AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Of Mice and Men,” I replied. I had read it before, back in high school, but I was curious as to how I would enjoy it now.
“Guy don’t need no sense to be a nice fella. Seems to me sometimes it jus’ works the other way around. Take a real smart guy and he ain’t hardly ever a nice fella,” Sebastian said, quoting a line from the book.
“Impressive,” I said, surprised that he remembered the words like that. I read a lot, but there weren’t many quotes I could pull up from memory. I could recognize quotes most of the time.
He shrugged. “Why don’t you come with me to see the horses?” He patted the massive black one he was on. “Sword here is a beauty, but we’ve got more where he came from. Even a new colt.”
I chewed on my bottom lip nervously. I wasn’t sure he knew about me. King did, and Maeme did. What if Sebastian didn’t watch the news and someone in his stables did? I would draw attention to myself. As much as I wanted to see the stables and the horses, I couldn’t do that to him or Maeme…or King.
I shook my head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I need to stay back here…hidden.” I stopped, not sure how much he knew about my still being at Maeme’s.
“There’s a gate behind the trees in the backyard. I’ll get you from there, and we will head over to the stables. No one will see you who could cause you any harm,” he assured me.
“I’d need to talk to Maeme about that. She…she’s being really kind, letting me stay here, and I’m not sure what all you know, but I don’t want to cause any problems for her,” I explained, hoping that would be enough to stop his pushing for me to go over there.
He smiled at me then and leaned forward slightly. “I’ve already cleared it with Maeme. And I know why you’re here. There are no secrets in the family. Besides, if we all know, then we can all protect you. Being with me is as safe as being here in this house.”
I stared up at him, not sure if I should even be surprised anymore. They all knew I had left my husband bleeding out from a gunshot wound? They were all okay with that? Just because I’d had some broken ribs and a bruised face?
“Walk right on back there, and I’ll meet you,” he coaxed.
I hesitated, but the slight pleading look in his eyes, as if he wasn’t sure if I was going to do it or not, and the thought of going to the stables won me over.
I nodded. “Okay, but I don’t think I’m ready to ride a horse.”
The smile that broke out across his face made me glad I’d agreed. “Probably a bad idea with your ribs. I’ll get down, and we will walk him back.”
I nodded, and then he turned the horse and rode him back around the circular pen. While I walked around to the backyard, I watched where he was going so I would know where the gate was located. I considered going inside to text Maeme, but I didn’t think that Sebastian would lie about having asked her already. Trusting was something I struggled with and had sworn I wouldn’t do again. But this family had helped me in a way no one else could. If I was going to trust again, they were the ones I should do it with.
By the time I reached the gate, Sebastian was there, standing against the fence opening. His horse obediently stood back behind him, and although I was sure that I wouldn’t be charged by the horse, it still made me nervous, being this close to it without a barrier between us. I shifted my focus between the thoroughbred and Sebastian.
He held out a hand to me. “Come on. I swear you’re safe. Sword looks like a beast, but he’s a good boy. Well trained.”
I took a step toward Sebastian and looked down at his hand, but didn’t take it. Holding hands with him wasn’t something I was comfortable with. He seemed to understand and dropped his hand back to his side, then closed and latched the gate behind me.
“It’s a bit of a walk, but you can see the horses out along the way,” he told me.
My curiosity about the Shephard Ranch got my attention, and I fell into step beside him. The horse walked on his other side, slightly behind us. I fought the urge to look back and see if he was watching me.
“How many horses do you have?” I asked Sebastian.
“Right now, we have twelve thoroughbreds that we own, five that are boarded, and a few quarter horse mares,” he told me. “Although I believe we are selling a thoroughbred this week. We raised it to sell. He isn’t a champion, but he will hold his own in a race.”
He pointed toward a large circular path that was about one hundred feet away from us. I looked in that direction and saw a horse being ridden so fast that dust was flying behind them as the rider leaned down low over the horse.
“That’s Bloodline, who we hope is our Preakness Stakes winner. Carmen, our best jockey, is on him today,” Sebastian explained.
I had no knowledge of horse racing, but I was assuming Preakness Stakes was a race. I simply nodded, watching in amazement at the speed they were going. We continued walking, but I kept glancing back over to the two, even after the jockey slowed the horse down.
“Is this what your family does? I mean, as a job. You raise horses?” I asked, curious as to how someone could afford to have all this land and horses.
He shrugged. “Yeah, but I mean, we own other things too,” he replied vaguely, and I decided not to push.
But what other things did they own? I would be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in this.
Up ahead, a stunning house came into view. It appeared to be built of multicolored rocks and had a thatched roof with several gables.
“Is that your house?” I asked, squinting so I could see it better.
