Page 17 of Cole's Joy
Cole watched as Lorissa drew in a deep breath and let it out in a rush. “I had made new shoes for Misty a few days ago. Tom showed up here looking for Shelly Atherton, and when I told him I was the new farrier, he questioned my ability to do the job. When I told him I was AFA certified, he backed off. He asked if I could go out to a ranch and work on a horse. He openly admitted that he had done some work on the horse, but wasn’t a farrier.”
“I’ve done that at times,” Cole said with a nod. He looked at Lois with a nod. “We do what we can to make the horse comfortable until the professionals can come in.”
“Exactly, but anyway, I told him I had to shoe Misty before I could do anything. He followed me over to Broken. I did what I had to, then all of a sudden he’s yelling as to why Maxine has a hood over her head, and wasn’t using Lydia and Celine as guide horses.”
Lois looked at Cole with a look of confusion. “Maxine is a horse that was blind, or had very limited sight. Celine and Lydia are donkeys she came with, they guide her when she walked, andMisty is a mule that would lead the pack and cry out if there was anything in the way so the donkeys could steer Maxine away. Maxine is the only horse in that bunch.”
“Got it.”
“Anyway,” Lorissa said. “I told Tom that I thought I saw something and did some testing. I have a very small clinic set up here at the house, and I have a microscope that I can use to run tests. I found conjunctivitis and was able to treat it with a cream. I put the hood over her head to help keep the flies away.” She looked at her grandmother and smiled gently. “There is a screen over the eye holes to prevent the flies from attacking her, but she can look out and see. She’s not blind.”
“Ah, that makes sense. What did Tom do?”
“He yelled that I had no right to over throw his vet abilities, and to get his permission before I worked on a horse again. I told him to talk to Erin if he had a problem with me working onherhorses. He shut up. After I finished with Misty, I followed him to the other side of Fool’s Gold, out to Jared Coleman’s ranch. Anyway, right there in front of this guy I never met, Tom made some backhanded comment, but he was so condescending and arrogant that I toned him out and went to see the horse. When I was done, I talked with Jared, and ignored Tom. That was yesterday. I know I shouldn’t have, but I’ve been stewing about it all day. That’s why Nana called all of you.”
“I only have one question,” Cole said, and braced himself for Lorissa’s look. He held up his hands and shook his head. “I’m just asking.”
“What?”
“Was your diagnosis of conjunctivitis correct?”
“Yes. Before I did anything, I talked it over with Naomi and asked to see Maxine’s medical records. The two of us decided to do the testing, and when it came back, we both agreed on the cream and the hood.”
“What’s conjunctivitis?” Lois asked.
“Pink eye.”
“Horses can get that?”
“Yep.”
“Wow.”
“See,” Naomi spoke then. “When Maxine arrived with her entourage, she was about ninety-five percent blind. She was also dehydrated and malnourished. Those two conditions alone can cause blindness. It took months to get her fattened up, and her eyesight did improve. But not completely. I’m not saying Tom was right in how he spoke and reacted to Lorissa, but I am saying that he’s a very, very busy man. Lorissa was right there, she’s a vet, just like him, and I asked her to look at Maxine. She read the file, took samples, and did what she had to. I backed her up, and I don’t know if he was butt hurt for Lorissa being a woman, or because he didn’t catch it, or because he hadn’t been out to Broken for several weeks.”
“I vote it was his male ego,” Lorissa said angrily as she struck a match and threw it on the pile of junk she had been collecting all day. At the whoosh, everyone jumped back and several women grabbed long sticks to help contain the flames, while the men went to start the grills they had brought. No one spoke of Lorissa’s hurt feelings and anger toward Tom the rest of the night.
By the time the fire had died down to coals, the meal eaten, and good conversations all around, Cole was ready to call it a night. He looked at his watch and was shocked that it was going on eleven. He looked over at Lois, who sat next to him, and said quietly, “As much as I hate to say this, but I need to get going. Five o’clock comes early.” His statement had everyone looking at their watches, and exclaimed the same thing. They all gave Lorissa a hug and several of the men told her they could give her lessons in hand-to-hand combat, but the women laughedat them and said they could do the same thing. It was Erin’s statement that made Cole nod his head in agreement.
“If Tom pulls a stunt like that again, tell him to come see me. I will not tolerate him or anyone, harassing my employees. You did nothing wrong, you did what you were hired for. If Tom has an issue with it, he needs to take it up with me.”
“Thank you,” Lorissa said and hugged the other woman. “Normally, I wouldn’t have reacted like I did, but he did it in front of others, and I felt he undermined my ability to do my job. It pissed me off.” She shook her head sadly as she looked at the others. “I don’t want to have a reputation that I’m not trustworthy from a reputable vet before I can even get started out here.”
“I agree, next time, you can always make something in your fire for him.”
“What?”
“A muzzle?”
Lorissa laughed heartily for the first time, and Cole felt that she was on the mend. As the others left, he turned to Lois.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been over lately. I got caught up in a project.”
“That’s fine. I was just worried when you didn’t answer my texts or phone calls.”
“I’ll remember to keep a fully charged battery in the future.” He smiled then leaned in and kissed the side of her mouth, but she or he, he would never know exactly who it was, turned their head and his lips landed on hers. He kept it gentle, and laid his hand on her shoulders to keep them both steady. When he lifted his head, he smiled at her.
“I’ll see you later?”
