“Alright, good. You wanna feed him a little treat?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “What kinda treat? Does he like cookies?”
“I’m sure he would, but we’re gonna go with a tried-and-true favorite.” Digging into my pocket, I pulled out a peppermint and held it out to her.
She squinted, taking it from me. “Because he has bad breath?”
This time, Bishop let out a hearty laugh. “I mean, it certainlyhelps a bit. Peppermint is calming to them. Plus, they’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth, so it’s the best of both worlds.”
I squatted to her level and took her hand in mine. “Alright, palm up. Lay it flat, okay?” She did so, and I placed the candy in the middle of her hand. “Now just lift it up a little. There we go.”
She giggled as Titan’s nostrils flared and he bent down to nuzzle her palm, gently taking the mint between his teeth and chomping down. “It tickles,” she said, wiping the slobber-covered hand on her jeans.
“I know, his whiskers are soft, huh?”
“They are,” she said, staring up at the massive animal like she was in love. Titan leaned down again in search of treats. “Can he have another one?”
I glanced up at Bishop. He had a smile on his face and jerked his chin in confirmation. “Sure. Think you could do it by yourself now?”
“I think so.”
Pulling another candy from my pocket, I dropped it in her waiting palm. “The most important thing is to keep your hand flat. We don’t want him to accidentally bite you.”
Charlie pulled back momentarily. “Would he really do that?”
“Not on purpose,” I assured her. “But accidents happen, so let’s make sure to keep your hand straight.”
“Alright,” she mumbled, holding it back out. Her face was pure magic, sweet giggles filling the air as Titan happily took another snack. He shook his head, letting out a soft neigh.
“Looks like you made a new friend,” Bishop murmured, scratching the horse’s nose. “You wanna ride him?”
Charlie jerked toward Bishop. “Can I?”
“We’d have to ask your dad,” I said, pausing to find Grady, though it didn’t take long.
I felt the weight of his stare before I found him. He was staring at Charlie and me from across the arena, a soft smileplaying on his lips. I returned it, lifting my hand to wave him over. He urged Sundance forward, who was all too happy to come see Titan.
“Ah hell, we’ll never get them apart now,” Bishop said, greeting the excited mare as she approached. “These two are inseparable.”
Grady laughed. “Yeah, she got a little feisty when she saw y’all walking in a few minutes ago. Had to rein her in a bit, but she’s good now.”
“I’m surprised she listened,” Bishop muttered. “Lincoln’s usually the only one who can keep her in line.”
The man in question walked up with a smirk on his face. “Oh yeah, you reined her in real good. Tell me… Was that before or after she knocked your ass to the dirt and I had to stop her from bolting?”
Bishop busted out laughing as Grady’s cheeks turned pink. Looking closer, I could see his pants covered in dirt he hadn’t dusted off yet. “You couldn’t keep that between us for like five more minutes, man?”
Lincoln shook his head. “Naw, we don’t keep secrets around here. Especially not something like that.”
I hid my laugh behind my hand. “Oh man, do you think the cameras caught it? I’m going to need to see this.”
“What?” Grady asked, jerking his head up. “What do you mean by cameras?”
Bishop jerked his head toward the little domes hiding along the rafters. “Oh yeah, Lennox made sure they were recording before we headed in here.”
“Just in case we get any hotshot country music stars who think they can still ride,” Lincoln added with a wink.
“And here I thought we could be friends, man,” Grady grumbled.
