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John stopped Sugar and patted her neck. “I’m not sure. I mean, I know what I said. But I don’t know what language it was. An Indian dialect, I think.”
Everett nodded. “That’s what it sounded like.From what little I know about it.”
“Sugar seemed to like it.”
“It has a soothing tone. What were you saying?”
“Basically calm down. Settle. And something about drawing strength from her ancestors. It doesn’t really translate well to English.”
“Definitely tribal. Very interesting and cool. You don’t look like you have Native American blood.”
“I think it came from my grandmother. I’ve had a couple of memory flashes about her. I thought maybe she was Hispanic. But this kind of makes me lean toward Native American.”
“Do you think you’re fluent?”
John shook his head. “Only if you’re a horse. Everything that comes to mind seems to be related to horse training.”
Everett laughed. “I’m glad you landed in Schaeffer Mills, John. You’ve been a real asset.”
John nodded. “Let’s roll some more balls in front of this horse.”
They worked with Sugar for another two hours, introducing various distractions to her. She still tried to bolt every time, but she put up a little less of a fight each time and was getting easier to handle. John figured another week or ten days, she’d be a lot safer ride for Everett.
John dismounted and handed the reins to Everett. “Next time, we’ll put you in the saddle.”
“Hmm. I’m not sure if I’m ready for that. I’mstill sore from the last time she threw me.”
John patted his shoulder. “You’ll be fine. You just need to let her know you’re not going to take her shit.”
Everett nodded. “Okay. I’ll give it a try. Now go take it easy. You’ve put in a long day.”
“Yeah. Not looking forward to spending the evening alone.”
“You’re welcome to have some dinner with me. I’m not much of a cook, but I’d welcome the company.”
“Thanks. But I need to face it sooner or later. I haven’t spent a whole day without Ember since I woke up in the hospital.”
Everett glanced at his dog. “Why don’t you take Toby? He’s not Ember. But he’s pretty good company. He does tend to hog the blankets, though.”
John laughed. “I think I’ll take you up on that.”
They left the pen. “I’ll put Sugar away. Just call Toby. He’ll follow you.”
John patted his thigh. “Come on, Toby. Do you want to come to the cabin with me?” Toby looked at him, then came and stood by him. “Okay. Let’s go.”
John headed for the cabin with Toby at his heels. When they got to the door, John opened it and Toby went inside. “Make yourself at home. I’ll go see what we have for dinner.”
The cabin was a single room with a doublebed along one wall, a small kitchenette with a microwave, a mini-fridge, and a coffeemaker. There was also a bathroom with a shower and tub combination and a closet with some built-in drawers. A woodstove sat between two windows and there was a loveseat and a matching chair with an ottoman. It was cozy, and John wasn’t sure why Everett stopped renting it and the other three, which he assumed were identical in size and design. Maybe it was just too much work, since he seemed to have trouble finding reliable employees.
Everett had bought John a few groceries, but he hadn’t looked to see what was there. He checked the two bags. There were several cans of chili, a few cans of various soups, a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, along with one of jelly. There was also a bag of Chocolaty Chipities and a sixpack of beer.
John laughed. “I know what I’m having.” He looked at Toby. “Do you like peanut butter and jelly?” Toby sat and wagged his tail. “Okay. But not cookies. No chocolate for you.”
John got a fire going in the woodstove. Even though it was July, it cooled off at night and the heat felt good. Then he made two sandwiches and took them, along with a beer and the package of cookies, to the couch. He sat and Toby came and sat at his feet. He wasn’t begging. But he was politely staring at John with his head slightly cocked to the side.
“I know.” He held up a quarter of one of the sandwiches. “Are you going to take this nice, or are you going to take a finger or two with it?” Toby wagged his tail and whined. “Okay.” John held the sandwich out and Toby took it from him as gently as a dog could. “Good boy.”
John ate his sandwich and thought about Ember. He wasn’t sure how or why she loved him., but he was grateful for it. Sitting alone in a cabin sharing dinner with a dog could very well have been his life if it wasn’t for her. More likely, he wouldn’t even have the dog to keep him company.
