Miranda
The Fall
The next dayMiranda woke up at the crack of dawn from a dream about Renn.Spending the day with him had been completely unexpected and more fun than she’d had in a long time.Not to mention he’d rebuilt her fence, saving her hours of frustration and likely a lot of tears.Her body hummed with awareness as she thought about how he’d touched her in the waves and when he’d buried himself inside her up on the shore under the hot sun.She had never remembered feeling so connected to someone.But the truth was he didn’t know anything about her, and she didn’t know a thing about him.
So, for now she was going to push her thoughts of him out of her mind and get started on her chores.She heard a ranch a county over was recently foreclosed on, and they had a dozen or so horses they needed to unload.She was hoping she could get there in time and see if she could pick up any for a good price.
After almost two hours in the barn checking on all the horses, letting them get a good morning stretch and getting them fed, she made her way back into her favorite room in the house.The kitchen—it was the one room her daddy never bothered with, and she’d always been in charge of it.She was sure it was no coincidence that Jeremy and Sara gravitated to the same room, and they often spent evenings there playing cards and talking.
“Are you still planning to go to that auction over in Liberty county today?”Sara asked when she walked into the sunlit room with light wood floors and navy blue cabinets that she’d painted a few years back.
“Yes, I’ll just have to be more careful with how much I bid on any mares that look good.That new fence wasn’t too bad, but the side of the barn will definitely cut into the budget.”
“I wish you didn’t have to go by yourself.”
“I don’t mind—you know I love snooping around other people’s things,” Miranda said on her way to the stairs that separated the kitchen from the living room.
But the sound of the doorbell rang, and she turned back to open the front door to find Shelby there with a cooler.
“Hey, thought I’d tag along with you, maybe get some new ideas for my next book.”
Miranda looked over her shoulder to see Sara with a big smile as she pushed her walker into the sitting room.
“Is that right, and how did you know where I was headed today?”
“Oh, I’m sure you mentioned it.Ready?I’ve got snacks,” she said holding up the cooler.
“Go ahead and load up the truck.I’ll be out in five,” Miranda said.
“Great, have a nice afternoon, Ms.Sara,” Shelby called then headed down the porch to the truck.
“Nice move,” Miranda said pointing to her stepmom but unable not to smile.
“I don’t know what you mean, honey, but enjoy your afternoon,” Sara said.
Once she filled up two travel coffee mugs and changed into a fresh shirt and clean boots she hopped in the driver’s seat of her truck.Shelby sat in the passenger seat with her laptop and notebook already out.She was a writer and always carried at least one way to write wherever she went.
“I’m actually really glad you’re coming today.You can help me remember not to spend more than ten thousand.”
“You got it, just think of me as accounting.But if you see something you really want, I can be an investor,” Shelby said.
“No handouts and we both know you already have more horses than you can ride.”
“But they’re so pretty.”
“Tell that to Sheriff Hart.”
“Alright, then we’ll have to police each other today.You just worry about the road, and I’ll play DJ.”
It would be about a two-hour-drive roundtrip, and with the trailer she’d have to be more careful.But the further she got away from the ranch the freer she felt.She’d spent every day of her teenage years wishing and plotting to get out of this town for good.But something always seemed to pull her back.Now two years after her father had died, she’d managed to breed Beast, an Arabian stud with two Standardbred mares, and both were heavily pregnant.She planned to train them and show them at auctions as her proof of concept, but if the price was right, she could sell at least one.
Her Beautiful Beasts were bred for racing or horse lovers who wanted a mount they could ride and show off to friends.As it turned out, it wasn’t a small market.There were dozens of riding schools, equestrian programs, and private owners on the lookout for a beautiful horse.Breaking into the market was the hard part.She needed to convince a few buyers or ranches to take a chance on her, and in order to do that she needed to produce quality horses and train them to be gentle and obedient.
Most of her hopes were hung on Beast and his pedigree as a Triple Crown winner, one of the most prestigious accomplishments a racing horse could earn.She had several other older studs, each with varying success levels in racing.But her only other stud she planned to breed was Thor, an equally impressive American quarter horse she’d purchased at an estate sale two years ago and trained herself.Some women liked to shop at department stores, or antique shops, but she liked to buy underappreciated horses at dirt-cheap prices and build them into beautiful beasts to be cherished.
“So have you heard from any tall, dark, handsome strangers lately?”
“Shelby,” Miranda warned, already knowing what was coming.
