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I could hear the man grumbling on the other end of the line. “So you’re willing to risk the life of the filly in order to see if she might produce a good horse for you?”
“Don’t misunderstand me. I’ve had her checked out by a vet who thinks it is safe to go ahead with the pregnancy. I understand that there are risks, but Pineapple is going to be watched and checked regularly. Our vet is one of the best around, and I trust her judgement?”
“Her? You’ve got a woman up there doing this?”
I thought my eyes were going to roll out of my head. Old fashioned, sexist opposition to women vets amongst some of the older ranchers was still baffling to me.
“Yes, and if you’ve got a problem with it, you can take your business elsewhere. Who we have attending to our horses is our business, and I really don’t need you trying to put your oar in on this.”
There was more grumbling and hesitant agreement. “Fine, but if there’s a problem, then this is all on you.”
“I understand. Have a good day.”
I hung up the phone and muttered a curse under my breath. His sort was the worst to deal with and especially considering the filly was still ours; I thought he was a little ridiculous to start making demands about termination. If Maddy thought things were going to be fine with Pineapple, then I was happy to follow her advice and let the horse carry to term.
The day passed by slowly, but eventually, the clock ticked to five, and I was able to head out from the ranch and into town, passing by Madison’s father’s place on the way. I only saw one vehicle there so I didn’t bother stopping, not that I would have even if she had been parked there. Her father definitely didn’t want to see me, and I didn’t want to be the cause of any additional stress on the man. In all likelihood, he and my father would never make up which was a damn shame when I considered the sort of friends they had been all those years ago.
But was that really true? My father wasn’t the kind of man that many would want to be associated with, but I assumed it depended on the sort of person you were. If you wanted to get ahead and thought Sean Killarny could help then sure, it made sense. But I wasn’t sure that I would have anything to do with the man if he wasn’t my father, not after what had happened to Maddy’s dad.
I wished that there was a way I could turn things around. Things were out of my control for the most part, just like they had been when my father first made the rotten deal with George Graston. The man had lost his wife at the end of it all and still had to lease his land back from us for the use of it. I had a hard time understanding why my father wouldn’t have a change of heart after he lost his own wife, but I knew that it wasn’t as simple as all that. My father had a lot of pride and even if he had seen the light on something it could be very difficult to sway him into doing the right thing.
When I made it to town, I found Maddy’s car parked in front of the office, and I parked just behind her, strolling into the open office to find Lorna behind the desk.
“Hey Lorna,” I said with a smile. I tried to see if she had any idea of what had happened between Maddy and I. The two of them were best friends and I knew they talked, I didn’t know how much they shared though. The smile on Lorna’s face made me think that she knew a little bit more than what was discussed in polite company.
“Hey, mister. How are you?”
“Fine,” I said. “Just looking for Maddy. Are you all done for the day?”
She nodded. “I was about to head out. Maddy went upstairs to change, and I think she’ll be down soon. She was planning on going over to the square for the cookout and then the fireworks I think. I’ll be down at the roadhouse later if you all would like to join us.”
“Maybe we will,” I said, but privately hoped that we could just head back to Maddy’s place.
As soon as Lorna had stepped out, Maddy came walking down the stairs and smiled as soon as she saw me.
“Fancy seeing you here,” she said with a grin as she came over and gave me a peck on the cheek.
I gave her a quick squeeze. “Want to head over to the square and see what’s happening?”
“I’d rather go upstairs and make something happen,” I turned on my heels and steered her back toward the door.
Maddy let out a laugh. “Okay, I shouldn’t have said that. I promised some people I’d be at the Fourth of July celebration tonight, so that’ll have to wait until later.”
“You are a tease,” I said as she took me by the hand and led me toward the part of town where the festivities were taking place.
“So how was your day?” Maddy asked as we approached the center of downtown.
“Well, I made that call to the folks in Texas about Pineapple.”
“Uh oh. I don’t like the sound of that. What did they have to say?”
“They weren’t too happy at
the thought of their filly being pregnant. The guy wanted me to go ahead and terminate, but I told him that was off the table because of Nevada Rebel.”
Maddy looked at me, concern written all over her face. “Honestly, Alex, if it’s a problem then we can do it. It is standard procedure for young ones on some ranches. But in my experience, I don’t think it’s really necessary with Pineapple. She’s young, but she’s very healthy. I think she’ll be fine. I don’t want it to cause trouble for you though.”
I shook my head. “No, we’re not doing it. That guy thinks he can call the shots, but it’s not about him. We have to think about our horses as well, and any foal from Nevada Rebel would draw twice the price of Pineapple. Not that I am saying her welfare doesn’t matter, but I trust your judgement on this. You know what you’re doing.”
