CHAPTER 6
“Morning,”Cole said as they entered his office, and as the others joined him, they made the introductions. “All the people you met yesterday work for Erin. These are the people that work here on a permanent basis. There’s me, Clem, Ann, Faith, Shay, and Tony. The men that work over at Broken Wheel come over here to help out when they have time. Ann and Tony take care of the horses here in these two barns. We’ve built a barn out by the track, and that’s where the horses are that we are racing to get their stats.”
He rose and went to the coffee pot, but everyone declined his offer of a refill. “Pedro, and Myrna, you’ll be going with Shay and Faith over to that barn. Pedro, you know what to do, Myrna, you’ll be working with Shay on what he does. You’ll be helping him.”
“Can I see Sally first?”
“Absolutely, we’re not keeping you or Pedro from your horses. We only ask that you don’t let them out of their pen until they get a clean bill of health from Lorissa or Tom.”
“That’s fine,” Pedro said. He looked over at Faith and grinned. “I hope you have some paperwork for me to read, Kid.”
“Yep, we have our own office, and I’ve got everything all set up for you.”
“Good.” They all disbanded and Faith went with Pedro and Myrna to see their horses while Shay said he was heading over to the track. Once they checked on Sally and Cocoa, Faith had them follow her over to the other barn in their truck.
When they exited, she walked up to them, and they walked over to the track. Pedro nodded as he approached, then went over, climbed through to reach down and actually pick up some of the dirt and run it through his hands. While he did that, Shay came out to get Myrna and take her into the barn. After giving her a quick tour, they both started mucking out the stalls of the horses there.
“What do you think?” Faith asked Pedro.
“I like it.” He looked at her and cracked a smile. “Where are the horses?”
“In the barn,” she laughed, then turned on her heel to lead the way. “You can read the files, and see thestats we’ve documented on the wall. We still have a lot of work ahead of us.”
“I want to see the horses for myself.”
“Okay, do you want any commentary as I introduce you to them?”
“No, let me come to my own conclusions.” He looked at her and scowled when she smirked at him. “What?”
“Nothing, I’ll let you figure it out yourself, since you want to come to your own conclusions.”
Pedro looked at her funny, but shrugged and continued toward the barn, listening to her commentary as they walked.
“We start here around seven in the morning. Tony and Ann take care of the horses over at the other two barns, while Shay and I take care of these.”
“Why are they separated?”
“Based on their age, and their readiness to start training. Cole and Naomi thought it was better to bring the ones we’re training closer to the track.”
Pedro nodded, then stopped to turn to look at her. “Tell me again the hierarchy of the ranch.”
Faith launched into what Erin Riceman had accomplished since her accident years ago, and how New Double came about. They had paused as she talked, and Pedro nodded the entire time.
“Okay, thank you. It gives me a better understanding of how everything is run. This question isn’t relevant, but do you ever go over to Broken Wheel?”
“Not really, it’s not like I’m not invited, but I’m really busy here.”
“Got it.” Pedro nodded and they started forward again. Faith explained about the set up and instead of going into the barn, they walked around the outside, and he could see the horses inside their stalls. He liked that this barn had upper doors cut out so that the horses could look out, but still be in their stalls. Inside the barn, he stood and looked around nodding his approval. Not that he had any say in how things were run, but he liked what he saw so far.
He paused when there was a slight scream, then a woman’s laughter. It hit Pedro in the center of his chest at the sound of pure joy. He looked at Faith when she giggled, and she waved her hand in front of her face. She reached out and gripped his forearm to stop him from going to investigate.
“Before you go, I have to tell you something.”
“Okay,” Pedro said with a frown when a male’s laughter joined the woman’s.
“What’s going on back there?”
“It’s probably Ball Buster doing his antics.” She giggled more, then had to scrub her face with both hands to try to stop her giggles. “You know how every horse has their own personality?”
