“Hey, Diego. How are you, brother?”
“Hey, I’m good. Really good. I heard a rumor, and I wanted to hear if it was true.”
“Go ahead. Hit me with it.”
Diego paused. “Are you starting a riding school?”
“Yes. I am.” I was puzzled by the call.
“When are you opening? Back in Argentina, I rode when I was a little boy. I wouldn’t mind doing it again.”
“You want to be in? You can ride anytime, though, Diego. It would be free. No charge.”
“No. I’m bringing a crew with me. You know, to help advertise. You’ve taken enough losses. Hector has turned out to be a good worker. He brought in some new business, too. Let me help out. We Spanish like a horse or two.”
I laughed. I was touched by the call. “I’m glad that’s what the call was about. I didn’t want any bullshit,” I warned.
“Relax, brother. Ryder is pissed with Vlad for letting the Russians let that little bitch get away. He’s on punishment.” Diego laughed.
“I don’t care if he is or not. Just keep Las Balas crew away from my property. That’s what he promised. I’ll die for mine. Either that or I’m going back to prison.”
“Neither. Not going to happen. You have a lot going for you. We can’t let that happen.”
“Sorry to cut it short, Diego. Give me a couple of weeks, and I’ll have a date you can bring them through.”
“Okay, brother. Take care.”
“You, too.”
I had the support of the brotherhood—good to know. I grabbed my car keys to pick up Bella. As I drove to pick up my baby girl, I hoped I’d seen the last of all the shooting and violence. I’d seen and been around enough to last me a lifetime. I waited patiently as I heard the schoolyard bell ring. Ten minutes later, I saw Bella bounce out of the front doors with a bookbag twice the size of her. I would need to do something about that. She opened the car door.
“Daddy! Guess what?”
I grinned as she hugged me. “What, baby?”
“In two weeks, we have bring a parent day! Will you come?”
“What’s a parent day about?” I asked as I pulled off into the Merced streets.
“You come in and talk about what you do. You can talk about our horses and the farm. I told my friends to come and ride with us,” she said confidently. I saw her beautiful eyes light up as she started kicking her legs around like she does when she’s excited.
I squeezed her little leg, and she giggled. “Daddy, that tickles!”
“I think that’s a great idea. I would love to. Just remind me when it is. We got two new horses coming next week, too. I need you to name them. I think you should name the Palominos, as well.”
She hummed, her little voice music to my ears. “I did already.”
Surprised, I raised my eyebrows as we turned into our driveaway. “You named the horses already?”
“Yes.” She smiled and kept humming. My kid was a trip.
“What did you name them?”
“Let’s go inside, and I’ll tell you,” she giggled.
“Okay, you win.”
I parked the car, and we stepped inside.
