He approached the outside of the fence. Midnight stood just inside the pen, snorting and pawing the ground. Gunner leaned on the rail. “It’s all right, buddy. I’m not gonna hurt you.”
The horse’s ears swiveled forward. “That’s right. We’re buddies now, you and I. You can count on me.”
The horse lowered his head and took a step closer to the fence.
“What was it, huh? What happened to you? Must’ve been pretty bad to mess you up like this.” Gunner held out his hand, hoping the horse would approach and smell it.
But Midnight stopped and stood his ground.
“That’s all right. We’ll just take this easy. I won’t give up on you if you don’t give up on me.”
“Hey there,” Gavin called from the far side of the pen.
Midnight startled and dashed away from both men, then slowed once he reached the barn.
“Sorry ’bout that. Didn’t mean to spook him.”
“He’s a little skittish. Got my work cut out for me with that one.” Gunner glanced up the hillside. “The new barn’s coming along great. Checked it out this morning before you all got here.”
“We’re running on time and on budget—that’s about the most I can hope for.”
“Charlotte’s real happy with your work. That barn’s built to last.”
“I’m glad she’s happy with it. She’s really easy to work with.”
“She’s a nice person.” And Gavin seemed like a nice guy. Gunner hoped when he and Cooper found out Charlotte was their sister, they’d be kind and accepting of her. It wouldn’tnecessarily be happy news for guys who already had a big, loving family. In fact, news like that could hit hard, and Charlotte might end up taking the brunt of it.
He didn’t like that notion at all.
“Hey,” Gavin said. “I was wondering if I could bring my wife and little girl out sometime Saturday to show her the horses. On your schedule, of course.”
“Don’t see why not. I have a trail ride at noon, but earlier in the morning would work. We have a nice, gentle pony we could saddle if she’d be up for that.”
“I’ll bet she would.” Gavin chuckled. “Don’t know about my wife though.”
“No rush. We can ease into it.”
“Sounds good. Thanks. We’ll be over about nine if that works. Laurel likes to make a big breakfast on Saturdays.”
“Must be nice. Most of my mornings start with a can of beans and string cheese.”
“That’s a sad meal there, buddy. Not much of a cook?”
“I like to keep things simple.”
“Still, that has to get old. You should join my family for our cookout Sunday. My stepdad throws some burgers on the grill and everyone brings a side dish—go ahead and leave the canned beans at home though.”
Gunner slipped him a grin. A home-cooked meal sounded pretty darn good right now. “Sure I wouldn’t be imposing?”
“There’s always plenty of food. And we usually invite a guest or two, sometimes a friend, sometimes a random hiker off the trail. We like to keep things interesting.”
“All right then. I won’t turn down a grilled burger. What time?”
“Five o’clock. And bring your cornhole game. You any good?”
“Well, I don’t like to brag, but I was the undisputed champion at Four Winds.”
Gavin pointed at him. “You’re on my team.”
