Page 14 of Take a Chance (Blue Creek Ranch #1)

Crew

O ne of Dad’s favorite idioms was “Good stallions make great geldings.”

It was something I agreed wholeheartedly with. Our breeding program was about bettering the breed, increasing diversity, and producing quality horses. We did what was best for the horse. Period.

The yearling in front of me was a stallion prospect out of our mare, Helen Mirren. Gray coat, flaxen mane and tail, just like his dam. But more than that, he had her good mind and excellent confirmation. He was poetry in motion as I worked him on the lunge line.

Most of our colts I knew would end up as geldings, but this guy?

He had the potential to be an excellent stud.

Which is why we’d hung onto him until we could see how he grew.

I thought he was going to be amazing. He had the natural floaty gait we loved to see and changed leads like a pro.

Demi thought he was something special, too.

We didn’t keep stallions here at Blue Creek Ranch but he was a testament to our program.

“B2 to CH.”

The sudden noise caused the yearling to startle but we’d work on that eventually. He was just a baby.

“Easy,” I murmured, and he settled. I keyed the two-way. “Go for Crew.”

“Where you at?” Wyanne asked, voice low.

“Round pen with King,” I answered. “You need me?”

“I’ll be right there. Over.”

I didn’t bother to respond and clipped the two-way back to my belt. I had King change directions and he walked on. I clicked my tongue and got him to go faster, the lope as pretty as ever. Yeah, we’d make a good sale with this one.

Ten minutes later, Wy squeezed through the gate and into the pen. I kept my eyes on King, not because he was unpredictable but because it was safer for everyone if I did. Wy waited for King to lope past, then hurried to my side. She turned with me as I kept working King.

“What’s up?”

“Mal’s great,” she began with no preamble.

“Levelheaded, hard worker, good problem solver. He knows animals, treats them with respect. And he shows initiative. If he sees something that needs doing, he just does it. He doesn’t have to be told.

Three days and he’s already my favorite. I’m keeping him.”

I chuckled. “That’s good to hear. Not that I expected anything less. What’s the ‘but’?”

She glanced at me then turned her attention back to King. “Why would there be a ‘but’?”

“Because you sought me out instead of just telling me at the manager’s meeting. What gives?”

Wy didn’t answer for a long few seconds, but she shifted on her feet. She’d worked for me for almost ten years and was one of my most trusted employees. She was trying to figure out what to say or more likely if she should say it. I waited her out. I wouldn’t get anywhere if I tried to rush her.

Eventually, Wy sighed. “Did Mal tell you about his family farm?”

I nodded once. “A bit.”

“Okay, so….” Wy blew out a breath.

I waited for a few seconds, but she didn’t elaborate. When I glanced at her, she was staring at King. Okay, we weren’t getting anywhere. Time to move things along.

“Whoa,” I said and King stopped. I gave Wy a tug, and she followed as I looped the lunge line loosely to use it as a lead rope.

Neither of us said anything as we left the pen and walked down the lane to the right pasture.

Wyanne opened the gate. I led King inside, took off his halter, and he immediately took off to join the rest of the yearlings. Then I faced Wy.

“Spill.”

“He has a horse. Mal, I mean. And from the way he talked, it sounded like she was special. His heart horse.”

I was confused. I’d told him he could stable his horse with us. I’d made it clear he could use her to work if he wanted. At least I thought I had.

“So tell him to bring her here.”

“She’s at a rescue. I don’t know which one or where. It’s just…hell, I don’t know if I should even be saying anything.”

I squinted at her. “Wy, you read people well. Better than most. So what’s really going on here?”

“I think….” She gazed out at the herd of yearlings for a moment, then refocused on me. “I dunno, but I get the impression that he didn’t have a choice but to turn her over. And either he doesn’t think he should go get her, or it’s not right or acceptable or…like I said. Something’s off.”

I studied her face for a few seconds. If Wyanne thought there was something going on, then there probably was. And if she didn’t push for more information from Mal or solve the problem herself, it was because she felt it was above her paygrade. So she was bringing it to me, as foreman, to handle.

“I’ll look into it,” I assured her, and the relief in her smile was nice to see.

We parted ways then, both of us having work to do. I headed for the house, needing more coffee and a snack. Plus I had to talk to Mom about listing King in a yearling auction. She handled the paperwork and admin stuff for the whole ranch.

But I couldn’t get the thought of Mal and his horse out of my head.

I could guess, at least partially, what had gone on.

I knew the Trevinos had had to sell their farm.

If it was because they needed the money, it would make sense that he wouldn’t be able to afford to stable her somewhere.

Especially if he didn’t know how long he would need to.

Not all ranches allowed employees to stable their personal horses.

I was greeted by a familiar theme song when I walked in the house. Aria loved that show about a family of dogs in Australia. Seemed like Tony did too. Hell, if I were honest, we all got sucked into the show when Demi put it on for Aria.

“Crew!” Mom appeared around the corner, smile bright, and slung a towel over her shoulder. “You’re early.”

“My tank’s low,” I joked, following her into the kitchen area.

Tony was seated at the table, iPad set up and playing the cartoon. He was wiggling in his seat and snacking on carrot sticks with Ranch dip.

“How you doin’, Tony?”

The little boy looked up. “My name is Pay.”

I squinted at him. “Since when?”

He shrugged his little shoulders. “Today. I like it better.”

“Fair enough. Thanks, Mom.” I took the mug she handed me and inhaled the scent before taking a much needed sip. I turned my attention back to Pay. “You gonna share your snack with me?”

“Sure.” He slid his plate over, then the iPad, then moved into the chair next to me.

“Thanks.” I munched for a minute and watched him watch the show.

The episodes weren’t long, but as soon as one finished, a new one started.

He was a cute kid, was the spitting image of Mal, except for the fact that he didn’t like the outdoors.

Which made me think. “Hey, Pay? You ever ride horses with your dad?”

“Just Jaina,” he said, mouth full of carrot. A little piece flew out and he giggled. “She was so big. Like your horse. But her only white was on her face and her feet. And she had hair on her feet too!”

A Clydesdale then. Or at least a cross. Which somehow seemed fitting for Mal. I cleared my throat and kept digging. “Where’s Jaina now?”

Pay’s little face fell. “At a place. We dropped her off and Daddy was sad. But he said it was okay because Jaina would have lots of friends.”

The dogs on the screen shouted something and stole Pay’s attention back. I stopped interrogating the four-year-old. He might have outstanding speech but he was still a kid and it wasn’t fair to grill him. But I had more information than I had before, and that was a step in the right direction.

Mom brought over a sandwich and a side of chips. But before she handed it over, she gave me a narrow-eyed look. Her voice low, she accused, “You’re scheming.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Mhmm.” She gave me my lunch, but leaned down into my space, her ponytail swinging forward and almost smacking me in the face. “I know that look. What are you planning?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I repeated, enunciating each word. Then murmured, “But remember, I learned from the best.”

She shoved my shoulder. “Eat your lunch.”

Back in my office later that afternoon, I couldn’t get it out of my head. At least half a dozen times, I picked up the two-way to hail Mal. I should just ask him to come to my office and then talk to him directly about it. But I stopped short each time.

Mal had been dealt a rough hand, and though I still didn’t know him well, the parts I did know meant he was proud. He didn’t want to take a handout and he probably wouldn’t appreciate being pushed. I had the sneaking suspicion that he’d turn down any offer of help.

There was no reason I couldn’t do a little digging. Sometimes it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

I found the number I was looking for and hit dial. Three rings later, it was answered.

“Charlie’s Chance Equine Rescue, this is Rachel.”

“Rach, it’s Crew Harrington.”

“Crew! Hey, how you doing? What can I help you with?”

“I’m hoping you can. I’m looking for a horse.”

Rachel’s bright peel of laughter made me smile. “Haven’t you got enough of them yet?”

That made me chuckle. “Apparently not.”

“Well we have quite a few who’d love it at Blue Creek. In fact, we have a ten-year-old gelding who would probably love something to do. He’s a bit of a troublemaker but—”

“I’m looking for a particular horse,” I interrupted. “Not sure if she’s there, or somewhere else. But I’m hoping you can use your contacts and maybe help me figure out what’s going on.”

Rachel was silent for a few seconds, probably processing exactly what I’d said. “Um. Okay. I’ll try to help.”

“She was surrendered fairly recently. Sometime in the past six months, I’d say. Big mare, Clydesdale or a cross, white socks and a blaze. Went by the name of Jaina. Malachi Trevino was her owner and I—”