Where the Red Oak stood

Chapter 4

Ray woke well before the sun had risen high enough to reach the bedroom window. At first nothing felt out of the ordinary, and he wondered what had woken him. Then he heard the snores coming from the other side of the hall, and everything came back to him. The cowboy. He sat up, rubbing his hand against his forehead. Chad, whom he still knew nothing about.

He glanced at Frankie, still fast asleep. She was also snoring, though not as loudly, a dribble of spit on the pillow next to her mouth. Ray pulled his legs over the edge of the bed and went to get dressed. After collecting a block of ice from the cellar, he left for the stable.

The morning air still had a bite of cold in it, though none that required warmer clothes. The sun was rising just above the horizon, casting a dim, blue light over the property. Some birds were already singing in the old red oak, breaking the otherwise so quiet atmosphere.

He opened the door to the stable just enough to slip through, and was greeted by the sound of the horses, struggling to get to their feet after lying on the straw. It was earlier than they were used to getting breakfast, but he gave it to them all the same. Bronto stood calmly as Ray poured the pellets into his manger, Russel a little more impatient, snapping after the bucket before he had a chance to pour. His black Onyx also showed signs of impatience, but as it was still early morning and the fullblood knew Ray liked it when he waited, he politely watched from a distance until Ray had filled his manger.

In the stall opposite to the one Lucy now inhabited, Emelie's fat little pony Nessa was stretching her head far into the corridor, waiting as he approached. Ray still did not understand why he had agreed to buy her, seeing as she was too small to contribute to the ranch, but demanded fodder and tending all the same. But Emelie had nagged endlessly at him and Frankie until, at last, they had agreed to fulfill her wish.

"I could have used the money I spent on you on workers, Nessa", Ray told the pony as he poured breakfast to her as well. The pony responded with a snort and dived, muzzle first, into her manger, chewing loudest of them all. Not that it is an easy task, finding workers good and reliable enough, he added in his thoughts. He needed only think of how it had ended with Bill to get the shivers. Hopefully Chad would not steal, but who was to say? If anything good was to come from it, it was that Chad would at least not cost him any money.

He turned to Lucy's stall and looked down at the mare, who was still lying motionless in the straw. She opened her eyes when he entered, but other than that, she gave no reaction.

"Let us have a look at your leg, shall we?" he said in a low voice as he knelt beside her.

He was not happy with the look of it. Last thing he had done before bed last night was to put new ice on the injury, but that had long since melted, and the swelling was worse than ever. The area where the skin had been peeled off looked less irritated, but it was still red.

"I believe I must give you something anti-inflammatory." He reached for his briefcase and picked up a bottle with liquor in it, poured it on a handful of pellets and held it to Lucy's mouth. "I am sorry, girl, but you will have to eat this." He made her open her mouth, and to his surprise, Lucy obediently started chewing, despite being tired and the poorly tasting medicine. Ray stroked her while she ate, looking into her eyes just like she was looking into his. "Who would have thought you'd be so well behaved, huh?" he mumbled.

The mare finished and swallowed without having protested once, and Ray bent to wrap the new ice bangade about her leg. At that moment, though, the stable door flung open and the horses twisted in their stalls, Bronto with a neigh worthy of a horse thrice his size. The other horses also whinnied, causing Lucy to twitch and flick her ears back. The person responsible, however, answered in a voice not nameworthy lower than Brontos' neigh. "G'mornin' dear friends! What a beautiful mornin' we're blessed with! Ray, ya here?!" The intruder began to walk down the corridor, boots clanking against the stone floor as he went.