The two large barn dogs, Daniel and Jack, a couple of Lab mix rescues, ran to greet her with friendly barks and wagging tails. Both wore expectant looks on their faces, staring at her pocket knowingly. She didn’t disappoint as she reached in for the dog biscuits and held out her offerings.
They gratefully gobbled them up as she laughed, “How do you do that without chewing? I swear you just swallow them whole!” They looked pleased with themselves as they turned and ran ahead, leading the way to their inner sanctum.
The barn was so quiet when she entered that it almost felt like a church. She flipped on the lights and heard the gentle nickering of Mel’s greeting.
“Hi, big boy! I’ve missed you.” She slid open his stall door and stepped in, latching the nylon rope across the entry behind her.
Mel rubbed his head against her shoulder as if giving her a hug, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and just breathed in the scent of him. She immediately relaxed. It was better than therapy, she thought, or, more precisely, it was therapy!
“I’ll be right back. I’m going to fetch your brushes. Oh, and maybe a peppermint or two for you and Jeb.” She stepped out and headed to the tack room, where all the saddles, bridles, pads, lunging lines, halters, grooming supplies, and just about anything horse related you could think of were kept. Also, conveniently, there was a modern, clean bathroom that had been installed about five years before when they updated the tack room.
Flipping on the lights, she glanced at the eraser board to see whether she had messages from either Laura or Jake, but the board was devoid of any notes except for a big heart drawn in red marker with an arrow pointing to the small apartment-sized fridge sitting next to the board. She smiled and opened the refrigerator door to spy what mystery treat was waiting for her. She knew it would be some delectable, edible goodie since Laura was notorious for her baking skills. She wasn’t disappointed to see a huge piece of cherry pie (her favorite) on a paper plate wrapped in clear cellophane. Her mouth was already watering for her after-dinner dessert. Now I just need to come up with dinner, she thought! Grabbing a bucket with brushes and grooming tools, a hoof pick, a handful of horse cookies, and a couple of peppermints, she headed back to the stall.
This time she got a loud whinny from Jeb because he was fully aware that Allie was loaded with munchies. She walked over to the beautiful paint and handed him an oat treat, loving the feel of his soft lips searching for the treat from her outstretched hand. Jeb crunched happily while Allie moved back to Mel’s stall to give him a quick groom, only after he was happily munching on his own cookie.
“Did that feel good, Bubs?” Allie asked affectionately after finishing with the soft brush. She always thought a good grooming was probably as satisfying as a good massage. He let out another snort, followed by a soft nicker.
She decided that she did have time to hop on Mel for a short ride. Leading him into the indoor arena, she didn’t bother with a bridle or a saddle. She jumped on bareback from the mounting block, using the rope on his halter and her seat to communicate with him. It felt great to be on his wide, warm back without a saddle.
After warming up for several minutes, with a slight forward motion of her pelvis and saying, “Canter,” Mel transitioned beautifully from a walk into the big rocking horse gait of a canter. Allie loved his big movements. She sank down and synchronized her body with his, in motion together, as if they were one. They circled around several times in one direction, then switched to go the opposite way. She stilled the movements of her pelvis, calling out, “Trot,” and Mel immediately transitioned. She rode the trot for a few minutes then at a walk for cool down. She cued Mel to stop, patting him, “You are such a good boy!” she said, leaning forward and rubbing his neck under his thick, black mane. She jumped down and led him back to his stall for another quick groom before turning him and Jeb out to pasture.
It was so peaceful here; she didn’t miss city living one iota. Her ex was a city boy and had been insistent that they live there. Allie accommodated him on that and so many other things that she now looked back in wonderment that she hadn’t been aware of the slow erosion of her own desires. At the time, she thought that she was happy. The luxury of being able to devote herself to her passion and work from home felt like a fair compromise. Now she realized that she would never live in the city again if she had a choice about it. Yet, there had been happy times she acknowledged, which had made the end so painful.
Turning the two geldings out, she followed them to the first pasture gate, opening it wide and watching as they took off at a full gallop across the field, Jeb even kicking up his back heels in sheer delight. The horses quickly settled, and soon both heads were down, grazing on some of the last of the green grass for this season. Her beautiful bay and the equally stunning paint were side-by-side, totally content.
Turning back to the task at hand, she secured the gate open so they could get out of the elements and under the overhang if they wished to. She topped off the water trough and, returning to the stalls, picked up a pitchfork and began removing the manure droppings, dumping them into the wheelbarrow and scooping up any wet shavings with the fork.
She loved mucking stalls and barn work. Not only was it good for her head, it was also a great physical workout and kept her muscles toned. Today, however, she felt slightly distracted and restless as her thoughts kept straying to her boss and the intense case they were currently immersed in. It was both stimulating and slightly unnerving. They truly believed in their client’s innocence, but his adversaries were very dangerous men. She wasn’t sure which was more unsettling, the case itself or working so closely with Zane Dunn.
She reached up and massaged her neck and shoulders, easing some of the muscle soreness from the worry as well as the day’s chores. When she was satisfied that the stalls were clean, she added more bedding, refilled the water buckets, threw a flake of both first- and second-cut hay into each stall, and emptied the wheelbarrow into the manure spreader.
By this time, Daniel and Jack had lost interest and were both curled up fast asleep on their beds in the tack room. She took a last mental sweep to make sure anything that should be latched or closed was and anything that needed to be put away was. She grabbed her piece of cherry pie, after drawing a triple heart with a big smile on the white board, turned out the lights, and headed to her car.