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“I actually have a new horse coming in a couple of hours. I heard about her in an online forum and have been talking to the person who rescued her for the past couple of weeks.”
“So, she’ll be here around elevenish or so? Lunch is out,” Abby says. “But dinner, maybe?”
She looks so hopeful.
They haven’t pushed me to go anywhere when they make the trip from Colorado Springs to come to see me, doing the grocery shopping and running errands and being so helpful. They’re the reason I’ve managed to avoid running into anyone I know in Landmark—I’ve pretty much stayed in the stables since I drove into town a few months ago. There’s a shower out there and a toaster oven to heat up stuff or even bake pies in, a mini fridge, and a Keurig, so the only time I have to come in the house is right before Aunt Hilary and Abby arrive. Aunt Hilary always washes the sheets and puts them back on their bed before they leave, which is huge. I don’t think I could hide the panic I feel at the thought of going upstairs.
“Okay, yes,” I say, trying for an authentic smile.
Everything inside me is clenched, so I’m not sure if my smile works or not.
But Abby squeals and dances over to me as she puts her hands on my shoulders.
“Yay,” she says. “We can get you back home early enough to check on the horses and get to bed at a decent time too. I know you’re up way earlier than either one of us.”
During their first visit, I was so busy finalizing the sales my dad had started working on before he died, I had a good excuse for staying in. A horse breeder through and through, my dad’s stables have been world-renowned, his horses treated better than humans. Fifteen horses have moved to their new homes since my dad died and now there are only the two I brought with me and two older horses of his, Showrunner and Honey. Aunt Hilary and Abby wanted so badly to be helpful during the time they thought I was grieving, I’d taken them up on their offers to run the errands, as long as I could reimburse them for everything.
This routine has stuck and now, months later, the very least I can do is go to dinner with them.
I can’t be a hermit forever.
The new horse arrives around eleven thirty, and I fall in love with her instantly. Her name is Fiona. She’s skittish and looks like she needs to eat for about a month, but she’s got a sweet disposition. I put her in the stall next to Chief since he’s fully healed and the mildest one of the four. It’s not time for her to get near the other three just yet.
I get her settled, moving slowly around her and letting her adjust to me being around without getting too close just yet. She doesn’t seem volatile at all, just malnourished. I should ask Theo to take a look at her, not fully trusting that the woman who brought her had taken her to the vet when she got her like she’d said.
I’ll give it a couple days…and first check to see who else is in the hundred-mile radius that I could ask to come see her instead.
I take a shower in my old bathroom instead of in the stables and stand in front of my closet trying to decide what to wear. I can’t remember when I’ve thought about what to wear. My uniform has consisted of jeans and a sweater or T-shirt for the past eight years. Dressing up consists of my nicest jeans and a T-shirt without stains.
I pull out a dress that I’d bought when I thought I might show up for Dad’s funeral. A green long-sleeve dress that hits my knees. Subdued, but a color I like and not too fancy, I slip it over my head and put on a pair of sandals instead of the tights and boots I would’ve worn with it to the funeral.
I powder over some of my freckles and put on a little mascara and lip gloss, calling it good enough.
You’d think I’ve gone all out with the way Aunt Hilary and Abby go on over me.
“Look at you. My goodness, Sofie, you look gorgeous,” Aunt Hilary gushes.
“Youlook gorgeous,” I tell her. “I love that dress.”
“Oh, this old thing,” she says, grinning as she twirls in her dark brown flirty dress.
Abby holds my hand out and nods approvingly. She’s in a floral maxi dress and looks stunning.
“We clean up real nice,” she says. “If I had that body, there is no way I’d be covering it up so much though.” She laughs, shaking her head. “There is not an ounce of cleavage showing!”
I laugh and lift a shoulder. “It’s a miracle I’m in a dress. I don’t think I’ve worn one since I left Landmark.” I look down at it and smile wistfully. “I’ve kinda missed them.”
“Well, let’s go show you off. I’m starving,” Abby says, and we get in their car, driving toward the picturesque shops and restaurants on Heritage Lane.
The Pink Ski is at the bottom of one of the big ski runs that’s part of Theo’s family’s lodge and ski resort. Well…it was when we were growing up. From what I’ve read online, the lodge was taken over by someone else—an outsider—and I’ve wondered how it feels to the family to have given that up.
I never dreamed my dad would leave the house and property to me. And I could’ve never imagined that I would keep it. But as hard as I’ve worked to stay away from Landmark, once I knew all threats were gone, I couldn’t get here fast enough.
As we drive through, the twinkle lights already on despite it not being dark yet, I take a deep breath and soak in this feeling because it’s the first time I’ve fully felt it…
It feels really good to be home.
CHAPTERFOUR
