Dolores walks slowly, spooking at something on the ground, but she recovers quickly.
We make it to the back fence area without any major issues, and I ride along the property line, looking for any signs of tampering.
When I get a little closer, I don’t see a break in the fence, but I do see a horse grazing along the edge and a little girl sitting there.
Sadie pops up when she hears me approach. “Hi, Lark.”
“Hey. Are you out here with the chickens again?” I ask as I near her.
“No, I just…brought…my aunt’s horse to graze.”
I look over at the beautiful white horse that has a lead attached. “Wow, that horse is stunning,” I tell her.
Sadie nods. “He is. My…aunt loves him a lot. Is this your horse?”
Dolores sidesteps, and I rub her neck, hoping to soothe her a little. “She’s a new mare I’m working with, but I’m hoping I can give her to a new farm that works with kids.”
“Like a camp?”
I nod. “I retrain horses for Guiding Hope.”
Her eyes brighten. “Really?”
“Yup.”
“I wanted to go to another horse camp this summer, but…you know, my dad sucks.”
I snort a laugh. “I don’t think that’s true, but I get the feeling. One year my parents tried to send me to a choir camp, and it was awful.”
“Yes! He’s sending me to a swimming camp. I don’t want to go. At all.”
“Well, maybe when you get back, you can do something fun?” I try to find the silver lining. Lord knows I hate when people do it to me, but Sadie is twelve, so…there’s hope she won’t.
She shrugs. “Maybe. Can I tell you a secret?”
“Sure,” I say, not really thinking it through.
Am I supposed to keep secrets for a kid?
I’m not her aunt or family member. I’m also banging her dad, so I’m not sure what exactly that means for this moment.
However, her very amazingly cool aunt is my best friend. So I could be like a proxy friend of some sort.
“Cloud isn’t my aunt’s horse. He’s mine.”
I’m not sure why that’s a secret, but it seems like an easy one to keep. “Oh. Okay.”
“He’s really sweet.”
“He seems like he is.”
And he does. He’s not bothered by anything around him, just happy to be grazing around the field, dragging his lead.
“I wish someone would be able to work with him. Aunt Roni is really busy, so she can’t. Aunt Fallon has Knox and hasn’tbeen riding much because she’s got work to do. Dad is…well, a butthole. No one has time, and I can’t do it without an adult because they all think I’m a baby.”
I purse my lips. “I see. Well, if you ever want help, I’d be happy to work with Cloud and you, if it’s okay with your dad.”
“Really? Of course he’d be okay with it! You’re a horse trainer, and no one else has the time.”
