Chapter 13 #2
His clothing didn’t look brand new anymore, a testament to his dedication to try and be a better horse person. He sat there on my couch as if he belonged there, petting a barn cat who couldn’t have been happier about the attention.
Carter realized I’d stopped typing and lifted his gaze, smiling when he saw me watching them.
“Ready?”
I smiled back. “Yeah, let’s go get your girl.”
We went downstairs to fetch Ramona from the paddock where she’d been for a few hours after her breakfast.
When we got to the gate, I handed the rope halter and lead rope to Carter, making him stop in his tracks.
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep the others at bay. You’ve seen us do this so many times you should have some clue.” I said the last bit a little teasingly, hoping to lighten his nervousness some.
I stopped with my hand on the gate latch when I realized he was actually nervous.
I put my hand on his arm. “Hey, take a deep breath.”
He did as I told, letting a big shuddering breath out, then shook himself a little. “Okay, okay.”
“You can do this. Take a look at the halter.” I turned so he knew I wasn’t going to go inside the paddock yet.
He held the halter in his hands and turned it awkwardly, not used to it whatsoever.
“Now you see where there’s that loop? That’s on the bottom, it’s where you attach the lead. You have the long bit, yeah, that. It goes over the neck, behind the ears, and then you tie it to… yes, right there.” I smiled. “Does it make sense now?”
“A bit more. Can you still help me out?” He was nervous, but less than before.
“Of course. She’s a good girl, so she won’t cause a fuss. You can bribe her first, too.”
For a second, Carter frowned, then he chuckled and patted his pocket. “I remembered the candy.”
“Excellent.”
I opened the gate and looked at the horses who were all little ways away. “Let me call her this time. She’s used to me coming to get her.”
At Carter’s nod, I called out to Ramona, who snapped her head up and looked at us curiously, her jaw working on the grass in her mouth.
“Come on, girl!” I watched as she considered, then started toward us. “There you go. Good girl.”
She walked over, and Carter handed her a peppermint, patting her neck. “Hey, girl. I hope you don’t mind some fumbling first thing in the morning….”
I smiled as I watched them interact. She realized she was going to go somewhere, and stood still while Carter tried to figure out the halter again.
“You can put the lead rope over her neck, so she knows she’s supposed to stay still,” I murmured, and watched as he did it carefully. “She’s not going to break.”
He let out a breathy chuckle. “No, I know. It’s just new.”
“I know,” I echoed him. “Just let me know if you need help.”
With some assistance, he managed to get the halter on her, and I showed him how to make an easy knot to hold it closed. Then he clipped the lead to the loop and beamed at me.
“Well done,” I said honestly. “Now let’s get her to the outdoor arena.”
He was a bit stiff as he walked her out of the paddock and then waited while I closed the gate behind us.
I guess someone arrived at the main house, because suddenly Juanpablo started to bray out of the blue, and Ramona snapped her head up, startled.
“Whoa there,” Carter blurted out, his eyes wide.
“She’s a good girl, she won’t bolt easy. And she knows what the donkey sounds like,” I said gently as I walked past them toward the arena.
She moved with me more than she did with Carter, but at this point I didn’t mind.
Once we had them in the fenced in area, I told him to let her off the lead. Then I went to the little storage area and got out a big exercise ball.
“Hey, Ramona?” I called to her, and her attention went to me immediately. “Remember this?”
As Carter watched, his mouth hanging open, I tossed the ball past the mare.
She snorted and whirled around, careful not to trample Carter, and chased the ball like a dog.
Carter let out a laughter that belied his disbelief at what he was seeing. “What the hell?”
“I discovered she likes toys the other day. I thought you might want to play with her.”
I grinned as he watched her nudge the ball with her head. Then she kind of kicked it with her front leg, sending it away, and trotted after it.
Carter looked at me, his expression taking about thirty years off his age. “This is awesome!”
“I know. Now go kick the ball away from her toward me.”
And that was how we ended up playing soccer with a horse for about half an hour.
Once she started to show signs of losing interest, I grabbed the ball and took it back to the shed. When I came back, Carter was murmuring to her, feeding her peppermints like it was his job.
“How about we take her to the wash stall and I show you how to cool a horse down? Not that she needs it right now, but we might as well.”
He clipped the lead back to her halter, and we started toward the gate.
“All of these things are important to build a relationship with her. Just like going on walks with her, every time you groom her or spend any time with her, you’re making an impression. She’s relaxed with you now, and I’d like to keep it that way,” I spoke as we made our way inside the barn.
“That makes sense. And I assume it can go the other way, too? If I fuck up somehow?” He didn’t sound too worried, which was good.
“Yeah, of course. It’s easier to mess up with a young or abused horse, but you’d have to do a lot to make Ramona distrust you for more than a moment.”
“I hope it never comes to that.” He guided her into the wash stall and looked around curiously. “I don’t think I knew this was here.”
“Yeah, it was a later addition so it’s a bit hidden behind the feed room.”
He clipped her on the cross ties, and I grabbed the extendable hose, turning it on slowly so she had time to adjust.
I hosed her legs, talking about the importance of good hoof care and what to watch for with horses’ legs in general.
“There’s an old saying that a horse is only as good as its feet.”
Carter hummed. “That does make sense. They’re big animals with a lot of weight on the legs.”
“Exactly.” I handed him a hoof pick and he pretty easily checked her hooves, holding onto one front hoof while I explained what to watch for there.
Once we were done with her, he gave her another candy and she crunched on it happily while I made sure everything was neatly back in its place.
We took her back to the paddock, she gladly joined the herd again.
“If we’d hosed her down completely, I would’ve put a drying rug on her and left her inside for a bit, since it’s not that warm today. You should add different types of rugs to your research,” I said as I closed the gate behind us.
He pulled out his cell and either made a note or sent a text to his PA. It was still amusing to me somehow.
“It’s about lunchtime. Do you want to join us at the house?” I asked him while we walked into the barn again.
“Uh, thank you, but not today. I have a business call I need to make in about an hour and I need to be on my laptop for that.” He looked genuinely apologetic.
I led the way to the little washroom near the main barn doors. I washed my hands, blocking his way to the sink, and he playfully pushed me aside with a hip nudge.
Oddly elated, I laughed out loud, then flicked some water at his face without thinking, and he looked at me like… like I was something special.
I could see it in his eyes, the fondness and the attraction we had agreed to not act on.
Smiling awkwardly, I dried my hands on one of the hand towels hanging by the sink and then murmured something about lunch.
“Hawk—”
“I’ll see you tomorrow or whenever you come by next.” I ducked the hand reaching for me and stepped out of the small space.
Then I escaped my own barn, leaving him to dry his hands in peace.