“Text me or Wes the numbers, and we’ll grab the paint and have it ready in case there’s a break in their schedule.”
“Will do.”
“Oh, I almost forgot. As you probably know, my mom runs Trail Days, and I was telling her about your expansion. She wondered if you might want to promote your business at the event. No pressure, just wanted to mention it in case you’d be interested. Booths are pretty cheap since Mom wants as many businesses as possible to participate.”
“I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Trail Days is in October, isn’t it?”
“October twenty-second this year. It gathers a pretty big crowd.”
“I’d love to participate.” Gunner would still be here. Maybe he’d help with it. She didn’t even attend last year because she was still deep in grief.
“I’ll text you my mom’s number then.”
“That’d be wonderful. Thanks.”
He whipped out his phone and a few seconds later Lisa’s contact information appeared on her screen.
“Got it. Thanks.” She was loath to end their conversation. He was so easy to talk to. But she’d held him up long enough. “I should let you get back to work.”
“Let me know if you have any questions, okay?”
“Will do.” Sadly, she couldn’t verbalize the only question she really wanted to ask.
But come Monday maybe she’d finally have her answer.
She didn’t have a chance to call Lisa until that evening. Emerson had apparently spent the afternoon making chicken cordon bleu, homemade mashed potatoes, and a cauliflower and broccoli salad. Although her sister had already left for work, she’d left a Post-it saying leftovers were in the fridge. Charlotte would have to thank her for the delicious meal. Sometimes she took her sister for granted.
After the dishes were loaded in the dishwasher and leftovers returned to the fridge, Charlotte called Lisa and identified herself when the woman answered.
“Well, hello!” Lisa said. “Gavin told me all about your expansion—the trail rides and the new trainer and everything. How exciting.”
“We’re pretty stoked about it. Gavin and Wes are doing an amazing job on the new stable. It’s gonna be beautiful.”
“Those boys do excellent work. Your ranch is such a staple in the community. I don’t even remember a time it wasn’t there.”
“It’s been in my family awhile. My sister and I are third-generation owners.”
“In this day and age, that’s saying something. What a wonderful legacy.”
“I’m very blessed,” Charlotte said, though that wordlegacymade her think of her recently discovered biological family. “So Gavin mentioned the possibility of getting some exposure at Trail Days. What would that entail exactly?”
“Well, I have a few options for you. Some businesses rent booths, some just place ads in the program, and others perform demonstrations or exhibitions. Some do all three. I’m open to ideas—and I’ll warn you, I’m liable to throw out a few of my own. If you’re interested, why don’t we get together and chat, put our heads together, and come up with something that just knocks your socks off.”
Charlotte smiled. She liked this woman. “That would be great. What’s your schedule like?”
“I have some time Sunday afternoon, say around three? We could meet at the coffee shop or you could just come over to the house. I’m getting to be such a homebody in my old age!”
Lisa couldn’t possibly be much past fifty—and a very pretty woman at that. But the thought of checking out the home where her brothers grew up was irresistible. “That sounds perfect.”
“I’ll shoot you the address. And I’m so glad you’re interested in participating, Charlotte. We’re gonna hit this out of the park for you.”
Fourteen
Gunner wasn’t having much luck with Midnight. The horse was nowhere near ready for the lunge line, but they were slowly building trust. Gunner had implemented a regular routine of feeding, mucking, turnout, and bonding time. Predictability was an easy, natural way to reduce Midnight’s anxiety. Horses, much like people, preferred to know what was coming next. And this particular horse seemed to have reason to fear the unknown.
The ultimate goal with any horse was to establish leadership, and since the gelding’s previous leader had likely abused his role, that would take time and patience. Fortunately, Gunner had plenty of both.
He always spent a few minutes with the horse in the morning and evening, talking gently and offering a treat. This nonstructured time served no purpose other than to give each of them an opportunity to learn about the other. So far Gunner had learned Midnight was a loner, didn’t like being groomed, and listened intently when Gunner talked softly. HopefullyMidnight was learning that Gunner was a human being he could trust.
