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“Dani brought in a horse today,” he says.
I stare. “We don’t take in horses. They go to Winnie and Grace’s farm.”
Noah shrugs. “I didn’t ask about the details.”
I point toward the pastures. “It’s that way?”
“It is. Want to check it out?”
I’ve never shown interest in the sanctuary animals before, and I’ve never told him about my horse or the years I spent competing. I don’t know how to tell him now without crying, the pain of that loss still so sharp after all these years. Rubbing at my nose like I can stop the tingling that means I’m on the verge of tears, I look away. Maybe seeing the horse is a bad idea, but I still say, “I do.”
He falls into step with me, bending his knees and ducking his head to really look at me. “Peopled out?”
And this is why Noah is my best friend. He gets me. “Mmhmm.”
“Me too.”
He says nothing more, but I’m intrigued. “You’re never peopled out. You’re the king of peopling.”
“I guess there’s a first time for everything.”
He clearly doesn’t want to talk about it, and I don’t push. That’s one of the best things about our friendship, that we never push. I don’t ask Noah questions he doesn’t want to answer, and he does the same for me.
It was easier not to want to ask those questions when we weren’t living in the same house.
We find Dani and the horse in the farthest barn. The mare is tall and so, so thin. She stands straight, head held high, her sass and strength on obvious display.
“Other than being underweight and malnourished, she seems in good health,” says Jared, one of the local large animal vets and my cousin Brittany’s husband, as he steps out of the stall and shuts the door behind him.
His long hair is up in a man bun and he’s wearing coveralls. He smiles when he sees me, even though he’s only met on one other occasion. “How are you, Daisy? Noah?”
“Fine,” I say. “How is the horse? Who did this to her?”
“She was one of ten horses found on a farm that’s been foreclosed,” Jared says. “No one is sure how the horses were missed long enough to get into this state. It’s possible the farm owner stopped feeding them or underfed them because he couldn’t afford the feed, but no one has been able to track him down to get answers.”
“The farm where she lived is two counties over,” Dani says. “Winnie and Grace took the other nine, but this lovely mare was aggressive with the other horses and needs to be on her own.”
“I can relate.” I step closer and lean on the stall door, looking at the lovely girl. She stands her ground, but rolls her eyes to show the whites, revealing her unease.
“Wait,” Dani says. “You used to ride, didn’t you? You even competed, right? I’d forgotten about that.”
“It was a long time ago.”
“Good.” Dani beams, and her happiness warms me. “I’ll need someone who knows horses to help me with her.”
“When she’s up to her normal weight and full strength, she’ll need someone to exercise her,” Jared says. “I suspect she has a lot of energy. If you know how to ride…”
“I do know how to ride.” The very idea of getting on a horse again thrills and terrifies me. It’s been so long, and I didn’t realize how much I’d missed it until now.
Dani and Jared walk out of the barn with Noah, chatting about the care of the horse, but I stay where I am, just watching her, breathing her air. Slowly, she calms, studying me warily. “We’re going to be friends,” I tell her. “I can feel it.”
I can’t remember the last time I just stayed still without worrying about work or rent or what to order for dinner. It feels good to be with someone who neither needs nor expects anything from me.
I don’t know how long I’ve stood there when she walks over and bumps her muzzle against my hand on the door, but I don’t hesitate. I flatten my hand and stroke her soft jowls. She lowers her head and I scratch between her ears. “You aren’t a mean girl, are you, sweetie? You’re probably just hangry.”
The sun is setting by the time I leave the barn, and I almost trip over Noah, stretched out in the grass. He looks up when I stop next to him.
“What are you doing?”
