Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 110694 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110694 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Linc put Stevie down, and she took off running over to the fence where the pale golden horse watched us. Its black mane and tail fluttered gently in the breeze.
“I’m ashamed to say that she’d never been around horses until we were in Ocala,” I told him.
“She mentioned that. But she’s young. We’ve got plenty of time to turn that around.”
I smiled and watched her as she held on to the wooden fence with her head tilted back so that she could stare up at it.
Linc walked up behind her and picked her up under the arms, then sat her on the post while keeping his arm wrapped around her waist. “Stevie, meet Diane,” he said as he reached out and ran a hand down the horse’s head.
“Diane?” I asked, scrunching my nose. “Odd name for a horse.”
He cut his gaze to me. “Shh, you’ll hurt her feelings.”
I suppressed a grin.
Linc let out a whistle. “Jack!” he called out, then pointed toward the barn as a blue roan quarter horse emerged.
I’d only ever seen photos of a quarter horse this color. They weren’t easy to breed for, and they weren’t cheap.
The names clicked then, and I swung my gaze back to Linc.
“Jack and Diane,” I said aloud.
He nodded. “Yep. Life goes on.”
A laugh bubbled out of me.
“Don’t laugh at theyah names, Mommy,” Stevie scolded me. “It’s not nice.”
I nodded, looking at him one more time before shifting my attention back to Jack. “You’re right, Vivi Lu,” I replied. “I’m sorry.”
“Can I wide them?” Stevie asked, turning her head to look up at Linc.
He nodded. “Want to go inside and check out your tack?”
She had no idea what tack was, but she nodded her head as if she did. I watched as he put her booted feet back on the ground. She immediately reached for his hand, and seeing him wrap his much larger one around hers never got old for me.
They started in that direction, but I didn’t follow. He hadn’t mentioned it, and I didn’t want to intrude on a bonding moment they might have.
Just before I went back to admiring Jack and Diane, Linc glanced back over his shoulder at me. “You coming?”
Oh. He wanted me to go too.
“I wasn’t sure if this was a, um…bonding kinda thing.”
He raised his eyebrows slightly. “It is, but she has two parents.”
Seven words couldn’t have held more security in them if they tried. She did have two parents, but I often feared that he wished she hadn’t.
I licked my lips. “Okay.”
They continued to the wide double doors, and Linc pulled one open. Stevie let go of his hand and darted inside. He held it for me, and every hair on my body came alive as I passed by him. His eyes following me didn’t help.
The inside momentarily distracted me. The ceilings weren’t vaulted with extravagant fixtures. Instead, they were mass timber beams that had a rustic feel I loved. The ground was paved with black brick, and the far wall had been built from stacked stone. On the left were six stalls. On the right was an open door that I could see held the tack. A barrel had been built into the wall, made with the same stacked stone as the wall down at the end. On the other side were two more doors, but both were closed.
There were no connecting buildings or flat screens hanging on the walls. It was simply a functional, well-kept stable. Stevie ran ahead, peering into each stall, and then peeked out the far-right exit that led into the fenced-in fields, where Jack and Diane were currently.
“What do you think?” Linc asked, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“I think it is perfect. I love it,” I finished and turned to him.
The pleased glint in his eyes continued to add to my confusion about his sudden change in personalities. At least where I was concerned. He’d always been this way with Stevie. But me? Not even in the same ballpark.
He nodded his head toward the tack room. “Come check out your saddle, Stevie,” he called out, keeping his eyes on me.
Stevie’s little legs ran back toward us. “I got a saddle? To wide a hawse?” she asked, wide-eyed.
Linc turned his attention to her. “You’re a cowgirl, aren’t you? And you’ve got your own horse.”
She frowned. “I don’t have a hawse.”
He rubbed his bearded chin with his thumb and forefinger. “I could have sworn that Jack’s registration papers said that he belonged to a Stevie Hester.”
Her mouth opened wide, but this time, I wasn’t surprised. I’d assumed he had chosen to give her one of the horses. His elaborate gifts were getting to be the norm.
“It does?” she asked in awe.
He nodded and adjusted his hat on his head. “Sure does. Now, let’s go see if we can find a saddle in this tack room that will fit you just right.”