Page 20 of No Bones About It

The deepening dusk made the actions more intimate than they were, and Garrett talked himself down from taking her hand. Her eyes had shown she was interested as well, but he wasn’t pushing. Instead, he turned on lights in the tack room and in the center aisle. He’d filled the feed and water troughs in all the stalls.

Back out in the dusk, he and Kimi leaned against the fence and talked to the geldings. Kimi stood on the bottom rail so she could see over the top, putting them almost eye to eye.

“Have you named them yet?”

He chuckled. “Nina and her folks popped over this afternoon.”

Kimi laughed. “The girl loves to name the animals. What did she come up with this time?”

Garrett pointed at the shorter gelding with the black socks. “She decided he looked grumpy but that the grumpy demeanor covered up the fact that he was scared. So, he’s Oscar.”

Kimi grinned. “And his buddy? Big Bird?”

“Grover.”

Kimi laughed and turned back to the geldings. “Oscar and Grover. I love it. Nina always sees to the heart of things.”

“Grover here whinnied, and that’s what scared the dog away.”

“I sometimes set out food for him at night, but he hasn’t ventured close enough, and the fox eats it instead. Olaf must sense that you’ll take care of him.”

That punched him in the heart. After a deep breath or two, he managed to ask. “Olaf?”

Kimi grinned. “Nina again. Olaf is a snowman from a Disney movie. He’s a determined and cheerful guy. Nina figured the dog needed some cheerful, and he’s definitely determined.”

“So, Olaf, it is.”

Kimi had seen the grief in Garrett’s eyes as they talked about Olaf. She wondered if he’d had another dog after Shaggy had been killed in the line of duty. She would bet he hadn’t.

But he was an animal guy. More than that, he was a dog guy. Anyone who worked as a K-9 officer was a definite dog guy. He wouldn’t be whole without a dog at his side. But he hadn’t healed enough to let one in. She wanted to help him get that part of his soul back.

An idea hit her. “Do you mind if I leave some food for Olaf on your back deck? If he’s ventured there once, he might come back. If we can get him to trust us, we can get his leg fixed up.”

He nodded but didn’t speak. She could almost hear his grief calling out and remained quiet for a bit.

After a few minutes, Grover turned their way and stepped closer.

Garrett straightened. “I think he wants to head inside.” He grabbed one halter and handed her the other.

Inside the paddock, she stood back as he approached the gelding, talking softly in that deep rumble of his. It brought shivers to Kimi’s skin.

The horse didn’t argue with the halter and even bobbed his headwhen Garrett patted it. Assuming the two horses thought of themselves as a unit, Kimi moved to Oscar and talked him through the process of the halter. He followed to stand behind his buddy at the gate.

Garrett grinned at her as he opened the gate and led Grover across the yard into the barn. Kitty whinnied from behind them, but when Kimi looked, she’d retreated to the far side of the paddock. Like Onigis, the mare had some serious trust issues with indoors.

She’d check on her own horse later, but when she’d left, the goats had been in the stable, and the mare hadn’t been far off. Baby steps.

Garrett had lit the barn with comfortable lighting, not too bright. Cozy evening lighting, which many horses preferred.

Garrett walked slowly down the aisle with Grover, letting him check out the space. At the third stall on the left, Grover angled in and Garrett followed his lead. He grinned over his shoulder and motioned across the hall.

Kimi agreed. These two had clearly bonded, and being able to see each other would be a bonus. She led Oscar forward. The gelding stopped and looked at Grover, then followed her lead into the stall across the aisle. She patted his neck and praised him while she walked him around the space.

Garrett had prepared it with bedding, hay, and water. “You’ve got a good place here, Oscar. All the comfort you could want. You’re going to be happy.”

When Oscar appeared settled, she removed his halter and closed off the stall with the guard that would keep him safely inside while letting him see his buddy across the hall.

The gelding stuck his head over the guard immediately, and she laughed when Grover did the same across the aisle. “I think they’re quite happy.”

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