Page 5 of Big Booze Boss

"It doesn't matter, sweetie. I'll be fine." I pulled her hand out of her mouth.

"Brandon said all you need to do is get there. Everything else has been taken care. He said to take an Uber from the airport. You won't need transportation. There will be a vehicle for you to use."

"Great!"

"I'll text you the key code to get in the house."

081469

A flash of movement catches my eye, and my head snaps to see what animal it is.

Being from Florida, I'm not exactly a city mouse, but I'm not altogether a country mouse either. Montana has much bigger and scarier animals in the woods.

Oh! It's a foal!

Across the huge pasture on the edge of the tree line, a single little horse leaps. Kicking its hoofs, spinning, jumping adorably. I smile and relax. It sprints away back over the hill out of sight.

Wow! How cool was that?

I pull my luggage along, feeling much better about this place.

Blaze

Mooky Duke comes flying back down the slope. I'm amazed at how fast he's grown. This is the last week of bottle-feeding him. Although I've not minded, he's been a welcome distraction while my thumb heals, I'm ready to put his milk in a bucket and let him drink when he wants to eat.

Jogging up the incline, he trots beside me. On the flat ground, I gradually increase our speed until I'm running as fast as I can, and he's galloping easily next to me. Stretching my stride out, holding it at top speed, I sprint to the far end. Pushing my endurance until my breath forces me to slow down. I bend over sucking air while the silly boy runs circles around me. He sticks his nose in my ass and pushes, making me fall forward. Then he takes off without me.

Summer

What the hell? For real? There's a man running with it!

They are too far away to see much more than the man is wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and that he's fast enough the foal has to gallop to keep up! I watch the two in the wide-open space enjoying how cool this moment is.

When the man stops at the other end, he bends over to breathe, and the playful horse pushes him over. I laugh out loud when the foal darts away. I drop my backpack and leave my luggage in the middle of the road, and walk over to the fence rail to enjoy the free spirit of the little horse playing so joyfully. The man stands up, watching the foal too.

It runs back over the hill out of sight, only to reappear seconds later, stretching its little body out and running as fast as it can back to the man.

What a special relationship they have.

When the man turns toward me, I raise my hand to catch his attention, but he doesn't see me. He's too far away.

Blaze

I jog back, laughing at the goofy antics of my happy, healthy colt. Prancing like a prince, then kicking his heels up, bucking, jumping, and playing, he has my undivided attention. Until I realize a woman wearing a bright red mini skirt with a white top is leaning against the fence railing watching him.

Where the hell did she come from?

I squat down to avoid being seen, so I can observe her.

What the hell is a woman doing here? If she's a reporter looking for a scoop on my injury, I'll send her nosy ass packing so fast her head will spin.

But how did she find me? The deed to this place isn't in my name. My bar franchise bought it to conceal my identity from the public, and at the moment, even my ownership of the bar franchise isn't public knowledge.

That's odd. Where is her vehicle parked?

Who the hell would walk the mile up the private drive with my No Trespassers signs clearly threatening their life?

Mooky Duke spots her too, and comes barreling to me. He pulls up as fast as his inexperienced long limbs will allow him to, and I rise to comfort him. He circles behind me, hiding.

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