Page 43 of The Last Second Chance
“I’ll ask him and let you know.” He would, Joey knew. Carter Pierce couldn’t say no to an animal in need.
“I’d appreciate it,” Sammy said. She let out a low whistle when they got to Calypso’s stall. “I feel like I’m meeting a unicorn who just won Miss Universe.”
Joey grinned and Calypso tossed her head in sassy agreement.
“She’s gorgeous and she knows it.”
While Sammy slipped into the stall and started her exam, Joey fired off a text to Carter about the cows and told him to get in touch with Sammy.
“Well, you’ve got yourself the perfect mare here,” Sammy said, finishing up in the stall. “I’m guessing you aren’t going to see anything odd health-wise during her quarantine.”
“That’s what I was hoping you’d say. Ready to meet the beast?”
Sammy grinned and rubbed her palms together. “Oh, yeah. Bring him on!”
If she’d been impressed with Calypso, Sammy fell head over heels for Apollo the second he lunged his big head through the stall door.
Joey didn’t bother cautioning Sammy to watch herself in the stall. The woman knew her way around bad-tempered livestock and a seven-figure stallion was no different. She watched the exam with humor as Sammy had to outmaneuver Apollo every step of the way.
“Try that again and we’re gonna have words,” Sammy warned Apollo as he made a move to nip her back.
“He’s a bit of an ass,” Joey warned.
Sammy bent from the waist and slid her hand down the back of his front leg. “Come on, Sexy Ass. Gimmie your damn foot.”
Apollo balked at first, but the vet out-stubborned him.
“There. That wasn’t so bad, now was it?” Sammy asked, putting the foot back down and slapping the stallion on the shoulder.
Apollo gave a bad tempered stamp in reply.
“I think I’m in love,” Sammy sighed, running her hands through her curls. She looked like a fairy with her waif-like build and green eyes, not someone who wrestled stallions and birthed calves.
Joey stroked Apollo’s velvet nose and gave him a peppermint treat for his only mildly offensive behavior. “Yeah, there’s something we women love about an arrogant ass,” Joey sighed. “Want a cup of coffee before you hit the road?”
Sammy glanced at her watch. “More than I want a foot rub. You got fresh?”
“It’s January. We’re making a pot every hour on the hour,” Joey said, leading the way back to her office.
“Have you had Sexy Ass out for a ride, yet?” Sammy asked.
Joey shook her head and poured a steaming mug from the pot in the office. “On my list for today.”
“I hear that list is getting longer now that you’re partner,” Sammy said, accepting the mug.
“How the hell did you hear that? It’s been twenty-four hours.”
“Please. It’s Blue Moon. Colby’s mom got her hair done at the Snip Shack with Elvira Eustace yesterday afternoon. Told everyone all about the new horses and job. If you hadn’t called me this morning I was already planning on coming out to check ‘em out.”
Crap. That meant she needed to call her parents now rather than in a few days or weeks like she’d been entertaining.
“If your breeding fees aren’t too astronomical, I’ve got a pretty little mare at home ready for her first season this year,” Sammy cocked her head to the side.
“We’ll have to compare astronomicals sometime,” Joey told her.
Over coffee, they nailed down the quarantine period for Apollo and Calypso before they could be introduced to the rest of the horses and settled on a deworming plan for spring.
When she waved Sammy off in the drive, Joey was already reaching for her phone, which was already ringing.
