Taking this job was supposed to be simple. I’d already visited through the spring, made a plan, but now I’m here… I hadn’t been looking hard enough when I accepted this job.
I shouldn’t get involved in this kind of shit, but there’s no damn way I’ll turn my back if I suspect wrongdoing or neglect toward any animal, let alone horses. And I certainly can’t turn away when I think someone may be in trouble.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I already know this is about to become a hell of a lot more complicated than I had planned.
My phone begins to buzz on the table, and a glance at the caller ID shows it’s my brother.
“What?” I grunt into the cell, wincing when it comes across far harsher than I intended.
“Jesus,” Roman laughs, “Who pissed in your cornflakes?”
I roll my eyes at my older brother, even though he can’t see me. “Long day.”
I should probably be nicer to him, especially when we almost lost him only a couple of months ago. He was stabbed, and for those few hours while we waited for an update from the doctors, we weren’t sure if he was going to survive.
But he had something to live for.
A wife.
A home.
A life.
Now he’s thriving and happy, which is something none of us thought he’d achieve. I’m happy for him; he deserves it, but you’ll never catch me going down the road of falling in love ever again.
“Wanna talk about it?” Roman asks, and I can hear him shuffling before a door clicks closed.
I sigh, “I think something more is happening here.”
“Like what?”
“Not sure yet. It just doesn’t seem right.”
Roman is silent for a moment. “You need something from me?”
“Not right now, but I’ll be in touch if I do.”
“I’ve got your back,” Roman says, “so does Remy.”
Remy is the youngest of the three of us, the reckless one. He ran off to the rodeo the moment he was old enough and is only back when he gets some time off.
“You too,” I grunt, not comfortable with the affection, but I take it. My brothers are the only family I have left, and we’ve all had our share of heartache. Our father murdered our mother; our grandparents are dead, so all we’ve got is each other.
I hang up the phone and stare toward the window as if I can see past the curtains. I could just leave it, do my job and get the fuck out of here.
Icould,but I won’t.
That’s not the type of man I am, and it never will be.
Chapter Three
“Easy,” I soothe the filly. “It’s just me.”
The filly’s ears flick, her dark eyes swinging to me from behind the stable door. She turns her body toward me, nostrils flaring to make a soft huffing sound as she makes herself taller, everything about her screaming her curiosity.
“Look at you,” I praise her, “so brave.”
Her jaw works, grinding her teeth, and she takes a step closer to me only for her ears to pin back at the sound of a voice that echoesthrough the stables.
