Page 149 of The Last Second Chance
“That’s comforting,” her father said with sarcasm.
“You remember how to tack up?” Joey asked, bringing Tucker out of his stall and hooking him in the crossties in the aisle.
“I can manage.”
“Good. Try not to get kicked,” Joey told him before heading down to the end to bring Apollo out. He’d keep her occupied with his need for constant supervision. Plus, she could let him run a bit after she sent her father back.
Her father gave Apollo an appreciative once over. “That your new stud?”
“Yep.” Joey said hoping to quell any conversation.
Her father got the hint and they groomed their mounts and tacked up in silence. Waffles came scurrying in and planted himself at Joey’s feet. Apollo tossed his black head in greeting.
“There you are,” Joey said, running her hands through Waffles’ wiry fur. “You want to come along?”
Waffles spun in a happy circle before running over to sniff Forrest’s boots.
“Who’s this?” Forrest asked.
“That’s Waffles.”
“He yours?”
Joey gave a noncommittal “Uh-huh,” as she hefted the saddle onto Apollo’s back.
“You always wanted a dog,” her father ventured again.
“Yep. Jax got him for me from the rescue in town.” She’d deliberately dropped Jax’s name again, curious to see what her father’s reaction was. It wasn’t so long ago that the mere mention of the man’s name had veins throbbing. She wondered if her twitchy eye was a genetic trait that she shared with her father.
Her father harrumphed a response, but bent to let Waffles sniff his hand. Waffles gave his knuckles a tentative lick before scampering back to Joey.
“Lead out and then we’ll tighten the saddles in the yard,” Joey instructed her father.
Apollo nipped at Joey’s hand when she looped the reins over his head to lead him out. “Don’t be a dick,” she told the horse.
“What’s that now?” Forrest asked over his shoulder.
“I was talking to my horse, but same goes,” she warned.
Outside, the sun was slowly starting its late afternoon descent and taking with it its modest heat. Joey tightened the girth on the saddle and did the same for her father. No use having him slide off his mount and start bitching about a lawsuit, she decided.
She led them over to the mounting block next to the outdoor paddock and watched as Forrest swung into the saddle. Satisfied that his seat was steady, Joey swung up onto Apollo’s back and pulled on her riding gloves. She nodded north. “We’ll take a lap around the brewery and loop around the upper pasture,” she told him, before kicking Apollo into motion. “Don’t let Tucker get too close. Apollo’s a kicker. And a biter,” she instructed her father, smugly pleased that the distance would prevent most of the conversation she didn’t want to be a part of.
They walked up the grassy slope dappled with small mounds of snow that had stubbornly refused to melt with the rest. Apollo’s tail swished restlessly with the desire to run, but Joey kept his impulses in check. Waffles scampered out in front of them pausing to sniff whatever caught his attention.
“That’s a fine looking animal,” her father said, breaking what Joey considered to be a comfortable silence.
“The dog or the horse?”
“Horse. But I guess the dog kind of grows on you, too.”
“You been to the brewery yet?” Joey asked, when the building came into sight knowing full well the answer was no.
“No. Not yet. Heard it’s doing well. Maybe I’ll have to bring your mother sometime for dinner.”
Joey wheeled Apollo around. “All right. Just what exactly is going on? All the sudden you’re the Pierces’ number one fan?”
Forrest steered his mount to the left giving Apollo wide berth.
