Summer on Kendall Farm(36)

“Dad!” Ari shouted. Kelly kept a firm grip of him before he bounded down the steps in pursuit of the truck.

“We’ll go around the back,” she told Ari. The two went through the house and exited through the patio door. Jace had parked the truck and was opening the trailer.

Kelly let go of Ari’s hand. He flew toward his dad. Kelly took a little longer.

“What is this?” she asked when she reached the pair. Jace backed a horse out of the trailer. It was a red mare. And she was beautiful. Kelly couldn’t help admiring her color and the proud way she stood. Putting her hands on Ari’s shoulders she held him a safe distance from the horse.

“I bought us some horses.”

Kelly gulped. “You what?”

“We have a horse barn. This is a horse farm. We have to have horses.”

Kelly wanted to react. However, she wouldn’t argue with him in front of Ari. Her parents argued in front of her, usually about her father’s drinking. Still Kelly knew how it made her feel. And while she wasn’t one of Ari’s parents, she wouldn’t put him through that.

“Whose are they?” she asked, hoping she hadn’t heard him say he bought them.

“Ours. They’re for the farm.”

“Wow. Really?” Ari said. “We can keep them?”

Jace nodded. His smile was wide. Ari squirmed out from under her and jumped up and down.

“We have a barn,” she said, “but we don’t have any feed.”

“I bought some.”

“On a continuing basis,” she whispered. “How are we going to continue to feed them?” Kelly was living on the memory of money now. Her hopes were on the mansion opening in a couple of weeks. If they didn’t make any money starting that day, she would be one step away from eventually defaulting on the mortgage loan. And Jace went and bought horses.

“We’ll make it,” he said positively. “How long has it been since you’ve been on a horse? Don’t you miss it.”

Of course she did. She smelled the animals and all the good feelings about riding came back to her.

“Is it okay, Kelly?” Ari asked. “We can keep the horses.” He was so innocent and so positive.

Kelly looked at Ari and then at Jace. How could he put her in this position? She didn’t want to disappoint the child, but she was practical. And it was impractical to house horses she couldn’t afford to feed.

“I found a couple of saddles in the attic. I guess they were left behind when the horses were sold,” Jace suggested. “Why don’t you go for a ride?”

“Yes!” Ari jumped at the idea.

Kelly shook her head. She wasn’t going to let him suck her in with a horse ride.

“Hold on to these.” Jace handed her the reins. Kelly took them and Jace lifted Ari up and set the boy on the mare. The horse had no saddle. Jace looked at her. “You sure? I can bring the other one out.”

She shook her head again.

He walked the horse several feet away, then turned in a circle, all the while keeping one hand on Ari.

“Kelly, you should come. This is fun.” Ari laughed and kicked his feet, obviously like he’d seen someone on television doing.

“Don’t do that, Ari,” Jace cautioned. “We’ll have to get you the right boots and saddle the horse.” Ari laughed and Kelly thought her heart would burst.

* * *

IT HAD BECOME routine for Kelly to spend time watching Ari and Jace riding the horses from her office window. The horses became an unspoken addition. Jace kept them in feed and she didn’t demand they be returned.

Lifting her cup, her arm hit the copier lid and it fell down. Kelly would swear it was closed when she left the office yesterday. She hadn’t copied anything the day before. Maybe Mira or Drew had used it.

Turning back, she smiled at the antics of Ari and Jace. Jace got down from the horse and let Ari sit alone. He looked so small on the giant animal, but Ari wasn’t afraid. He took the reins the way his father had done. And just as Jace had shown him, Ari moved with the horse, not against it. Kelly wouldn’t say he was a natural. No one was. Everyone had to learn. She’d been around horses all her life and she knew no one took to the saddle on lesson one. But seeing the two of them every day proved that Ari would be an accomplished horseman soon.

Jace was good, too. She’d seen him ride, but since he bought the horses, he hadn’t ridden them like he had when he was a wild teen. Kelly made a snap decision. In fact, she made two. Sitting her coffee on the desk, she opened her desk drawer and pulled the envelope out. The one she’d been hiding. Putting it in her pocket, she went to the closet and took one of the riding helmets. What Ari and Jace wore were the soft ones. They weren’t going to do any serious riding, but they made sure Ari knew he needed to protect his head.