Riding High

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  “I disagree.” She said it cheerfully, though.

  “Is that why you don’t have the horses confined in the corral or the barn?” Or did the horses stage a rebellion when they caught a glimpse of that pink-and-turquoise monstrosity? The jury was still out on how well horses could see color. At the moment Regan wouldn’t mind a little color blindness, himself.

  “Exactly. I let them wander as they wish, and they all show up in the barn at mealtime. When it’s cold, they tend to stay in there during the night, but they’re welcome to go wherever they want on the property.”

  “Makes my work more complicated if I have to chase them down.”

  She nodded. “That’s what Nick said. He’d rather have them all in one place when he comes out, and I meant to close them in the barn while they ate breakfast. But the sunrise was so beautiful that I got distracted. Before I realized it, they’d all eaten and headed out. Once they’re loose, it’s nearly impossible to get them in again until dinner. I should have arranged for you to come before mealtime, instead.”

  “Next time I’ll do that.” He sighed. “Guess I’d better get started.”

  “I’ll help, but I wonder if...”

  “If what?”

  She hesitated, her expression earnest. “Would you consider, just this once, rescheduling for this evening?”

  “Well, I—”

  “Never mind. That’s asking too much. You probably have a wife or a girlfriend who expects you for dinner.”

  “I don’t, but that’s not the issue.”

  “And there’s the matter of making a second trip. I’ll help you catch them and we’ll get ’er done. I know I’m too lax with them, but I think about the fact that the poor things have never been in charge of their lives, and that’s why I like to give them more control over their comings and goings. I promise next time I’ll remember to keep them in the barn when you’re due to arrive.”

  He gazed into her solemn blue eyes. Only a man of stone wouldn’t warm to the compassion shining there, even when he knew she didn’t have the faintest idea how to run this operation. “Have you spent much time around horses?”

  “Not until I took over the sanctuary, which was a leap of faith. I wanted to come back home and do something good for the community, and this place really spoke to me. Now I’m around horses 24/7.”

  Déjà vu. Either of his parents could have delivered that kind of speech, except that none of their seat-of-the-pants decisions had involved horses.

  “And you know what?” Her expression grew more animated. “They’re such individuals! Buck, the one who likes to eat the flowers, is really stubborn, while Sally, that little bay mare over there, is shy. You have to coax her to be friends, but once she trusts you, she’ll follow you around like a dog. I have to watch out she doesn’t try to come in the house.”

  Oh, boy. So at least one of the horses had started crowding her, a typical power move. No doubt they all sensed that Lily wasn’t the leader of the herd. She didn’t understand that they’d take more and more liberties until some of them would become unmanageable and even dangerous, both to themselves and to her.

  But she was genuinely fond of them after only two months, and he didn’t want to mess with that. Homeless animals needed all the friends they could get, so he’d tread lightly. But she was going about this all wrong. If she didn’t create some order and discipline soon, the situation could become unworkable.

  Yeah, Nick could have been more forthcoming. Regan wondered why Nick hadn’t put a stop to this laissez-faire attitude of hers. Regan planned to ask. In fact, he had a whole list of questions now that he’d been here.

  Glancing around, he calculated how much time he’d need to rope each horse and do an exam. Even with her help, it would take too long, considering the other appointments he’d scheduled today. The horses might not be cooperative, either. Nick hadn’t been to Peaceful Kingdom since early May, so no telling how they’d react to being examined after a month of doing as they pleased. “Maybe I should come back during their dinnertime, after all.”

  “That really would be better. Tell you what. If you’ll do that, I’ll feed you supper.”

  “That’s really not necessary.” He’d bet the keys to his truck that she was a vegetarian, maybe even vegan.

  “I know, but it would make me feel better about inconveniencing you. Please say you’ll stay for dinner.”

  “I wouldn’t want to put you to any extra trouble on my account.” Some people could make vegetables taste yummy and others couldn’t. The minute he’d left home he’d reverted to being a carnivore, and so had his brothers and sisters. Even his parents weren’t as strict these days, especially when they hung out at the Last Chance Ranch.

  She grinned at him. “You think I’m going to serve you sprouts and tofu, don’t you?”

  Apparently she was good at reading expressions and had figured out why he was hesitating. “Are you?”

  “Nope. I make a veggie lasagna that’s out of this world. My parents love it, and they’re dyed-in-the-wool carnivores.”

  “Real cheese?”

  “Absolutely. I haven’t hitched my wagon to the vegan concept yet. I still might some day, but I do love my cheese and ice cream.”

  She really was adorable. Had he been looking for adorable...but he wasn’t. A mere six months ago he’d been kicked in the teeth, romantically speaking, and that had left a mark. “Then I accept. What time?”

  “I feed the horses around five.”

  “I’ll be here a little after five, then. It’ll be much easier to examine them when they’re each in a separate stall.”

  “Uh, they won’t all be in separate stalls. About half won’t, actually.”

  “Why not?”

  “I have twelve stalls and twenty-one horses, so most of them double up.”

  Regan looked more closely at the pink-and-turquoise barn. Judging from the size of it, those twelve stalls wouldn’t be oversized. “So you have a space problem?”

  “I’m afraid I do.” She gazed at him with those soulful blue eyes. “The thing is, I can’t help but say yes.”

  That comment shouldn’t have had a sexual connotation. But long after he’d driven away from the Peaceful Kingdom Horse Sanctuary, her words floated around in his traitorous brain.

  She appeared to be a free spirit. That didn’t necessarily mean she would embrace the concept of a no-strings affair, but it might. The thought created a pleasant ache in his groin. He hadn’t felt that surge of desire in some time. Apparently he’d repressed it, because sure enough, thinking of sex brought up what had happened back in Virginia. Last Christmas Eve he’d found Drake Brewster, his best friend and business partner, in bed with Jeannette Trenton, his fiancée. That discovery had affected him more than anyone knew.

  Jeannette had accused him of being cold-blooded because he’d refused to discuss it afterward. Instead, he’d handled the situation with surgical precision. Within a week he’d moved out of their shared condo, ended their engagement, sold his share of the veterinary practice to Brewster and relocated from Virginia to Jackson Hole, where Nick Chance had welcomed him into his practice. The move had been a no-brainer. He couldn’t continue to work with Brewster after what the guy had done, and the previous summer Nick had mentioned needing a partner in his clinic.

  Even more compelling was the prospect of being surrounded by family while he put his life back together. Nearly twenty years ago his folks had spent several months in Jackson Hole. His older sister Morgan had loved the place so much she’d vowed to return. When she finally made good on that promise to herself, she’d met and married Gabe Chance. Thus had begun the growing connection between the Chance family and the O’Connelli brood.

  Next, Regan’s twin sister, Tyler, had married into the Chance extended family. She was happily hitched to Alex Keller, brot
her of Jack Chance’s wife, Josie. And most recently, eighteen-year-old Cassidy, youngest of the O’Connelli siblings, had apprenticed as the ranch housekeeper.

  Sarah, the Chance family matriarch, had insisted that Regan stay at the Last Chance until he’d decided whether to live in town or buy some acreage. Six months later he was still there soaking up the ambiance. He’d never lived in a place that felt more like home, and he craved that sense of permanence.

  For half a year he’d managed to convince himself that he’d moved past that fateful Christmas Eve when two people he’d trusted had betrayed him. He hadn’t dated, but that seemed natural under the circumstances. Lily was the first woman he’d met who interested him, which was ironic. All the evidence suggested her philosophy of life was exactly like his parents’ and the complete opposite of his.

  But did that matter? He wasn’t ready for anything serious. As for Lily, if she was the least bit like his parents, she’d grow bored with the horse sanctuary eventually and search for a new challenge somewhere else, so she wouldn’t be around long.

  But while she was, maybe they could hang out together. During their conversation she’d slipped in a comment about a potential wife or a girlfriend. Sometimes that meant a woman was trying to find out that information for her own reasons.

  He’d know soon enough. She didn’t strike him as a woman who was into mind games. No, she seemed forthright, playful and creative. Instead of wincing at her paint job, he should rejoice, because it told him that she enjoyed having fun. It had been so damned long since he’d had fun.

  2

  LILY STOOD BY the gate and waved as Regan drove away. She continued to watch until the plume of dust kicked up by his truck’s tires disappeared. Long after he was gone, she stayed where she was, lost in thought. Regan O’Connelli was a pleasant surprise, even if he had informed her that she needed to change how she was running the sanctuary.

  He’d meant it in a helpful way, though, and he might have a point. Nick had hinted at the same thing, but she’d been so convinced the horses deserved spoiling that she hadn’t paid much attention. Besides, he was Nick, someone she’d known since she was a precocious whiz kid and he was one of her parents’ favorite students in high school. He behaved toward her like the big brother she’d never had, and she expected him to dispense advice, most of which she would ignore.

  In this case, maybe she shouldn’t have ignored it. She was a little embarrassed by how quickly her situation was getting out of hand. Each day she worked to be more efficient, but then a new horse would arrive and she’d struggle to get all her chores done.

  She probably shouldn’t accept any more horses, but how could she turn them away if they had nowhere to go? She needed to find homes for some of them, but she hadn’t figured out the adoption part of the plan. Come to think of it, the Turners hadn’t mentioned it, either. They’d both been a little absent-minded during the transfer of ownership, and she hadn’t thought to ask.

  Regan might have some suggestions. She smiled to herself. The guy was hot. As she finally admitted that she’d noticed that, she laughed. His hotness was the real reason she was standing here dreamy-eyed over her new vet.

  He was one juicy dude, in a Johnny Depp kind of way. That comparison couldn’t be confirmed until she’d found out whether he had dark eyes, and he’d kept his bad-boy shades on the entire time, darn it. What a great idea, inviting him to dinner so he’d be around after the sun went down.

  Maybe he’d kept the shades on because he had sensitive eyes, but she wondered if something else was going on with him. Sunglasses could also provide emotional protection. She’d always been super conscious of people’s emotions, and after hanging out with rescue animals, she picked up on their moods, too. Understandably, many of the horses had trust issues, and she’d felt the same vibe coming from Regan.

  Buck plodded over and nudged her from behind, so she turned to give the sway-backed horse some neck scratches. “I could be wrong, Buck, old boy, but I think that guy might need to be rescued as much as the rest of you around here.”

  The horse bobbed his head, and Lily smiled. “Thanks for validating my hypothesis.” She patted his neck and reached for the cell phone in her back pocket. “Let’s see if Dr. Chance agrees with me.” She scrolled through her contacts and called Nick.

  He answered on the second ring. “How’d it go with Regan?”

  “Fine. You busy?” Holding the phone to her ear, she set off in search of the two pigs. They were probably okay, but she wanted to make sure.

  “Yeah, I’m an extremely busy and important man, but for you, I’m willing to postpone my critical work for a few minutes.”

  “You are so full of it. I’m convinced you passed my mom’s class purely on your ability to BS.”

  “I might’ve. But I aced your dad’s science class with a minimum of BS. Just ask him.”

  “Don’t have to. You two have a mutual admiration society going on.” She located the pigs wallowing in the large mud pit she’d dug a few days ago for Wilbur. Harley was going to fit right in. “I like Regan a lot, although he’s already telling me I’m doing this horse thing wrong.”

  “What does he think you’re doing wrong?”

  “Letting the horses roam the property, for starters.”

  “Well, Regan prefers more order than that, but those six horses are pretty old. I don’t think it’ll hurt to let them have some freedom in their golden years.”

  “I, um, have more than six, now. And they’re not all in their golden years.”

  “Oh? How many do you have?”

  “Twenty-one.”

  “Good golly, Miss Molly! What did you do, advertise?”

  “Not exactly, but I’ve talked to people when I go into town. Oh, and I redesigned the website and made sure it came up on all the search engines. It’s a kick-ass site, if I do say so.”

  “I’ll bet.”

  “I guess the word got out that I was here and had room for more horses.”

  “I’m sure it did.” Nick was quiet for a bit. “Lily, you don’t have room in your current barn to keep twenty-one horses forever. You’ll have to renovate that barn and add more stalls.”

  “What do you mean, forever? Won’t people come and adopt some of them?”

  “Not usually. You have a sanctuary, which means you take in animals that are too sick or old to be ridden anymore and you keep them until they die.”

  “Oh.” How embarrassing. She hadn’t understood the basic premise of the project she’d taken on. “What do you call a place where you adopt out some of the horses?”

  “I’m not sure. Maybe an equine rescue facility. But not a sanctuary.”

  Lily swallowed. “Well, that’s what I need this to be, then, an equine rescue facility, at least for the animals I’ve taken in since I arrived. They’re not old and ready to die. People didn’t want them, so I accepted them. I thought that was what I was supposed to do.”

  “It’s okay. No harm done. But you can’t ever adopt out those original six. They’re there for the duration.”

  “I did figure that, but the barn holds twelve, and I thought it was a shame for the other stalls to go to waste.” Still, she felt like an idiot.

  “Don’t worry. You can sort this out. What’s your plan for the adoption process?”

  “Um...I’m working on it.” She hated to admit that no plan existed yet, but it couldn’t be that hard. She’d had no trouble finding people who wanted to get rid of horses, so now she needed to find the other half, the ones who wanted horses. “I should also probably mention the chickens.”

  “What chickens?”

  “Rescue chickens. I have nine of them.”

  “How the hell did that happen?”

  “I said yes to one person, and before you know it, I had nine.”

  Nick
sighed. “Do you know anything about chickens?”

  “Enough to know I don’t want a rooster!”

  “That’s a start.” He didn’t sound quite as confident now.

  “I’m okay with the chickens, Nick. Mom and Dad had some a few years back, so they’re helping me figure it out. I also have two potbellied pigs. You’d be amazed how much info Google can dig up on potbellied pigs.”

  “Good Lord. You know, Lily, you don’t need to accept every animal that shows up at your gate.”

  “That’s what I tell myself, but I worry what will happen to them if I don’t.”

  He sighed. “Yeah, that’s a problem when you get into the rescue business, but here’s the deal. You have accepted twenty-one horses, nine chickens and two pigs. I’m sure they keep you busy.”

  “They do.” She had almost no downtime these days. She hadn’t played a video game in weeks, and her meditation practice was shot, but so far she’d kept up with the critters.

  “Think about the animals you already have before you take in any more, okay? You owe those animals your best, and the larger your numbers, the less you’ll be able to give them your best.”

  “I could hire help.”

  “You could, but you’re still limited to the space you have. When winter comes, you’ll want to keep the horses in the barn most of the time, and that barn’s not big enough for twenty-one horses.”

  “I could add on or build another one, like you said.”

  “But where does it stop? Are you planning to buy more land and just keep building barns? How big an operation do you want?”

  Lily took a deep breath. “I don’t want a big operation. I love this property just the size it is. It suits me, and the idea of employees gives me hives. I’d have to fill out IRS stuff and get them health insurance and learn how to be the boss of them.”

  “If you don’t want to expand, you know what you have to do.”

  “Right. Turn away any incoming horses until I adopt some out and make room.” Her stomach hurt. How could she refuse to take a homeless animal? That would kill her.