5. My Horses
My Horses
Iwas about ready to drop by the time we finally got home that night. But I had to unload and groom the horses before I could go inside, so on the fuel of a protein bar and the rest of my very cold coffee, I did somehow succeed.
It was nearly ten by the time I made my way in and opened the freezer to look for something to eat.
The market had been a success, I reminded myself.
We’d gotten several new riders signed up for lessons.
It should be enough, I reasoned, to make my next request of Casey reasonable.
It was a request I’d needed to make for a long time, but I’d lacked the courage to actually make it.
But the flash in Asher’s eyes at my stepmother’s behavior that morning had awakened something inside of me, and I knew that I couldn’t delay any longer.
Well, maybe it could wait a few minutes. As I microwaved a frozen egg and sausage sandwich, I could hear that Casey was on the phone in the next room.
“...And we’ll be getting at least three new boarders next week,” she was saying. “Two pleasure horses and one performance. Yes. That’s right. I’ll update all the insurance forms once they finish filling out all the paperwork. Okay, thanks. Goodbye.”
If I hadn’t already been planning on having a serious conversation with her, that overheard phone conversation would have prompted me to make one. As it was, I had to work hard to make my voice casual when Casey joined me in the kitchen a few minutes later.
“So, we’re getting some new boarders?” I asked.
Casey poured herself a cup of decaf coffee. “I’m as surprised as you are. But the family is new to town, and they need a place ready as soon as the horses arrive next week.”
My heart sped in my chest as I drew a breath for my next words. “So I’ll be getting a raise then?”
Casey put her cup down and stared at me blankly.
“The last time we spoke,” I pressed, “you said you’d give me a raise if we got a significant new source of income.” I shrugged. “Not only did we get new riders today, but we got new horses too.”
“Ella,” Casey said, looking down at her coffee with a frown. “You said you wanted me to help pay for your college. Why do you think I’m working so hard to get new clients?”
“I’m only taking one or two courses per semester,” I pointed out. “And you’ve only paid for my books once.”
Casey huffed and shook her head, running a perfectly manicured hand through her hair as though I’d just asked her for the world. “Fine. I’ll consider it.” She met my gaze and held it. “But it will probably have to come out of Derrick or his daughter’s hours instead.”
I stared at her, anger coalescing in my stomach. This was it. This was her punishment for flirting with Asher this morning while I was working.
And yet, it was still somehow even more than that. It was her way of herding me exactly to the place where she wanted me to be.
I whirled around and strode out of the kitchen, doing my best not to let angry tears fall on the way to my room.
And I hated it.
I hated it because I knew that she knew that she had me by the leash. As much as I might want to quit and leave the cursed woman behind, she had my horses.
Well, to be specific, she had my parents’ horses.
And I loved them fiercely. Because when I was with my horses, it was a little like being near my parents again.
We’d raised most of them since they were foals.
Even most of our boarders had been living in our stalls since my parents were alive.
And I knew without a doubt that if I left, my stepmother would hire the cheapest, least qualified stablehand she could find.
She’d probably let Derrick and Brianna go too so she could find cheap labor to replace them as well.
The truth was that if I left, there was no guarantee these horses would be well cared for. I’d learned that the hard way when I’d gone to summer camp as a teen one year, and we’d nearly lost a horse in my absence.
I was stuck. I knew it, and Casey knew it. And there was no way to get out.