It only took Dean ten minutes to show up at Walker’s, and to say I was relieved would be an understatement. After everything that had occurred between us, I thought there might be a level of awkwardness or tension, but he came into the barn all business, and I appreciated that he could set our personal situation aside for my horse.
Dean walked over to Cash, rubbing his hand down his neck and talking to him softly. I loved the way this man interacted with animals, soft-spoken and patient.
“Has he tried to graze yet or drink any water?” He directed his dark gaze toward me while still rubbing Cash.
“Not yet. I’ve tried to offer, but he still isn’t interested.”
“Got it. How long have you been walking him?”
I shook my head. “Only about fifteen minutes, so not long.”
Dean proceeded to ask me a couple more questions about Cash’s behavior. “All right, let me go grab some Banamine from my truck to give him and see if that helps.” Banamine was a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory that helped alleviate pain andinflammation associated with colic. “Maybe give him a break from walking for a bit and groom him. I’ll give him the shot, and then we can start walking him again.”
Dean came back shortly with the syringe and injected the medication into Cash’s neck. I led Cash back into the barn to give him a break and brush him, hoping it would distract us both, the pit in my stomach heavy.
Walker made his way over to Dean after finishing up with Dahlia. He stretched out his hand to shake Dean’s. “Hey, man, thanks for coming out so quickly for Cash. Not the way I hoped to finally meet you, but I’m Walker.”
Dean pushed off the wall that he was leaning against and shook my brother’s hand. “No problem at all. Good to finally meet you.”
Walker looked Cash over and sighed, sadness in his eyes. “So do you think we caught it early enough?”
“I think so, but we won’t know for sure until we see how he responds to the Banamine.” Dean crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes focused on Cash.
Walker nodded in understanding and then turned his attention toward me. “I’ve got to go to the airport to pick up West. Will you be okay for a bit?” Weston was flying in for Thanksgiving.
“Yeah, go get West. This will just be a waiting game, and now that Dean is here, we at least have all the tools we need to help Cash.” Walker squeezed my shoulder and leaned down to kiss the top of my head before he said goodbye to Dean and headed out of the barn.
Cash started pawing restlessly in the crossties, and I turned toward Dean with, I was sure, a panicked look on my face. Dean studied him for a moment. Cash started looking back at his belly. “I think I’m going to do a nasogastric intubation and flush him with some fluids. It’ll help him stay hydrated but also help remove any impactions if that’s the cause.” Without even waiting for my confirmation, Dean spun on his heel and rushed to his truck for his supplies.
Watching Dean work was impressive. He had a quiet confidence in everything that he did, and I felt like my horse couldn’t have been in better hands. Dean injected Cash with another syringe to sedate him and decided to move him into his stall for the procedure. He got to work feeding the tube through Cash’s nose, who was initially resistant but eventually relaxed as Dean spoke to him calmly as the sedative began to take effect. My nerves were shot at this point. I just needed my horse to be okay.
I wasn’t sure exactly how long it took, but Dean worked on Cash for several hours and seemed to get the impaction cleared that he had finally found. At some point in the process, the sedative had Cash wanting to lie down, so we had him set up comfortably on the ground in his stall. Dean slowly and carefully retracted the tube from Cash and turned toward me. “He should start to feel better soon. Let’s let him rest for a bit as the sedative wears off.”
I was still sitting next to Cash on the ground, rubbing his neck. “I don’t think I want to leave him. I’ll probably just hang out with him in here tonight until I see some signs of himimproving.” I swiped at a tear falling down my face. “Seriously, Dean, thank you so much for everything tonight.”
Dean bent down so he was eye level with me and used the pad of his thumb to wipe away another tear that escaped. “Addison, he’s going to be okay. I promise. And it’s my job. You’re the one who knew the signs, and to call me right away.”
I nodded and forced a watery smile. “I’ll text you how he’s doing in a little while.”
Dean chuckled and sat down next to me, bumping my shoulder with his as he laid his head against the wall of Cash’s stall. “You can’t get rid of me that easily. I’ve got nothing better to do,” he teased. Then Dean suddenly whistled, causing Coal to come running down the barn aisle into Cash’s stall to join us. He walked over and curled up on the other side of me. I laughed for the first time today as I heard Dean mumble, “Traitor,” under his breath.
“So, tell me more about this ex-fiancé of yours,” Dean said while stroking Cash’s neck. Cash was showing signs of improvement. He got up and drank some water a few times and then lay back down to rest again. But he wasn’t nearly as restless and seemed much more relaxed.
I sighed heavily because honestly this was the last thing I wanted to talk about at this moment. “What do you want to know?”
“How you met, why you said yes, how it went from planninga wedding to him being a piece of shit and cheating on you.”
“Well, we met in one of my finance classes at BU. I honestly thought he was an arrogant asshole, but he eventually wore me down and won me over with his charm. Being so far away from my family was tough, but I ended up getting close to his family and spending a lot of time with them. He’s from a wealthy family that owns a real estate development firm, and they all pushed for me to work there, so I did, for six years.” I glanced over at him and continued, “He became my everything at that point, so it only made sense when he asked me to marry him.”
Dean nodded. “Okay, so what happened? Why the big shift on his end?”
I took a moment to gather my thoughts. “Well, I was able to afford Cash and horse shows on my own with that job. If I wasn’t working, I spent a lot of time training with my trainer, Eli, and showing Cash as well as Eli’s horses. I worked my way up the ranks in the show world. Evidently, Noah was not too pleased by this. He claimed I wasn’t paying enough attention to him.” I scoffed. “But the asshole didn’t even have the decency to talk to me about it or tell me how he was feeling. Instead, he just banged this dumb girl at the office and then gotmefired. Makes sense, though, because that girl always worshipped him. That’s what he wants. To be worshipped, be someone’s main focus.”
“He sounds like a narcissist,” Dean said while playing with a piece of hay on the ground.
“Basically. He actually had the nerve to blame me for his cheating too.” I shook my head. “It’s fine, though, because whatI realized after it all happened was that he never truly supported me. He believed horses were a hobby, not a career. The asshole never came to one of my horse shows, never even watched me train.” I grabbed a piece of hay from the ground, ripping it apart.
Dean turned his dark gaze toward me. “Sounds like this ended up being a good thing. Horses are a part of who you are. He did you a favor. Now look at you. You’re about to move onto your own farm and run a training facility. If none of that happened, do you think you would have done this?”
