Big Girl Boots

Four

As predicted, Remi barely even lifted his head at my yell, so I crawled through the gate and began the trek to the middle of the pasture where he grazed.

"You can come in," I told Coda who was standing at the fence looking uncertain. The horse made no move as we ambled up, even when we were within an arm's reach. That was probably because he smelled Coda's apple, though.

I stood back as she walked up slowly, holding the little treat on her flattened palm. "Hey, pretty boy. How's Remi? I bet it feels good to be outside since you got stuck in a trailer for four hours, huh?"

Unable to hide my smile at the baby talk she used with every horse, I stared down at the grimy halter in my hands. This particular rope contraption had been assigned to me from a very young age, and the amount of ground-in dirt proved that.

"That's a good boy."

I glanced back up at Coda's coo to see her rubbing Remi's face as he bobbed his head in appreciation and worked to chew the apple. "I think he likes you."

The adoring smile on her face made my heart swell. She always got that look when she was comfortable with something, which wasn't often. I'd only ever seen her wear it with horses, in art class, or when Wyatt was around.

"Good job, Coda bear." Extending the halter I'd been holding, I grinned at her.

She somewhat clumsily tied it on and the two of us lead the palomino back to the fence where dad looked to be having a deep conversation with Dax. Slinging my rope around a fence post, I crawled back through the fence to grab a bucket of brushes. When I returned, both my best friend and my dad were talking to their respective horses, apparently having a good time.

"How's Dax?" I called, handing the bucket to Coda over the fence.

Dad broke eye contact with the tall sorrel gelding and a beam of late afternoon sun hit his face as he turned to me. "He's a stubborn ass."

I laughed and crawled through the fence for the third time. "He always has been. Kind of like the guy who trained him."

My dad snorted, and I knew exactly why. Even though he wasn't the kind to get walked on, Dalton Williams was far from stubborn. He was the kind of man who would bend over backward to help someone he didn't even know. "If you asked me, he just spent too much time with that guy's daughter."

I rolled my eyes and ran a round curry comb over Remi's shiny back as Coda took great pains to brush his milky white tail.

He spoke up a few minutes later while holding Dax's one socked foot in the air to pick the rocks out. "Are you treating Aunt Callie good?"

Not even bothering to be sarcastic, I nodded earnestly. "Yes, sir. I owe her and Uncle Mark a lot, so I'm trying to stay out of trouble."

"Why couldn't you think that way when you lived under my roof?" The look on my dad's tanned face was only mildly reproachful and I knew he wasn't serious.

I shrugged, letting an honest smile play on the corner of my mouth. "You didn't have anything to threaten me with besides not letting me rope."

Releasing an exaggerated sigh, he released Dax's foot and straightened up. "I guess I need to work on my threats, then."

By the time we finished grooming both horses, it was nearing five. We were just leading them to get one more drink when Uncle Mark pulled up in his white Dodge, revving the engine like a teenage boy. "Hey, Dalton!" He hollered, sticking his head out the window, "wanna race?"

"Not today, Markus. Not today," my dad chuckled, the shadow of his hat moving wildly as he shook his head at the ridiculousness of his brother-in-law.