Page 45 of Knight Life In Vegas

We pulled up next to Charlotte, Chico, and Eclipse. Her posture was way too stiff. I laid my hand on her ankle, desperate to touch her again, and her lemon meringue scent erupted. “How’s Eclipse treating you?”

“Good,” she squeaked. “He’s lovely.”

“I’m starving. Do you guys wanna get dinner with us?”

“We already ate dinner before the show,” said Sammy. “It’s almost bedtime.”

“Right. Forgot about that.”

Damn it.

“I should get them home soon,” said Charlotte.

I had to forcefully uncurl my fingers, hating the thought of letting her go. “No problem.”

Those words were a fucking lie. Putting pressure on her wasn’t an option, though. If she wasn’t going to come to us willingly, there was nothing we could do.

I turned back to her son. “Do you want to help me get Applesauce ready for bed before you go?”

His little mouth dropped into an O. “Horses have bedtimes too?”

“You bet they do. Come on, I’ll show you.” I led him back into the stables and helped him down to the ground. He watched with rapt attention while I explained each of the pieces of equipment I took off Applesauce. I passed him a curry comb. “Think you can manage some brushing? She loves it.”

Ollie nodded like a little bobblehead. He took the comb and scrubbed her with both hands, fur coming off her in clouds. I worked on the higher areas, combing through her mane and brushing out her back.

“Did you have fun tonight?”

“Yeah! I want to be a knight.”

“I bet you could be when you grow up.”

“Really?” His eyes were wide as saucers with amazement.

“Sure. I think anyone can be one if they love horses.”

“I love horses! How big do I have to be?”

“Let’s say you have to be able to see over Applesauce’s back. Then you’re big enough to take care of her or any other horse you have as a knight.”

Ollie nodded, standing on his toes, but he wasn’t anywhere near tall enough.

“Can I help?” I turned to see Sammy standing there, Eduardo tucking Scout into his stall and pulling off the equipment.

“You bet.” I passed him one of the brushes. “Eddie, can you grab one of my cards from the office and something to write with?”

Eduardo sighed dramatically, but he slipped away to do just that and returned with one of the business cards and a pen. I scribbled down my phone number.

“This is for your mom. If you guys want to learn how to ride, we’ll set up some lessons and I’ll teach you for free. But all of you can call for any reason, okay? Horse questions, knight questions, whatever you want.”

Sammy took the card, tucking it into his pocket. “We need Mommy’s permission to use the phone.”

“Of course. Always listen to your mom, but I want you to have the number in case you need it.”

Eduardo joined us and hoisted up Ollie so he could brush Applesauce’s back. “Saucy has never looked better.”

“Why can’t we brush Scout?” Sammy asked.

“He’s a lot fussier than Applesauce when it comes to his brushdown. Way safer to start you on a more relaxed horse. I’m sure if you come by again a few times Scout will let you when he gets to know you.”

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