As I glanced back at the two cabins, I saw Theo and Bucky heading toward Theo’s front porch. Lake was asleep in a rocking chair with one of the stable cats on his lap. Poor Lake, he had to be exhausted and the day hadn’t even started yet.
I quickly moved up the path and in through the front door, dodging the giant of a man that was Jack Cook when he appeared from the kitchen with a tray of something.
“Oops!” I called out. “Sorry!”
“No worries,” he rumbled back as we both continued on our way.
I jogged up the stairs and considered what I’d wear. We’d told everyone to come in clothes that weren’t too nice, but promised that they wouldn’t get dirty unless they wanted to. That meant a wide variety of options, but in the end I chose some jeans, a Twin Star Rescue T-shirt, and my sneakers. I wouldn’t be going near the horses to get my feet trampled, so I would be fine.
I checked my eyeliner, then did an insanely quick job of applying some eyeshadow to my lids just because. Then I ran my fingers through my hair. It wasn’t blond anymore. I’d dyed it close to the strawberry blond I was naturally. I smiled at my reflection. From now on, I’d go with my authentic self, and somehow the bleach didn’t feel like me anymore.
I’d dyed it last night, so Ben hadn’t seen it yet. Lake had hugged me hard, knowing why I’d done it without having to explain.
I decided I was ready. I could hear car doors slamming, which meant people were parking by the dirt road next to the property. There really wasn’t anything more convenient, because we’d banned visitor parking in the yard for the day for safety reasons.
I jogged down the stairs and dodged Cook again. We cracked up, and I gestured for him to go first.
“Thank you kindly,” he said in his best charming Texas accent, despite not being from Texas.
They’d opened the gate, and there were already people milling about the place, taking in the sights.
Some of them were our volunteers, not everyone was actually volunteering today, some were people who had bought horses from us, and since open invitations to come by had been posted on the website, we anticipated quite a few curious people coming to check the place out.
I grinned when I spotted Mrs. Knight—sitting in a wheelchair which I approved of—and a lady about her age who I assumed was her lady friend Gladys, walking past.
“Hey, Mrs. Knight!” I called out and jogged to catch up with them.
“Oh, River!” She beamed at me, then nudged her partner’s hand. “Gladys, this is River, the young nurse I’ve told you about.”
“Nice to meet you.” I smiled at Gladys and shook her hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Thank you for taking such good care of my Greta,” she said with feeling.
“I like the hair.” Mrs. Knight smiled.
“Thanks. It’s close to my natural color. I felt like it was time for a change.”
Gladys nodded. “The eyeshadow is also gorgeous.”
“Thank you, ladies.” I grinned. “If you see anyone with one of these shirts on, they can answer all your questions,” I advised, pointing to my chest. I saw Bucky wandering toward us. “And this distinguished gentleman is Bucky.”
“Oh, he’s precious in his bowtie!” Gladys cooed, immediately bending down to let him sniff her hand.
“All the dogs and cats are friendly, so if you meet any today, feel free to show them some love.” Then I winked at them. “The four other dogs are named after the Golden Girls characters.”
They laughed with clear delight, and then Gladys started to push the wheelchair again so they could go see what else was going on.
I got sucked into talking about the rescue with a young couple from Chicago who had seen us online and decided to come take a look. They were lovely people, and hoped one day to have a little farm so they could have animals.
“Hey, River!” Abe ran to us. “There’s a guy at the stable who wants to talk to you.”
I frowned briefly. “Oh, okay.” I smiled at the couple. “I better take a look.”
Abe ran off in another direction, and I chuckled, wishing I had a tenth of his energy. Then again, maybe I’d had that when I was ten years old, too.
I stepped into the stable. All the horses were out, and the doors were open to let the sunlight in. There were still shady spots here and there. In one of those stood a guy with his back to me. He wore jeans, boots, and a plaid shirt. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.
“Hey, you wanted to see me?” I asked, walking closer.
