Fuck it,I think. “Redo Nico’s stall. Sift through that pile again, and put some of what you’ve already dumped out back into the bag.”
I turn on my heel and walk back to the barn office. Jenny stops cleaning the saddle she was working on while eavesdropping and follows me into the office.
“What the hell was that about?” she asks, flinging herself down in the seat across from me. We’ve spent many a night in here, gabbing, gossiping, and drinking whiskey from the stash under my desk.
“What part?” I ask, wishing it was acceptable for me to have some of that whiskey right now, even at nine in the morning.
“The part where he said you’d never find a man and you acted like that was something he’d said to you before?” Jenny lifts one delicate, red eyebrow at me.
I sigh, because I know that she’s not going to like the answer to that. “Last night I showed Nathan the bunkhouse and we got into an argument. It ended with him telling me that I’m nothing more than a lonely girl with hay in her hair.”
Jenny screws up her face in anger. “I am going to bust his fucking balls.”
“Don’t worry,” I say. “I basically called him a misogynist and told him he sees women as nothing but pieces of ass.”
Jenny whistles. “Good. But why exactly do you hate him so much, Candice? I talked to him earlier and he seemed fine. A flirt, but fine. A bit too charming for my taste, but perfectly nice.”
“Nathan Booth is anything but nice.” I glance at the clock on my desk and am relieved that my appointment will be here soon. Saved by the bell. “I’ll explain another time,” I say. “I’ve got someone coming by to talk about the adoption process and meet the horses.”
“Aw, I know we’re supposed to want them to get adopted, but I hate it when they have to leave. Who’s ready to go right now?” Jenny asks.
“Probably Nico, Jazz Apple, and Bubba if they want a pony.”
“Lila’s heart will break if Bubba leaves,” Jenny says wistfully. Lila is still a bit young to ride at three, but she loves Bubba with all her heart and we’re hoping he’ll be around for her to take lessons on when she turns five.
Not for the first time, I wish I could keep them all. Every single horse who comes to Star Mountain. If I had endless money, I probably would. At least the senior horses and the ones with special needs, like Nico. He has a wry nose, which is a facial deformity that causes issues with eating and breathing.
“Maybe a millionaire will donate money to us,” I say wistfully.
“Give me five minutes with Nathan and I’ll be able to get you everything in his wallet,” Jenny says with a wink.
“I’m already robbing him in boarding fees.”
I leave the barn office and head out front to meet my appointment. Everyone who wants to adopt a horse from Star Mountain has to visit us in person at least once. We like to make sure that the horses will be good fits for their forever home, and vice versa.
A man in sneakers and jeans is standing by a pickup truck.
“Hi, I’m Candice Wilson,” I say.
“Bill Thompson.”
We shake hands and Bill lets out a low whistle. “You’ve got a grip on you,” he says.
“That’s not the first time I’ve heard that, Bill,” I say with a straight face. “Anyways, why don’t you follow me to the stables, and while we walk you can tell me what kind of horse you’re looking for.”
“It’s for my daughter,” he says. “She’s been riding for a while now and me and the wife think it’d make a good birthday present.”
“That’s nice. How old is she?”
“Just turned fifteen. So she’ll do some of the work looking after the horse herself.”
We head into the barn and down one of the aisles. Most of the horses are turned out at the moment, but I had Tomás bring a few back in so that Bill could meet them.
“That’s great,” I say. “Exactly what I did at that age. Will she board the horse?”
“We think so,” he says.
Well, that’s good. I’m always wary of first time horse owners keeping the animal at home. And besides, horses are herd animals and they need to have friends. It’s not right to keep them alone.
