Page 5 of Tom's Chance
Lorissa frowned and cocked her head to the side in order to think back to those days. “I don’t think so, it was when one of the entitled bratty kids wanted to see their horse, or when they wanted to get away from the city. It did keep the stable owners on their toes so if they were going to try anything, they didn’t have a chance.”
“I know I should have discussed this with you the week you and Lois were out here, but what did the stable owners say when you gave them notice?”
“Nothing, which surprised me. Luckily, my contract was coming to an end with them, and I didn’t have to negotiate the terms I wanted for the next year. I had a year-to-year contract with them.”
“What were you going to negotiate? If you don’t mind my asking?” Erin watched as Lorissa continued working on the horseshoe, and was fascinated by theprocess. She remembered as a little girl when she came over here with her father she’d watch Mr. Atherton work. She shook her head when Lorissa spoke.
“They had me exclusive to them. My contract stated I couldn’t work for anyone outside of their three stables. One time someone came to me to see if I could check out his horse’s hoof. It was bad, and really needed my attention.”
“Oh god, I’m afraid to ask, but what did your boss do?”
“They told him that if I was to work on his animal, then he had to pay for a three-month boarding fee up front. Only once it was paid would I be able to work on his horse. The guy was so desperate he did it, and the horse ended up having to be treated for at least a month because it was so bad. I never saw any of the money from the vet bill for that. They said the payment for services were in my salary.” Lorissa told Erin what she made and paused when Erin stumbled back.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Erin asked in anger. “What you just quoted me, how long was it for?”
“A month. I had to learn to budget smartly, because I was only paid once a month. They provided a cabin, but I had to pay rent and utilities in order to live there. Plus, all my own groceries, and other living expenses.”
“Wow, they sound like they were gold diggers. Your monthly salary you quoted me is what you’ll be earning weekly here.”
“No way.” Lorissa was shocked at her statement. “How much for rent and utilities?”
“Nothing for rent, because I don’t want to leave these houses empty, but I would ask you to pay utilities and then your own living expenses.” Erin reached out to catch Lorissa when she stumbled, then laughed. “So, which house did you take?”
“Mom and Nana informed me that I am to take the big house, Nana took the double wide over by the greenhouses, and Mom and Duane are staying in the other double wide. Does it make a difference?”
“Not at all. I’m hoping that you guys will stay here and maintain the upkeep of the houses. As you know, you have full use of the blacksmith barn, and I see you’re using it. I don’t expect any of you to do anything else with the rest of the land. Leave that to me.” She looked at Lorissa with a gigantic grin. “Outside the five acres here that the houses sit on, I’ll be using the rest of the land for hay. I have a lot of horses to feed, and these extra five thousand acres will come in handy for that. I want you to live in the house and treat it like your own. There is no mortgage, so that’s why I’m not charging you rent.”
“That’s terrific. I can wrap my head around that.” She finished what she was doing and started shutting everything down. “Do you know if there are files onthe horses? I’d like to go over them. I do have one question though, and before I go any further, we need to discuss it.”
“What’s that?”
“Am I a farrier or vet for you?”
“Both?” It was answered as a question, then Erin sighed heavily. “First and foremost a farrier. I have no problem with you working with other ranchers. The only problem I would have is if you neglected one of my horses to go work on theirs. I’m not being a bitch, but my horses come first.”
“I totally understand and agree with you on that. I promise I won’t neglect your horses.”
“Good, now, I have a veterinarian, he’s great. His name is Tom Stolls and he’s been my vet for a long time. He took over his practice from his grandfather. However, I know he’s stretched thin.”
“How so?”
“Not only does he come here to do his vet duties, but he also controls Riceman Stallions. He does that once a month, and lately the work has been piling up. That’s not his fault, that’s mine because I don’t want anyone else to do what he does. It’s hard to explain. Anyway, besides doing what he does for me, he has a practice in town, and he’s the large animal vet for the surrounding ranches.” Erin drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m not going to replace Tom, and I need to sit down and talk to him about it, but if you see or hear of any of my horses having a problem, ifyou can fix it as a vet, do it. I will handle Tom, and maybe the two of you can work together for Riceman Stallions?”
“What is Riceman Stallions? Isn’t the stallions you have called Erin’s Way?”
Erin laughed so hard she had to wipe the tears from her eyes. “Let’s just say that Riceman Stallions is an eye opener. It was something I started about a year after the accident that I lost my hand in. It is strictly on-line.”
“What is it?”
“Basically, a dating app for the horses. I set up a website with photos of the stallions and their lineage. I have people from all over the world requesting sperm from them. It started out that when I got out of the hospital some horses rejected me when I still had my bandages on. Some didn’t react at all. The guys convinced me to wait until I had healed, but we kept the horses that rejected me in a different barn. I would approach them over time, and they still rejected me. Tom was here one day and saw it. I told him that I would have to sell those horses, because there was no way I could put my life in danger while I tried to work with them.” She shook her head sadly. “They would rear up and try to kick me.”
“Not a good working relationship if a horse does that.”
“Exactly, anyway, Tom made a suggestion, the guys liked it, and they set it up.”
“What type of suggestion?”
“He suggested that we take sperm from them, freeze it, and sell it online.”
