Page 7

As soon as I graduated from high school in the spring, we all knew what I was heading to. I spent my entire life waiting for these days of shadowing the heads of the ranch all day every day. No school, no real job, just working place to place with my dad and uncle and trying to soak in everything I’ll need to know when ten years pass by and this paradise is officially mine. I should be at peace.

And yet, with each day and task looming closer and closer, the more I feel a sense of numbness.

Wind rustles through my messy blond hair as I take my cap off, the sound of chimes near the barn calling me back as if to say I’ve been out here too long. I take a deep breath through my nose. Keep pushing. You have nothing to complain about. Grow up.

We break soon and I’ll have an hour to let it all go before I have to face it all again. And then tonight, when I’m given the chance, I can run right down this road to Felicity, and all these wild anxious thoughts will settle back down to the calm, steady place my mind should be at.

I stand up to my full height, readjust my baseball cap, and turn toward the ringing chimes.

The winds are shifting. Something is changing out here.

And if there’s one thing I hate more than hoof trimming, it’s change.

Chapter Three Flick

With Nigel on my shoulder, I burst through Lottie’s front door as soon as my shift at Happy Tails is over. I texted her after I clocked out that I needed to talk, and she responded by calling me, sobbing. It took a valiant effort, but I was eventually able to settle her down to understand just how dire the situation is.

The house seems to be empty until I race up the steps. Right outside her bedroom, Knox is pacing on the aged hardwood floors.

“How bad is it?” I pant in an attempt to catch my breath. Nigel makes himself comfortable in the hallway, wrapping his claws around the banister to the stairs and bobbing up and down at Knox.

Knox turns around from the bedroom door and gives a chin dip to Nigel before shaking his head at me. “It’s not good, hon.”

My heart lurches. My poor, poor friend on the other side of this door. I have never been in this position, but I can only imagine how awful it must be for Knox to look this devastated. The little bits of uneven scruff on his jaw stretch with his concerned face and the mop of blond hair on top of his head is in his eyes, but he hasn’t even bothered to push it out of the way.

“Knox,” I whisper. “How bad—”

He grips my shoulders, and my skin must not understand how dire the situation is because little goose bumps form their way around his touch, just like they always do with Knox.

“Look, it’s not permanent, right? We can all do this together; we just have to stay strong.”

I nod and brace myself as my best friend opens the door.

In Lottie’s pink room, she sits on her fluffy bed, hands covering her face and Walker rubbing her back side to side lovingly. He looks up at me and jerks his head to my friend sprawled across his lap.

“Hey, Lot.” I tiptoe in and sit on the floor in front of her.

“Flick,” she sniffles. “It’s horrible.”

“Surely not.”

Lottie, in a rush, sits up from her boyfriend’s lap and rips off her towel-covered hair to reveal the inevitable: self-cut bangs.

Lottie Jane Turner is literally the prettiest girl I have ever seen walk the planet, but even I have to admit…these bangs were not a good idea.

I almost wince at the first sight of them: ridged, harsh cuts just above her brow. My face begins to scrunch up before I have to force myself to stop. I think Lottie knows it too because she starts crying even more. “Oh my gosh, you hate them.”

My head shakes furiously. “No, no, no. I do not. I think they’re adorable.” Slightly uneven, but nevertheless adorable. It would take a whole lot to make someone as beautiful as Lottie be anything other than adorable. These bangs aren’t ideal, but it certainly can’t take away from her big doe eyes and that smile everyone loves. “You look like the epitome of fall; it’s cozy and cute.”

Walker, sitting next to her, sends me a thankful look. “I think you look beautiful, Trouble. Toss some glasses and a sweater on, and you’re like a walking fantasy. Gonna give me all sorts of librarian dreams.”

She sniffs and wipes the corners of her eyes. “Really?”

Her boyfriend nods. “You could be bald and still be the most beautiful girl I know.”

Lottie smiles at that, and then in a flash, they are leaning back on her bed, lips touching and sloppy noises beginning, and you know, I’m starting to feel a little awkward standing here so, “I’m just gonna…”

I stand up and take a few steps back to the doorframe, but neither of them seem to notice.