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“Jameson?”
“Yeah, babe? You need something else?”
She nods. “Can you come here and hold me for a minute?”
“Of course, Lemon. I can always hold you.” Walking back over to the edge of the bed, I sit down. My weight pushes into the bed, and she shifts a little but doesn’t seem to be in any more pain than she already was. Then I lean forward and carefully wrap my arms around her.
When she lets out a little humph sound, I need to know she’s okay. Leaning back just enough so I can see her face, I study her. “You okay?”
“I am now. Thanks for breaking into my house, kid.”
“Anytime, Lemon. I’ll break down your doors, your walls, and your whole damn house to get to you.”
Breaking into her house was just the beginning. I’m planning on breaking into her heart next.
chapter twenty-four
jameson
I left Lily asleep in her bed at four-thirty this morning. I haven’t slept in my own bed in over a month. And I’m very, very happy about that. By twelve-thirty, I was already rushing into town to get back to Lily’s house. I knew she was in Western Mountain picking up some stuff for the shop, and I took advantage of the opportunity to take care of something I’ve been wanting to do at her house for a while now. I got that done, and now I’m heading back out to the farm.
I drive the highway between the farm and town at least twice a day every day. Usually more. And unless it’s so gray with rain that I can’t see thirty feet in front of my truck, it’s always the second most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. The first is Lily naked. But the drive between town and the farm is a distant second. Green fields roll off into the distance until they reach snow-capped mountains to the east. To the west, it’s just a big, wide horizon with rolling hills after Western Springs with miles and miles of open sky overhead. If you drive far enough west, all the way to Vancouver, you hit the Pacific Ocean.
I’ve been a few other places going to see Jacks. But there’s no place like this one. I’ve never wanted to be anywhere else. I always keep the windows down unless it’s raining so hard that my truck seats will get soaked. Even blindfolded, I could tell you the season by the smells in the air. Fresh wet grass in the spring. Heat and the smell of dry dirt in the summer as my truck kicks up dust. Hay, wet leaves, smoke from wood stoves, and hits of apple cider from the Matthews’ roadside stand in the fall. Winters in Western Springs are pretty mild, and it doesn’t snow a lot here. People might think snow doesn’t have a scent, but you can always smell that bite of frozen water in the air when it does.
Right now, the smell is dirt and sunshine. It might rain here a fair bit, but not in the summer. On a sunny day like today, I can’t understand why everyone else in the world doesn’t want to live right here in Western Springs. But I’m glad they don’t. It just leaves more of it for the rest of us to enjoy.
I don’t even slow when I see the little horse. But as I blaze past it on the highway, something’s not right. The horse is on the wrong side of the fence, right next to the highway.
Groaning, I slow down and turn around to investigate. The last thing I need on my conscience is a car accident and an animal having to be put down when I could have done something about it.
I park a way away from the little thing, so I don’t scare it. Grabbing some rope from the back of my truck, I quickly loop it into a halter. Then I grab a few of the molasses cookies I always have in my truck for the horses and walk slowly over to her.
She’s small. Smaller than a pony. She must be one of those miniature horses city people think are so cute. I mean, she’s cute as hell. But she’s barely a horse. She’s probably about the size of a Great Dane, only stockier. But right now, ribs are sticking out where there should be a chubby little belly above her skinny legs. Her mane and coat are a dirty gray, but after a bath she’d probably be a pretty white. Her little hooves can’t be bigger than half of my palm.
Lily would love this little thing. I’m going to have to send her a picture after I catch the little horse and get her some help.
She’s afraid. Her brown eyes watch me every second, even when she turns her head to the side, pretending she doesn’t see me at all. But she doesn’t run from me. She looks like she’s not putting her weight down all the way on one of her back legs. That could be anything from a hoof that needs to be picked out to something serious. I really don’t like the look of all those ribs sticking out all over her. She hasn’t eaten in a while. But she’s used to people, at least a bit. Or she would have run from me the minute I got out of the car. And maybe down south they have wild horses, but this little thing wouldn’t survive too long with all the wolves and coyotes we have around here. She was someone’s pet. And whoever let her get into this kind of shape deserves a solid beating.
Leaning to the side, I double-check to see if I’m right that she’s a girl. She is. That should make this easier. Girls love me, doesn’t much matter the species.
“Hey, little girl. What are you doing all the way out here?”
I’ve been around horses my whole life, so I know not to make any sudden movements. I know not to move too fast and just let her come to me. I don’t even look her in the eyes. I look at everything but her as I inch closer and closer to her.
Even if I hadn’t grown up around horses, Lemon’s given me more than enough practice with this. At this point, I’m a fucking expert at giving a girl enough space and time to find her way right into my arms.
Slowly inching closer to her, I hold out my hand with the molasses cookie in it. Her eyes dart to it. This little girl’s hungry.
“It’s okay, little girl. I’m not going to hurt you. I’ll take care of you. I promise.”
She takes the cookie and lets me pet her little nose. Then she comes back looking for a second cookie. I give it to her. And then while she’s chewing away, I slip the rope halter over her head so I can lead her back to my truck. That was actually pretty damn easy. What can I say? The ladies have always loved me. But there’s only one lady I’m interested in loving me now. My Lemon.
“Come on, here we go, little girl. I’ve got you. I’m going to take you to get checked out.”
After fifteen minutes of wrangling a little horse into my pickup, I’m heading back into town to the vet clinic. Getting the halter on her and getting her to the truck might have been easy. Getting her into the truck was another story.
The Western Springs Animal Hospital is at the other end of town from Lily’s house. It’s an old house at the edge of town with a small barn and a few empty paddocks at the back. The little horse isn’t fighting me as I get her out of the truck. But she’s not exactly helping me, either. At least it’s going easier than it did getting her in. But I get her out and inside the vet clinic in a few minutes. Normally, vet calls for livestock happen out at farms, but the livestock needing a vet is usually a hell of a lot bigger than this little girl is.
