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“Cause I’m so lovable?”
“Cause you’re so annoying,” he laughed, scooping up a shovelful of horse muck and flinging it in her general direction. Luckily, she’d managed to dart out of the way, but she’d come very close to being pelted with the stuff.
Trent spent most of his time at the animal infirmary. He wasn’t a professionally trained veterinarian, but he was the closest thing that the ranch had, and he was working on getting his license every day. There rarely seemed a moment of the day when Trent didn’t have his nose buried in some ridiculously thick textbook.
Part of Millie’s job was making sure that she flagged up any health issues that the horses might have. Luckily, there hadn’t been anything serious, but one of the horses, a sweet brown and white mustang called Archie, had a low-grade fever.
She’d taken him out to see Trent, who’d not seemed worried in the least. In fact, he’d seemed more concerned with her well-being. He quickly checked Archie out, then spent a good half-hour firing off questions at Millie.
Are you happy here?
Do you feel as though your boundaries are being respected?
Is there anything you need to raise with Takis or Chuck but can’t?
Is there anything that’s making you anxious?
Do you need anything you’re not getting?
Coming from anyone but Trent, the questions might have seemed strange, or too personal. But it felt comforting to have him ask her those questions, and she knew that when she answered honestly, he wouldn’t judge her.
That’s why she’d asked Chuck to have Duke and Trent here this morning. She needed all the extra nonjudgmental support she could get.
Ranger seemed happy enough.
“In a minute, boy,” she said to the patiently-waiting horse, “I’m going to put my foot through your stirrup, and then I’m going to lift myself up onto your back.”
She looked up at Ranger’s soft eyes. He was a patient, good boy, and she patted him gently on the flank. He was saddled already, and the stirrups were unrolled. Everything was ready for her. Millie checked the girth one more time, making sure that the saddle wasn’t strapped too tightly. She could fit her hand behind it — just. That was about perfect. There was nothing else to do other than to mount him.
She knocked the heels of her boots together like she’d seen the cowboys do.
“When you’re ready, ma’am.” Chuck waited patiently at Ranger’s bridle.
It was now or never.
Millie put her left foot in the stirrup, took hold of the saddle with her right hand, and then carefully hoisted herself up.
There was a whoop of excitement from the side of the corral. Duke was grinning, clapping his hands together. Millie couldn’t help but smile.
She had done it. She was on a horse, by herself. And it didn’t feel scary. It felt… natural.
Ranger was being a perfect horse. He hadn’t started walking, hadn’t bolted off or tried to throw her.
Chuck looked up at her with joy in his eyes. She’d seen him happy before of course, but this was something else. Pure joy shone from him, and something else. Pride.
“Well done, babygirl,” he said, quietly. “Ready to move?”
She nodded, her pulse quickening.
All she had to do was gently squeeze her legs…
Ranger responded immediately, like he’d been waiting specifically for her command.
“I can’t believe this,” she whispered in wonder to herself. Ranger was trotting, not too fast, not too slow, exactly as she had wanted.
She paused for a moment and took it all in — the warmth of the sun, the smell of the fresh air, the view of the mountains in the distance. Chuck was smiling, Trent and Duke were clapping, and all the worries of her past, all the pain that had come before, it all slipped away from her.
Millie was at peace.
