Page 59 of New in Town

The horse limps towards them, saddle askew. His rider, however, is nowhere to be found. With another bray, Checkers stumbles dangerously close to the drop off along the trail. A chilling amount of blood is cascading from his flank.

Spent, he doesn’t stay up long. With another stumble, the Appaloosa drops to the ground. Floyd dismounts, securing his own horse to Riley’s, and slowly approaches Checkers. “Tell me that blood isn’t as bad as it looks,” Grey says, his brain already working to figure out how they can get the horse back down the mountain.

“I can’t be sure what’s happening here, he needs a proper exam. We need to figure out why he’s injured. And we need—” Floyd’s voice cuts out, strained with worry.

“We need to figure out why Coop isn’t with him,” he finishes.

“Grey and Riley will stay back with Checkers, radio to Laurel that we need Maddie up here. Floyd and I will go a bit longer,” Brett instructs. They all nod solemnly, understanding the difficulty of being a rider without his horse in a terrain like this. And if Checkers looks like this, what kind of shape is Cooper in?

“Apply pressure,” Floyd instructs, motioning for Grey to approach the laceration on the horse. They’ll have to get the horse back up, which is not the safest or easiest task, especially on a narrow trail. If Checkers can continue to put weight on his leg, though, he could make it down the ridge to a point where they could bring in a trailer. It would be the first win they’ve had all day.

“Call Laurel,” Grey tells Riley.

“Cooper’s going to be fine, right? This kind of thing has happened before?” Riley asks nervously.

Grey doesn’t answer his question, instead nodding towards the walkie in Riley’s hand.

“Right,” he says, bringing the device up to speak. “Laurel, you at the base of the mountain?” he calls into it.

“Yeah I’m here, what’s happening?” she answers in a flurry.

“We’ve got Checkers, but he’s hurt. We need you to bring us Maddie.”

“Just Checkers? Not—right, okay. On it.”

The channel falls silent once again, the only sounds are that of the breeze in the trees, a call of a bird, and a fallen horse’s labored breathing.

“So now we just wait?” Riley wonders aloud.

“Reckon so,” Grey replies. His body is screaming to jump on Bullet and take off in a full gallop, straight for Maddie. She’d help Checkers, but Grey needs her as much as the horse does.

Maddie

“You’ve done it,” Arlo tells her excitedly.

“What have I done?”

“You’ve reached the 30 percent mark, Maddie. In the combined caseload for the clinic, 30 percent are considered your patients!”

Maddie’s eyes widen as she leans against the reception desk. She’d done it. It could be official, her living here.

Arlo folds her into a hug, ever the supportive and encouraging mentor. “Thank you, Arlo. You’ve never missed a chance to try to put me in a client’s favor. You gave me an opportunity when I stumbled into your world, and you continue to be my biggest advocate,” she murmurs. It is fatherly, almost. Suddenly, a thought crosses her mind. She pulls back and blurts out, “Henry Wells was my father.”

Arlo nods, not at all taken aback by the sudden information—his reaction only solidifying her suspicion. “He was a good man, I’m sorry for your loss,” he says earnestly.

“Did you know?”

“No, not for sure. But you look like him, and he had mentioned that his daughter was in veterinary school. Then we’d chat about your career progress.”

She bites her lip. “Is that why you gave me the job? Why you’ve been helping me to stay?”

“Now you listen here young lady, I gave you this job and advocated for you with folks all because of you. I saw the look in your eyes the first time you walked in, you needed to be here. And it’s clear you deserve to be here.” Arlo’s eyes crinkle as he smiles at her. “Also, you are wrong about something. I’m not yourbiggestadvocate. I can think of a certain young man who has me beat.”

He is right, of course. Grey has sacrificed his own peace to help her. And the fact is, he’d become the first person with whom she wanted to share her good news these days.

“Now get out of here, I know you have plans with him!”

“Thank you, Arlo,” she repeats before rushing out the door. Maddie is buzzing with excitement. In mere moments, she’ll be able to jump into Grey’s embrace and celebrate what the news means. She can stay.

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