“Lord knows, heck I get a sore throat if I so much as yell too loudly.” I smiled at that. I could only imagine that deep timbre yelling out.
‘Horses are coming up next. The rules are the same. The highest bidder takes the animal. Vet check at your request. Now here comes a beautiful…’ As the auctioneer went on, I moved to the edge of her seat.
“What’s the cap?” I looked at him expectantly.
“Nine thousand. She’s worth more than that but that was all I could take out at one time.” The moment Travis lifted his eyebrow I shrugged.
“Okay.” Though I couldn’t read Mr. Denton’s expression I was sure that he thought I was insane.
‘And now here comes an old soul but he still has a lot of milesleft in him. He is said to be twenty-three years old. We will start the bidding at one hundred dollars.’ When the auctioneer said that, I shivered, surely, he was worth more than a measly hundred dollars.
And as I watched the bidding that was taking place, I had a revelation, Mr. Denton felt the same way that I did.
That was why when someone bid five hundred for the gelding that he wanted, I had heard someone bid out one thousand dollars, I knew the timbre of that voice.
The man right beside me definitely felt the same way I did.
That was why he was announced the highest bidder for that gelding. The gelding would have a forever home now.
It was at that moment that I saw that older man in an all-new light.
“Congratulations, what are you going to name him?” I asked him.
“Not sure yet. What do you think?” I was shocked.
Had he really just asked my opinion on something.
That was completely foreign to me.
“Titan.” I left that name out there in the open. I hadn’t missed that he hadn’t responded, nor had I heard him give me an answer.
Seventeen horses came after, and then finally I spotted Stormy up next.
‘Ladies and Gents allow me to introduce to you a wild mustang. She is roughly four years old. Shall we start the bidding at five hundred dollars?’
I glanced around the room as bids were taken and thrown in the air. I was about to have whiplash if I paid any attention to the numbers that were flying, at least that was until I felt a firm but gentle squeeze to my thigh.
When I looked at a hand that was tanned and darkened by thesun, I followed it up the arm and up to the face of Mr. Denton.
“I’ve got this.” I wondered idly if I could really trust this man, and all the while I wanted to kick my own butt.
I would soon discover that this man was someone that I could trust beyond measure.
I heard the bidding and at last count, they were up to five thousand dollars.
All at once, another voice came through the room, a bid of seven thousand dollars. I glanced to where I had heard that bid and almost stopped breathing. That was the same man that had bought Stormy and sold her the first time. That was the same man who…
“What is it?” Mr. Denton asked me as he was steadily placing bids so I could take home the horse.
“He was Stormy’s second owner. I even tried to buy her from him and then he… he tried to corner me in the stable. If it hadn’t been for one of his hired hands walking in the stable…” I hadn’t felt how tense Mr. Denton had just gotten.
Nor had I sensed how heated his temper was becoming… not until I heard “Fifteen thousand dollars.” From the big man at my side.
When I turned shockingly into his direction, I saw that his face was hardened, and he was staring directly at the sleaze bag that had tried to corner me.
‘Fifteen thousand dollars going once, fifteen thousand dollars going twice,’
Then I heard twenty thousand dollars from the other man.
