"You could have been seriously hurt in there."
"But I wasn't. Candace likes me, and she wanted me in her stall, or I wouldn't have stayed. It's all fine."
"This attitude is exactly why I'm bringing you to my mom. I can tell you don't have regrets. You'd probably would go back in there if I drove off right now. You are a guest at our ranch. I know you're paying to be here, but you don't have free rein. My mother promised she would make that clear with all the guests."
"She did. Please don't go to your mom with this," she said. "It's seven-thirty in the morning. We're not supposed to be at breakfast until ten."
"Well, I don't know what to tell you. That's what happens when you break into barns."
"Just drive me back to my room."
He walked toward the open area of the barn, looking back to make sure she was following him, which she was. He tried not to feel bad for her.
"I'm not going to let you…" He hesitated, trying to think of some sort of compromise. "I don't want to bother them this early, but I also can't wait any more. I need to get back to Butte. If you want to ride with me, I'll come back. I have to go pick up my friend and give her a ride somewhere. But I can come back." He paused and glanced at his watch, sighing when he thought about being late for Ms. Donna. She would be at the door, waiting for him in her Sunday best.
"I have to go back right now. Just come with me. I'll come straight back here. I can have you back by nine, and we won't have to wake my mom up."
"Fine," she said, shaking her head.
Chapter 6
Amelia
One minute, I was sitting next to Candice, petting her and whispering sweet nothings into her ear, and the next thing I knew, the lights came on in the barn, and Candice scrambled and stood in front of me. Then an angry, deep voice echoed through the barn, calling out to us. I didn't even have time to yell back because suddenly someone was standing at the stall door.
It was the guy who had been shirtless in the hallway when I hit my head. That day, he was kind and understanding, but now he was infuriated. He accused me of drugging his horse, of all things. I was so taken aback by his reaction that I felt speechless and nervous and probably came across as being guilty of it.
He wasn't just mad at me for sneaking into the barn, he was also stuck on the idea that I had done something to his horse. He was about to wake up his parents and cause a whole scene with them, but that was a dreadful option for me. So, the minute he mentioned an alternative, I took it.
I left the ranch with him, headed for Butte.
I found myself sitting in the passenger side of a big Ford truck.
We were on some sort of errand.
We rode in silence for the first few minutes.
"I have a dog at home that I really miss," I said once my heart slowed down a bit and I could think of a coherent sentence. "PJ's his name. He's a gigantic part of my life, and I was missing him. Plus, I know animals. She was fine with me being in there."
"Dogs are different than horses, and you could've been killed."
"Yeah, but I wasn't."
"What did you do to Candice?"
"Nothing."
"She doesn't let people in her stall. She's reluctant to do it with Josh, and he's with her all the time."
"I know. Josh told me that. But I met her yesterday, and she took to me. She was fine with me petting her and touching her. She wanted me to. We made friends, that's all."
He glanced at me like I was lying, and I shrugged innocently at him before he focused on the road again. "Even if that's true, which I find it hard to believe, you can't take it upon yourself to sneak into the barn when no one else is there."
"Sorry," I said, knowing I had no excuse. "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have done that. But I promise, I didn't do anything to your horse. I just like her, and it made me feel good that she let me pet her. Josh told me that it was a big deal."
"Yeah, she doesn't take to people easily."
I could tell that he was still a little flustered and so I didn't say anything else. He seemed content with my apology, and I wanted to leave it at that.
