Page 20 of In the Dust

“And what question is that, Dix?” He looks at me, shifting his weight to his other leg.

“Why her?”

He runs his hand across his chin, scratching his beard. “She keeps me occupied.”

I scoff, “I bet she does.”

“Why him?” He chucks his chin in Brad’s direction.

“He’s safe.” It’s not a good answer, but it’s the truth. “He won't hurt me.” I turn to watch Brad as he wipes his face, flicking his hand to remove the excess water.

“Safe?” He laughs. “That’s one way to describe him.”

I roll my eyes, which seems to be a common response to most things that come from his mouth. “Knock it off, hotshot.”

He turns to me grinning. “Now, we both know your dad’s the only hotshot around here.”

He’s not wrong; my Dad’s a hotshot firefighter. He’s a part of the wildland crew here in the south, which is why he couldn't help as much on the farm and why I’m here now …

Whenever I catch a glimpse of Brad, it reminds me of the city. I wish I could say I was mad about being home, but I’m not, especially now that I’m here. Of course, there are things I miss about New York, but there’s nothing like being home.

Plus, it’s just for the summer.

Brad walks up and slaps my ass as he slides past me to enter the stall. My cheeks flush from his flirtation and when he starts shoveling the manure into the wheelbarrow, I discreetly look in Colton’s direction. He turns away before I can see the jealousy swirling around him.

I let out a sigh and walk over to Pixie. I secured her in the aisle-way so I could brush her before saddling her. I’ll need to give her a bath tomorrow.

“Done!” Brad exclaims as he finishes replacing the bedding in the stall.

“Didn’t know it was a competition.” I set the brush down and walk over to his stall. I notice a minute amount of shavings on the ground. “You need at least double the shavings you have in here. The water and feed buckets need to be filled, and you need to sweep this section clear so we can lay down some hay.”

He gives me a determined look. We exit the stall and I show him where we keep the feed. I go and grab the hose to fill the water buckets for him. By the time I get back, Brad has the grain bucket full and a decent pile of hay in the corner. Of course, Colton finished a few minutes before him.

Afterwards, I go to grab my dad’s horse at the back of the stables. I haven’t been back here since I’ve been home. As I walk up to Texas’s stall, Colton walks out of the neighboring one with a beautiful midnight black stallion. “Whose horse is that?” I gasp.

Colton peaks around the black beauty and smirks. “Mine.”

You have got to be kidding me.

“If your horse was here this whole time, why didn’t you just ride him the other day? And why would you steal my horse and rename her?” I can’t believe him.

“Must’ve slipped my mind.” He winks. “You were gone anyways, and I didn’t know you were coming back. Someone needed to care for her, so I took over.”

I scoff, “Whatever.”

I grab Texas and lead him to where Pixie is so I can walk Brad through saddling a horse. “I’ve already brushed Pixie, so you can go ahead and put a pad on her.”

I swiftly run a brush over Tex before slapping his padding over him.

“Now, flip the right stirrup and girth strap over the saddle.” I show him with Texas’s saddle. “Pick her up and swing her over your horse from this side.”

Once Brad gets the saddle onto Pixie, he watches me situate the one on Texas. I show him how to tighten the straps and secure them before I go and grab the bridles.

“That wasn’t so bad,” he announces matter-of-factly.

“And you actually beat Colton,” I reveal as Brad peaks over at him while I double check his straps.

Before heading out to check the fences for any open areas or broken sections, we feed the chickens and gather eggs. Of course, Brad and Colton were trying to see who could gather up the most eggs. Not that we have enough hens for a great competition.

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