Page 2

CHAPTER 2

Lorissa Gibson looked up when a truck pulled into the barnyard and she couldn’t leave what she was doing, but she made sure the driver of the vehicle knew where she was. She smiled when Erin Riceman climbed out of the truck and headed toward her.

“What’s up?” Lorissa asked as she shoved the piece of metal she’d been pounding on into a bucket of water, and both women watched it steam.

“Can you take a break?” Erin asked as she looked around, impressed by what she saw.

“A little, what’s up?”

“I was over at Broken and I noticed that Misty is limping. I don’t know whether it’s her shoe or if she has a foot problem. If you could take a look, I’d appreciate it.”

“I’m not saying no, but I’m almost done with this shoe for Peaches. I was going to go over there as soon as I was done with it.”

“Good, could you take a look at Misty?”

“I can. Why didn’t you call me?”

“Because I forgot to write your phone number down.” Erin laughed and pulled hers out and handed it to Lorrisa, who quickly entered her number along with her Nana’s and mother’s. She handed it back and grinned.

“All done.”

“Thanks, how’s your mother?”

“Frustrated,” Lorissa said with a heavy sigh. “She thought the trial would take place soon, but it seems like the asshat’s lawyers keep stalling with asking for depositions every time Mom turns around. One good thing about her going back home is that she’s able to stay in the old house, and it seems like there might be a buyer for Nana’s house.”

“I don’t like to get into a lot of details of my employees, but what about your old house? Or your mother’s? Aren’t they for sale?”

“No, or not yet. I lived in a caretaker’s cabin at one of the boarding stables I worked at. Sort of like the set up you have here for Wendell. Because I had an exclusive contract, I couldn’t work for anyone else outside those three stables, so they offered me a place to live. Believe me, they made sure every time I saw them that I was only the hired hand, and wasn’t getting a free ride. I had to pay for everything, rent, and utilities. They tried to take it out of my pay, but I had the receipts to prove that I’d already paid for it. They wouldn’t listen to me, but when I threatened to get my lawyer involved, they took my word for it.”

“Damn, what type of business people were they?”

“Terrible ones.” Lorissa sighed again as she picked up the shoe from the water and stuck it into the hot flames. She used her foot on the bellows to get the coals hot and continued to talk as she worked.

“The owners were from New York City, and because they made it big on Wall Street, they thought they knew it all. Sure, they might have been financially secure, and threw their money at the stables, they were the best around. But when it came to horses, they didn’t know jack shit about them. The people that boarded them would try to educate the owners, and when I went asking for a job, they hired me as a vet and a farrier. When I would tell them to contact the owners of a certain horse because it was showing signs of something, they wanted me to write a fifty-page report as to why. That might be a stretch, but they wanted everything in writing. They said it was to save their own behinds. After some research, it turned out that the owners worked in an office, and they couldn’t do anything without turning in a written report. When I told them that wasn’t how things worked, they threatened to fire me. I told them to go ahead, but I was going to contact the owners to tell them what was wrong with their horse.” She looked at Erin with a smirk. “Without the written report. I told them a phone call was all that was needed.”

“What was wrong?”

“Colic.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah, and I didn’t spare the owners of the stables. I answered the horse owner’s questions, and even told them why the delay in contacting them.” Lorissa pulled the shoe from the hot coals, and started pounding on it. When it was steaming in the water again, she continued her story. “The horse owners were livid, they went to the other horse owners, and they had a meeting. Once that meeting was complete, they went to the owners of the stables.”

“Let me guess, the horse owners told the stable owners where the bear shit in the woods?”

“Exactly and they, the horse owners, told the stable owners that if they even thought of firing me, reprimanding me, or docking my pay in any way shape or form, they would pull their horses from them and black list them to everyone in the tri-state area.”

“What states are you talking about?”

“New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut,” Lorissa said with a grin. “The three stables combined held roughly fifty horses. I don’t know the exact amount of fees the stable owners charged, but I do know that one month’s boarding fee for one horse paid my salary for three months.”

“Wow sounds like the stable owners were raking in the bucks. Was there over-crowding of the horses? Were they neglected?”

“No, I made sure that didn’t happen, and so did the other workers. Most of the horse owners came up on the weekends to tend to their horses, and sometimes some of them would pop in during the week.”

Erin giggled. “Was that planned so the stable owners couldn’t pull anything shady?”

Lorissa frowned and cocked her head to the side in order to think back to those days. “I don’t think so, it was when one of the entitled bratty kids wanted to see their horse, or when they wanted to get away from the city. It did keep the stable owners on their toes so if they were going to try anything, they didn’t have a chance.”

“I know I should have discussed this with you the week you and Lois were out here, but what did the stable owners say when you gave them notice?”

“Nothing, which surprised me. Luckily, my contract was coming to an end with them, and I didn’t have to negotiate the terms I wanted for the next year. I had a year-to-year contract with them.”

“What were you going to negotiate? If you don’t mind my asking?” Erin watched as Lorissa continued working on the horseshoe, and was fascinated by the process. She remembered as a little girl when she came over here with her father she’d watch Mr. Atherton work. She shook her head when Lorissa spoke.

“They had me exclusive to them. My contract stated I couldn’t work for anyone outside of their three stables. One time someone came to me to see if I could check out his horse’s hoof. It was bad, and really needed my attention.”

“Oh god, I’m afraid to ask, but what did your boss do?”

“They told him that if I was to work on his animal, then he had to pay for a three-month boarding fee up front. Only once it was paid would I be able to work on his horse. The guy was so desperate he did it, and the horse ended up having to be treated for at least a month because it was so bad. I never saw any of the money from the vet bill for that. They said the payment for services were in my salary.” Lorissa told Erin what she made and paused when Erin stumbled back.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Erin asked in anger. “What you just quoted me, how long was it for?”

“A month. I had to learn to budget smartly, because I was only paid once a month. They provided a cabin, but I had to pay rent and utilities in order to live there. Plus, all my own groceries, and other living expenses. ”

“Wow, they sound like they were gold diggers. Your monthly salary you quoted me is what you’ll be earning weekly here.”

“No way.” Lorissa was shocked at her statement. “How much for rent and utilities?”

“Nothing for rent, because I don’t want to leave these houses empty, but I would ask you to pay utilities and then your own living expenses.” Erin reached out to catch Lorissa when she stumbled, then laughed. “So, which house did you take?”

“Mom and Nana informed me that I am to take the big house, Nana took the double wide over by the greenhouses, and Mom and Duane are staying in the other double wide. Does it make a difference?”

“Not at all. I’m hoping that you guys will stay here and maintain the upkeep of the houses. As you know, you have full use of the blacksmith barn, and I see you’re using it. I don’t expect any of you to do anything else with the rest of the land. Leave that to me.” She looked at Lorissa with a gigantic grin. “Outside the five acres here that the houses sit on, I’ll be using the rest of the land for hay. I have a lot of horses to feed, and these extra five thousand acres will come in handy for that. I want you to live in the house and treat it like your own. There is no mortgage, so that’s why I’m not charging you rent.”

“That’s terrific. I can wrap my head around that.” She finished what she was doing and started shutting everything down. “Do you know if there are files on the horses? I’d like to go over them. I do have one question though, and before I go any further, we need to discuss it.”

“What’s that?”

“Am I a farrier or vet for you?”

“Both?” It was answered as a question, then Erin sighed heavily. “First and foremost a farrier. I have no problem with you working with other ranchers. The only problem I would have is if you neglected one of my horses to go work on theirs. I’m not being a bitch, but my horses come first.”

“I totally understand and agree with you on that. I promise I won’t neglect your horses.”

“Good, now, I have a veterinarian, he’s great. His name is Tom Stolls and he’s been my vet for a long time. He took over his practice from his grandfather. However, I know he’s stretched thin.”

“How so?”

“Not only does he come here to do his vet duties, but he also controls Riceman Stallions. He does that once a month, and lately the work has been piling up. That’s not his fault, that’s mine because I don’t want anyone else to do what he does. It’s hard to explain. Anyway, besides doing what he does for me, he has a practice in town, and he’s the large animal vet for the surrounding ranches.” Erin drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m not going to replace Tom, and I need to sit down and talk to him about it, but if you see or hear of any of my horses having a problem, if you can fix it as a vet, do it. I will handle Tom, and maybe the two of you can work together for Riceman Stallions?”

“What is Riceman Stallions? Isn’t the stallions you have called Erin’s Way?”

Erin laughed so hard she had to wipe the tears from her eyes. “Let’s just say that Riceman Stallions is an eye opener. It was something I started about a year after the accident that I lost my hand in. It is strictly on-line.”

“What is it?”

“Basically, a dating app for the horses. I set up a website with photos of the stallions and their lineage. I have people from all over the world requesting sperm from them. It started out that when I got out of the hospital some horses rejected me when I still had my bandages on. Some didn’t react at all. The guys convinced me to wait until I had healed, but we kept the horses that rejected me in a different barn. I would approach them over time, and they still rejected me. Tom was here one day and saw it. I told him that I would have to sell those horses, because there was no way I could put my life in danger while I tried to work with them.” She shook her head sadly. “They would rear up and try to kick me.”

“Not a good working relationship if a horse does that.”

“Exactly, anyway, Tom made a suggestion, the guys liked it, and they set it up. ”

“What type of suggestion?”

“He suggested that we take sperm from them, freeze it, and sell it online.”

“Oh my god, that was brilliant. That’s what Riceman Stallions is all about?”

“Yes, and the men help Tom when it’s time to extract more. We have a special barn that they dubbed ‘the sex barn’ that is where all the mating happens, false and real.”

“False mating is extracting the sperm?”

“Yes.”

“Wait, you said guys and men, aren’t they the same?”

“No. My guys have been on this ranch since before I was born. I don’t think you’ve met them yet, but they are Wendell, Floyd, and Virgil. The men are like Reid, and the ones that work over at Broken. They are the men that served with Clark in the military.”

“Clark is your brother?”

“Yes, he’s in charge of the construction of Broken Two. We should plan a BBQ for next weekend so you can meet everyone.”

“That sounds good. Now, what can you tell me about Misty? Which horse is she? I will be the first to admit that I have to spend time at each ranch in order to get to know the horses yet.”

“Misty is the mule.” Erin laughed and told her how she ended up having possession of Misty. At the end, they were both laughing, and Erin said she had to get back to her office. Before she left, she paused and looked at Lorissa. “Talk to Naomi at Broken, I believe the files for all the horses are at the ranches. Like my stallions are in the barn office Tom shares with Duane, or rather Duane shared with Tom, because Tom was there first. Naomi has all of the files for the horses at Broken in her office, and since New Double is still well, new. I’m not sure who has the files. Talk to Naomi about them. They might be at New Double and Cole might be in charge of them, because he was when everything was in Wyoming.”

“Wow, that’s a lot.”

“Yeah, but take your time, and if you could, could you please make sure that Naomi has your cell number in case there’s an emergency? Also, make sure Cole has it. Explain who you are and what you do, and it should go smoothly. I saw Tom just yesterday and don’t expect him back for at least another month, unless there’s an emergency.”

“I do that with the phone. Maybe the next time I’m in town I’ll stop by the vet office to talk with him about sharing vet duties here.”

“That would be a wonderful idea. Good luck with Misty,” she laughed, and Lorissa scowled after her, wondering why she acted that way. She shrugged as she gathered her things and put them in her truck. After she packed up, she went into her house, washed up, made a quick sandwich, and ate it as she went looking for her grandmother.

“Nana,” Lorissa called out as she approached the greenhouses and smiled when the older woman came out brushing the dirt off her front. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, just cleaning up around here. It’s too late to get plants in the ground, but I want to clean out these greenhouses to get ready for next spring. I can still start my herbs.”

“Good, Erin stopped in and I have to go over to Broken to not only reshoe Peaches, but something is wrong with Misty.”

“Not that I’ll ever remember, but which one is Misty?”

“The mule.”

“Ah, got it. Have you eaten?”

“Yes, and I think you need to, also.” Lorissa frowned when Lois turned to walk away and came back with a sandwich with several bites out of it. It was in a plastic baggie, and she moved the plastic to take a big bite. They shared a laugh, and Lorissa went on her way to go help a horse/mule with their feet. A thought struck her, and by the time she arrived she was laughing at herself. She exited the truck looked around, and whispered, “Who needs a pedicure today, ladies?”