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His heartbeat kicked up. He'd always wanted his parents to be proud of him. "Thanks, Dad." He swallowed as they walked to the truck. "I love her."
His dad glanced at him. "I suspected so."
"Why?" His steps faltered slightly.
"The way you look at her. It's plain to see."
He nodded. He hadn't thought about that. He could always tell how much his dad loved his mom by the way he looked at her. His expression changed when he looked at his mom. He must have inherited that. Hopefully, Everleigh saw it too.
"Have you talked about what happens when her job is over?"
A hard, dry lump formed in his stomach. His throat constricted and the word was coarse when it came out. "No."
"I think you should."
"I know."
His dad pulled the tailgate open, and they each grabbed armloads of supplies and carried them to the barn.
When they entered, his mom and Everleigh sat on a bale of hay near the far end of the barn. The horse that loved Everleigh nudged her every time she stopped petting her. He grinned. She was a horse whisperer.
His mom held out a handful of feed and the horse leaned over and licked some of it up. Both women giggled and his heart grew another few inches. He'd have no room left in his chest at this rate.
He looked around the empty stalls. There were two. Both were surprisingly clean. But he pulled the twine off a bale of hay and laid new hay on the ground in the stall. His dad grabbed a large wool blanket from a pack and opened that up and spread it over the hay. Then he dug around for something while Henry opened the two sleeping bags and laid them on top of the blanket. He chuckled. "I've never slept in a barn before."
His dad chuckled. "I have a few times on missions. It was a great place to stay out of the elements. Though, I'll say, they weren't as clean as this one."
His dad pulled a cooler into the stall. "You have water, cheese, and a couple of drinks in here. Since you didn't get to finish yours tonight at the HOG, we figured you'd want a couple. Lara packed some food and cookies too. They are in the covered container. Come home in the morning for breakfast."
He hugged his dad. "Thanks, Dad. We appreciate it."
"We know."
He turned and saw his mom and Everleigh chatting, so he sauntered toward them. His mom turned and smiled brightly at him. "So what do I need to do tomorrow?"
"You need to visit Case Evans in jail in the morning and explain how very beneficial it would be to him to sell these horses and feed to me. I'll look around in the morning at the equipment and see what I'll need at my farm. Right now, I think I may need to buy the hay from his field too. Before you go, I'll text you a list."
"I can do that."
He chuckled. "I know you can. He's all pissy tonight, but I'm hoping a night in jail will calm him down. Also, I'd like the purchase agreement to state he agrees to never own animals again. He's not a man who should own animals. They don't deserve his kind of care."
His mom chuckled and stood. She hugged him tightly and he closed his eyes and absorbed her love. His mom whispered in his ear, "You and Everleigh need to talk about the future."
"I know."
She squeezed once more and stood back. She hugged Everleigh, then stood back and looked into her eyes. "Okay?"
Everleigh nodded and smiled.
His mom nodded once, then turned to his dad. "Let's go big man. This old woman's getting tired. And we have a big day tomorrow."
His dad chuckled, waved, and put his arm around his mom's shoulders. "You're not a day older than the day I met you." He kissed the top of her head and escorted her out of the barn.
He held his hand out to Everleigh, relief flooded him when she put her hand in his. Her horse, though, seemed a bit irritated. He chuckled. "What shall we do with this one tonight?"
"I think her stall is right here." She pointed to a stall across from them. "And according to the name scribbled on the stall door, her name is Harper. But I think she looks like a Sallie."
"I think we can change her name. The old one likely comes with some pain."
