1. Tammy Darlene Tucker #5
"You'll fail spectacularly," he'd said, that infuriating smirk playing at his lips.
“You can't even break a horse, let alone run a ranch.
This is just another one of your little rebellions.
Remember that time you decided you were going to be a gourmet chef?
Or a professional photographer? The day you tried to paint a wall that God awful shade of yellow.
Like piss. How long did those phases last? How successful were you?"
I’d wanted to scream at him.
Every one of those ‘failures’ had been his doing. Tossing my camera. Deliberately leaving cuts of beef out to spoil. Throwing my beautiful paint out to splatter across the garage floor.
I'd stood my ground, chin lifted. "This is different."
"No, it's not," he'd countered, his voice softening into that patronizing tone I'd grown to hate. "You're just not cut out for this life, darlin'. Come back to the house. Put on that pretty blue dress I like. We'll forget this whole silly conversation."
The rage I'd felt in that moment had propelled me through many disheartening months. Pure spite saw me through every step forward, followed by twenty steps back, through bringing Sassafras home and watching Mystery flat-out reject her in the rudest, horse way possible (giving her his backside and kicking out at her when she dared step closer). I’d clawed my way back to standing every time I’d gotten knocked down.
Every time I’d mucked out a stall or mended a fence or stayed up all night because I was too damn anxious to close my eyes.
To bolster my resolve, I often imagined the look on Derek's face when Sunflower Hills became a premier breeding operation.
Now, watching my hopes literally trot away from each other in the paddock, I wondered if he'd been right all along.
"No," I said aloud, startling Sassafras. "He doesn't get to be right about this."
Mystery wasn't as hostile toward her now, and that was progress. It had to be. I couldn’t think otherwise.
I kicked at the dirt, sending a small cloud of dust into the air. My boots, once shiny and new, were now cracked and worn—just like my dreams for this place. But I wasn't ready to give up. Not yet. Not ever.
I watched the horses for a moment longer, determination hardening my features despite the setback.
Mystery had wandered closer to the center of the paddock, his curiosity apparently overcoming his pride.
Sassafras, though still wary, was watching him with slightly less terror than before.
It wasn't much, but it also wasn’t nothing.
“That's it,” I murmured. “Baby steps.”
Maybe what they needed was a different approach.
Maybe I was pushing too hard, expecting too much too soon.
Or maybe—and this thought landed like a stone in my stomach—I needed a Plan B that didn't rely on these two temperamental equines falling in love on my timeline.
The way things were going now, I'd be in foreclosure before they were even willing to get within sniffing distance.
The vet had mentioned artificial insemination, though that came with a price tag whereas just getting these two to naturally do the deed would be free.
“Ugh,” I murmured, running a hand down my face before resigning myself to accept another disappointment.
I pulled the gate closed behind me, latching it securely.
The sun was beginning its slow descent toward the horizon, casting long shadows across the property.
I headed back toward the house, my mind racing with increasingly desperate plans.
Sell some of the equipment the old owners left behind?
Take out another loan? Find a part-time job in town?
Most of the equipment was rusted and only worked half the time, probably why most of it got left behind.
I’d maxed out my credit options.
Finding a part-time job would mean putting less effort into Sunflower, which would be signing Sunflower’s death warrant. I was putting my all into it right now, and it was barely two steps above a shit hole. If I gave it half effort? Yeah, that wasn’t a solution.
And, even if I tried these options, none would generate enough cash fast enough anyways. What I needed was a miracle—or at the very least, a brilliant idea that hadn't occurred to me yet.
As I approached the farmhouse, its sagging porch mirroring my own frown, I decided.
I would give Mystery and Sassafras three more days—exactly three more chances to overcome their mutual dislike.
And if they couldn't or wouldn't? Well, then I'd have to get creative. I’d bring in a specialist, even if I had to bleed the last of my bank reserves dry. Breeding farms utilized artificial insemination all the time. I was being stubborn and stupid trying to force matters between the two horses. But… I’d wanted to prove that I could do this without help. I couldn’t shake the notion that asking for a hand was the same as failing.
I knew it wasn’t. So, I needed to set aside my pride and do whatever was necessary.
Because one thing was certain—I wasn't going back to Derek. I'd sleep in the stable with the horses before I'd admit defeat and prove him right. Sunflower Hills Ranch might be hanging on by a thread, but it was my thread, and I'd be damned if I let it break without a fight.