“Oh.” She paused. “He has bad manners still. I thought you fixed them all, but I think you might’ve missed one.”
I snorted out a laugh and got out, my feet sinking into snow.
“So much for a carport,” I grumbled. “What’s the point?”
“You’ll find that garages are way better here,” she said. “When it’s snowing normally, it’s not a problem. The carport will do the job you’re intending it for. But when it’s like this? You’ll get snow all the way up to the front of the carport. Honestly, sometimes having a cover is more work than it’s worth.”
I could see that.
“I’m going to unlock the door so you…”
My words trailed off as I followed her into the snow.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“Do you have horses in that barn?”
I smiled. “I do.”
“Brawny loves horses. That’s why he’s over here, isn’t it?”
I trailed after her, matching my strides to hers.
She hugged her arms over her shoulders, and I realized that she had to be fucking freezing. All she had on was a sweatshirt and a beanie.
“Here,” I said as I shucked my jacket. “Put this on.”
“What? No,” she complained, pulling away.
“I have a jacket I change into inside,” I said. “Since we’re here, I’m going to feed them and get them bedded down for the night.”
She reluctantly took the coat, and I helped her zip it up.
It swallowed her whole, and the hem hit just past her knees.
She looked adorable.
“This is awkward.” She laughed, but it sounded completely hollow.
I pulled the hood up over her head, then opened the barn door.
Brawny barked and headed inside, and I could hear Shadow’s happiness upon seeing his friend even from here.
“Get inside,” I urged as a sudden burst of wind felt like it cut straight through my soul.
Snow followed us inside as I shut the barn door behind us.
I wasted no time grabbing the jacket that I rarely ever used and shrugged it on.
“One time, I asked my dad if I could have horses,” Mable mused as she walked right up to Shadow and held out her hand. When he nuzzled her, she lifted up on her tippy toes and petted him on the side of the face. “He said no. Years later, Birdee asked, and all of a sudden we had horses. When I asked my dad why he said yes to her, he ‘joked’ and said, ‘because I don’t like you as much.’” She smoothed her hand down Shadow’s neck. “He immediately said he was joking. But I knew he truly felt that way.”
I got to Shadow’s stall and unlatched it.
He came out all excited, nosing his way around Brawny and Mable.
Mable continued her petting, and I hastily cleaned up the stall and fed Shadow.
When he was done, I let Mable feed him the apple and did the same with the next horse. And the next. And the next.
