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CHAPTER 3
Jacob knocked onmy bedroom door the next morning. The sun wasn’t even up when he declared “Up, princess, we have lots to do today.”
I grabbed some apples on my way out so I could use them to cajole Betty Blue out of the stables.
We made it to my dad’s house as the sun rose. I was shocked to see a FOR SALE sign at the base of the gravel driveway. “That was fast.”
Jacob didn’t speak, only gave me a sympathetic look.
When the truck stopped, I stepped out and crossed the grassy field to the barn.
“Betty Blue!” I called as I approached the barn door. Earthy scents of hay and manure wafted out as I slid it open. “Want a treat, pretty girl?”
In the third stall on the left, Betty Blue bobbed her head up and down when she saw me. She greeted me with an enthusiastic whinny and a snort.
I held the apple under her mouth. “Hey there, girl, do you need to get out and run?”
Her soft lips pulled the apple into her mouth, and she crunched on it loudly. In a few slobbering bites, it was gone.
I petted her neck. “I know. It’s no fun to be cooped up in here. But I have a small problem, and I need to move you today. You’ll have lots of friends to run and play with. I promise.” She danced and bobbed her head, pushing my hand away, then circled in her stall and came back to the gate to nuzzle me.
Jacob stood behind me, waiting to put her lead line on her.
I looked over my shoulder, tears in my eyes, and then continued my conversation with Betty Blue.
“I know what my dad is doing. He thinks I need to earn my place in the world. I get it, I do, but I wish he’d given me a little more notice.” She nudged my hand. “I know. You’re right, I’ve had plenty of time to take myself seriously. Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out. But, right now, I need to get my life in order.”
She calmed, and I continued to pet her gently until she wandered over to her food trough—bored with me.
Jacob opened the gate and stepped in the stall, going to her and easily slipping the tack over her head.
After loading Betty Blue in my trailer and hooking it up to Jacob’s truck, he reached for my fingers and held them softly. “I’m sorry.”
I shrugged. “It’s not my house.”
I stepped back into his truck, dismissing any more sensitive conversation between the two of us.
Lane was waiting for us at his barn when we arrived.
“Thank you for letting me keep Betty Blue here, Lane,” I said as I jumped out of Jacob’s truck.
“Anything for you, darlin’.” He side-hugged me as Jacob stepped out onto the truck’s running boards and then the ground.
Jacob jerked his chin up as he unlocked the back of the trailer. “Hey.”
“Hey, Jacob,” Lane said with an easy smile.
I stepped away from him. “I promise I’ll find a permanent home for her as soon as I can.” I smiled up at him. Jacob snorted as he stepped into the trailer to get Betty Blue.
“Keep her here as long as you need. The others will enjoy her company.” He held the trailer door open so Jacob could walk Betty Blue out.
“Easy girl. You can play soon enough. And I bet your mama has another apple or two in her pocket for you.” Jacob stroked the side of Betty’s head as he talked.
When Jacob cleared the trailer, and Betty Blue was on the ground, he turned her toward the fourteen-horse barn, guiding her with the lead rope and said, “Walk.”
The memory of a college-aged Jacob not knowing anything about horses had me staring at him forlornly. He’d showed up unexpectedly at the barn in California, and I thought something was wrong with Mia. I’d asked him if everything was OK.
“Yeah, I had some time between practices and thought I would see if you were riding today.” He’d leaned against the stall doors as I was putting the saddle on Betty Blue.
