Saturday Continued
As she turned to walk away, he approached her, taking her by complete surprise, rendering her speechless.
"Hello Ms. Fleming." He said in his formal manner.
It was only a split second pause, though it seemed like an eternity, then she acknowledged him, "Mr. Kalb."
She did not say hello, or smile. She did not extend her hand for him to shake or address him by his given name. And, she certainly did not hug him. In Europe, these simple gestures were common place between them, as between any two friends. Amy had come to realize that he was no longer her friend, sadly, he never was.
Trying to maintain a calm, detached facade, she added. "I did not expect to see you here."
"It's always a pleasure to see you, Ms. Fleming." Syed responded with outward friendliness. "Congratulations on your win."
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up.
She nodded, then added. "Excuse me."
She pulled Lou with her, out of earshot, then quietly urged her. "Lou. Take the girls and Sally Ride back to her stall. Have Georgie cool her off, please. I will be there as soon as I can."
"Who is that?" Lou inquired, worried.
"Syed Kalb."
"Your driver in Europe?" Amy nodded. "What does he want?"
"I don't know." She said honestly.
"Everything okay?" Lou whispered back, sensing that her sister was on guard, off kilter.
"Yes." Her response, though firm, certain, did not reassure Lou.
Amy quickly fired off a text. "Syed Kalb and another are at the Polo Club main arena in Okotoks."
"Roger that. You ok?"
"Yes." She texted in response.
"Be careful Amy." She whispered, Amy nodded, they both rejoined the men.
Lou announced. "We're going to go." Then she dictated to her children "Let's go girls. Georgie lead Sally Ride, Katie take my hand." They started to walk away.
Georgie suddenly turned, asked. "Mr. Anderson. Could Cassidy come with us too?"
"That's fine." With that, Cassidy joined the group with Lou leading the way, clutching Katie's hand, walking carefully as her heels sunk into the soft arena floor, glancing back at Amy just once.
Speaking to Nick and Walter, Amy stated, without introductions, but for the record, to confirm her new found beliefs. "Mr. Syed Kalb is an employee of Prince Ahmed's delegation, primarily in transport, security and...surveillance." Her pause put extra emphasis on surveillance as she looked Syed square in the eye.
Syed did not respond, did not dispute, did not amend.
The word surveillance caught Nick's attention, but was unsure what that meant. He looked at her, her jaw set, eyes determined, her stance wide. A very different Amy. He then surveyed Syed, a older man, well groomed but not particularly fit or muscular. He looked like a dad, frankly. Except his eyes, they were flat.
"Why aren't you in Antwerp?" Calmly, she went right to the point.
"Small change of plans." He explained without much detail.
"I see. So, why are you here, in this arena, Mr. Kalb?" Unflustered, she pushed.
"The prince asked me to meet with you." He replied.
"I have no business with him, or you, for that matter." She was quite clear, unambiguous, they were done.
"His royal highness would like to purchase Sally Ride. His offer is 50k." Syed stated. Amy did not flinch. Nick's eyes narrowed, but did not say a word, not sure what was transpiring before him.
"Hey. Hold on a frigging minute." Walter sputtered, interrupted, stepped forward, almost chest to chest with Syed. "I don't care about his royal high ass. We already have a deal. You can't waltz in here..."
Amy touched Walter's arm, gave him a nod, pulled him back. "Sally Ride is no longer for sale." Nick watched Amy handle the discussion.
"In that case, the prince has authorized me to offer 100k for her." Both men were stunned, speechless.
Amy held firm, stated smoothly. "Again. She is not for sale."
"Ms. Fleming. What is your price?" Syed upped the offer.
She shook her head. "Neither Sally Ride nor I can be bought by Ahmed or you. Period." She said flatly, leaving no doubt. "I will not do business with either of you, in any way, shape, or form, not now, not in the future. Do not contact me. Do not follow me. Do I make myself clear?"
Syed said nothing. Walter, wide eyed, was not sure what to make of her statements.
Nick stepped in. "Mr Kalb. Ms. Fleming made herself abundantly clear. You should leave now. Goodbye Mr. Kalb."
She hoped that it really was done, but knew better.
"Ms. Fleming. We will see you again soon." He said, bowed his head ever so slightly, turned on his heel, walked away.
His last comment left her a bit shaky inside. She had no choice but to momentarily close her eyes, exhale heavily to compose herself. "Thank you Nick."
She pulled out her phone, sent two texts, one to RCMP and one to Lou assuring them both that she was fine, Syed Kalb had left.
Then she swallowed, turned to Nick and Walter. "Gentlemen, let's go. We have some papers to sign."
"Amy?" Nick touched her arm, pulling her close, then added quietly. "You okay?"
She nodded. "Yes. Of course."
"Wow. That was crazy." Walter asked. "Who was that jerk?"
"Take my advice Walter. Never do business with a prince. No matter how much money he throws your way." She groaned. "I learned that the hard way."
As they walked out of the arena, Amy started to chuckle.
"What?" Walter asked.
"A royal high ass? Priceless." Walter just grinned.
After signing the bill of sale and transferring funds, the three headed to Sally Ride's stall. Seeing them, Lou quickly approached, worry had settled onto her brow, Katie, face sweaty and pink, was asleep in her arms. "Thank god, you are okay. I was worried."
"We're fine. Didn't you get my text?"
"Yeah, but.."
"Lou. I wouldn't worry about Amy. She held her own with that guy. She was fierce." Then Nick leaned in, whispered in Lou's ear, "She even scared me a bit." His lips morphed into a grin.
"I heard that Nick Harwell." Amy cut her eyes at him, shoved his arm playfully, smiled.
He smiled back at her. "Hey Amy. You did really great work with Sally Ride."
"We did it together. Partner." She replied with a grin.
"And. It's just the first of many to come." Nick added as they shared a congratulatory hug.
Walter had already made his way to his daughter. "Hey Sugar!"
"Hey Daddy!"
He put his arm around her shoulders, "Cassidy, my sweet! Let me introduce you to your new horse, Sally Ride!"
Cassidy's eyes went wide. "Daddy. Really?" Cassidy excitedly asked, he nodded. "Oh Daddy, thank you! Thank you! I love her so much and you too!" She hugged him hard around the waist.
"All that Cassidy needs now is a coach." Nick said quietly, looking inquisitively at Amy, who just shrugged.
Cassidy kissed the horse's nose several times, then she hugged Georgie. "Oh wow! You are so lucky." Georgie said. "Come on we got more work to do." They had already untacked her, rinsed her with cool water. Next, they brushed her as she nickered contently.
"Hey." The group turned to see Scott walking up, shy smile, unassuming, carrying his vet bag. "Heard you tore up the Loose Jump Competition."
"You heard right. Sally Ride took first." Georgie gushed. "Scott. She was amazing."
After greetings and introductions, Lou asked, "Dr. Cardinal. What are you doing here?" She was glad to see him, regardless of the reason.
"Vetting. What else?" He said nonchalantly.
As Lou and Scott chatted, Amy got a text. "Syed Kalb left arena with another man. Tailing them now. We'll keep you posted."
She let out a sigh of relief, typed. "Thanks. This may be helpful." Attaching an audio of the exchange with Syed.
Joining the conversation, Amy asked "You here by yourself Scott?" wondering about Ty.
"Yeah." Scott was a man of few words, didn't read between the lines.
Amy nodded, then suggested to Lou. "Let me hold Katie for a bit."
"Nah. I got her."
"Come on, Lou. Let me hold her. Your arms must be tired."
Lou surrendered, passing the sleeping child onto her sister.
With Katie nestled in her arms, Amy suggested. "Lou. You know, you haven't had a chance to look around. You should check out the Ranch House. It's really beautiful."
Lou nodded, "That sounds nice." She looked hopefully at him. "Scott? Wanna come with?"
He smiled. "Sure. I have some time before I'm back on duty. Come on."
She smiled as she took his arm.
"Did I tell you? You look very nice." He said to Lou shyly.
"No. Tell me." Lou laughed as they walked away.
After settling Sally Ride into her new stall next to Sugar's Plum, Georgie helped Cassidy with final preparations before her event. The two worked side by side brushing Sugar's Plum's coat and tail, tacking, just talking and laughing.
"So Cassidy, are you excited about competing today?" Amy asked as the girls worked, holding a not quite awake Katie's hand.
"Um. I guess." She replied unconvincingly. "I mean. Sugar's Plum and I usually don't place. So.." She frowned a bit.
"Maybe today's the day!" Amy responded with a smile, encouragement.
"Well. Don't hold your breath." She shrugged her shoulders. "I mean. We don't get to practice much, we don't have a coach, so.."
"Well. Nick is a great coach and I know you learned a lot from him. Just remember what he taught you."
"I guess." Unconvinced, Cassidy shrugged again.
Nick joined in. "Come on Cassidy. Sugar's Plum knows what to do, how to jump. Trust her. Trust yourself."
"Coach. Could you come down to the arena with us?" Cassidy asked. "Please?"
"Sure." Nick was happy to oblige her.
Cassidy grinned, "Thanks Coach!"
Amy suggested. "Remember. Have fun!"
"Okay." Cassidy responded with a bit of enthusiasm. "Wish me luck." She added.
A chorus of best wishes made Cassidy smile brighter, straighten her shoulders. Accompanied by Georgie and Nick, Cassidy led her horse to the arena floor.
With Lou rejoining, they found their way to the bleachers, taking seats in a prime cheering and viewing section. Almost as soon as they settled in, Katie complained, whined that she was hungry, thirsty. Lou acquiesced, the two left in search of food, leaving Amy and Walter alone.
Walter was a tall man, probably 6'5", solid, tanned, almost leathery, complexion, probably from working outdoors. With his graying, thinning hair, Amy guessed that he was in his mid-sixties.
"Tell me about yourself Walter."
"Not much to tell. Born and raised here in Alberta, just west of Okotoks. I run a cattle ranch that's been in my family for years. Cassidy is my one and only. She's my heart." His blue eyes twinkled, softened as he said her name. "Tell me about Amy Fleming."
"Born and raised in Hudson on my family's ranch, Heartland. I run the horse side of the operation, therapy, training, rehoming. My grandfather runs cattle."
"Ever compete?"
"Yeah. Some. Eventing, competitive jumping, hunter-jumper, barrel racing, roping, liberty, racing."
"Quite a variety. Racing? Thoroughbred?"
"Yeah. It was my dad's horse so it probably doesn't count." She smiled. "You?"
"Not competitive, not even rodeo. Just running cattle. Competition is my wife and Cassidy's thing."
"Walter. Why do you suppose that Cassidy is so insecure about her jumping skills?"
"That's a long story."
"Oh?"
"Since Cassidy was itty, bitty, Margaret, her mom was her riding and jumping coach. She started schooling, competing on Sugar's Plum early, maybe 8 or so. Cassidy loved to ride, competed well, lots of ribbons, you know, wins. They were two peas in a pod. Cassidy was Margaret's mini-me."
"Then?"
"Then Margaret and I divorced a couple of years ago. Margaret moves to Vancouver. Cass lost her mom, her best friend, her idol, her coach all at once. It just went down hill from there."
"That's really tough." She sighed. "Poor girl."
"Yeah. Margaret tries. But she's busy with her new family."
"Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean to pry."
"It is, what it is." Walter resigned to the situation. "Margaret was twenty some years younger than me." He shrugged as if that explained everything.
"She really adores Nick."
"Yeah. He is good for her, patient, calm, encouraging. He taught her class, a bunch of teenage girls. Under him, her confidence grew, her riding improved, she started winning again. Then, well, you know, he stopped coaching about a month ago. So we are back to square one."
"Oh.
"Yeah. I sure hope Sally Ride can turn things around for her. As you can see Sugar's Plum is getting past prime."
"Cassidy and Sally Ride will be a good match. They bonded immediately. But, she's definitely going need a coach as a first step."
"Yeah. I've been looking." He said.
"I'll keep my eyes open." Amy replied.
"You wouldn't be interested, would you?" He asked. "We can definitely make it worth your while."
She didn't respond either way as Cassidy's event was about to start.
Cassidy start on Sugar's Plum was strong, with clean jumps on the first two fences. But, she became more hesitant with each approaching jump, sat slightly back in her saddle, almost willing herself to not to do well in the ring. She came in fifth in a field of eight. A respectable showing but not where she could be.
Amy saw definite potential, but so much self doubt. Her heart went out to her.
"Walter. What are your expectations for a coach for Cassidy?"
"You're kidding me right?" He was taken off guard.
"Depends." She smiled at him. "I only want to coach Cassidy and Sally Ride."
"Deal."
They talked through the details, when and how often they would meet, what he thought Cassidy needed, how much she would be paid. She only agreed to 1 month. She would start Monday.
Back at Heartland, she led an anxious Midnight into the stall that had housed Sally Ride just that morning. He was bothered, not happy to be there, showing his discontent by pacing, and occasionally pawing the stall floor. "Midnight. Welcome to Heartland. I'll come visit you after Parsnip and I do some work."
"Hey Parsnip. Pretty girl. How are you? Sally Ride won her competition. She's with her new owner Cassidy." She pet her muzzle, her neck, her forelocks telling her about the day, what she had planned for her.
Next, Amy tacked up Parsnip, led her into the arena that still housed the chute and fences. Mounting her in a single smooth move, Amy urged her to move around the arena. They did not ride fast nor did they jump to begin. They practiced cues, subtle ones, maneuvering turns, changing speed, reversing direction. Amy encouraged her with light sweet talk, called by name, petting her often, working on her confidence.
Dismounting, she led her around the arena with the same purpose, to praise her, encourage her, stroking her. After lowering the jumps, she sent her down the chute to free jump, encouraging her, clapping with each jump. She did two more rounds, raising the height of the jumps just slightly. In all three rounds, Parsnip did not clip a single rail.
Pleased, Amy led her back to her barn, groomed her, as she sang an old song, "I ride an old paint", that she learned in camp as a child. Parsnip responded, nuzzling her when he could, nickering low, happily regardless. Safely in her stall, Amy ran up to the loft, brought down some apple slices, gave her three.
She then visited with Midnight, calmer but still pacing in his stall. He was wary of his new surroundings, not an unusual behavior for any horse in a new home. She was careful not to get too close, given his state, but more importantly, his propensity to nip and bite. She talked with him, hoping to calm him, reassure him. Not willing to risk her fingers, she put a few slices of apple, one at a time, on his stall door. He scarfed each slice down, while looking at her suspiciously.
At her herb bench, she put a half scoop of valerian root, full scoop of chamomile with a third full scoop of grain into feeding bucket. The herbs were known to soothe edginess. Using a pole, she lowered the bucket onto a hook in Midnight's stall, hoping that he would eat them.
Walking to the edge of the big field, carrying a saddle, she whistled to Spartan who came racing to her. She gave him the remaining apple slices, laughing as they talked. As the Heartland evening dinner was being placed on the dining room table, Amy gracefully, in a single, fluid motion, swung onto Spartan's saddle. She urged him towards Mrs. Bell's house, her sanctuary, respite.
Not far beyond the Heartland gate, Matthew Baldwin was on guard, sitting on his mount. Even at a some distance, he struck a striking figure. Slowing down as they drew closer, she noticed his straight posture, fit build. She stopped Spartan, within a foot of his horse, of him, "Hey Matt." She said, noticing that he had such a baby face, no whiskers, no stubble, just smooth, slightly tanned skin.
"Hello Amy. Headed out for a ride?" He smiled at her.
"Yep. I am headed to Mrs. Bell's house." Smiling back.
"It's a beautiful afternoon for a ride. Mind if I join you?" He asked.
"Sure. Why not?" Then she laughed. "You would tail me regardless."
"True that. But I prefer that we ride together."
They cantered side by side for some time, enjoying the ride, scenery of rolling fields, mountains, each in their own world. Occasionally one of them remarked on the sky, clouds, flowers or some furry animal scampering by their path. Amy slowly pulled up on Spartan's reins, halting him so she could talk to Matt.
"Everything okay?" He stopped next to her, concerned.
"Yeah." She sighed. "So, what have you heard about Ahmed?" She asked.
"We have positive sightings of him in Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky. Apparently he purchase a couple of racehorses, shipped them to Alberta, probably Hillhurst, yesterday."
"Racehorses. That's odd for Ahmed." She pondered that.
Then he cleared his throat. "He also bought a competitive jumper late this afternoon."
"Oh. Interesting. Did he have that horse shipped somewhere?"
"France."
"Hmm." Then she asked. "What do you know about Syed Kalb and that other guy?"
"Well. RCMP officers followed Mr. Kalb and a Mr. Paul Eisner back to Hillhurst, where they had a discussion. That's when Mr Kalb explained about trying to buy your horse. Apparently the prince was in the market."
"How convenient." She said. "Did you get my text with the audio?"
"Yeah. That was helpful." He continued. "But. You do know that neither broke any laws by going to the Polo Club. We can't arrest them for trying to buy a horse." He paused.
"Yeah."
"Do you know Paul Eisner?"
"That guy who was with Syed?" He nodded. "Do you have a picture?" He showed her his picture from his phone. "Oh. That's the guy who took that video at the party in Europe." She paused. "He was also at the airport last night."
"Which you failed to tell us about."
"I wasn't sure."
"Amy..." he just shook his head, irritated. "Look. You need to file a restraining and protection order."
"But, I am not in fear for my physical safety."
"Amy. With all due respect, you should be. They have pushed spyware onto your devices, surveilled you, harassed you and shown up when you least expect it. Who knows what else they have done or will do."
"So you think I should file one?"
"Absolutely. They can be arrested if they tail you, contact you or go to an off limits location such as the Polo Club."
"But, aren't you tailing me too?" She grinned.
"No matter how much I tail you, unless there is some sort of violence or altercation, I really can't do anything." He said seriously.
"Okay."
"You need to put a permanent one in place. So does everyone who is close to you. Your sister, grandfather, grandmother, father, your nieces, Mrs. Bell...your boyfriend."
She didn't comment on his use of the word boyfriend. Regardless, she wanted to protect Ty, whatever label fit. She wanted to protect her family too. "Okay, okay. I hear you." She sighed, then acquiesced. "What do we have to do to put these orders in place?"
"How about we bring the paperwork to the ranch house first thing in the morning." He suggested.
"How about you bring it to the barn office instead?" She wanted this to happen on her turf.
"Fine. What time? 8?" He suggested.
"Sounds good." She got a devilish look on her lips. "Race you." She took off with Spartan in a full gallop before Matt even registered her words.
"No fair." He yelled, laughing trying to catch up.
On the edge of Mrs. Bell's property, Matt pulled up his horse. "Have nice visit. How long do you expect to be?"
She shrugged. "Maybe a hour or two. Probably two."
"Okay. I am going to patrol along her border. We can ride home together."
"Okay. Thanks." She smiled, then urged Spartan onto Mrs. Bell's property where she tied him up with some water and a bit of hay.
She found Mrs. Bell rocking on the front porch shelling yellow peas. "Well hello my dear. How are you?" Sugarfoot was standing next to her, with his head on her knee.
"Hello Mrs. Bell." Kissing her cheek, petting her companion, then she sat in the rocker next to her. "I am good. How are you?"
"Well. I know you are good, Amy!" She smiled. "I am well today. Have you had dinner?"
"No."
"Well then. You must stay and have some split yellow pea soup and corn bread with us." She paused. "Of course. We have to make it first."
"Yum. That sounds good! What can I do to help?" Amy's mouth began to water, she realized she hadn't eaten since early that morning.
Mrs. Bell handed her the unshelled peas and bowl. "You can shell these first."
"Okay. Tell me how." Mrs. Bell instructed Amy on the proper technique, told her of the peas history as livestock feed, explained how people began to consume them in the last few decades.
Peas shelled, all three went into the kitchen. Mrs. Bell put Amy in charge of making the soup, with her instruction, of course. "Okay Amy. First, rough chop the carrots, celery and onions." Amy did as instructed.
"Good. Now from that garlic bulb, pull out a couple of cloves and mince them. Finely."
Amy made a face when the pungent smell reached her nose. "That stinks!"
"Well dear, despite the smell, which I think is heavenly, did you know garlic is really good for you?"
"Really? How's that?" She loved how Mrs. Bell was always teaching her something.
"Well, it contains Vitamin C and B6 so it prevents colds and provides fiber to keep you regular."
Amy snickered at the "regular" comment.
"Being irregular is no laughing matter, Amy." She chided her, then without skipping a beat continued on. "Did you know that Italians call garlic, rosa puzzolente? The stinking rose! They believe garlic helps you live longer and have a strong sex drive."
"Huh? Who knew?"
"Italians, of course." She smiled, then said. "And, Mr. Bell."
Amy giggled.
"Just goes to show you, even very stinky things can be very pleasant."
She giggled again.
"Okay Amy. Get three slices of bacon from the refrigerator. Chop it up into very small pieces." Amy did as told. "Turn the flame in the stove to medium. Good. Now in that stockpot, brown the bacon. Then add the veggies and sauté them until they are tender and the onion translucent."
She instructed her to add water, bringing it boil, adding peas, salt, pepper, smoked paprika and bay leaves. While the soup simmered, they made the cornbread together, Amy assembling, Mrs. Bell teaching.
About an hour or so after arriving, they ate dinner at the round table as Sugarfoot ate his meal at his table. The soup was thick, flavorful, hearty while the cornbread was light, sweet and doused with honey from Mrs. Bell's girls.
Through dinner they talked about their days. Mrs. Bell talked about harvesting herbs and vegetables in the morning and taking them to town by cart pulled by Sugarfoot in the afternoon. "I ran into Ty at Maggie's." Mrs. Bell announced.
"Oh?" Was all Amy could say.
"I asked him why you two weren't together any more."
"Oh? What did he say?" Amy was curious.
"If you don't know, I'm not going to tell you." She said sarcastically.
"Mrs. Bell. Come on!"
"He just said it was complicated."
"Yeah. Well it is that." Amy agreed.
"Amy. My dear. You love him, you miss him. You should tell him." She stared into her eyes, patted her hand. "You know life is short, no matter how much garlic you eat."
Amy nodded. After dinner, Amy did the dishes. Mrs. Bell encouraged her to take a couple of wild blackberry muffins for her morning coffee. "You never now who might stop in." The gray haired woman seemed to know more than she let on.
"Thanks. I will." She admitted. "Sometimes Ty has coffee with me in the morning. He'll like these."
"Good dear. Take some soup and cornbread too. You never know who you'll see tonight."
"Have you met Matt Baldwin?"
"Of course dear. Seems like a nice fellow. Good looking too. But he's not your type." She said firmly.
Amy laughed. "Thanks for warning me." She kissed her cheek, hugged her. Then pulled back, but kept a hand on each of her fragile shoulders. "Mrs. Bell. Thank you. Thank you for everything."
"Nothing to thank me for. You are the one who cooked and cleaned tonight." Mrs. Bell put her hands on Amy's waist.
"Mrs. Bell. I want you to know... I love you. Really I do." She kissed her on the forehead.
"Oh Amy dear. I love you too. I always have."
With goodbyes said, Amy swung into Spartan's saddle, rode away, happy and contented, expecting to see Matt as soon as she crossed over her property line. They rode back to Heartland together.
The day's sun had set in brilliant pinks, oranges, yellows stretched across the western horizon, long before Spartan finally carried a very tired Amy straight to her new home. She slowly dismounted, led him into the barn. She was exhausted, not really paying attention.
"Hey." Ty said, snapping her out of her own world.
"Oh Hey." She offered him the briefest of smiles.
"You're getting home late." He noted.
"Yeah. Lost track of time." She removed her goodies from the saddle bag, untacked Spartan, a bit sweaty from long ride home.
"Oh?" He wanted to ask her where she had been, but it wasn't his place any more. He was hoping she would fill him in.
She went about her work, quietly humming some unknown tune.
"Um. How was the competition?" He actually already knew. It was all Georgie could talk about at the dinner table. But, he wanted to hear it from her.
"Sally Ride took first. She was incredible, I could not have been more proud of her." She smiled, drifting off into her thoughts, remembering the competition.
"I'm not surprised. You are pretty great with horses."
Making her smile, she glanced at him as stepped closer. "Give me the blow by blow." He picked up a brush, starting grooming Spartan, next to her. "I want to hear everything."
She looked at him, his proximity, his handsome profile, his focus on the work. She loved working side by side with him. Missed it, him. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely." He gave her a lopsided grin, then went back to his work.
She took a breath, then started talking, details about each round, each horse, not just Sally Ride, but Cloud, Damsel and Spirit too, every jump, each start, every finish, the tie, the jump off.
The more she talked, the more she grew excited, her voice, expressions, gestures, her eyes, her smile. "She sailed over each fence with perfection, grace, fluidity!" Her eyes were shining, lips grinning.
He couldn't help but be excited for her, with her, grinning in response, mesmerized by her dancing eyes, her infectious laugh, wide smile. He missed this, missed her.
"I wish you had seen her." She ended.
"Yeah. I wish I had been there." He said sincerely, lamenting inside that he had not been invited. "You make it sound so exciting."
"It really was." Then she added. "You should come next time."
"I will." He promised. "Just tell me when and where."
"Okay." She nodded, still smiling.
Then he glanced at the Sally Ride's stall that now housed Midnight. "You sold Sally Ride?" He said knowing full well that she sold her for 35k. Lou let that detail be known at dinner too.
"Yes. To Cassidy Anderson, a sixteen year old. Well, not to her, but to her dad, Walter Anderson. Cassidy will ride her. You know train, compete with her." Then she added. "I think they will make a great team."
"So she's a rich kid?" He asked, without thinking.
She stopped brushing, stared at him. "Why would you ask that? What does it even matter?" She paused, narrowed her eyes at him.
"I don't know." He shrugged.
"Oh, now I see. Is this about your belief that I now only service rich people's horses?" She huffed, started to walk away from him, rather than argue.
"Wait. Amy." He grabbed her arm, she glared at him, he let go of her arm. "Sorry. I should not have said that. I shouldn't have grabbed you." He tried to right things. "Amy. Please don't walk away."
She informed him. "Ty. Regardless of your opinion. My focus is and always has been on horses. Helping them heal, helping them live up to their potential, helping them find good home if they don't already have one."
"I know."
She looked at him, calmly stated. "I don't care if the horse is expensive or not. I don't care if it's a racehorse, event jumper, plow horse, abandoned or wild. I don't care the owner is rich or poor, can pay or not." She paused. "You might, but I don't."
"Amy..."
She didn't let him finish. "And. Believe it or not, I don't think that the highest bidder necessarily makes for the best owner for the horse either. I am not trying to make a quick buck." She threw a dig at his and Caleb's business model.
"I know." He said quietly, his head hung a little lower, not catching the dig.
She just shook her head, knowing she had said too much, come on too strong. She led Spartan into his stall, gave him his night food and water rations, whispered goodnight. She moved to Parsnip and Midnight's stalls, noticing that they had already been night checked.
"Ty. Thank you for checking these two. I really mean it." She said kindly, quietly. "You work for Grandpa now. And, I bet he has a ton for you to do. So don't worry with my horses, I will take care of them. Okay?"
"It wasn't a big deal."
"Really. Thank you." She started towards the loft steps. "Good night." She said walking up the steps.
He stood there, helpless, watching her walk away, disappear into the loft. He went to Harley's stall, put his hands on either side of his neck, he looked into his horse's eyes. "Harley. I am an idiot."
"Sometimes." He turned to see her standing there. She handed him a small brown bag.
"What's this?"
"I made split yellow pea soup and cornbread at Mrs. Bell's house tonight. Well, she told me how to make it." She smiled. "Thought you'd like some."
"Thanks."
"Life is too short no matter how much garlic you eat."
"What?"
She smiled, ascended the loft stairs, then turned. "See you in the morning for coffee?"
He smiled, nodded.
"Good. I'll tell you then."
"Can't wait. Sleep good."
"You too." She disappeared into the loft for the night.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please be so kind and review. I love your reviews.
Be safe, stay healthy!
SBR