He calmed immediately, shoving his muzzle into my palm.
“There you go,” I crooned, then focused on Arric. “He’s good now, love. You can move out of my way.”
He kept an arm around my waist but let me move closer to my horse. Hershey was perfectly calm now. In fact, his head was lowered, and he was putting weight on his back leg. I ran my hand down to his fetlock, no longer feeling any heat. Hershey picked his foot up and I pressed around the hoof. “The abscess is gone.”
“How can you tell?”
“Come and have a look,” I said, and showed him the newly healed hoof. I glanced up at him. “I think you did that.”
“Healed your horse?”
“Yes,” I said, dropping Hershey’s leg.
“How?”
“Not sure. But it’ll be something we’ll ask Haddi.”
“I don’t think Haddi will care two shits about whether or not I can heal a horse, Isla.”
I raised an eyebrow, squeezing his arm. “There has never been any record of one of us able to heal someone outside of our families, let alone the ability to heal an animal, love. My father’s a healer and even he can’t just lay his hands on an animal and cure it. He went to school to learn the technicalities of veterinarian medicine and uses that in concert with his healing gift. This is remarkable.”
“Well, I highly doubt I have the ability to heal a fuckin’ horse.”
I wrinkled my nose. “He’s not just a fucking horse, Arric Mann. He’s Hershey the Great.”
Arric chuckled, sliding the stall door open, and guiding me out. “Well, let’s leave Hershey the Great to rest.”
“You’re going to ride with me tomorrow, right?”
“Sure.”
I squeezed his arm. “Don’t be scared.”
“Baby, I’m not scared. I can ride. I’m just not the biggest fan of horses, and I just didn’t want him to hurt you.”
“Hm-mm,” I mused, unconvinced.
He grinned. “I’ll show you tomorrow.”
“Ooh, I can’t wait.”
He kissed me quickly then squeezed my chin gently. “I’m gonna walk you home.”
“Sounds good.”
He kissed me again, then we headed home.
My phone buzzed in my pocket as we walked, and I pulled it out to see my cousin calling. “Excuse me,” I said, and answered. “Hi, Cat.”
“Auntie Gillian is home,” she said, excitedly.
Gillian was Payton’s sister and a gifted doctor. She met her mate a few years ago and moved to Iceland to be with him, which meant she was closer to their other sister, Kenna, but too far away from Payton for her liking. Gillian hadn’t been home in ages, so I knew this was exciting for everyone.
“That’s great,” I said. “When did she get home?”
“Just now,” Cat said. “Just showed up. We’re having an impromptu dinner tonight, so you have to come.”
“Of course I’ll be there. I’m sure Mum and Dad are coming, so I’ll ride over with them.”
