Mike sighed. “That might be partially on me. The ranch had a few dogs when we got here, and they became my buddies. Then they got old and….” He sighed and Fern, who sat next to him, leaned against his shoulder in solidarity, giving him a little sideways hug. “Then the kids were all small and training a puppy seemed like a lot.”
“We’ve had some employees who’ve had dogs over the years, and we did discuss livestock guardians at some point, but we just never got to it,” Jenn concluded.
I nodded slowly. “That makes sense. These dogs will need indoor spaces, so we should figure that out—I mean you guys should figure it out once I get the details from Nessa.”
“We can probably find a few spots on the property for those nicer dog houses with heating. There’s of course also the barns as an option, but the cats might be territorial.” Mike’s expression told me he was getting excited.
“Well you research that, Dad,” Hawk said and finished his coffee. “I’m good with whatever you guys decide, but there’s a horse or few needing training, so….” He smiled as he stood and took his plate and mug to the sink.
“Hawk, I’m gonna ride Ezio, okay?” Bodhi asked, his tone surprisingly deferential to his brother.
Hawk turned to him and gave him a long look as if assessing him. Then he shrugged. “Sure. Come on, I’ll go with you and if you don’t mind, I’ll come with?”
“That’s fine.” In no time, he’d taken his dishes to the sink, too, and the two of them left the house.
“Ezio is the gorgeous buckskin gelding Mal rescued from an auction we went to,” Crew explained.
For some reason, Fern snickered as she started to clear the table, and Mike and Jenn smiled.
“Hawk has been training him for Bodhi, but Ezio is really sensitive to people’s moods and Hawk’s very careful with when he can ride,” Crew concluded, ignoring his family.
“Ah. Makes sense.” Horses picked up on tension like whoa.
“Okay, everyone out, I’m going to deep clean the fridges before starting dinner, and there’s only so much time before Payton gets home,” Jenn said in her best mom voice that got us all moving.
I ended up going with Fern to the event barn, to figure out where she’d want her gate. I met her two main employees and chatted with them for a while, and by the time I was leaving, I heard Mike and Payton.
“Hey, Mr. Ville!” Payton called out. “We’re going to feed the corvids!”
“Have fun!” I called back.
With any other child, I would’ve offered to go with, but Payton would know I wasn’t that interested, and he didn’t need to be coddled.
“Okay! Bye!” He waved and headed to the feeding spot with his grandpa.
I, on the other hand, decided that I wanted to go see some horses. I went to the stock barn where the barn manager, Wyanne, popped out of her office-in-a-stall.
“Hey, Ville. Can I help you with anything?” she asked, smiling.
“Not really. I just wanted to see some horses,” I admitted.
She laughed, the sound kind of easygoing and joyous in a way that warmed my heart for some reason. These people didn’t pretend. It was so fucking refreshing to be here.
“Well I can definitely point you in the right direction.” She nudged her head toward the doors leading behind the barn where some of the paddocks were. “Come with me.”
I followed her to the fence and saw a handful of horses grazing in the distance.
“So you’re of Finnish heritage, right?” she asked as we leaned on the fence.
“Yeah. I was born here, but my parents are both Finnish.” I wasn’t sure where she was going with this.
“Have you been to Finland?” She clicked her tongue, and a couple of the horses started to move toward us.
“As a kid, about every other summer. My grandpa had horses. That’s where I learned to ride.”
Wy glanced at me, grinning. “Finnhorses?” She tilted her head toward—
“You have a Finnhorse?” My jaw dropped as I looked at the approaching bay or maybe it was chestnut horse. I wasn’t great with the color definitions, but something inside me recognized the similarity between this one and those my grandpa had had.
