Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 123171 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123171 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
“How's Freya doing?” I ask, angling my body away from Josie so I can look at the barn.
“I think she's doing well. Would you like to take a look for yourself, so you don’t have to question my word for it?”
I turn back toward her and see that she has a small smirk on her face.
“I would like to see her,” I say, not needing proof that she is actually all right.
“I won't get charged for a barn call? Will I?”
“This will be on the house,” I say and Josie laughs. God, she's so beautiful when she smiles like that. Sunlight hits her face, highlighting green flecks in her blue eyes that I hadn't noticed before. It makes something stir inside of me, something more than just physical desire…and something that I'm going to quickly squash out.
”Thor is doing well too,” she adds, pulling the band out of her ponytail and letting her brown locks fall around her pretty face.
“Whoa,” I say when I see inside the barn. The rafters have been cleared of cobwebs, the stalls have been dusted, and the bales of hay are neatly stacked on the opposite side of the barn. Kim kept a tidy barn that was never damp or dusty in a way that could cause harm, but it was nowhere near as clean as the barn is now.
Josie turns to me, one eyebrow raised. “You sound surprised.”
“I…I…I,” I stammer, and then decide there's no use in lying. “Yeah. I am surprised. The barn looks a lot different than the last time I was here.”
“Everly recruited some friends and they put in the work. They were out here for hours.” Josie slowly inhales and then goes to Freya’s stall. The horse nickers when she sees Josie coming to her.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Josie tells her and pulls a treat from her pocket. All the other horses take notice and start nickering for treats as well. I take a moment to walk up and down the barn, visiting with each and every horse. They all look good and seem happy. Josie brings Freya into the crossties and grabs a soft brush from her grooming bucket. She brushes the gray mare’s neck as I give her a quick exam. Visually, she looks good. It's only been a few days since I've seen her, but she looks like she's put on the smallest amount of weight already. This horse was skittish and scared of humans only a few weeks ago. Yet right now, she's putting her head down completely trusting Josie.
“How does she look?” Josie asks.
“From what I can see, she looks great. We can do another ultrasound in a few weeks to be sure the baby is doing all right too. Normally, I wouldn't do them that often, but since Freya isn't in the best condition, I think it's smart to treat her the same way we’d treat any high-risk pregnancy.”
Josie nods in agreement, biting her lip as she pets Freya. “Sounds good. I want to make sure Freya and her baby have the best chance at survival.”
“I can see you’re doing all you can to ensure that,” I say, sincerely hoping that Freya is actually able to carry this pregnancy to term and is able to deliver a healthy foal.
“Do you?” Her brows go up as she stares right at me. She’s fierce when it comes to something—or someone—she loves. Josie is unassuming when you look at her, petite and pretty, but her claws are sharp and ready to come out at only a moment’s notice. “You don’t see this as another disaster waiting to happen? I’ll admit, I’ve never owned a pregnant mare before, but I do know how to do this crazy thing called research.”
I’m starting to think there will be no winning with Josie. That no matter what I say, or how professional I try to keep things, she will always be the a thorn in my side.
On one hand, I admire her for not backing down. On the other, well, she just irritates the shit out of me. I quite literally just told her I can see how hard she’s trying. “Research is important,” I say, keeping my tone level. It would be easy to start an argument with her, to use the tension between us to fuel the passion I’m adamantly denying feeling.
But she’s a client.
“I can point you in the direction of some good websites and articles if you’d like. Crystal can email them over.”
“Yeah,” she says with a small nod.
“It is best to be prepared, and when Freya is closer to her due date, putting her in a bigger stall would be a good idea as well.” I take a step back, eyes still on Josie. I know she thinks I'm being harsh and that I'm judging her unfairly, but the more I get to know her, the more I know how much it will hurt her if she does indeed need to rehome the horses.