“Oh, thank god.” He puts a hand against his chest and releases a huge sigh. My dizziness increases and I feel lightheaded, my legs feel like jelly. It must be an effect of the shock and stress of the last few hours. “Would you like to see her?” I ask and he nodsemphatically. I lead the way to her stall and he looks over the door.
“Hey, sweetheart. Feeling rough, are we?” he says softly to her. She flicks her ears at his voice and turns to look at him with her large brown eyes.
“I’m just about to give her some food. Do you want to come in?”
“I brought her some carrots,” he says, pulling a bag from the pocket of my coat he’s still wearing. Fuck, he brought carrots. How on earth is he not the sweetest guy on this planet? He must be, that’s all there is to it.
“She can’t have carrots right now,” I say.
“Not even special julienned ones?” He holds up the bag with a smile, and I press my lips together to repress the urge I have to kiss him right now.
“Not even those. She has to have something soft, but she should be able to have them with another feed in a few hours time. Or you can give them to the others,” I suggest.
“These are for her,” he states clearly and puts them back in his pocket. I place the bucket of food in front of her and she starts on it with enthusiasm, a good sign that she’s getting better.
“What happened?” Simon asks, watching her.
“It was a silly mistake. Jorge got the buckets mixed up and gave her cold water.”
“Is that a problem?” I hear the confusion in his voice.
“Not in general. Obviously horses can drink cold water or they’d never survive, especially in the winter. But they shouldn’t have it cold when they’ve been working, especially with how hot andsweaty she was after the game. The water up here is particularly cold, so we add warm water to take the chill off it so it’s safe to drink.”
“What happens when that occurs?” He sounds genuinely interested so I carry on.
“The cold water upsets her stomach and causes her to spasm. Those in general will dissipate, but when horses have stomach and digestive pain they try to roll on the floor to ease it. If they do it violently enough, they can twist their guts up, and that causes problems... blockages, knots. Sometimes it requires surgery, but sometimes not even that helps.” I stop, as I think he’s got the idea and doesn’t need the full lesson in horse anatomy. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I’ve lost a couple of good horses that way and I’m just thankful Chispa won’t be one of them.
“And she’ll be okay, that won’t happen to her?”
“There’s always a chance of a relapse, but I don’t think it will happen now she’s settled.” He’s moved closer and is stroking her neck as she eats. I’m transfixed watching him with her, and the weak-kneed feeling returns. I shake it off; it’s been a long night.
“I’m sorry that this won’t be the celebration I promised you. But I’m not leaving her tonight,” I say, hoping he’s not too disappointed. He looks at me with the soft look he has for Chispa still on his face.
“Then I’ll stay too,” he says.
“Are you sure? You don’t have to.”
“I want to.” His face takes on a determined look, but I try one more time.
“It’ll be cold.”
“I have a warm jacket on.” He grins and I shake my head, smiling back at his stubbornness and cheek.
“Okay. Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” I say, and he returns to talking to Chispa. I find a bale of horse bedding to put in the stall, against one of the walls, and some blankets to lay on top of it to make it softer. I sit down and lean back against the wall looking at them both. My favourite horse and Simon. Who is not only the cutest guy I’ve ever seen, he’s the sweetest, and I admit he looks fucking hot in my coat. As if he senses me staring at him he turns and looks over, then his face changes into a frown and he reaches into a pocket.
“Oh, I brought you this. I’m sorry, it might be cold by now.” He comes over and hands me something wrapped in napkins.
“You brought me food?” I can’t believe he also thought of me. I haven’t eaten since, I can’t remember, lunch maybe... and I wasn’t hungry, or rather I didn’t notice I was until he handed me some food. Now I feel like I haven’t eaten for weeks. I peel off the napkins to find foil wrapping underneath. I open it up. A steak sandwich, with onions, in ciabatta. It is still warm but I wouldn’t care if it was as cold as stone, Nothing would look as good as this does right now. I take a bite and it’s glorious. The juices from the steak and onions have soaked into the bread and it’s the best mouthful I’ve ever had. I could seriously fall in love with someone who brought me food like this. I freeze mid chew and glance up at Simon. He’s returned to being by Chispa’s head. Phew, I don’t think I said that out loud. I force myself to keep chewing even though I can hardly breathe around the truth of my words. I finish the rest of the sandwich while thoughts bounce around my head. I’ve never met anyone like Simon before, and I don’t know how or why, but I feel a connection with him, one I don’t want to lose. An idea begins to form but Ihave no idea what he’ll say. You don’t know until you ask, I try to reason with myself, but it’s not that easy. I’ve never been good at showing emotion, unless it’s for my horses. I look over at Simon and Chispa again and they make the perfect picture, one I want to be a part of.
“Thank you for bringing me a sandwich. You’re a lifesaver,” I say, rising and going to stand with them. He makes a small huff of a laugh.
“Hardly the stuff of saving lives, but I thought you might not have had a chance to eat.” He turns to face me and I put my arms round his waist, pulling him close to me. He rests his head against my chest.
“It meant a lot to me.” I take a deep breath. “You mean a lot to me.” He looks up sharply at my words, and I can’t stand the thought of him saying something frivolous or even worse, a rejection, so I capture his mouth with mine and kiss him. It’s not soft, but not desperate either. It’s something else entirely. He opens up at the request of my tongue against his lips and I deepen the kiss. He grabs my hips and I tighten my hold, clinging on to him tight as my heart fills and bursts in my chest.
I don’t want the kiss to end, ever. Nothing has felt this right in my life, and I know once I stop it never will again. I explore every inch of his mouth, aware of every place we’re touching, the warmth from his body pressed against mine. Like a hot brand on a horse’s hide, the kiss burns into my soul. Eventually he pulls back, slowly, panting for breath, and I gasp air into my lungs.
“I’ll bring you food more often if you’ll kiss me like that,” he says, his chest still heaving.
