Chapter 2
Corrine
I stood behind the counter ringing the ranchers, the cowgirls, and even the buckle bunnies up that were in here every other day at a minimum in the afternoons. I worked for Redman’s Feed and Tack store after my first job that ended at three pm three days a week.
It wasn’t that I needed the money, far from it, it was that I hated sitting in my apartment while the walls closed in around me, there was only so much television that one person could handle. Not to mention the shows that came on between the hours of three pm and eight pm seriously lacked.
I was, how should I put it, the last one to always be picked to play volleyball. I was the nerdy geek on the outside. However, what most knew about me, they were completely wrong. No one knew about my love for horses.
Now, I had been wracking my brain for a stable with a stall that would be available to me in the middle of summer. A stable that would have the expertise and the room to hold something that I wanted to call my own.
Four years ago, I had the pleasure of raising a certain horse at a neighboring farm. My parents had lived in town and because my father had helped on a ranch that was only a couple of miles out of town.
I had the pleasure of naming the horse as well. Since the older woman had no living relatives and she hadn’t ever had any children, she had told me that I was like a breath of fresh air around the ranch.
I was eternally grateful that without my knowledge, the older woman had sold her ranch and had gifted half of the proceeds to me on the day that I had turned eighteen and the other half she had donated to St. Jude’s.
To this day four years later, I have yet to even touch the funds.
When my parents passed away in a car accident it seemed that they took the necessary measures to make sure that I was cared for if something ever happened to them.
Luckily after paying the funeral expenses and paying for college, there was still a good chunk of change left over, hopefully, if I found a stable, some of that money would be going towards chasing my other dream.
To reclaim Stormy.
I had been following the sale from Ms. Fletcher’s place along with following Stormy’s path. So far, she has been bought and sold four times because she won’t allow anyone to get near her.
I had almost been arrested once when I grabbed a lead rope and started to hit the man that had dared to use it on Stormy, all because Stormy didn’t want the man blowing cigarette smoke into his nose, who would?
Luckily, I had major luck on my side, the sheriff had been driving by and had seen what all had happened, what all had been going on.
The man had tried to press charges on me, but he had been out of luck that I had been given. I had received a warning however that if I was found doing anything similar then I would be facing lock uptime. But for Stormy, I would dare anything.
In walked the one man that I hoped had a spare stall, I doubted it, but it never hurt to ask. Not to mention this was the last option that was open to me.
And just like normal, he had on his black felt Stetson. Lord what I wouldn’t do to wear his Stetson and be called his, that great of a man, I would more than likely be forever happy.
I finished ringing up the customers that were behind the counter and then I made my way down aisle three where I saw Mr. Denton disappear.
“Excuse me, Mr. Denton?” I called out.
I had talked with this man before who was a pillar in our community.
“Yes.” And just like that when he turned his head, I was dumbstruck by the beauty of this man. Whoever said that thirty-seven was the new twenty-seven had been right on the money. But only with this man.
But I was never allowing my feelings to show. I was content in my life and the way it was going. I had enough change when I was eighteen to last a lifetime.
Even though Mr. Denton was magazine drool-worthy.
“I am inquiring if you have a stall that is available at your stables?” I stood there with my shoulders straight and my chin lifted.
Sure, this big man intimidated some, he also intimidated me, but it was his beauty that always hit me.
It wasn’t his size, even though I had to crane my neck to see up to his chin.
It wasn’t that I was short, five foot three was a normal size however his six-foot-four size was something to be feared.
Not to mention the broadness of his shoulders and the expanse of his chest as it stretched the flannel across his skin. That was something that only my book boyfriends could claim.
No matter what I would do whatever I needed to do for Stormy.
I stood there as I watched him eye me with scrutiny.
“I might have one. Who is wanting the stall? What kind of horse is it?” Mr. Denton answered me.
“It’s for me. There is this horse going up at auction…
and before you start about buying a horse from an auction and the dangers they can bring to other horses; I know this horse.
I helped raise this horse, however, she was sold when the owner passed on.
She’s a mustang, she is four years old. She allowed me to ride her bareback, but anyone else she wouldn’t allow them to even get near her.
She refuses to be tamed, and quite frankly, I don’t blame her, all she needs is to be partnered with. Never tamed.”
As soon as I said my piece, I wanted to retry that entire conversation and judging by the look on the man’s face, I had just lost that stall for Stormy. All the while I watched Mr. Denton raise an eyebrow at my little rant.
The goings-on of the store sounded like a herd of elephants in my ears. I thought I might have missed his reply but no, the man had yet to say something.
I glanced over my shoulder to see if there was a line at the register in time to barely miss the tilt on Travis Denton’s mouth that had formed a little smile.
“Do you have a trailer to go and get her?” That wasn’t what I expected to come out of his mouth, far from it in fact.
“I thought they had a service where they can bring the horse to you.” I had made sure I was correct on everything that I needed to do. I wasn’t going to let Stormy down.
However, I saw Travis Denton shaking his head at me.
“What day?” Those piercing blue eyes definitely had a way of seeing straight down into my marrow.
“The auction takes place this coming Thursday.” Since today was Monday, I had hoped that I had given Mr. Denton enough time.
“I just happen to be going to that auction as well. Can you be at my place at seven that morning? You can just ride with me.” Had I heard him correctly?
I stood there frozen, I had already prepared an answer for when he turned me down and told me that he didn’t have a stall.
Yet when nothing more came to my mind to reply I watched as Mr. Denton went to move past me until I heard him whisper, “Guess that was my payback. It’s not every day that someone can make me speechless.
See you at seven.” That little statement caused the little hairs on the back of my neck to rise and stand on end.
And with that, he was off and to the register to pay for his new mineral blocks.
By the time even the simplest words for thank you were finally ready for me to tell him, he was already out of the store and in his truck backing out of the parking spot onto main street.
As I made my way back up to the counter where the registers were held, I felt as if I were on cloud nine.
“Dang, that man sets fires wherever he goes. Tell me, why is it he only talks to you when he comes in here?” Morgan, the other part-timer, said to me.
I stood there questioning her in my mind. Was that the truth? Did he really only ever converse with me and no one else? He was much too old for me. However, the boys in my generation needed to grow up and stop being complete asshats.
Given that little bit of information, I couldn’t wipe the smile that was on my face for the rest of my shift.
Several of the customers had even asked me why all of a sudden, I was all smiles when most of the time I was nothing but gloomy. My only reply was to say, ‘Just because.’ To be honest those two words couldn’t even contain the excitement I was feeling.
The next day I was sitting at my desk at the accounting firm chewing my nails.
Any time whenever you really wanted something, time seemed to slow by to a crawl.
For the umpteenth time, I stared at the time on my computer willing it to speed by.
However, I was dreading my annual review that would be here before I knew it.
I had been an accountant with Lewis and Michener for the past three years.
It wasn’t the greatest of pay to some, but it took care of my bills and even allowed for me to sock some money away for a rainy-day fund.
Since it was Tuesday, and I didn’t have to work at the Supply store I was going to go ahead and get everything that Stormy would need.
It wouldn’t make for a good horse owner to buy the horse then have to buy everything else. You didn’t bring a baby into the world in that manner.
Wednesday passed by in a blur and before I knew it, I was laying my head on my pillow with dreams of all of the adventures that Stormy and myself were going to explore on that Thursday night.
That morning I awoke before my alarm and for once in a really long time, I didn’t dread having to get out of bed.
Today was going to be great. Nothing was going to affect my mood. Nothing was going to bring my joy down. For today I was going to buy Stormy and give her a forever person and one day, I would be giving Stormy her forever home.
I dressed in a t-shirt and my comfiest jeans and boots. I braided my long red hair and brought the braid over my shoulder.
Since I was seeing a certain man, I even slipped on a little lip gloss and put my only pair of diamond-studded earrings into my lobes that had been the last present my parents had ever bought for me.
With a quick glance in the mirror in my entryway, I grabbed my bag, my tumbler, and a brown paper bag.
With all of that, I was off. However, I paused when I noticed the time, then said what the heck, it was more than likely that Mr. Denton would be up by five am if I knew anything about the man.