Page 16 of Silent Deception
Cody was clearly thrilled. Kristin felt...stunned.
“Cool! Can we ride now? Which one is mine?” Cody launched himself up onto the split rail fence and hooked his elbows over the top. “Can I have the tan one?”
“Boots is a buckskin, son. I figure you’d best ride Rebel, the sorrel. He’s been around the world with kids on his back. No surprises with that’n.” Nora tipped her hat back with a forefinger and studied him.. “Did your momma teach you how to ride yet?”
His eyes veered away from the horses and met Kristin’s for just an instant. “Sorta.”
Her head still reeling, Kristin gathered her thoughts. “I think there’s been a mistake. We’re not really ready for this, and I’m not sure I can afford—”
“Pshaw!” Nora snorted. “You needsomethingto graze down all these acres. And what would your daddy say about you coming back here, clear out in the middle of God’s blessed country with your boy, and not have some horses in your barn? You were on Teacup before you could walk.
Remembering her first ancient, arthritic pony, Kristin couldn’t help but smile. “True. But right now, money’s tight, and I haven’t checked the fencing, and I just don’t think—”
“Mo-om!” Cody cried, looking between her and Nora. “She’s gonna let us have them.Pleeeaasse?”
Nora leveled a long look at Kristin, then slowly shook her head in disgust. “Bless her heart, RaeJean didn’t tell you. I swear she doesn’t have the sense the good Lord gave a cactus. I figured she’d see you around town, and she was supposed to tell you I was coming over one of these first days.”
RaeJeanwasa little absentminded, but at the thought of causing additional friction between her late father’s sisters—who tended to bicker anyway—Kristin scrambled for the right thing to say. “I went to see her yesterday, but she was busy, then we left and I just forgot to call her later. My fault, really. Totally mine.”
Nora harrumphed and exchanged glances with Luis. “I suppose...we could take these horses home.”
“Mom, please!” Cody jumped off the fence and ran to grab Kristin’s hand. “I’ll do the chores. I’ll do everything, honest.”
Kristin held back a sigh. “What’s the story on these geldings?”
Luis chuckled. “Your aunt, she did a favor for these fine boys. They belong to this place but couldn’t stay without someone here.”
“Theybelonghere?” Mystified, Kristin studied the horses through the fence. If not registered quarter horses, they were certainly the type with broad, muscular hindquarters and powerful chests.
“Foaled on this very property ten years ago,” Nora said briskly. “This piece once belonged to an old cowboy who’d saved up enough to retire on a little place of his own.” The note of affection in her voice suggested that they might have been friends...or more. “Jim broke these boys out nice and gentle, and rode them most every day. Two years ago, his heart gave out. Had no relatives, so the sheriff asked if I’d take the horses and his dog. The land was bought out by the K-Bar-C investors.”
“There’s a dog?” Cody scanned the yard. “What kind? Did you bring him, too?”
“Border collie. Ole Scout is probably asleep under the tractor back home.” Nora pursed her lips, considering. “You two are out here alone, so you need a dog in case someone comes sniffing around. I’ll drop him off.”
“Yes!”
“No,”Kristin said quickly. “Not right now, anyway. And about the horses—I just don’t have the money right now to buy them, much less pay for a shoer and vet and feed.”
Crossing her arms, Nora looked exasperated. “Missy, you’re getting them forfree.You got twenty acres here, with some good grassy bottom ground. They’re both easy keepers, and they’ve been barefoot from day one. You know as well as I do that you can do your own paste worming and vaccinations. And you do need a dog.”
Cody’s eyes widened. “Wow! This isawesome!”
Kristin shook her head. “You’ll be in school all day and I’ll be working. It just isn’t fair to leave a dog alone in the house all those hours.”
“But I don’t have any friends here. Can’t I have a dog? We’ve got lots of room. And just think how cool it would be for you and me to go riding, Mom,” Cody pleaded. “Please?I’ll...I’ll do dishes forever. I’ll...I’ll do anything you say.”
Nora snorted. “Scout wouldn’t be any trouble. He’s a good ranch dog...not some fluffy little city dog who needs pampering. He wants only the shady porch or the barn for shelter. Jim tried to bring him into the house if the weather was bad, but Scout would just be anxious and howl at the door to be let outside.”
Kristin sighed. “Well...”
A smile played at the corners of Luis’s mouth. “And it sounds like your young caballero is in great need of a good horse,” he mused. “Just give this a try. If it don’t work out, we come get the horses. Eh, Nora?”
Nora nodded decisively. “Done.”
“I got my fence pliers in the truck,” Luis added, giving Cody a wink. “We can ride the property line right now, to make sure the fence is still tight.”
“Yes!” Cody pumped his fist and tackled Kristin around the waist. “Thanks, Mom!”
