“What?” Juni’s head snaps back. “No, of course not! Why would you think that?”
“Because you love my dad more.”
Juni’s shoulders lower and she lets my hand go to round the table to her, reaching down to lift her off her seat, “I don’t love your dad more, sweetheart. I love him differently.”
Crossing my arms, I feel my throat tighten with emotion, the backs of my eyes burning. I blink it away so I can watch them clearly, seeing how she is with my little girl, how she cares so fucking deeply for both her and Caleb.
“Loving your dad doesn’t mean I love you any less. How could I when you’re such an incredible little girl?”
“So, you do love me?” Rosie asks.
“With all my heart,” she assures her, “to the moon and back.”
“And we can still be best friends?”
“I’d be really sad if we weren’t,” Juni smiles, “You, Caleb, and your dad make me the best version of myself. You make me happy.”
“I’m happy too,” Rosie nods. “So that means you’re staying?”
Juni nods, “I’m staying.”
“Here?”
“Wherever you want me.”
Rosie grins wide and then starts to fidget. “Okay, you can put me down now. I want my breakfast.”
With a laugh, Juni lowers my daughter back to her seat while I grab a cloth to clean up the milk she sprayed all over the table. When I’m done, Juni slides up next to me, wrapping her arms around mymiddle. “You’re a great dad, you know that?” She says.
I smile down at her. “They’re great kids.”
“Alright,” I yell, “Back it up!”
I wave my hands in view of the mirrors on the side of the truck, guiding the driver back as close as he can get to the stables we’ve prepared for the new horses. We couldn’t take them all, but a good half of them will now call Knight Falls home. We made the space once I got the call that they were being released into my care. This is only the first four, with several more trailers to come. I’ve hired as many of the largest ones as you can get as I can, but with so many arriving today, we’re going to be busy getting them all unloaded and settled in their new quarters.
And then the fun will truly begin. I haven’t watched these horses enough to read their personalities, so it’s going to be a learning experience for everyone. Behind me, I have my entire crew: Rosie, Caleb, and Juni, standing with Darcy off to the side. She’ll be giving them a quick evaluation as they’re unloaded; any she deems injured or unhealthy will be transported to the stables beside her clinic here on the ranch.
Putting my hand out, the driver stops and hops out. A stocky man with thick glasses and a gray beard, but he tips his hat to me, grumbling a hellobefore he unlocks the trailer door and reveals the four horses inside. There’s going to be a mix of breeds, each with their own challenges.
The guys get to work immediately, four of them lining up to lead the horses out. At first glance, they all look healthy, a little skinny, but nothing a good feed won’t fix. It’ll be weeks of grooming and acclimatizing, but I’ve had harder challenges.
When that trailer is empty and the horses are being moved into the stables after passing Darcy's initial inspection, the truck leaves, allowing the next one to come in.
It’s a long afternoon of repeating the same thing, unloading, inspecting, then homing. So far, five of the horses have needed to be moved up to the veterinary stables, two with a limp, one with an open sore, and the other two too skinny for anyone’s liking. I’m praying we find nothing serious; the horses have been through enough as it is.
It’s way after sundown when the last trailer arrives, the final three horses inside, and we get them moved quickly so everyone can take a break and eat.
“That’s all of them,” I tell Darcy, noticing that she’s still hovering at the edge of the stables. “Go get some rest.”
She opens her mouth to say something but then closes it, her eyes jumping to where my focus lies. My family.
“There’s so many!” I hear Rosie say as I get closer, “This one is blue!”
“She is,” Juni confirms, “Her name is Kiara.”
“They all have names?”
“Not officially,” Juni strokes down the muzzle of one of the horses, “But I named as many as I could when I was with them.”
