“Yeah, Wayne. Everything’s fine.” At my use of his first name, I see my father shift his eyes away from me and sigh, while out of the corner of my eye I notice Kade narrow his eyes. Deciding to ignore both of them, I walk back toward Whisky.
I open the door to his stall, step inside, and watch him take one step back with a pleased smile. When I stop and relax my stance, he does the same. I watch his head level and his tail curl slightly.
I wait like that for my father and Kade to join me. When they don’t, I look at them over my shoulder. Both their expressions are ones I’m used to seeing when people first see me working with Whisky. Kade’s is one of reluctant admiration, while Wayne’s face holds admiration intermingled with pride.
“Are you two coming in or what?” I ask, trying to squash the silly belief my father is proud of anything I’ve done.
I watch both men slowly move inside the stall. They act like either one of us is about to explode, or spook. I roll my eyes heavenward and barely hold in a sigh. “He’s fine. He won’t do anything he’s not supposed to.”
At my words, my father smiles broadly and claps Kade on the back. “I told you she knows what she’s doing.”
Kade’s only response is a huff. Even if I wouldn’t have overheard his conversation with Lizzie and knew he didn’t trust me, I would be able to tell by now.
“Seriously?” I ask, starting to grow impatient. “Is that how you treat all your patients, or am I just lucky?”
If looks could kill, Kade would have incinerated me right about now.
Choosing to ignore my words, he asks, “What was the diagnosis your vet back in Seattle gave you?”
“From what I was told, he only did a physical examination of the right front leg and determined some damage to the deep digital flexor tendon. He wasn’t able to perform an ultrasound, so he didn’t know how extensive the damage to the tendon actually is. That’s all I know.”
“When did you notice anything wrong with him?”
“I didn’t. Bob noticed him limping when they brought him back from the field the day I got in the car accident. He immediately bandaged the front legs and called the vet.”
“I see.” I don’t like his tone of voice, like he’s blaming me for something. I decide not to take his bait and watch him walk toward Whisky. He scratches his wither before he moves down to his leg and starts unwrapping the bandage. The leg he uncovers is clearly swollen.
He proceeds to do whatever it is he does to determine what is going on while I watch both him and Whisky. Not that I need to worry, my boy stands still like a statue with only his tail moving occasionally. And every time it hits Kade in the face I have to fight the laughter trying to bubble out of me. I swear if he could, Whisky would be smirking at me.
“I agree with your vet’s assessment, but to determine the extent of the damage you need to bring him into town in four to seven days so I can perform an ultrasound.” He grabs fresh bandages I didn’t realize my father was holding and starts to apply them while he keeps speaking. “By then I should be able to tell you how bad it is, and how long his recovery will take. I’ll also set up a plan for his rehabilitation.”
“Okay. Do you think he’ll be able to compete in the Olympics this summer?” My voice betrays just how terrified I am that the answer is no.
Kade answers without looking at me. “I don’t want to give you false hope since I won’t know until we have a better picture of his injury, but I’m fairly optimistic.”
When he turns his head to smile at me, I’m reminded just how gorgeous he is. Too bad he’s a jerk.
“Thank you,” I say with meaning and don’t try to hold back my smile. This is the news I needed to hear.
Once the stall door is closed behind us, we all move toward the exit in silence. I walk behind the two men and slow my pace when I notice Lucifer cautiously walking toward his stall door, pushing his nose against the iron bars. Without thinking, I stop in front of him, grab the last cookie in my pocket, and slowly stick my hand through the bars. The euphoria coursing through my body when he grabs the cookie without hesitation—showing he isn’t holding a grudge for what happened—is the reason why I love working with horses.
I carefully curl my fingers and scratch him underneath his chin before I step back and move toward the door where Kade and my father are waiting for me. This time I do notice awe and pride entering their expressions, even though Kade’s seems more reluctant.
***
We walk toward the house in silence. I’m stuck in my head, too worried to notice anything more than the snow slowly falling around us, despite Kade being optimistic. What if Whisky is hurt worse than we expect, and his career is over? I don’t know what I’d do without him by my side.
“Lucifer seems to like you.” My father’s words pull me out of my head.
“Yeah.” I shrug my good shoulder. “What’s going on with him anyway? From the way y’all are acting you’d think the colt is out to kill everyone who comes near him.” Especially from the way Kade
