Page 24 of Finding Limits

“How much d’ya want for the horse?” I ask Wade when I get back to the yard.

“What? That useless thing?” He stares back at me as if I’ve gone crazy.

“Yeah, ya heard right. How much?” I ask again.

“Mitch, she ain’t good for nothin’. Unless you’ve worked some of that old cowboy magic with her.”

“No, she’s still scared of her own shadow, but I want her.”

“Have you been day drinkin’?” He laughs at me.

“No, I just want the damn horse. Now, are ya givin’ me an interview or making a deal?”

“You really want that fuckin’ horse, don’t ya?” He shakes his head and laughs.

“Yeah, I want it. Now, what's your price?”

“You can have her for what Cole paid.” He still looks confused.

“Done.” I take both horses into the stable and make sure they have water, then call over Hunter when I notice him mucking out the stable where Garrett keeps Thunder.

“How ya likin’ it here?” I ask, watching him take the initiative and loosen my saddle so he can hang it on the wall.

“Well, aside from the flying heads, I’m likin’ it. Tate taught me how to rope a calf, he said I’ve got natural talent. Just need practice. Hell, I’m even thinking about gettin’ one of these bad boys for myself.” He smacks the mare on her ass and almost jumps out his skin when she neighs back at him. “Just got to work on some funds.” He looks a little spooked as he strokes her back to calm down, but he smiles at me all the same.

“No, ya don’t. That horse ya rode out the other day? He’s yours.” I look over to Blaze who’s over in the stall in the far corner.

“What? I can’t accept that. It’s a horse…” Hunter looks at me like I’m crazy.

“You can, and you will. I don’t know if ya figured it yet, but ya can’t be a cowboy without a ride.”

“Is he yours too?” he asks.

“He belonged to my nephew.” I swallow the lump in my throat and it tastes fuckin’ rotten. “He’s a good horse, too good to be used as a spare.” I fight back the tears that are threatening to come.

“I’ve heard about Dalton, I’m sorry.” Hunter hangs his head outta respect.

“Don’t be sorry, just accept the horse and take good care of him.” I don’t wanna be making no song and dance about it. I can tell Hunter’s a good kid, he reminds me a little of Dalton, and having him around is proving to be handy.

“While you're at it, I need ya to take care of her too. Between us I want her ridden every day. She’ll be a challenge, but you persevere with her.” I go to stroke her nose like Everleigh did but she pulls away from me.

“Wade sell her?” Hunter looks surprised again.

“Yeah, he sold her. To me, and I need her to be reliable. I want her saddled up and ready by 5:30 every mornin’ and if I ain’t here, you jump on her and do the best ya can.”

“I didn’t know you trained horses.” Hunter folds his arms over his chest.

“It’s been a while, but you never lose your touch. Remember what I said. 5:30.” I point at him before I leave.

When I get back to the cabin, Everleigh is sitting in my chair reading again and she greets me with that smile that I’m trying to convince myself doesn’t belong to me. The last few days she’s let her guard slip right down and I can’t allow that to make me lose focus.

“I spoke to Skid earlier, he’s gonna up your therapy sessions,” I tell her, trying not to look at her. I need us to go back to having boundaries or letting her go will be too hard.

“What? That's crazy. I don’t need more sessions. I’m getting better. I can feel it. I’ve even been writing in my journal. Don’t you think what’s happened between us is progre?—”

“It’s progress that's leadin’ in the wrong direction,” I snap at her, hearing the spite in my voice and hating how it sounds.

“I said I’d be here for you and I will be, but wakin’ up the way we did this mornin’…” The volume in my voice tapers to a weak whisper. “It ain’t right.”

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