Page 38 of Spencer and the Younger Girl
He only grunted and kept walking, bulldozing his way through a crowd outside the barn.
“What are they here for?” She struggled to keep up.
“Trail ride.”
“This early?”
“It’s eight. That’s not early.”
“Where are we going?”
He looked sideways at her. “To get you out of those ridiculous shoes.”
“Wait.” She stopped walking and stared down at her feet. “Why are my shoes ridiculous?”
“Because you came to work on a ranch wearing pristine white sneakers that won’t be white by the time you leave.” He pushed into the barn and the smell of horse crap and hay wafted out.
Hadley held her breath as she followed him, but she couldn’t keep from breathing in forever. Stalls lined the walls on both sides of the barn. Not a single one of them sat empty.
“Holy crap, that’s a lot of horses.”
Spencer opened another door and led her into an office of sorts. Papers scattered over the top of an old oak desk with a brown leather chair behind it. Along the back wall underneath a metal hanging of a barn was a row of boots.
“Size?” Spencer scanned the boots.
“Seven.”
He pulled out a pair and passed them to her. “They’re my mom’s. They should fit.”
She only hesitated a moment before sitting in the desk chair and changing her shoes.
A hat landed on her head, and she looked up to find Spencer wearing one as well. “Wait… you cowboys actually wear cowboy hats?” She took the hat from her head to examine it.
“One, I’m not a cowboy. Two, a hat is practical. We’re working outside today, and it’ll keep the sun out of your eyes and off your neck.”
“Outside?” She set the hat back on her head. “What are we doing?”
“You’ll see.” He paused at the door. “Do you know how to ride?”
Her eyes widened. “Ummm…”
“I’ll take that as a no.” He sighed. “Come on.”
Hadley followed him along the stalls, jumping when a giant white horse snorted. They stopped at the stall of a large gray horse with kind eyes.
“She’s beautiful.” Hadley wanted to reach out, to let the horse know they could be friends, but she didn’t know if that was allowed.
“He is a good trail horse. We’ll ride him to where we need to be.”
“Wait.” She held up a hand. “You expect me to climb on this beautiful creature? He shouldn’t have to carry me.”
“Hadley, he’s a horse. That’s what he does.” He opened the stall door, and Hadley jumped back, almost colliding with another boy.
“I’m sorry.” He had a thick Southern accent that surprised Hadley.
“Totally my fault. I’m not… ah… used to the horses.”
He chuckled, running a hand through wavy chestnut hair. Hadley looked back at Spencer, but he was busy saddling the horse.
