello,” a raspy voice whispered beside me. I jumped at the sound and jumped again when I saw a man standing in the stall where I was just looking. I almost screamed, in fact I thought I had screamed, but it was caught in my throat and expanded there silently.
The man was only a foot away from me, but again I had trouble focusing on him, as if he was buried in the shadows. His face was blank, devoid of expression, and at times seemed featureless.
But that was ridiculous. He had features. He had a flat nose, a pointy chin, scraggly hairs that made up a beard, black, low brows and high cheekbones. He was maybe 50 years old. He was also native, Navajo I was guessing, with dark reddish skin. I could see these things clearly, when I made myself. But it took effort. When I relaxed my eyes, it was like his features went back to mask-like putty. It was the strangest thing ever.
No stranger though, than his eyes. They weren’t mean like Miguel’s had been but they were hypnotizing. Shades of green, amber and streaks of vibrant yellow made their way to a pinpoint pupil. Maybe these were the eyes I had just seen in the stall. Even though that was impossible.
“Shan,” Bird boomed out. I jumped again. Bird, Maximus and Dex were right beside me. Bird was smiling at Shan pleasantly, but Dex and Maximus were staring at me, wild-eyed.