He sucked in a deep breath, pushing those thoughts away. He got down to work unhitching the team. Patting the front left horse, he unfastened the hold-back straps and then unbuckled all the girth straps, moving through the process with barely a second thought, he’d done it so many times.
“Good boy,” he muttered as he moved quickly. These horses knew exactly how many steps it took to unhitch, not even attempting to move until given the signal. He worked silently, removing the gear, putting it away, and brushing down the horses before turning them out to cool down.
Zack came through the gate. “All done inside. Got the puppies all back in the stall with their momma. That little Scooter pup seems to be getting stronger every day.”
“Thanks for keeping an eye on that little guy. I thought you and Misty were going to need a miracle to get him on his feet, but he’s doing pretty good.”
“Me too, but Rein is paying attention to him now.”
“That’s great,” said Mike. Rein, his black Lab, was a good mother. “She’s had several litters over the years. She knows when something isn’t right before we do. That she’s taken the pup back in is a big step forward.”
“I was hoping that was the case. Let me help you with the horses.” Zack reached up and removed the harness from the next horse and set it in the wagon.
“Thanks. You can brush this one down, then turn him out.” Mike handed off the horse he’d just unhitched to Zack.
Zack walked the horse to the side of the arena, tying himto the post with his name on it. “I heard Misty leave in the dually.”
“I told her she could go to the football game tonight,” Mike said. “She needs more than these horses in her life. At least that’s what the women in this town keep telling me.”
“I don’t think she has any complaints.”
“I hope not. We have such a good routine keeping things going around here, but I need to be sure she has some balance.”
“She’s such an asset with all her competition wins. The number of parade invites seems to really have picked up.”
“It has,” Mike agreed. “You’ve become a great asset too, Zack.”
“Thanks for giving me the chance. I told you I’d never let you down.”
“A man is only as good as his word. I had no worries.”
“Misty is a horse person to the core,” Zack said. “I don’t think you have to worry about her, but then what do I know?”
“Sometimes I think she’s more worried about me than I am about her. She needs to be a teenager too. I know they’re right about that part.”
“Guess you’re right. Having kids seems like a lot to worry about.”
Mike laughed. “It’s worth it.”
Can’t stop them from growing up.
“Miss Lilene dropped off the final details on the Christmas parade for next week,” Zack said. “I put the envelope on your desk in the barn office.”
“Good. I can’t believe Thanksgiving is next Thursday. Somehow it doesn’t seem like Christmas should already be here again, but here we are planning to give Santa a ride.”
“Yeah and instead of eight tiny reindeer, he’ll have six huge horses pulling him from town.”
“Better than reindeer. No flying, though,” Mike teased.
“It would take some mighty big wings to get these horses off the ground.”
“Oh yeah, but they have more power than flying reindeer, so Santa can carry bigger toys.”
“Good, because I was kind of hoping for a four-wheeler for Christmas this year.”
“It could happen.” Mike might even grant that wish himself.
“Misty said she’s going to be riding next to you in the Christmas parade.”
