“That he is, missy. Look at him; he's having fun with you.” Luke clapped.
Eleanor took the horse around the corral, first in one direction, then in the other. She put the horse through his gaits. “Luke, could you set up a couple of low jumps for me?”
“I like my job, Eleanor.” He used her formal name.
“I like your job too, Luke,” she giggled.
Smiling, she watched Luke set up three low jumps. Eleanor had the horse trot around the ring where he could see the jumps. Once she was comfortable, she picked up the trot to a faster pace, and, tucking her heels and lowering herself against the animal's neck, she headed toward the first jump.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Luke looking pale and watching her with concern. Eleanor looked straight ahead over the jump, and within seconds, the beautiful horse flew over the jump with room to spare.
“He did it!” she exclaimed. Eleanor continued to pass and went over the next jump. She followed by taking the third.
“Luke, put them in order, and let's see if he'll do three in a row?”
“You're killing me.” Luke moved out to the ring, and with one of the farmhands, they set up the jumps, three in a row.
Eleanor would have to clear a jump, land, have the horse take a stride, jump again and so forth until three in a row were complete. She patted Louis’s neck and whispered, “You can do this, boy.”
Eleanor took him for a lap around the ring, and cutting diagonally down the center, she turned. One after the other, Louis took her effortlessly over the jumps. “You did it, boy. I am so proud of you.”
She let Louis take a victory lap and then brought him down to a walk. Though the animal’s performance was exemplary, she was still concerned. As Luke said, something was off. The only way she would really know if the animal would be compliant with the client was to work with him and a client. That was definitely a dangerous option.
Her thoughts derailed when she caught a look of the fence line where Luke had been watching the whole time. Next to him stood Troy Bremen.
She whispered to the horse, “I'm screwed, my friend.” She walked carefully and stopped in front of Luke and Troy. “Good morning.”
“Good morning.” Troy's brow arched. “I'd like an explanation. Did Pete clear you to go riding?”
Eleanor looked down. “He didn'tnotclear me. But my head feels fine,” she insisted.
“You never checked in with him?” Troy shook his head. “You, miss, are trouble with a capital T. What am I supposed to do with you?”
“Well, if you're asking… I can't get the therapeutic vibe off Louis.”
“And who is Louis?” Troy scratched his brow.
“This is Louis. He's the skittish horse from yesterday. I figured out the first issue. The invoice listed him as a western horse. My guess is they wanted to assure the sale and assumed we'd be looking for only western horses since we bought two others from the same place. He responded beautifully with the English saddle, but I don't know if he's going to be good with clients. And, in all honesty, he responds well to an experienced rider. He hasn't shown me what he could be like with...”
“You don't know what he'll be like with a PTSD veteran with disabilities.” Troy cocked his head. “All I can tell you is, if you drop me on my head, there will be a whole bunch of people pissed off at you. What do I have to do?” Troy chuckled.
“You're already in jeans and supportive shoes. If Luke would generously put a double pad on Louis here, you and I could go for a ride. We will see how he reacts.” Eleanor jumped down.
* * *
Wes returned to the office after greeting the staff again. Their morning would be spent going over some of the additional requirements for the facility. Christian was in charge. “Hey, Yvonne, where’s Troy?”
“Luke called him. He is down at the stables,” she said without turning her head from her computer.
A chill ran through him. “Do you know why?”
“No, he didn’t seem upset when he left.”
Wes grumbled. “He’s never upset, even when the sky is falling. I’m going to head there.” He left the office.
Wes arrived at the stables, only to be stopped by Luke. “Give the lass a chance.”
“Where is she? And where is Troy?” Wes scanned the area.
