Page 17 of The Making of Mila and Blake
As I step out of the truck, I feel my heart ache.
7
By late Monday morning, life at the Harding Estate is in full swing.
The construction crews are back for the week, arriving as a mass of tractors and trailer trucks loaded with building materials, and workers in hard hats and steel-toed boots fill the field where the new riding arena is being built.
In the next field over, Sheri is hard at work in the existing ring with her first client of the day, a young girl receiving riding lessons on the smallest horse of the Harding herd– Roger, a chestnut Dartmoor pony, and Sheri’s personal favorite. It’s fascinating, watching her teach. Sheri is so energetic and full of spirit as she paces alongside a trotting Roger, and I can hear the girl’s squeals of glee from all the way over here.
“Helloooo,” Savannah singsongs in my ear.
I jolt, tearing my eyes away from the hustle and bustle of the ranch and snapping back to reality, where I’m supposed to be helping Savannah bathe Princess. I’ve spent the past five minutes leaning against the stable entrance, arms folded and gazing dreamily over the Harding Estate.
“Sorry!” I say, and Savannah takes my arm and leads me back to the bathing stall. “Oh, Princess, don’t you look gorgeous?”
“No thanks to you!” Savannah mutters, playfully flicking her damp hands and sprinkling me with drops of water. “Now start drying!”
The soapy water swirls down the drain but still I squelch across the wet ground in my rubber boots and fetch the sweat scraper from the rack, then begin to squeegee Princess’s coat from top to bottom. I never imagined I would voluntarily spend my summer vacation bathing horses and mucking out stalls, but I’m starting to see why Savannah and I were such good friends in grade school. I think I might have to admit it– I have a thing for horses too.
“Nice job!” Teddy says, his voice echoing down the aisle as he arrives at the stables. “She looks great.”
Savannah glances up from packing away the hose and I can’t believe she is blushing already. Seriously, I need to teach her a thing or two about keeping her cards close to her chest, even though when it comes to boys, I’m not that much cooler. Savannah issotransparent, and how Teddy can’t see just how much she likes him is beyond me.
“How’s my drying technique?” I ask, gesturing at him with the sweat scraper.
Teddy pauses as he passes by the bathing stall. He’s bringing Fredo back in from the pasture, and he strokes his mane as he deliberates my skills. “Hmm. More pressure, Mila. You gotta get all the water out of her coat!”
I roll my eyes and turn back to Princess, pressing the scraper more firmly against her muscular body and kneeling to the floor to work my way down her legs. It’s been a morning filled with banter in between all the hard work here in the stables, and I’m starting to appreciate why Savannah enjoys this job so much. Joking around with her and Teddy while I assist with their workload is, honestly,fun.
“Is Spirit still outside?” Savannah asks.
“Yup. About to take him in and switch him out for Bella,” Teddy answers. He continues down the aisle to place Fredo in his stall, then returns to us. It’s hot today and he’s working in the pasture, allowing all of the horses to graze on rotation, and he’s wearing a wide-brimmed cowboy hat to shield his face from the sun. “And Mila, let me know when you’re done drying Princess and I’ll take her out too.”
“Aye, aye, Captain!” I say with a dramatic salute, and Teddy narrows his eyes at me as I stifle my laughter. He’s not the boss around here– Sheri is, of course– but he’s the oldest of the three of us, which sort of puts him in charge. I have learned this morning that he hates when I refer to him as captain, which is why I continue to do so, just for the fun of it.
“Have fun chasing down Spirit, Captain!” Savannah joins in.
“You girls are the most annoying people I have ever met,” Teddy says, but as he heads back outside, he too is laughing. I really can’t take him seriously in that hat.
Savannah grabs another sweat scraper and together we finish squeezing out the water in Princess’s coat, then work our hands through her mane and tail, gently detangling, until Teddy returns to take her outside.
A cell phone rings on the desk by the far wall and Savannah leaps down the aisle to answer it. “The Harding Estate Riding School! Savannah here. How may I help?” she chirps. There’s no need to amplify the politeness in her voice– that’s just how Savannah talks. “Of course! So, there are several different courses that Sheri Harding offers here on the Harding Estate,” she says, and then dives into a spiel of all the options on offer for potential new clients while simultaneously pulling out an appointment book.
Teddy appears next to me and leans against the door of an empty stall, crossing one foot over the other and mirroring my cocked head as we both watch Savannah. “Shelovesthis job,” he says, but little does he know, she might just love him too.
“Hey, hey, hey!” Tori cheers from behind us. She waltzes through the stables with three to-go cups of coffee balanced in a holder. “What’s up, Mila? Here.” She passes a cup to me, then turns her nose up at Teddy and nudges past him. “Sorry, Teddy, no coffee for you.”
Savannah, still on the phone, presses a finger to her lips. Tori sets a coffee cup down on the desk for her, then silently hugs her from behind before strutting back to Teddy and me.
“Good morning to you too, Tori,” Teddy grunts, sarcastically dipping the rim of his hat.
Tori grimaces and mutters, “Ugh.”
“I’ll be back in a sec,” Teddy says, his hand accidentally brushing my waist as he shifts around me. He heads back out into the field while Tori screws her face up at his confident stride.
“What’s that about?” I ask her. “Teddy seems great. Don’t you like him?”
“Nothing,” Tori says, relaxing her features. “I just wish Savannah wasn’t so obsessed with him. Anyway!” She takes a sip of her coffee and plonks herself down onto a hay bale. “Has she told you about the party this weekend?”
