Page 78 of The Life We Left Behind

He gave me the same wry look I knew from Delaney’s face, and his grin stretched wider. I didn’t understand what it was about me fussing around him that was making him so happy. I was just glad he wasn’t finding it smothering.

“I like it here,” he said as he watched Booker ride into the yard with four other horses and Val following him. “Do you like horses?”

“Not as much as Book. But I can ride. I can teach you if you want.”

He nodded quickly. “Yes!”

Booker trotted over on his horse, Doc, and Val darted under the fence, heading straight to Cade’s side. “Might need to get you a horse first. But you can have a go on Doc and see if you like it first. He’s too big for you, but he’s gentle enough for you to see if you want to do more.”

Cade looked around at the other horses, and I could already tell that he was weighing them up. The kid had no fear at all. Even I wouldn’t get on any of those beasts.

“They’re too big as well,” I told him quickly before he could get any ideas. “And they’re not ridable.”

“How come?”

“Because they’re rescues,” Booker said, jumping down from Doc and showing him to a hay net while the others tucked into the feed he’d already put out for them. “They’re still rehabilitating, and even then, most of them probably won’t be able to take a rider.”

“You rescued them?” Cade asked, in interest.

“Yeah.” Booker didn’t elaborate, and I rolled my eyes.

“He buys them from auction out the kill pen,” I explained. Cade’s eyes widened in shock. It sounded horrific, and it was. Maybe he was too young to know about stuff like this, but I was already too far in to turn back now. “When horses aren’t any use to some people, they sell them at auction for slaughter. They’ve usually been neglected, or they’re sick. They sell them for commercial purposes. But Booker brings them back here and helps them get better.”

It was the nicest way I could explain it, but I should have known that Cade wouldn’t be satisfied with half an answer.

“What’s commercial purposes?”

“Dog food. Glue. Sometimes they ship the meat to other countries. A lot you can do with a horse,” Booker answered gruffly.

He had a no-nonsense attitude about a lot of stuff, and we were going to have to have a talk about what was appropriate to say in front of Cade, at least until Delaney had set us some boundaries.

“That’s horrible!” Cade protested.

“Dogs gotta eat, right Val?” Booker said with a shrug. “It’s the way of the world, kid.”

Booker’s dog looked up at him and then leaned against Cade’s legs as if to try to deny it.

“The world sucks,” Cade said sadly.

“Can’t disagree with you there. So, I do what I can to make it suck a little less.”

Cade stared at Booker thoughtfully and then nodded. Damn, Booker was imparting wisdom so easily. It helped that he was a horse hero, and here I was, a boring businessman.

“Of course, your dad has a better mission than I do,” Booker added, and I looked at him in surprise. “I save a couple of horses, but your dad here is going to save this whole town.”

“Really?” Cade asked, turning wide eyes toward me and looking impressed.

My first instinct was to deny it, but the warmth I felt from my son looking at me like I was some kind of superhero was enough to make me want to stand taller.

“I’m going to try to. It’s something me and…your grandpa are trying to do.”

Now that was something that felt weird to say.

Cade looked confused for a moment, and I knew it was the mention of my dad, his grandfather, that had done it. Did he know what my mother had done? He had to have questions, but that was something that felt like Delaney should be involved with. I, at least, needed to know how she wanted to deal with it. I had no problem being honest with the kid and telling him exactly what had happened. But he was exactly that, a kid. And there was stuff they needed to be protected from. Regina Farrington being one.

Then I had a much better idea.

“Ready to go see some more of the ranch?” I asked, and Cade tipped his head to the side in question as he looked around him.“Probably going to need to take the quads to get all the way to the other side and back before your mom gets here,” I added, like it was no big deal.

---