Page 8 of Due North
Heaven’s laughter was infectious when it filled the kitchen. “Hardly! I’ve been a mother for barely a year and have had to rely on Amity to survive thus far. When you have real questions, you know who to go to.”
“All of you,” I said, swallowing down the lump in my throat again. “I’ll go to any of you rather than try to do this on my own like I have the last week. It’s too hard,” I said, my voice breaking as Dawn pulled me into a hug and reminded me that while I may have lost one sister, I still had two more I could lean on.
Three
“Tex?” a voice came from over the radio. It was my ranch hand. “Yeah, Tobi. What’s up?” I answered, releasing the button.
“I’ve got a woman here who says she’s got a horse for the ranch, but we didn’t buy any horses.”
Things had been weird around Heavenly Lane the last few days, but a woman showing up with a horse we didn’t buy took the cake. “Where is she? I’ll head down.”
“North gate,” she answered. “I’ll let her know.”
“Great, the north gate,” I muttered, my hand on my hip. The north gate was two miles away, so walking there was out of the question today. I was too tired. I could take the UTV, but I didn't want to spook the horse she had with her. “How about a short ride, Sundance?” I asked my horse, who was nuzzling around in his stall while I cleaned the barn.
I saddled him and set my foot in the stirrup, only to collapse back to the ground, grateful for the bed of hay covering the barn floor. “Dammit,” I sighed, resting my head in my hand for a minute to gather myself. My leg weakness was becoming a problem. I would continue to ignore it as I had been since June, but something told me I had to do a better job of hiding it before someone around here noticed. I saw Beau eyeing me the other day when I nearly toppled off Sundance when we were riding the ridges. Luckily, I was able to claim uneven ground for the near tumble.
I stood up and brushed my pants off, this time leading Sundance out of his stall and to the mounting stairs Heaven used to use. Since Beau adapted her saddle to accommodate for her paralyzed arm, she hasn’t needed them, but I decided to leave them right where they were. Truth be told, I’d used them far too much the last few months. While that certainly set off warning bells in my head, I kept ignoring them and hoped it all went away like the last time. I shook my head at myself. The difference was that I had accepted the medical intervention needed to make it go away the last time.
I climbed the stairs, slid my leg over Sundance’s back, and settled myself in the saddle. Once I was steady, we trotted out of the barn. I could tell Sundance was happy to get a little riding time in, but he sensed he needed to be careful of the rider atop him. I tried to take him up on the ridges as much as possible, but lately, I couldn’t stay in the saddle very long before I needed to rest. It was starting to tick me off that I had to play this game again. I would have to see a doctor, but there wouldn’t be time for that for at least another month.
My mind drifted to the last seventy-two hours on the ranch. I’d put everything aside to spend as much time as I could with Cece and Poppy to help comfort them in whatever way I could. I did my work around the ranch while they were resting quietly in the main house, but I found myself checking on them every few hours. A little voice inside constantly told me that I was needed there. I couldn’t explain it, but every time I walked in the door, that sweet little girl found her way into my arms.
Tomorrow morning, I had to drive Cece and Poppy into Duluth to pick up supplies for Poppy now that she was living the ranch life. From what I could gather from Cece, her sister hadn’t gotten her new clothes, coats, or boots since spring. Poppy had outgrown everything, so she needed a whole new wardrobe. Would it make more sense for Dawn or Heaven to go with her? Probably, but they also wanted me to stop with the truck at her storage unit to load up Poppy’s bed. I was all too happy to do it. I already loved Poppy like she’d been part of this ranch forever. I would do anything to make sure she was comfortable. That little girl deserved the world, and I knew Cece would give it to her. I’d be there to support her in any way I could.
I slowed Sundance to a trot and approached the north gate with a hand to my eye to block the sun. A short, thin woman stood next to a truck and horse trailer, her champagne curls down around her face while she stared at her phone, shaking her head every so often.
“Howdy,” I said when she heard the horse and glanced up. “I’m Tex. I heard you had a horse for us?”
“Well, now I’m not so sure,” she said after I dismounted and shook her hand. “I’m Penny, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Penny, but I’m afraid you wasted your time driving out here. We didn’t buy a horse.”
“Well, someone did.” She glanced around the area and back to her phone. “Bison Ridge, right?”
“Ahhh,” I said, everything making sense now. “I bet you’re looking for Blaze. This is Heavenly Lane Dude Ranch, which is technically part of Bison Ridge, but not the original ranch. That’s down the road.”
“No, this specifically says I should talk to Tex. That’s you?”
I scratched my temple and gave her a nod. “Yeah, but we didn’t buy any horses. Have you been paid?”
“We have been,” she said, walking to the horse trailer and lifting the handle. She swung the door open, and standing inside was the sweetest damn filly in the county.
I dropped Sundance’s reins and walked up the ramp and into the trailer, approaching the horse slowly while making soft clicking noises no horse could resist. “Hello, darlin’,” I said, stroking her dappled nose. “You are a beauty, aren’t you?”
“She’s a—”
“Haflinger,” I finished, running the tiny horse’s mane between my fingers. “I’ve wanted one since I was a boy. Where did you come by her?”
“We raise horses at our ranch,” she explained. “Mostly barrel racing, but we happened to pick up some horses at auction. This little one was along for the ride. She’s about a year old, but since we don’t raise Haflinger horses, I listed her on a forum for sale. I didn’t expect to sell her to a ranch in the next town over.”
“We didn’t buy her. At least I didn’t. She’s stunning, though.”
“She is beautiful, but she also has an amazing temperament. She’s been a favorite with our ranch hands. I swore she’d roll over and show them her belly if they kept brushing her the way she liked. As a woman, I’d kill to have a mane of hair like hers.”
“Her beautiful chocolate coat and this white mane remind me of hot cocoa.”
“We called her Dolly, but Cocoa would be great, too.”
