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She whistled softly. “Hey, boy.”
The dog whipped its head around, then hurried to the shed and out of sight.
She started to chase after it, but common sense prevailed. Instead, she nipped dog food from the sheep dog bin in the front barn and set a cache of food and water along the walk bordering the back of the barn. She’d tempt the little fellow in with food and kindness. And then, maybe…a bath.
* * *
A “notice me” type pickup truck pulled into the yard on Thursday, hauling a quad horse trailer. The coating of road dust did nothing to diminish the truck’s wide wheel base and total muscle look. The driver pulled up in front of the house, stopped the truck and climbed out.
“He’s here.” Corrie was standing behind her in the stable barn. “Let’s go meet this fellow.”
“Red Moon Rising?”
Corrie winked. “I meant the cowboy. But the horse is probably good-looking, too.”
Lizzie grinned and led the way. As she drew close, she didn’t miss the light of appreciation in the truck driver’s eyes. And she wasn’t immune to the fact that he was ridiculously handsome. He strode forward and stuck out a hand. “I’m Everett Yost,” he said as he gave her hand a firm but easy grip. “The younger one. They’ve always shortened it to ‘Ev’ to make the distinction between me and my dad. And you’ve got to be a Fitzgerald because you look like your uncle.”
“Lizzie Fitzgerald.” She shook his hand firmly. “A good trip, I hope?”
“Fine. We put up the one night and I don’t think Red loved being penned, but when he gets a load of this…” He raked the mare-filled pasture an easy nod of approval. “He’ll adjust. How long you been breeding horses, Lizzie?”
“A week,” she told him.
He laughed. And then he stopped laughing when he saw she wasn’t kidding. “You serious?”
“I’ve run horses. I grew up on a Kentucky horse farm, but we didn’t talk breeding at our house around impressionable young ladies.”
He laughed again, understanding.
“Riding, racing and deportment were the topics of the day, but having said that, I’ve done my homework.”
He looked skeptical and amused.
“To get this right,” she told him as she motioned to the trailer. “My uncle trusted me to do this and not mess it up. And he said if he could bring one of your stallions on board and begin there, he could die a happy man.”
“Well, I’m sorry we didn’t cut the deal quicker, then,” said Ev. “No one realized he was that bad off, and when we did, it was too late. I met him a couple of times as he was traveling through Nebraska, checking stock. No matter where he was he’d always find a Quarter Horse farm and drop in. See what they had. How they were doing. This was a dream of his.” He thrust his chin toward the equine facilities. “He said he didn’t need it crazy big like some of those Texas spreads. But he wanted to grow it big enough so that the name Fitzgerald and Quarter Horse made a solid pairing.”
“And the pressure mounts,” Lizzie muttered under her breath as Ev unlatched the door. He moved inside, murmuring to the big roan horse, and when he came out backward, with a lead in his hand, Lizzie took in a deep breath and held it.
“You approve.” Ev smiled when he saw her face. “He’s a beauty, isn’t he?”
“Way beyond that,” she answered. “Shall we introduce him to the ladies one by one? Or just walk him into the pasture?”
“He’s been with a herd all his life. He’d think it strange to be separated.”
“Then let’s go.” She took the lead and led the way to the first gate. She paused the horse, moved forward and drew the gate open.
He didn’t rush the gate. He waited like the gentleman he was, and when she walked him inside, he seemed to take in his surroundings with slow, long looks. Then he entered the pasture with strong, full steps, tossed his mane, flicked his tail and stomped his right hoof twice.
And the ladies all turned his way.
“Oh, man. He’s an attention seeker.” Lizzie watched as the big horse stood fairly still while the mares came toward him. “And he got their attention, all right.”
“You’ll want to keep a close eye these first days, make sure there’s no seniority issues. Horses have a pecking order like most creatures, and if you’ve got a couple of highfalutin mares, they might challenge him for the lead. But mostly Red just takes the lead and the ladies are content to follow.” He winked at her, then grinned, and she couldn’t help but laugh back.
