She could do all those things. She could be happy without the Kendall. It was Jace that she wanted. She didn’t think she could be happy without him.
* * *
THE NARROW ONE-LANE road that led to the Kendall was at least a mile-and-a-half long, too long for anyone to hear a car heading down it until it was upon the house. Both sides of the road were lined with the white 5-bar gate-style fencing that bordered the lawn on one side and provided access to the parking lot on the other. Kelly came to the door when she heard the heavy sound of engines and truck doors slamming in the driveway.
Her heart lifted when she thought Jace had returned. Through the panes in the door she saw a caravan of three pickup trucks, each attached to double-wide horse trailers. Stepping onto the porch, the heat hit her. A man dressed in jeans and a short-sleeved T-shirt widened his smile when he saw her.
It wasn’t Jace. He must have sent someone for the horses, although three trailers for two horses was overkill.
“Ms. Ashton?” one man questioned.
She nodded, coming down the steps. She no longer needed the cane for support.
“I’m Trey Demerest. I have some horses for you.”
He shoved some papers toward her. Kelly took them and glanced down. “I don’t understand,” she said.
“Mr. Jason Kendall said you board horses?”
Kelly stared at the papers, confused. Jace was gone for good. She couldn’t ask him about any of this.
“The paperwork is all in order,” the man said.
Kelly glanced up.
“Mr. Kendall said you weren’t available when he agreed to have us board the horses here, and that you would need to sign the papers, but we thought we’d bring them and you’d agree, we could leave them. He was sure you’d have no problem with anything.”
“I think you should know Mr. Kendall is no longer here.”
“You still board horses, correct?”
“Yes,” Kelly said softly.
“He recommended the Kendall and I’m satisfied with that.”
“Give me a chance to look these over,” she said.
“Of course,” he agreed. “But the boarding fees are here.” He pointed to a place at the bottom of page one that went into page two. The fees were reasonable, more than reasonable.
“Mr. Kendall required an account with a draw for the feed, veterinary services and such. You’ll find those details on the next page.”
“Who owns these horses?” Kelly asked.
He placed a hand on the cowboy hat he wore and removed it. With a smile of bright white teeth, he said, “I do, ma’am.”
“Where were they before? Don’t you have a farm?”
He shook his head. “I live in Baltimore, but I love horses. So do my wife and two daughters. The horses were boarded at the Rinkhard farm, but the family is retiring, selling everything and moving to Florida. They asked us to find another place for them. Mr. Kendall recommended this place. I hope everything is all right.”
Kelly nodded. “I’m sure it is, but I still need to read this agreement.”
Again Trey Demerest smiled. “Mr. Kendall said you’d want to check it out. Do you mind if I see the barn while you do that?”
She smiled in return. “It’s around the back.” She pointed in the right direction. “If you follow this road, it will end at the barn.” Trey and the two other drivers started that way.
Kelly took the contract to the porch and sat in one of the white rocking chairs the tourists had thought were so quaint. She read the agreement. It was above the norm. She didn’t know how Jace had gotten them to agree to these details, but the fees were above average, the amount to be drawn would cover even something major and it would be refreshed monthly.
Visitations would be done by prearrangement and was mainly limited to family. If they were to race, the owner would arrange to have them transported to and from the site. Race horses, she thought. These were race horses.
Kelly wanted to cry by the time she got to the end of the agreement. Jace had done this for her. He’d found her horses to board to help with expenses. She would have no out-of-pocket costs. All she needed to do was provide the place for the horses to board. Everything else was taken care of in the agreement. There were six horses; she couldn’t exercise them all herself, but there’d be enough funds to cover hiring a groom.
By the time the trio returned, Kelly had finished reading.
“Everything in order?” Trey asked.
“More than in order,” she told him. “You do realize the fees in this agreement are above average?” Kelly was a fair person and she wanted to charge a fair price. She didn’t want to give the impression that she was cheating or overcharging.