“I know y’all can, Papa. But I need to do this for myself. I think moving in with Reagan and Beau will be good for me. I’ll work for my place to live. I don’t want to depend on you and Mama for everything.”
Papa always knew when he’d been beat. His heavy sigh confirmed it.
“You best call your mama every night. I know you’re just up the road, but it’ll make us feel better. No exceptions.”
Tears fell down my cheeks in streams and I nodded, “Yes, Papa.”
All of the stuff I’d brought home with me fit in the back of Reagan’s truck. It didn’t seem like much, but it was mine. Stuff I’d purchased and hidden from Andrew. I smiled at myself, proud that I’d kept something from him.
“Is this everything?” Reagan gave me a ‘seriously’ look.
“Yep, this is it for me.”
“Alrighty then, we’ll have this moved into the spare room in two point five seconds when we get back to the house. Let’s go home.”
Home. Willow Springs was definitely starting to feel like it. More than living with Andrew had in the past year.
Rea wasn’t kidding about getting me moved in quickly either. As soon as we got back Jameson and Remington fixed me up with my own room really quick. I unpacked my boxes at record speed and headed out to the barn to see how I could help.
On my way to the barn, a whiz of black flurry catches my eye. Beau Montgomery in all his male glory working with Zeus. Bare-chested and abs on full display as dust flew around him in the round pen he looked like every western romance hero come to life. I’ve never in my life seen such a gorgeous man or horse. The way Zeus glides almost like he’s floating on air, feet barely touching the ground as he runs is unbelievable. I’ve seen Beau work with him a couple of times now and each time it seems he gets a little more relaxed.
Beau got out in front of him and suddenly Zeus slammed on the brakes, and turned to face him. He was looking Beau straight on, licking his lips. When Beau turned to walk away, amazingly Zeus followed him. As Beau pivoted to Zeus, I noticed that the horse didn’t flinch when Beau went to touch him.
Improvement. For a moment I was jealous of Zeus. To be able to have someone you care about touch you without flinching made me crave the same thing.
I walked over to the round pen to watch. Watching Beau work with horses was mesmerizing. It was incredible what he could do with them. His demeanor was always calm and gentle, but firm.
I knew better than to just sneak up on them so I started kicking the dust on the ground so they heard me coming. Slowly, Beau looked over and took in my appearance. A wide grin crossed his lips.
“Well hey there, Cassidy Mae. You get all moved in?”
“Yep, got everything in.”
“How’s Zeus today?”
“We’re getting there. Just takes some time.”
I watched him clip a long lead line to the rope halter as Zeus stood quietly. He picked up a set of horse leg boots and started to move one towards Zeus. Zeus started to back away, looking nervous. I started to worry and I must have expressed it because a small chuckle emanates from Beau’s looks. “It’s not hurting him, Cass.”
I was curious. “What’re you doing with him?”
“I’m desensitizing him to these boots. I don’t want to work him without these much longer because they protect his legs so he doesn’t accidentally kick himself and do damage.” As I watched, slowly, Zeus came around and finally stopped to just stand. At this point, Beau took the boot and started rubbing it up against his body and down his leg.
“Now, I’m rubbing him with it, so he gets used to the feel of it. He’s never seen one before, so when I put it on him, he’s probably gonna look a little funny and not sure what to do with himself over it.” He leaned down and surprisingly; Zeus let him put it on. Once he got done with the left leg, he started all over again with the right side. My confusion picked up.
Interesting. “Why do the other side? Doesn’t it work for both?”
“I find that doing it with both sides just reinforces that what I’m asking of him isn’t anything to be afraid of.” What he says seems to be true. Zeus doesn’t seem to let it bother him as much as it did with the first side. The other thing I noticed is that he gave him praise each time he calmed and relaxed.
Watching Beau work with Zeus is probably the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. His gentle reassurances and kindness, yet firm hand tell me he’s good at what he does. I stand for a while and watch quietly as he desensitizes Zeus with the tools he will use to train him.
As soon as I walked back into the barn, I was greeted by the Cheshire cat. Reagan in all her smiling glory.
“He’s good with them, ya know.”
“I can tell,” I said smiling.
“You know he’s glad you’re home.”
“I’m glad I am too. I haven’t felt this happy in a while. Thank you all for letting me stay here. It feels safe. I know it’s not my home, but it’s starting to feel like it.”
“I’m glad you’re here too. It’s nice having my best friend back. I’ve really missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
“So, clearly you’re avoiding talking about my brother…” She said smiling.
“What is there to say, Rea? I just left a really bad relationship. I’m not looking for anything more than a friend right now. My husband is undoubtedly dead, so I’m not technically married anymore, but still… it doesn’t mean I want to jump into something.“ I shrugged and she gave me a look.
“I know, I had a major crush on him
