Page 5 of Save A Horse (Texas Rose Ranch #1)

Colt

T he next day, I did feel bad about what I said to Daisy.

I mean, it wasn’t like I lied, but I knew it upset her.

I could tell by the look on her face, even after I apologized to her, that the words I said stung.

My dad had to go into town to pick up some things, and he gave me specific instructions to stay with Daisy and monitor her to make sure she was doing what chores he had her doing.

I watched her shovel out the stalls. She dropped some off the shovel onto her foot.

She huffed loudly, and I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

She must’ve heard me because she rolled her eyes.

She was so miserable, and I wondered if it was because she just hated this type of work or if it had to do with her past. I knew she and I had both experienced heartbreak, and I wondered if that had something to do with it.

Daisy’s mother had passed when she was sixteen.

My mom passed when I was twenty. I was grateful for all the time I had with her and all the moments in my life she was there for.

I could only imagine what Daisy must’ve gone through without her mom.

She had to graduate without her mom. She moved away to college without her mom.

She got a job without her mom. I knew that wouldn’t be all.

I mean, if she ever found someone willing to put up with that attitude, she would get engaged and later married without her mom.

She would have kids without her mom. Her mom would never get to be a grandma.

My mom would miss those later things, too, and that was always a hard pill to swallow. That never got easier.

“Do you want a hand?” She kept shoveling, glancing out the corner of her eye at me. “I’m offering to help you…If you want it.”

“I would like that.” Maybe she was trying to change after our talk last night. We finished cleaning out the stalls, not saying much to each other.

Once we finished, I did the rest of the work I did each day around the ranch while Daisy did her own thing, which was whatever my dad told her she needed to do.

I wanted to go for a ride, so I saddled up my horse.

I saw Daisy sitting on a step on the porch, using her hand to brush her hair out of her face. I walked over to her.

“Long day?” She huffed.

“What do you think?” That was that ever-so friendly attitude of hers.

“I think it’s been a long day for me, too.

” I waited a moment, then made her an offer.

“I was about to go for a ride on my horse, Shadow. It always helps me after a long day. If you want, you can come with. You can ride Domino. He’s very calm.

The only thing is that you must saddle your horse.

” She looked up at me, and I could tell she didn’t know what to make of my offer.

“Well, I used to saddle my horse all the time. I still remember. It hasn’t been that long.” She rolled her eyes. "It has been a while since I have rode, though." I saw her face soften. " I'm not sure."

"Oh, come on. Don't you miss it?"

"Maybe a little."

“Does that mean you’ll join me?” She gave me a slight, cocky smile and I gave her my hand to help her up.

We walked back to the stalls, and I hopped on Shadow while waiting for her to get Domino ready.

I gently brushed Shadow’s mane, something he always liked.

He huffed and blew it all over Daisy. I couldn’t help but laugh.

Daisy glared at the two of us, wiping her face.

“Better watch out, Shadow. She can be a mean one.” She rolled her eyes again, then turned to Domino.

She paused for a moment as if contemplating on whether she should get on or not.

Slowly, she put her left leg in the stirrup and threw her right leg over Domino, landing upright on the saddle.

There was that strong determination of hers that I remember.

“Ready?”

“Ready.”

We set off. I made sure to take things slow at first, knowing it had been years since Daisy had been on a horse. I wanted to ease her back into it.

Riding along the ranch brought me a lot of comfort.

I started doing it more frequently after my mother passed.

It made the feelings easier to deal with.

I didn’t have to face them head-on this way, and it took my mind off it all.

My dad was sad for a while…I think he still is in a way.

..and that made it hard to talk to him because I was sad, too, but I didn’t want to make him even sadder.

Even now, he rarely ever mentioned my mom.

Sometimes I wished he would, just so I knew he was thinking about her.

Riding with Daisy felt nice. It was the first time I had ridden horses with someone just for fun since my mother passed.I let that sink as we continued riding .

“You know…it’s uh…been a while since I’ve ridden with someone.”

“Yeah…it’s been a while for me, too. It’s been…years since I've been on a horse."

"You haven't been on one since you left, have you?"

"No." I knew the answer before the word left her lips.

We kept riding in silence, just listening to the sounds of the earth around us and the horse’s hooves galloping across the land.

I loved the ranch, and I wanted to take it over someday, but I knew my dad wasn’t ready to give it up just yet.

I liked the open fields, herding cattle, riding horses…

all that came with having this much land and a ranch to call home.