AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Your parents would smack you on the head if they saw you hanging out with them.”
“Yeah, well, they’re dead, so it don’t really matter.” His chin is firm and defiant, and I blow out a breath, nodding slowly.
“I see.” Jake’s parents died in a car accident last year, leaving him without any family. I know he’s been in a foster situation since then. “Let’s get you out of that crowd, man. I’m sure I could get you a job working with horses. You’re good with them.”
“Stupid,” he mutters, staring at the ground, but I see the way his eyes light up at the mention of the animals, and an idea begins to form in my head.
“It’s not stupid. You have talent, and you’re wasting it on shit that’s going to get you into big trouble. What if I could get you a job working for my brother?”
“I don’t want to work for Rem,” he says, shaking his head.
I don’t blame him. Jake’s dad worked out at the Wild River Ranch for many years, so being out there would likely be hard on the kid.
“Not Rem,” I counter. “Ryan.”
“The rich dude?” He smirks. “What could I do for him? He don’t even live here.”
“First of all, we need to work on your grammar. Second, Ryan does live here, and he recently rescued some horses that were in a really bad situation. They’re healing.”
Just like you.
“And I know he’s been looking for some help with them.”
“I’m just a kid, dude.”
“You may call me Chase or Mr. Wild, but you won’t address me as dude again, got it?”
He sulks down on the bench, and I wipe my hand down my face.
“If you want the chance to work for Ryan, I’ll talk to him.”
He’s quiet for a long minute, scowling at the grass in front of us. Finally, he says, “I guess it would be okay.”
And that’s as good as I’m going to get out of this kid.
“Do you have a cell phone?”
“Duh.”
I narrow my eyes at him, and he swallows hard.
“Yes, sir.”
“What’s the number?” I pull my own phone out, and as he rattles off the number, I put it into my contacts and shoot him a text. His phone pings with it, and I nod, satisfied that he didn’t give me a bogus number. “Now I can call you after I talk to Ryan.”
“Why? Why would you do this?”
I sigh, tucking my phone away. “Because you’re a good kid, Jake, and I liked your parents. They’d want someone to look out for you.”
“I don’t need no one.”
“Don’t be an asshole.” That makes his eyes go wide. “We all need someone, even when you’re a know-it-all teenager. Especially then. Ryan’s a good guy, and it’s honest work. You like horses. Why not do it?”
He lifts a shoulder, but I see a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
“Stop hanging out with those kids. Nothing good can come of that.”
“Making friends isn’t easy when you’re the orphan in school.”
