Page 17 of For the Love of the Lawyer

"He grabbed a coffee and went to the barn. After he's finished feeding, he's gonna go check on Corky. The vet dropped him off yesterday, and Gramma and Papa have been taking care of him. We didn't tell you because he needed to be quiet after his surgery, but he'll be back to normal pretty soon. Josie can come home today, too. Gramma will probably insist on feeding Mickey, so don't worry about him.” Tim continued his work at the stove.

Jon walked into the kitchen, trying to appear as if he hadn’t heard the earlier exchange. Ryan jumped off the counter, pumping his hand in the air to slap Jon’s once he entered the kitchen. "You keep very early hours around here.”

"I'm sorry, Jon, if we woke you. Mickey seems to sleep like a rock, so we forget about the stomping around we do up here. I hope we didn't wake Ronni. I doubt she's used to getting up this early.” Tim glanced over his shoulder as he stirred scrambled eggs.

"Nothing to worry about. I get to the gym by six to work out before I go to the office. My work isn't exactly physical like yours, but I'm not a stranger to early mornings or late nights. Tell me what I can do to help.” Jon was sincere in his offer. He helped at his parents’ house when he went out for weekends.

Tim filled a large thermos with coffee and pulled a pan of muffins from the oven, spilling them into a basket. He turned to Jon and smiled. "If you'd take these down to the barn office and leave them on the desk, I'd appreciate it. I'll have breakfast ready by the time you get back."

Jon nodded and sat down to put on his Cole Haan boots. "Whoa! Those are far too nice to go sloppin' down to the barn. What size you wear?” Matt asked.

"Twelve.” Jon heard Tim giggle.

Matt stood from his seat and smiled. "Me too. You can use my other pair of muck boots. It rained overnight. Just tuck yourjeans in, and leave 'em on the deck when ya come back. I'll hose 'em off later.” Matt led Jon out to the back porch where there was a metal tray of boots waiting.

Matt handed him a pair of black rubber boots. "I'm glad you were prepared for that little showdown last night. I was fightin' for ya, man. Tim wasn't sure you could hold your own against Ronni, though he didn’t think she’d be able to handle everything we’re doin’ on her own. She’s been managin' his trust for a few years, so he thought maybe she'd be best at handlin’ the changes we’re tryin’ to make. I didn’t want to take the work away from ya, so I'm glad we had a good showin'. Sometimes Timmy don't think I know about stuff because I didn't go to college, but I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. Great job.” Matt gave Jon a hearty clap on the back.

"I've got it under control, Matt. I'll figure out a way to establish a working relationship with Ms. Turnberry to suit you and Tim. She doesn't scare me.”

"Good." With that, Matt walked back into the house, leaving Jon standing on the porch with the basket of muffins and the coffee.

After a deep breath, Jon walked toward the barn, and after craftily maneuvering the few gates, he opened the barn door, hearing a horse pawing the floor.

That was a sound Jon was used to hearing. His large gelding, Hercules, was still at the farm in Dillwyn, even though he hadn't ridden him in at least a year. He missed the horse, and as he thought about it, he remembered a lot of good times at the country house.

His mother had a penchant for hiring hot stable hands, and though he'd only found a few he'd have considered fucking—if not for the fact his mother would have killed him—they were all pretty to watch.

After dropping off the muffins and coffee in the barn office, Jon walked down the hallway to see where all the racket was coming from. He saw a majestic stallion with a beautiful mane and tail, along with a glorious, black coat, pawing the stall floor.

Jon snapped his fingers and whistled, getting the stud's attention. "What's wrong?"

The horse slung its head over the stall door, snorting. Jon looked inside to see the grain box was full, along with the hayrack. There was an automatic water fountain in the corner, and as he surveyed the surroundings, Jon was impressed. The barn wasn't as big as the one at his parents' place, but it was well-appointed.

Jon rubbed his hand over the horse's nose and forehead. "You're a beauty.”

The stallion was a surprise. In that small barn, Jon hadn’t expected to be greeted by such a striking animal. Watching the horse in his large stall led Jon to believe the stallion had an impressive pedigree. He could appreciate the majesty of such an animal.

His mother owned horses with impressive bloodlines, but Jon hadn’t seen a gaited stallion like the one slinging its head in front of him. The animal was restless, but he was still well-behaved.

“Hey, fella. You’re a beauty. You’d like to be outside, wouldn’t you?” Jon spoke calmly to the stallion after it snorted at him while he scratched the animal’s bridge and forehead. The stud seemed to calm and moved his head in time with Jon’s scratching.

"Ah, you can charm horses as well as cowboys, little boys, and female lawyers?" Jon turned to see Mickey walking into the barn hallway with a dog in his arms.

“Not as well as you, but I have my own way of getting along with animals. Who’s that?” Jon asked as he pointed to the dog in his arms.

"This is Corky. He's our resident farm mutt, but he's Ryan's best friend. He just had done to him what Matt did to those calves yesterday. He's healed up, but I still feel for the poor bastard. I sure wouldn't want anybody doin' to me what they did to him.”

Mickey nuzzled the dog. It was so ugly it was cute, and it was then Jon remembered something from the custody hearing.

"He was the bait, right? That's what Roberta used to keep Ryan content after she picked him up from school.” Jon hated blaming the poor dog for something not its fault.

Jon wasn’t happy he’d allowed his temper to take over, but he'd disliked Roberta Collins from the very first moment Matt had told him about their marital situation. In the back of Jon’s mind, he wondered if Ryan was really Matt’s son, but looking at the two of them together, he was certain his suspicious nature got the best of him. There was no way Ryan wasn’t the son of the bull rider.

Mickey kissed the dog on his head before he gingerly placed it on the floor of the barn hallway, holding onto the leash. "From what I heard, yeah. I can't hold it against him, though. He was an unwillin' party to that shit, as was Ryan. The boy still feels bad about goin' with his momma and leaving his daddy behind.

“Matt and Tim have talked to some doctor about sittin' down with Ryan ‘cause the boy has nightmares sometimes. The things people do to each other, huh? It’s no wonder people wanna commit murder. It makes me sick to think about it.” Mickey’s face was somber, just as Jon expected. Nobody wanted to see a family crumble.

Jon nodded in solemn agreement. He'd seen his fair share of the damage people could do to each other. It was one of the reasons he didn't believe in marriage.

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