Page 41 of Saddles

“I don’t want to just sit, Ford. All I do is think. Can I come with you to the barn? I love horses.” I jump up and pull my sneakers on. “Please?”

His lips purse. “Yea, sure. I just figured…” He trails off, but reaches for an extra jacket hanging on the wall.

I throw a glare at him. “I’m not broken. I just have a sore ass.” Flipping the hood of the sweatshirt over my head, I sling the giant coat over my shoulders. “I’ll be fine.”

I’ll be damned if I let those assholes win. That’s what they wanted, to break me.

Well, fuck them. I survived them. One day I’ll make sure they pay for what they did to me.

As long as I don’t think about my time there, I’ll be okay.

I have to be. I’ve seen what happened to one of my classmates after she was drugged and used.

She let it eat at her for months until she dropped out of school.

I can’t let that be me. I won’t.

Ford cocks one eyebrow and squints, then opens the door.

Roscoe darts between us, leaping into the heavy snow drift to push a new path through.

Dang, I may have overestimated my energy levels. This stuff is over my knees and hard to walk in.

“Here, I’ll break the trail.” Ford steps past me to get in front with two empty water jugs, and shuffles his feet ahead of me.

It pushes enough out of the way I can follow, but I feel my toes getting cold already.

Me and my mouth.

The wide opening to the barn leaves a taper of a bank almost to the stall.

A long brown nose with a white blaze pokes over the edge of the railing.

“April, meet Pepper. She’s a bitch, so don’t take offense if she doesn’t want pet.” Ford hauls a bucket to a spigot in the corner and starts working the lever.

“Hi, pretty girl.” I remember my riding lessons from when I was a kid, holding my palm up so she can smell it.

Her ears perk forward as the soft hairs on her lips brush over my skin.

“Can I?” Raising my hand, I flatten it against the bridge and follow the hollow down her jaw to her cheek.

She juts her neck closer, turning to expose more of her throat for me to scratch.

“Traitor,” Ford grumbles, dumping the bucket into her trough. “Guess it makes sense, her first owner was a woman.”

Pepper raises her head, leaning hard into me.

“How long have you had her?” A giggle escapes me when Pepper’s lip curls towards the roof and she bobs her head.

He makes another trip without answering, then pauses next to me. “It’s been five years this past Halloween.” He reaches up to pat his horse, but she flattens her ears and moves away. “I think she still blames me,” he whispers before turning and picking up one of the empty jugs.

“For what?” My idle scratching slows so I can turn and look at him.

He stays focused on the pump, raising and lowering the level with practiced ease.

It isn’t until he’s walking back towards the snowy path that he pauses, raising his chin to the snowy sky, and closes his eyes. “For letting Sarah die.”

Chapter 13

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