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Katy took a breath. “I miss my husband. He was a good man.” “Life goes on,” he said. “It has to. Have a good day.”
“You, too. And thanks for coming out.”
“No problem.”
She watched him drive off and called the farrier. He agreed to come right out and check the poor horse’s hooves after Katy had described the state they were in.
He cleaned them and replaced the shoes with new nails. “Hell of a condition for a horse to get in,” he said.
“Yes, it is. They’re prosecuting the former owner.”
“I know him. Bad man. Really bad. I hope they’ll get farther than they did with the last case they tried against him.”
“Me, too.” She watched him put in the last nail. “Do you know a man named Parker who works for J.L. Denton?”
“Parker.” He rolled his eyes. “He’s fine as long as he’s not within earshot,” he added on a chuckle. “éJ.L. has to keep women away from him.”
“Why?” she asked, with some shock.
“His mouth,” he replied. “Nobody cusses like Parker.”
“But he caught Bartholomew–that’s the name of the horse you’re working on–and promised to help my daughter learn how to take care of him.”
“Nobody knows more about horses than Parker,” he agreed. “He likes kids. But he’s hell on women. Tried to date a couple of local girls and when they got a whiff of his language, they ran for the hills.”
“But he never used a bad word,” Katy continued, trying to explain.
The farrier looked at her with total shock. “We talking about the same Parker? Big guy, long black hair, breaks horses for Denton?”
“Well, yes.”
He caught his breath. “That’s one for the books, then.”
Teddie laughed softly. “Well, apparently my daughter has a good effect on him.”
“I would say so.” He finished his work, accepted a check for it, and said his good-byes after giving Katy instructions about keeping the horse in the stable for a few days until the worst of the damage healed. She didn’t mention that the vet had told her the same thing.
“How is he?” Teddie asked when her mother came into the house.
“He’ll be fine,” she assured the girl. “He just needs to rest for a few days while he’s healing. By Saturday,” she added with a smile, “he should be ready for Horses 101.”
Teddie laughed. “That’s a good one, Mom. Horses 101.”
“Well, let’s get supper going. Then we need an early night. School tomorrow, for both of us.”
“I know. It’s not so bad here, I guess. I made a friend yesterday: Edie. She loves horses, too. She’s got a palomino.”
“I’m glad. You’re like me, sweetheart. You don’t warm up to people easily. Your father was the very opposite,” she added with a wistful smile. “He never met a stranger.”
“I miss Daddy.”
She looked at her daughter with sad eyes. “I miss him, too. It takes time, to get over a loss like that. But we’ll make it.”
“Sure we will.” She looked up at her mother hopefully. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Katy said, but she turned away quickly. “Now, let’s get something to eat. Do you have homework?”
Teddie was resigned to never getting a hug from her remaining parent. She and her dad had been close. He hugged her all the time when he was home. But her mother almost never touched her. It was the only thing that made living with her hard. Teddie couldn’t change it, so she just accepted it. “Yes. Math.” She groaned. “And history.”
