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“Yeah, she’s alright.” His smile grows wider. “Peachy hair and a peachy ass. Just my type. Think I should make a move, maybe see if she’s down for a little romp in the hay? I bet city girls like her have no clue what it’s like to ride a cowboy.” He makes a stupid gesture like he’s ridin’ a bull that I do not find funny.
I toss the fence stretcher and sleeves to the ground and turn to face him. He’s already grinning, like he knows exactly what buttons he pushed and exactly what I’m gonna say.
“Hayes.”
He looks at me, a faux expression of innocence painted all over his face. Little shit.
“Is that a no?” he asks, his eyebrows bunched together.
“That’s a hell no. Off. Fucking. Limits.”
He rolls his eyes.
“Why so protective? She’s the first woman we’ve had working at this ranch since Addie.” He laughs and shakes his head. “You really think you’re gonna be able to keep these men away from her?”
“I have so far,” I all but growl.
“When I left the rescue, she had four of the guys in there introducing themselves and looking her up and down. They’re like lovesick little puppies.”
I swear under my breath and pick the shit up that I threw on the ground and toss it into the pack on Lucille. Taking my gloves off, I tell Hayes that I’m done for the day.
“Youjustgot my ass up to help. What’s got you all riled up?”
“I didn’t say you were done,” I tell him. “Finish the last of this line so we can get a leg up on tomorrow. I’m going to make sure the new hire isn’t just sittin’ on herpeachy ass.”
“Oh, so you just get to ride off home and enjoy your evening while I’m stuck out here working my ass off?” He puts his hands on his hips like an incredulous teenager. “It ain’t even quittin’ time! And who gives a flying fuck if she’s taking it easy her first day?”
“Hayes, you showed up late and sat on your ass for half the day.” I hitch up onto Lucille and smile down at him. “I think you’ll be okay for another hour.”
“Hour, my ass. This’ll take two at the least.”
“Longer if you keep gabbin’.”
Lucille anxiously stomps her feet below me, reading my energy. I don’t know what’s come over me, but this woman sets my goddamn nerves on edge. Hayes flips me the bird, but I just give him a tip of my hat before letting Lucille take off.
The sun is setting when I make it over to the barn. The warm light pours out from the open barn door, and I keep Lucille back. I’m only here to check in…observe. I’m ready to kick those boys out if they haven’t let her be. It’s about time she does her damn job and earns the paycheck that my pops is so adamant we can afford.
But I don’t see anyone hanging around. I don’t even see Wells. It’s just Poppy in there, taking care of the dogs that will hopefully find a home soon. I watch her as she takes each dog out on one of our long leads, testing their behavior and their recall with a treat once they’ve hit the end of the rope.
After they’ve pottied for the night, she plays with each of them, taking the time to work on some manners and some tricks. Some dogs are easier than others. She spends the most time with the puppies, taking them out individually to get them used to being independent. They don’t quite understand the lead, but she teaches them that it isn’t a chew toy and rewards them when they go to the bathroom in the grass.
I’m mesmerized as I watch her. Her hair is up in a messy bun on the top of her head, causing the shorter strands to fall down the back of her neck and the ones in the front to frame her face. She smiles, claps, and cheers the dogs on as they all go back to their spot for the night.
And once it’s quiet, she goes to the one all the way at the back.
My chest gets clogged with emotion when I see her sit down and lean her head back on the hardwood. There’s a dog in there that hasn’t come out of her shell yet. A red pit that was found being dragged across a road, all because she was trying to pee and her shitbag owner didn’t like it.
She came to us with needle marks on her inner thighs from the drugs they were pumping her full of, probably to get her ready to fight, and a demeanor that made you want to kill the man who had her. Wells was barely able to get her moved from the truck to the barn, worried she was going to hurt herself by thrashing around out of sheer terror.
Poppy takes the time to sit with her. She doesn’t do anything else. Just sits. Waits. I can’t see from here, but I imagine her eyes closed and her breathing slow and calm. She’s waiting for that baby girl to trust her — to come to her on her own.
It reminds me of something Addie would do.
Us boys would come home from school each day, and we’d never know if Addie had been out rescuing some poor animal from the brink of death, only to nurse it back to health. She was always on the lookout for creatures she could save.
Even when she was at her sickest, she had a rabbit she had found with a broken leg in the backyard. Against all of our wishes, including her doctor’s, she took care of that thing better than she took care of herself. Sometimes I wonder if she knew she didn’t have a lot of time on this Earth, just like those animals who were sick and broken. So she tried to give them another shot at living — one she wouldn’t get.
I know that’s why Pops has such a hard time with this whole operation. He can claim that he just sees it as lost money all he wants, just me sinking money into something that isn’t worth it. But I know better. I know the memory of Addie is alive in every animal we bring back — whether it’s a dog, a cow, or a damn hairless chicken. We rescue them all and give them a place to rest because that’s what Addie would’ve wanted.
