“You guys ready to head outside for a bit?”I asked them.Raven swung her head my way, eyeing me with curiosity.I scratched her neck, which she seemed to like, because she gently head-butted my chest, asking for more when I stopped.
“I’m going to go find Mouse,” Danica said, heading back out of the stall.
“I think I saw her outside earlier.Close to the barn, but outside, which is a big deal for that girl.”
“All it took was a little day at the spa for her to come out of her shell.”She grinned at me before flipping her blonde tresses over her shoulder and heading to Mouse’s stall.
I groaned a little on the inside as my gaze drifted down from her hair to her ass and the way it moved so hypnotically with each step.
She gave me a sassy smile before ducking into Mouse’s stall.Almost as if she could read my mind.She probably could.At the moment, there wasn’t a clean or pure thought in my head.Not when it came to Danica St.Claire anyway.
Giving my head a shake, I stepped back into the stall with Midnight and Raven.“Hmm, you two.Outside for a bit then?”I opened up the other side of the stall door that would allow them to come and go freely into a cordoned off space just for them, and away from the other horses.It had grass, dirt, and lots of room to move.It would also allow the other horses to come over and meet Midnight—and Raven—but safely behind a fence.It’s where I usually had new horses brought to the property go out in the beginning before ingratiating them into the rest of the group.It was a gentle way for everyone to get introduced.
Raven headed out first, but Midnight—the bold little horse—scampered out after her a moment later.He didn’t take any time at all to start running around Raven, shaking his head and kicking his back hooves.
This, of course, drew the attention of the other horses, and soon, Midnight and Raven—who was busy munching on grass—had quite the audience.
To my surprise, the horse that seemed the most intrigued by Raven and Midnight was Kenny, the grumpy old bay roan Thoroughbred.Normally, he couldn’t give a shit about anybody, but he hung his reddish-brown head over the fence, attempting to get as close to Raven and Midnight as possible.He even whinnied softly to Raven, prompting her to glance at him.After a moment, she seemed to give in to his request and ambled over to where he stood.
“Is that Kenny making a friend?”Danica asked, brushing Mouse, who casually chomped on hay.
“Looks like it,” I mused, keeping one eye on Midnight.Sandrine, Galahad, Ginger, and Conrad all stood near the fence as well, their heads swaying back and forth like they were spectators at a tennis match as they watched the foal sprint around the grass.
Danica pointed.“Look.Do you think they know each other?”She was, of course, referring to Raven and Kenny, who were now affectionately rubbing their cheeks together and nuzzling necks.I’d never seen Kenny do that withanyhorse.For the most part, he avoided them all, barely tolerating Monarch.But with Raven, he seemed genuinely happy.
“They must know each other from earlier in their lives,” I said, slowly approaching the two horses who snuggled with a fence separating them.I reached out and scratched Kenny’s ears.“Hmm, Kenny?Are you and Raven old friends?”
Kenny’s brown gaze flicked to me for a moment, before he focused back on Raven.
A moment later, Midnight came sprinting over, almost skidding to a stop in the dirt, and he quickly tucked his face under Raven to nurse.Raven continued to cuddle Kenny.When Midnight finished eating, he lifted his head to inspect Kenny, and I braced myself for the old gelding to snap at the foal, but he didn’t.
With awe, I watched Kenny drop his head toward Midnight and give the little guy a sniff before finally rubbing his cheek against the foal’s side.
“He must accept him because he’s Raven’s,” Danica said, a smile in her voice.She stood on the bottom rung of the fence to better reach Mouse’s back, and the gray horse stood patiently beside her, allowing it.
I scratched Kenny’s ears some more.“That must be it.”
“What’s Mouse’s story anyway?”she asked.“How long have you had her?”
“Five months.”I made my way over to them and leaned my elbows on the top fence rung.“She was part of a traveling petting farm thing.But they mistreated all the animals.Made smaller horses like Mouse pull wagons and carts with way too many people on them.Normally, quarter horses like her are stocky and built for power.But she’s small for her breed and was born into the traveling petting farm.So she was malnourished since she was a filly.She never grew very big, or developed enough muscle for what they needed of her.Probably because they didn’t make enough money to feed their animals properly.”
Her mouth dipped into a frown, and she leaned forward to press a kiss to Mouse’s neck.“Oh, sweet baby girl.I’m so sorry.”
“She’s better now.I’ve had her on a high-calorie diet since she arrived.Shecouldbe ridden, and I was told she was broken.”
Danica glanced back at me.“You said that in a weird way.”
That made me grin.“Did I?”
“Are you implying thatIshould try to ride her?”
“Am I?”
Her eyes narrowed into thin slits.“I can’t tell.”
“It would not hurt to try.She trusts you.And while I don’t want the public riding the horses, it’s a different story for people I trust.For people that my animals trust.”
She blinked at me a few times, contemplating.“You have saddles and stuff?”
