Earlier in the week, Demi had pulled out Jolene's tail extension and brushed it out, so I knew it was in the tack room. I wasn’t going to put that on Jolene today. In the morning,after the ceremony, Wy would come back to the barn and collect Jolene, and Wy could put it in then. Not that I wouldn’t have to fix it, but still. Right now was about getting the mare clean and her mane taken care of. And probably cleaning and polishing the show tack too.
But first, I had to collect the mare from her pasture and bring her into the barn. I stopped in at Barn 3 to grab a halter and lead rope, and Wy caught me as I was exiting the tack room.
“I can fetch whoever you need,” she offered, smile wide.
I waved that away. “No thanks. Jolene is easy to catch.”
Wy’s grin widened, because Demi had trained the mare with a trigger phrase. But she still ambled toward me. “I’ll go with you.”
I gave her a look. I might not ride regularly anymore—I was just too busy with work—but I still knew my way around a horse. There was a doctor in front of my name, but the last name should still speak for itself.
Wy arched an eyebrow as though she knew exactly where my mind had gone. “You want to deal with the double locks yourself?”
It took a second and my mind caught up. Rowdy must be in the same pasture, or one in between. The gelding that my brother Crew had been suckered into rescuing, lived up to his name. And he was a world-class escape artist. Wherever he was needed to be double secured, otherwise he was getting out.
We made small talk as we walked out to where we needed to be. Wy mentioned how much she was looking forward to the wedding tomorrow. Apparently the last wedding she’d been invited to, she could only bring either her wife or their boyfriend, but not both. Naturally, she hadn’t gone at all, and now half her family wasn’t speaking to her. It seemed they were fine with the queer, but couldn’t accept the polyamory.
All the pastures on the ranch were spacious, but some were bigger than others. Jolene was in the second largest, the biggestone being reserved for the broodmares and their foals. But that didn’t matter because sound carried and there was always a surefire way to get Jolene to come.
“Go ahead,” Wy said, eyes glittering and with a wave of her hand. I scowled back, because she was definitely there for the show, no matter what she said about the chains and locks.
I sucked in a big breath, and then at the top of my lungs, I belted out the first line of the chorus to the song the horse was named after, complete with the correct cadence. That part was important. It didn’t matter if you were off key as long as you got the rhythm right.
I was not off key.
Wy chuckled as she blew out a breath. “Dammit. I forgot you could sing.”
I smirked in her general direction, but kept my gaze fixed on the far side of the pasture where Jolene had broken off from the herd and was cantering toward us. Even after all these years, she still had that long, slow three-beat gait Demi had taught me to see.
And because it was me, who’d been there almost as much as Demi in her formative years, Jolene walked right into my waiting handle, dipping her head just enough so that I could slip the halter on. She nuzzled my palm and then gave me a hard nudge when she realized I didn’t have a treat.
“Sorry, girl. Come to the barn and I’ll get you something.”
She absolutely side-eyed me and snorted, as though she knew exactly what I’d said. I wouldn’t be surprised if shecouldunderstand English.
Jolene liked baths, so she went easily enough into the wash bay and didn’t even fight when I clipped her into the crossties. I made sure to give her several treats and let her cronch her way through them before I started. By the time I started her bath, Jolene was loose lipped and perky eared.
There was something therapeutic about bathing a horse. Even though I had to keep my wits about me, and pay attention to legs that could kick a hole through my chest, I was able to let my mind wander as I brushed away dirt, soaked her coat, scrubbed her down, and rinsed her clean. Her mane and tail took longer, and I let the conditioner sit while I squeegeed off her coat, which was my favorite part. Watching the water slough off in sheets was fun.
After I dried and detangled her tail, I braided it down and then wrapped it up. She was going to be in her stall for the night, and there was no doubt she’d managed to roll and get shavings on her, but a quick brush in the morning would take care of that. I just needed to keep dirt, feces, and debris out of her tail. When that was done, I cleaned up her bridle path then got the supplies I needed to get her mane competition show ready.
I was on the stool, braiding her mane, when my concentration stuttered. It took me a second to realize Isley had joined me, standing a little too close. I blinked then smiled down at him, loving that for a change, I had inches on him. Usually it was the other way around. Like the rest of my brothers, he’d gotten Dad’s height and was taller than me.
“Whatcha doin?” Isely asked, voice low. He rubbed a hand along Jolene’s face, getting under the halter.
I stared at him for a long moment, then did a slow pan to where my fingers were mid-braid. As far as I was concerned, it was pretty damn obvious what I was doing. Isley didn’t blink, just kept staring at me, gaze knowing. I blamed my tiredness for the fact that it took me a minute to catch on.
I let out an explosive sigh that caused Jolene’s skin to twitch and went back to my task. “There’s a lot to get done. I’m doing it. Demi needs to rest.”
Isley nodded along as though he agreed but what came out of his mouth showed anything but. “But why does it have to be you?”
I scowled. “I’m the man of honor.”
“And?”
“And it’s my job.”
“Why?”
