Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Pushing a piece of her hair behind her ear, I asked, “What happened?”
She let out a humorless laugh as she slowly shook her head. “Turns out, Mitch didn’t love me after all. The night we graduated, he told me that he didn’t see his life with me in it. That I wasn’t going anywhere, and he needed someone who had goals…and he was tired of waiting for me to have sex with him.” She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them. “I did have goals, he just didn’t like them. And he didn’t need sex from me. Apparently, he was getting plenty of it from other girls in school. I was so stupid, I didn’t see it.”
“I’m so sorry, Mallory.”
She shrugged. “It was a blessing in disguise. I would have been so unhappy with him. He’s some big marketing guy for a firm in Chicago. He’s been married and divorced twice.”
“Wow, sounds like you dodged a bullet.”
She grinned. “I think so.”
“Well, how would you like to shadow me today? Get a feel for how things are run here on the ranch.”
She let out a little squeal of excitement. “I’d love to! I’m so ready to start helping you.”
Taking her hand in mine again, I kissed her one more time, then we walked back to the horses and slowly made our way to the main barn.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Mallory
I was fascinated by everything that happened on the ranch. There were so many moving parts, and everyone seemed to have their own role. I wanted to learn how everything worked so I could be knowledgeable when I worked for Liam. I was beyond excited to start this new journey of my life, even with the looming reality that whoever kidnapped me was still walking free. I trusted Randy and Jonathon, though, and I knew Liam would never allow anything to happen to me.
After my ride with Liam, I found myself in the stalls with Larson, learning how to muck them out and take care of the horses’ daily needs. I also got to meet Brandon and Kara, two of the stable hands who only worked with the horses. I loved the smell of the barn. The mixture of hay, leather, and horses was my new favorite scent.
While Larson taught me about horses and how to care for them, Liam and Billy reviewed the fall harvest plan. After that meeting, he and Larson planned to discuss the upcoming breeding schedule, which was set to start in a couple of weeks. The plan was to breed some of the mares with stallions they had here on the ranch, and with a few owned by other nearby ranchers.
Leaning on my rake to take a break, I asked Larson, “Why do you breed some of the horses with animals that aren’t from your own ranch?”
He stopped raking new hay into the stall and looked up with a wide smile on his face. Okay, I’d clearly found a subject Larson enjoyed.
“It’s all about why you’re breeding the horse. For instance, Spirit is from a line of championship barrel racers. We want to breed her with a horse who has a similar bloodline. Hopefully, her foal will also have the genes to make a great barrel racer someday—or even a better barrel racer.”
“Do you have rodeos here on the ranch?”
He laughed. “No. Horse breeding is…well, it’s like a side gig for Liam. He raises mainly quarter horses, but he also has a few thoroughbreds he’s bought and bred. As a matter of fact, he owns a colt right now named Jumping Joy, who’s a pretty good contender for the Triple Crown.”
“As in, the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes?”
His brows flew up. “You know your horse races.”
“My grandmother knew her horse races. She loved them and would watch them every year. We used to dream about attending the Kentucky Derby, all dressed up in fancy clothes and hats.”
Larson smiled. “Well, that dream may just come true for you, Mallory.”
I was certain my eyes nearly popped out of my head, and I could hardly contain my excitement at the idea of going to the Kentucky Derby.
“Let’s get this finished, and I’ll take you to the other barn and pasture.”
“Other barn?”
He winked. “The one where the expensive horses are kept.”
“Ooh!” I said with excitement as we got back to work.
##
Larson and I sat on the fence that overlooked a large pasture. It was dotted with beautiful horses—not that the quarter horses weren’t just as lovely, but there was something special about these animals.
“My goodness, they’re so gorgeous.”
“They are,” Larson said, beaming with pride. “That chestnut over there, that’s Jumping Joy. Liam’s pride and joy.”
“He’s stunning.”
“That he is. And that dapple rose gray over there, that’s Rose Ma Bella, named after her coloring. Liam and I think next year she’s going to be the horse to beat.”