“Take whatever time you need, but yes, that seems fair.” They shook, and as they rushed to their vehicles to get out of the cold, Naomi called after her.
“Faith!”
“What?”
“Did you want to stay in the home you picked tonight? It will save you from trying to find a hotel room.”
“I don’t have any food.”
“We can help you,” Lois said. “My daughter is in charge of furnishing all of the cabins, and she said everyone has the staples. Coffee, creamer, sugar, flour.” She pointed to the pantry. “There’s plenty of food in there for your supper.”
“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to put anyone out.”
“We’re sure,” Naomi and Cole said together. They helped her pick out some food, and watched as she drove toward the cabins, and pulled in next to the one Shay had picked for himself.
“All good?” Lois asked Cole as they watched her drive away.
“Yes, she’s going to be our resident jockey. She’ll have to go back and clean up her home, then she’ll be back in three weeks.”
“Good, I know that’s a load off our minds.” She turned to Naomi with a grin. “He wakes up in the middle of the night thinking about how to get the horses exercised and trained.”
“Well, it looks like Faith is the answer to our prayers.”
CHAPTER 5
Shay scowledwhen he saw an unfamiliar vehicle parked at the cabin next to his, but at that moment, he didn’t have time to worry about it, just to wonder if it would be someone to help on the ranch. When he stepped out of his truck, he swore a blue streak as his leg buckled and he had to grip the door to stay upright. He looked up when another vehicle pulled in, and Tony rushed over.
“You okay?” Tony asked. “I heard Lorissa and Cole talking.” He looked at his friend, smirked, then reached out and helped him away from the door. “Let’s get you inside.” He ended up wrapping an arm around him, and as they were trying to make it up the porch, the door to the other cabin opened.
“Hello,” a woman called out, and Shay closed his eyes in shame before he turned and looked at who had spoken. He froze at the sight of the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. She came down the steps and held her hand out. “I’m Faith Webber. I was just hired as the resident jockey.”
“What’s that?” Shay asked as he tried to step away from Tony, and swore when his leg almost buckled.
“Are you okay?”
“He’s not,” Tony said with a nod to her. “I’m Tony, I live across the street. This is Shay, he lives here, can you help me get him inside?”
Faith hurried down her steps and over to them, sneaking beneath Shay’s other arm, and helped him up the stairs while Tony opened the door. Once inside, she concentrated on getting him to a chair in the kitchen, and watched as Tony removed Shay’s shoes.
“Talk to me, Shay, what the fuck happened?” His eyes grew wide, and with a shake of his head he apologized to Faith. “Sorry for swearing, Miss.”
“Don’t worry about it, but what happened?”
“I was helping Lorissa and I wasn’t paying attention. One of the horses fucking kicked me in my thigh.” He reached down and rubbed the outside of his knee where it met the thigh.
“Knee or thigh?” Faith asked. She had dropped to her knees to try to help him, then shook her head. “Like I said, I’m the new jockey, which means that I will be riding the horses around the track when the snow melts. I only had my interview today, I’m here overnight, then I need to go home and take care of things. I’ll be back in three weeks. Anyway, I’ve been around horses my entire life. I know what it’s like to get kicked by a horse or two, along with being bitten. Did the horse have a shoe on?”
“Yes,” Shay said between clenched teeth.
“You can tell me to get out, but I’m going to need to see it, so I can assess it.” She sat back on her haunches to look up at him. “You’re going to have to drop your drawers.”
Shay grit his teeth, then looked at Tony. “Take me to my bedroom.”
Tony helped him, then Faith heard him tell Shay not to move until he returned. He came out and shook his head. “Thank you, I’ll be right back. Could you please make a pot of coffee?”
“Yes.” Faith quickly got it started, and realized that this kitchen was set up the same as in the cabin she had chosen. Before it was even halfway brewed, Tony was back with a pair of crutches. He grinned at her. “Trust me.” Then he disappeared down the hall. When both men returned, Shay settled into the chair and stared at Tony.
“Christ, Jacobs, is this what you felt like after one of your operations?”
