Care Less, Cowgirl

Chapter 3

Chapter 3Steph

Slower than necessary, Steph inched along the bumpy gravel road. The pastures to her right were empty at this hour, as was the big mud run to her left, exactly the way Steph wanted it. The horses would be there, of course. They’d be inside the barn, munching on their breakfast in their individual stalls while Schorsch ate his own before he turned them out for the day. He wasn’t as fussy as some barn owners about Monday being the customary day of rest, but with most everybody working full-time these days, the barn should still be deserted.

Sure enough, hers was the only car in the lot. Hasso, Schorsch’s German shepherd, came to greet her as soon as she got out, and Steph absentmindedly petted him, her eyes already focused on the building to her left.

Get in, grab everything, get out, and leave!

The door creaked as she pulled it open. Steph took a deep breath, immediately regretting it as the familiar smell of leather, horse sweat, dust, and horse treats filled her lungs. The tack room wasn’t big and the wooden lockers took up most of its space. Six on each side, hers being the third from the left. Not hers, Marianna’s. Except it wasn’t. Not anymore.

Steph took the sign down that said Polish Trakehner along with Marianna’s date of birth and the names of her dam and sire. Owner: Stephanie Nadler. It had her phone number and the name and phone number of the vet as well. The same vet who’d come out two months ago when the twenty-seven-year-old mare hadn’t been able to get up after she’d lain down in the pasture. Schorsch managed to get Marianna upright and standing on all four legs eventually, but it took the tractor to do so. He coaxed Marianna ever so slowly back into her stall before Steph arrived, but Steph knew what the vet’s verdict would be the moment she saw Marianna with her head hanging low and her legs trembling, her food and water untouched. She’d nickered ever so softly when Steph opened the stall door but then—

Don’t go there, just don’t!

Angrily she yanked her saddle from its holder. But no gleaming chestnut mare was waiting for it, brushed and ready to ride. Blinking a tear away, Steph carried the saddle outside and stowed it in the trunk of her Volkswagen, then went back in for the rest of her things. Two bridles, three halters, a lunge line and whip, plus the caddy with her brushes. Another caddy with all the assorted odds and ends she’d accumulated over the last couple of years. Almost empty fly spray and mane and coat conditioner, a jar of hoof tar, a few wraps and bandages, a sponge that had seen better days, an old lead rope with a broken latch, a bright pink hoof pick she’d won at the Christmas raffle.

At the very back of the locker she discovered a saddle blanket, stained and yellowed with age, and the fly mask Marianna had regularly shaken off, and added them to the pile along with her boot jack. Two pairs of riding boots, her dressage whip stuck in one of them, a ratty rain coat, and her helmet completed the haul.

Steph slammed the trunk shut. Behind her, horse hooves clip-clopped across the paved stable yard.

“Steph?”

Tobias? What the f**k!

Gritting her teeth, Steph turned to face him. “Hi.”

“Hi, yourself. And good to see you.”

Enterprise, Tobias’ massive white Oldenburger gelding, nodded his big head up and down impatiently, but for once Tobias didn’t fuss over him. Hurriedly tying Enterprise to one of the rings in the grooming area lest she disappear, he rushed over.

Steph squared her shoulders. Tobias was a fellow horse owner. She’d ridden the trails with him and Enterprise many times and their horses were best buddies. Had been, she reminded herself, as he enveloped her in a hug. Tobias was a big guy, solid and stout like his horse, and Steph allowed herself to relax against him for a moment.

“How have you been?”

“Oh, you know—”

Shrugging, she was about to pull back when Tobias gently patted her on the back. The next thing she knew, Steph was sagging against him, sobbing her heart out.

“Oh, poor you. I know, I know. It’s so very hard.”

Tobias’ corduroy riding vest was rough yet soft from many washings and Steph buried her face in it. It smelled of horse and she inhaled deeply despite a fresh flood of tears. This was goodbye, after all. Not having Marianna any longer, she had no reason to ever come here again. No reason to see Tobias and the rest of their gang of horse owners, diverse as they were, yet bonded over their mutual love of the magnificent animals. Well, not so magnificent in some cases, but still. Take Tobias’ Enterprise, for example. At almost seventeen hands, he had the size as well as the bulk Tobias needed, but his gaits were a bit ungainly, and no one but a besotted gay guy would call his big head with the convex nose and slightly too-long ears beautiful. And only a geek like Tobias would call his horse after a spaceship from an old science fiction series.

Whew. She surreptitiously wiped her eyes on her sleeve before straightening up.

“Isn’t it time for Scotty to beam you up onto your noble steed, Captain Kirk?”

“You’re right about that, sweetie. But don’t leave yet. I’ve got something to give you first.”

He disappeared into the tack room and when he came back out, he handed her a big white envelope.

“Also, Enterprise says thanks for the treats.”

She’d left the half-empty bag Marianna hadn’t had time to finish in Tobias’ locker.

“He’s welcome.”

“Bye then. But not for long, eh?”

* * * *

“What’s that smell?” Audibly sniffing the air, Lilou dropped her purse with a clunk on the shelf in the hallway before coming into the kitchen where Steph had just sat down with a cup of coffee.

“I told you I was getting Marianna’s stuff from the barn today. But don’t worry. It’s all in the basement. I was able to make room in the back where we keep our skis. That old trunk held most of it and the rest I put—”

“Great. Now our basement is going to smell like horse. Why are you keeping all that junk anyway? It’s not like you’re going to need it anymore.”

“No, but—” The back of her eyes prickled.

“You said you weren’t ever going to get another horse. We talked about it, remember?”

Phh.

“What’s this?” Lilou twisted the envelope Tobias had given Steph between her fingers.

“A card, probably. You can open it if you like.”

A colorful brochure fluttered onto the table. Gittie’s Ranch in all its glory, handpicked by Tobias for their vacation. A dream destination for every European horseback rider, A.K.A. her and Tobias. Leo and Lilou were going as well, if less enthusiastically so. But as neither of them had ever been in that part of the United States, and the ranch did sport a pool and promised the full Western Experience with shopping trips, socializing, and dancing in an authentic saloon, they’d come around eventually. Leo sooner than Lilou, but come around she had. Of course, they’d booked the trip before Steph lost Marianna.