Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95712 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95712 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Walking down to the next stall, she opened the top door—and a stunning white and chestnut paint gelding poked his head out. A soft nicker came from the horse…and Rhett just stared at him.
“This is your surprise, Rhett,” Emeline said as I opened the lower stall door and brought the horse out into the aisle.
Emeline put Rhett down, then ran her hand over the gelding’s neck as she said, “His name is Orion, but you can change his name if you want.”
Rhett looked from the horse to me, and when I saw the tears build in his eyes, I almost fell to my knees.
“He’s mine?” he asked, wiping at his tears.
I nodded, unable to speak.
He turned to look back at the horse. Emeline reached down and picked him up, placing him on the back of the gelding as I held the reins.
“Look at you up there.” Her voice cracked, and I watched as she wiped her own tears from her face.
“Are you sad, Emeline?” Rhett asked. “Is he your horse, and you’re letting me have him?”
She let out what sounded like a laugh and a sob. “No, baby, these are happy tears, just like yours. He’s your horse, Rhett. Your daddy bought him for you.”
Rhett looked at me, and my throat still felt like it was packed with cotton. All I could do was smile and nod. My eyes stung with unshed tears.
“But was he your horse?” Rhett asked again.
She patted the horse’s neck and kissed him. “He was one of our horses, yes. But don’t tell the other horses—he’s one of my favorites. You’re going to have to take good care of him and feed him. You know how to clean out his stall, right?”
He nodded. “I sure do! Daddy taught me, and I took care of my other horse. I’ll love him always, I promise!”
Emeline smiled up at Rhett. “I know you will, bud. I know you will.”
Rhett looked at me, tears still slowly moving down his cheeks. “I love you, Daddy. Thank you for Orion!”
“I love you, too, bud, and you’re more than welcome.”
Then my son looked down at Emeline. “Thank you, Emeline. I love you!”
Another sob slipped free. “Oh, Rhett, I love you too. So very much.” She took the reins from me and said, “Let’s see how he feels, shall we?”
“Yes!” Rhett exclaimed.
I watched as Emeline walked Orion out of the barn and to an enclosed paddock, chatting softly to my son. That was the moment the last part of my broken heart healed.
My therapist told me after Brooke’s death that she hadn’t died for no reason. That her death would change the journey I was on…and she was right. Not that her loss isn’t at the forefront of my mind every day, Brooke’s death had led me back home and brought Emeline into our lives. I’d never been as happy as I’d been over the last few months. And Rhett was thriving more than ever.
Glancing back over her shoulder, Emeline asked with a smile, “You coming?”
Nodding, I replied, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
I leaned over the railing as I watched Emeline ride a stunning thoroughbred filly around the pen. A dusting of snow was on the ground, making the black coloring of the horse stand out that much more.
Caden walked up and stood next to me. “Gorgeous, isn’t she?”
“She is. The horse is pretty magnificent, as well.”
Caden chuckled, then grew serious. “I don’t know how she does it. She gets these crazy-ass horses who won’t let anyone near them, let alone ride them, and she climbs on and makes it look effortless.”
I watched as Emeline slowed the horse down to a walk. “Where did she come from?”
“A trainer friend of Gatlin’s was telling him about this horse that he’d saved from the previous owner. The guy wanted to race her, but she couldn’t stand to be loaded into the gates. He was going to shoot her until the trainer told the guy he’d take her. He said trying to get her into a trailer was almost impossible. They had to sedate the poor thing.”
“From Colorado?” I asked.
“Yeah, he has a horse ranch east of Denver.”
Emeline rode up and stopped right at the fence. I held out my hand for the horse to smell. When she let out a soft nicker, I smiled. “Seems like an angel to me.”
“That’s because she has one sitting on her,” Caden teased.
“Want to go for a ride?” Emeline asked.
I pointed to the filly. “Are you going to ride her?”
“I am. I’d like to see how she does with another horse riding alongside her.”
Caden clapped my back. “And this is where I leave. Good luck.”
I frowned as I watched him walk away. “Thanks a lot.”
Waving his hand, Caden said, “You’re welcome!”
Turning back to Emeline, I asked, “Which horse did you have in mind?”