“Not yet.” I patted B’s shoulder before heading into the tack room. “You wanna ride Ms. No Name?” I hollered through the open door while searching for her bridle.
“I’ve never ridden one before.”
“S’okay. I’ll teach you.”
“Won’t that bother her?”
“No. She’s actually quite friendly and will enjoy the walk.”
Lyra was still stroking the horse as I came out of the tack room. Her gaze shot to the rope in my hand and something like excitement lit her eyes. I chuckled. “This is for Ms. Still Don’t Have A Name. Not you.”
She flushed as I opened the stall and clicked my tongue, guiding the horse out.
“Don’t get close to her backside. Most horses kick, and she’s no different.”
As I moved her horse to the cross tie, getting her prepped for a saddle, Lyra’s color turned deeper.
“You’re makin’ it really hard to not kick myself for giving you my shirt.”
A smile touched her lips, subtle and soft even as she took in the heart she carved on my chest. “I’m liking you without it, at least.”
I grinned as I got to work fitting the saddle on Lyra’s horse.
“Do you know how old she is?”
I titled my head back and forth. “Vet said somewhere between five and seven years old.”
“And Bee?”
“She’s somewhere between twelve and fifteen. Didn’t even have a barn yet when I got her. That’s actually how I met Hayes.”
“He build barns?”
“No, just seems to have an affinity for taking in strays, even when he doesn’t have the room for it. Back then, he was just my tattoo artist’s friend. When Grant called me out of the blue one day, asking if I could take in a horse, they both came to deliver her. Now Hayes has it in his head that I can take in every animal he finds.”
I could hear the amusement in her voice as she said, “And you just let him give you all these animals?”
“I’ve got room. Money. Time. And they keep my mind and hands busy.”
“How many?”
Settling the saddle over the horse's back, I started counting. “Two horses, one rooster, three goats but one is pregnant so four soon, a handful of ducks that stay by a part of the stream I fenced in, and now a donkey.”
Lyra let out a low whistle. “Explains why Jamie wasn’t black and blue all over when I got here.”
I snorted. “These hands have been quite busy lately or else he’d be more black and blue than I left him before. None of that has a thing to do with the animals.” She fell silent as I finished and unclipped Ms. No Name from the cross ties. “Come on.” I stretched my arm out, giving Ly my hand.
“You sure she’s going to be okay with me riding her? I don’t know what I’m doing.”
I lifted my other hand that held the rope. “I’m not going to let go until you’re comfortable.” Lyra nodded once, looking uneasy. “How ’bout I ride her with you?”
Her nod was instant and vigorous. “Yes, please.”
“Hold this for me.” I unraveled the rope and put it into Lyra’s open hand. “Nothin’ bad will happen. Promise.” I jogged ahead to open the gate leading into a small ring I used to warm-up the horses. When I turned around, Ms. No Name was rubbing against Lyra’s side, making her seem lighter than she had in days.
The sound and sight alone made my heart thump wildly.
I let Lyra keep the rope as I guided them both in, then shut the gate and grabbed the step stool. Her brow arched suspiciously. “You use a step stool to get on them?”
