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Rolling her eyes, Sarah shook her head. “I’m a lost cause.”
“No, you’re not. You just need to adjust your outlook. You’re gonna be here anyway, right? When is your community service done? The end of summer, right?”
Sarah nodded.
“And you have to meet with the sheriff again today?”
Another nod.
“What if I come with you and we come up with an additional plan? There has to be other things you can do to get your hours in.”
“Dax wouldn’t go for that. Apparently, he’s my supervisor now and gets to decide what happens. I told the sheriff, and he doesn’t have any problem with it as long as your dad had set it up. I feel like I don’t have any say in this.”
Brielle frowned. “That does sound like my dad.” Her features brightened. “You know what? He doesn’t have any say in what you do outside of your working schedule. I’m going to take you riding. I’m great at giving lessons.”
Hesitation filled Sarah’s entire being. She still hadn’t gotten in a saddle since she was a kid. Dax was the only one who knew why she refused to do so now. As far as Brielle was concerned, Sarah had just never ridden.
Running the yearling in an exercise was a way for her to prolong the inevitable.
And yet as she watched the other ranch hands come and go from the trails, she couldn’t help but wish she could go along. There was something about being around these beautiful creatures that filled her with longing and, at the same time, terrified her to her core.
Yep. She wasn’t built to live or work on a ranch.
“Come on, Sarah. After you go to your meeting with the sheriff, let’s go for a ride.”
“But Dax—”
“Don’t worry about him.” Brielle’s eyes sparkled. “And then tonight we should go out. There’s an event at the country club. Karaoke, I think.”
Sarah’s brows furrowed. “But what about curfew?”
Brielle nudged her, then winked. “You’d be going with the best of the best. We won’t get caught. I promise.”
The ride to town was much like the one last week. While Dax had the radio going, he was as stiff as ever. He rarely spoke to her besides trying to get her to open up about her past. The only reason she was interested in going to her meeting with the sheriff was for an update.
She waited for the sheriff to shut the door behind her as she sat in the chair facing his desk. His feet clipped across the linoleum floor until he came to stand before her. He leaned against his large cedar desk and folded his arms. “How are things going this week?”
Sarah scowled. “It’s like I said when Zeke—Mr. Callahan made me call you. They’re switching up what they’re having me do. I still have a set number of chores, but now half of my time is spent working with the new horses they got last week.”
“And you’re unhappy about it?”
She shrugged. “I’m not all that great at it, and I don’t see how it’s helping the community.”
“Well, training horses is important around here. Are you aware that the owner of the country club is utilizing the property for equine therapy? They’re due to open next spring with services geared toward special needs children and veterans suffering from PTSD.”
“Okay?”
His eyes wrinkled as he smiled at her. “Those horses you are working with might end up at a place like that. Starting those colts is an important part of their training. If you can master that, you will set the foundation for working with any animal on these ranches.”
She threw up her hands. “But I’m not going to work on a ranch. I’m here until the end of the summer. Then I’m gone.” She blew out a frustrated breath. “Was there any update on Kenneth?”
The sheriff’s hands dropped to his sides and he pushed away from the desk. He walked around it and pulled out his chair before taking a seat. “Unfortunately, they got him a deal similar to yours. He was given thirty days but got out early with a parole hearing. Now he’s doing community service.”
“But heshotyou! And he threatened to come after me!”
“No one knows better than me that it’s not a perfect system. We can be grateful that his community service will be served in Colorado Springs. He’s not allowed to leave the city limits for the next six months. But after that…”
“It doesn’t matter. If he wanted to come here, there’s nothing stopping him. The drive isn’t that far. What’s to stop him from coming to find me? I hung him out to dry.” The rate of her breathing increased and her heart thundered. That feeling of lightheadedness returned. Great. It was happening again.
