Page 33 of Back in the Saddle

She nodded. “Thanks.”

“When you’re finished, come to the office to fill in your paperwork.”

I looked at my watch as she drove away. Lorraine would be waiting for me at the crush. I rushed inside.

“Fran, Sofia is going to unpack and then come in to fill out her paperwork.”

“She should have filled it out first,” Taylor said.

I swung my head in the direction of her voice. I hadn’t seen her standing at Fran’s desk. Fran mouthedsorry.

“She won’t be long,” I said.

“Really? What if she gets sidetracked? What if something happens in the meantime?”

I clenched my teeth. I couldn’t fucking believe her. She always had to be in control.

“Would you like me to take the paperwork to her now?” My voice was terse.

Taylor shook her head. She opened her mouth and then snapped it shut.

“Fran, let me know if there’s a problem and I’ll follow it up.”

“OK.”

I turned on my heel and stormed out.

Fuck me dead. Taylor was right. I should have got all the paperwork signed first. But I’d been too fucking distracted by Taylor, thinking about how we’d woken up and how she’d apologised. The words ran through my head over and over again. Her jealousy and worrying about losing me made no sense. She’d made no attempt to reunite in all the time we’d been apart.

And now her words had me wondering if she wanted to stay married and that had me all kinds of confused. I didn’t want to hope for something that was impossible.

I gripped the steering wheel, my knuckles turning white. “She just can’t let go, can’t let other people make decisions that don’t match hers.” I shoved my left foot against the footrest so hard my butt lifted off the seat. “She could have texted me to tell me it was a problem. But why do that when she could chew me out in front of someone?”

I arrived at the crush and stared at the steel rectangle box that was like a cage for a horse. The horse would walk in until its chest hit the bar at the front, and the door would close behind it, restricting its movement backwards and forwards. The door was open at the top and enclosed on its bottom half and covered in rubber to protect the horse. The steel bars on either side kept the horse contained, meaning horses and people were kept safe.

The team had brought the horses into the yard, and Rachel and Lorraine were talking. I released muscle by muscle, starting at my toes, and got out of the car. Lorraine broke off as she watched me approach.

“Sorry, I’m late. Are we ready?”

Rachel nodded as she put gloves on. Lorraine grabbed a mare and brought her into the crush. I locked the gate behind her, then handed some Chux and iodine to Rachel. She soaked the cloth and cleaned the mare’s vulva.

“I can remember your face the first time we cut open a caslick,” Lorraine said.

“Was it the same as when I first saw one put in?”

Lorraine laughed. “I think they were on par. But now you’re an expert.”

I stoodbeside Taylor as she handed Dan the vet a cloth covered in yellow liquid. A mare who’d recently been covered by a stallion stood in the crush; her foal was in a smaller one right next to her. We were standing behind her.

“Dan is going to wipe down the mare’s vulva with iodine. It will clean the area and prevent an infection.”

He wiped the cloth dripping in iodine over the area. There was no gentleness involved as he wiped forcefully in all the nooks and crannies. He grabbed a needle off a table. “This is a local which will help.”

“Why does she need a local?” I asked.

Taylor had neglected to tell me exactly what a caslick procedure was.

“Are you squeamish, son?”

---