They’d talked and had agreed that they’d do itifthey found the right horse. Together, they had gone to look at a few that were listed for sale.
It had been on the drive that Mav had laughingly said, ‘How are we supposed to compete with your gift giving when you always buy the girls goddamn horses?’
Benji had reminded him, ‘Your dad gave me Diablo.’
‘That was different,’ Mav had insisted. ‘You were twenty-eight. And you’d been working at the ranch without your own horse since we graduated high school. And Diablo is a Mustang. What’s the BLM adoption fee? Like two hundred and fifty dollars?’
Benji’s heart had clenched at the memory. ‘It wasn’t the money. It was the year of training your dad and I put on him before he gave Diablo to me.’
He couldn’t explain the feeling to Mav, who had been raised with a barn full of horses to choose from, what it had felt like when James Hunt had turned to him and said, ‘He’s yours, Benji,’ as Diablo had followed him like a dog in the round pen.
He didn’t say any of that to Mav because he’d wanted the day to be a happy one. But Benji gifted horses to the right people at the right time because it wasn’t a gift that lost its shine after a few weeks. A horse was a gift that kept on giving, on rainy days and sunny ones. It was a gift that gave more with the more work you put into it, and that was a lesson that Poppy needed to learn, a lesson that he’d teach his own kids one day.
So, he and Mav had gone to look. They’d found the listing for a little Gypsy Vanner gelding on a local Facebook group page, and even though they’d both hesitated over the horse’s age, which was hitting nineteen, they’d agreed to go and look because everything else was perfect. The horse, aptly named Romeo, was a fat piebald who stood at just over fourteen hands tall. His coat was jet black with random patches of white. He had a black mane that reached his shoulders and a tail that dragged on the floor behind him. And, more important than his pretty looks and feathered legs, he’d been a kids’ lesson horse for fifteen years, making him the perfect starter horse for Poppy.
Now, Benji checked Romeo over one last time, making sure that the red ribbons in his mane and the tinsel in his braided tail were firmly in place, and then he hopped onto Diablo bareback and ponied Romeo behind them.
When he came to the ranch house ten minutes later, Sierra was waiting for him outside. She stood on the porch in that familiar casual lean, a huge smile on her face.
Benji’s heart settled in his chest. While he hadn’t mentioned it, he had worried that gifting Poppy her first horse would remind Sierra of all the unfulfilled plans they’d had for their own daughter. They’d talked about it constantly when she was pregnant. How long they’d wait before teaching her to ride, how soon they’d cave and get her a horse of her own, how cute she’d look in a child’s western saddle.
‘What do you think?’ he asked as he hopped off Diablo.
She shook her head mockingly. ‘I think you’re a sap, Benji.’ But the moment he dismounted, she walked into his arms and gave him a huge hug. ‘We don’t deserve to have gotten you. But I’m glad that we did.’
He kissed the side of her head. ‘I’m glad you got me too.’
Behind them, the front door creaked open, and Poppy ran out. ‘Uncle Benji, Daddy said you have to come open presents so we can get married!’
She came to an abrupt stop when she saw the horses. Her eyes lit up. ‘Did Santa get Sisi a horse?’ she asked. Before he could reply, she rattled on, ‘He’s so pretty, Sisi! Can I pet him? Can I ride him? What’s his name?’
Benji crouched down. ‘Come here, bub.’
Poppy ran to him. She roped one arm around his neck, but she didn’t look at him. She was completely distracted by Romeo.
Behind them, Mav, Nina, and Markus came out to watch.
‘Your daddy and I were thinking that it’s time you had your own horse,’ Benji began. ‘So, we wrote to Santa, and we asked him if he could figure it out for us.’
‘No. Uncle Benji wrote to Santa all by himself,’ Mav corrected, and nestled Nina in front of him so that he could rope both his arms around her.
Nina swiped away a few tears.
Markus captured everything on his camera.
Poppy turned her huge eyes on Benji. ‘He’s mine?’ she whispered, her shock clear.
‘Yeah, baby. Merry Christmas.’
Poppy didn’t move. She turned back to stare at Romeo. ‘He’s mine? All mine?’
‘He is.’ And because she seemed a little frozen with shock, Benji asked, ‘Wanna sit on him?’
Poppy nodded silently.
‘No riding without your hat, ’kay? Just sitting. Or, if you dad says it’s okay, he can lead you around.’ Benji lifted her and walked to Romeo. He placed her on the horse’s broad back, and then held the lead rope firmly, making sure the horse didn’t move. ‘His name’s Romeo,’ Benji said. ‘He’s nineteen. But he’s really smart. And he has lots and lots of training.’
Poppy laughed brightly, her surprise forgotten. She flopped forward and draped both arms around the horse’s huge neck in an attempt at a hug. ‘I love him!’ She shouted, ‘Daddy! Neens! I got a horse! His name’s Romie!’
