Page 13 of The Front Runner
“I told him it was fine.”
Billie isriled, amber eyes narrowed and her head shaking vehemently. “No chance am I sending DD’s first baby into the lion’s den. Over my dead fucking body.”
“Well, it’ll be your dead body or the foal’s.”
“Jesus, Mira. That’s dark,” Violet pipes up, running her hands through her hair.
Billie glares at me. She doesn’t like what I’ve just said, but she can’t deny the truth of it either.
“Man,” Billie sighs raggedly. “He’s such a dick. I hate this.” Her hatred for the man isn’t news to anyone. His tactics rub almost everyone the wrong way, but he almost ruined her and Vaughn—something completely unforgivable in her book.
“He isn’t so bad.” Violet is obviously more forgiving.
“Listen. It is what it is. Are we saving the foal or not? Because the way I see it, he’s kinda got us by the balls. It’s five minutes down the road. I can check on the foal daily and report back. In the fall, we’ll wean him and forget this ever happened. Then we can all go back to openly hating Stefan Dalca.”
Billie sighs.
Violet nods.
I think that’s as close as I’m going to get to agreement from these two, so I slap my knees in closing and push up to stand. “Who’s going to help me load up the trailer?”
Both women stare back at me with frustration and resignation in their eyes. But then they stand and follow me out to help anyway. It doesn’t take us long to lift the foal and get him positioned in the trailer. He’s still so wobbly and weak, it’s definitely not ideal having to transport him. But it’s close enough that I figure the reward outweighs the risk.
“I’m coming with you.” There’s a hard set to Billie’s jaw, but also a slight wobble. She’s trying to be strong, but this is killing her inside. She feels so deeply—loves so thoroughly. She’s got this boisterous exterior, but she’s incredibly sensitive.
I grab her shoulder and stare back into her face. “Not today, B. Let me do this for you. Let me do my job and get them settled.” What I don’t say to her is that there’s a chance the mare doesn’t accept the foal. I don’t want her there if that happens. “We can go together tomorrow and check on them. Let’s keep it as quiet and private for them as possible today.”
She nods once, tersely. We’re talking about skittish animals, and she knows that sometimes what we want isn’t really what’s best for them. And she’s willing to sacrifice her own comfort for that—it’s part of what makes her such an exceptional horsewoman.
Violet scoots in beside her, fitting herself into Billie’s side like a puzzle piece. The two of them are so cute together, it almost makes me gag. Soon to be sisters-in-law since they’re each with one of the two brothers who own Gold Rush Ranch.
We’re all friends, but I still always feel a bit like the third wheel. And that’s not on them, it’s on me. I’ve never been big on loads of friends or the whole girl-tribe thing. But these two just sort of claimed me and haven’t let me go, and I’m not complaining. Billie and Violet are easily the best friends I’ve ever had. It just still feels weird to have these people that I’m accountable to after being a loner for so long.
I hop in the truck and buckle up, rolling down the window as I slowly pull out of the circular driveway in front of the main building.
“Wish me luck!” I call out to them with a wave.
Lord knows I’m going to need it.
* * *
“Who are you?”
The girl at the door is eyeing me like I’m yesterday’s roadkill. Even she knows I shouldn’t be here. She has headphones around her neck and is wearing an oversized T-shirt with tight shorts barely peeking past the hemline. I can see gum in her mouth every time she opens her jaw wide to chomp back down on it. The pink scrunchie that holds her blonde hair in a high ponytail makes her look like a walking, talking attitude problem, complete with a bow on top.
The house itself is beautiful, like it’s made for the land that surrounds it. All river rock and natural wood beams. A rounded front door with a wrought iron framed window at the top. It’s big, but not gaudy. It’s classy—just like Stefan.
“I’m Mira. The vet.” I hike a thumb over my shoulder back toward the farm, where I left the unnamed foal in the trailer because Stefan is nowhere to be found, and I need some help. “I’m looking for Stefan.”
She looks me up and down, still chewing her gum like a cow would chew its cud. I can’t tell how old she is, but she strikes me as young. Too young to be with Stefan.
I hope.
God.I hope he’s not slimy enough to con me into three dates when he has a girlfriend.
“Stefan!” I startle when she turns and yells up the curved staircase behind her.
Within moments he’s jogging down the stairs, torn jeans hugging his legs in an almost distracting way.
