Taking Charge (Lone Star Burn #4)(38)
Tony met his eyes and said frankly, “I understand the desire to get a place of your own, but we’re all kind of attached to you round here. Sarah, Melanie, Jace—me. You’ve been a good friend, David. Better than I deserved for a long time. Yeah, I’d miss your sorry ass if you moved away.”
A declaration like that meant even more when it came from a man who had once been a recluse. When David thought about it, bringing Lucy to Fort Mavis might be what they all needed. “The Ribblan Ranch, huh? It’s a mite fancy for my taste, but I’ll look into what they’re asking for it.”
Tony nodded, and they started walking toward the paddocks.
David stopped and raised a hand. “You’re not going to tell me what you think I should do to win Lucy over?”
Tony gave him an odd look. “You need me to?”
David lowered his hand. “No, there’s enough who seem to think I need guidance.”
Tony arched an eyebrow, then picked up a lead line and opened a gate to one of the paddocks. “Sounds like you’re talking to people who don’t know you well. I’ve never met a man with more sticking power than you. You don’t give up on people or horses. I wouldn’t be surprised if you announced the two of you are getting married this summer.”
David lifted and dropped one shoulder. “She’s skittish after her engagement to Ted.”
Tony attached the lead line to the halter on one of the young horses in the paddock, then handed the rope to David. “Work will help you clear your head.”
David looked at the horse. “Is she new?”
“Came in while you were gone. The owners thought they could train her themselves and gave her enough bad habits that she’s dangerous now. More than one person has been caught unawares from a sly kick. She could use some of your magic as well. The family has a young girl who wants to ride her. I’m ready to tell them to find another horse; I won’t risk—”
Tony didn’t finish the sentence, and he didn’t have to. Kimberly Staten’s death had forever changed both of them. “I’ll work with her, and if I agree with you, we’ll find that family a horse that will fit them.” David looked into the horse’s eyes and didn’t like what he saw. She wasn’t scared; she was angry. Most horses could be brought around to seeing the benefits of partnering with humans. A few couldn’t. Tony had said David didn’t give up on people or horses, but he was wrong. He’d come across a handful he couldn’t gentle. Each had been a humbling experience that still haunted him. He’d spent countless sleepless nights asking himself what else he could have done. The hardest part had been finally letting the horse go and admitting he couldn’t reach it.
After all that Lucy had been through, David understood her reluctance to trust anyone. She’d told him she had nothing to offer him, but he refused to believe that. Last night and during the flight to Fort Mavis, David had felt they were making progress.
The look she’d given him on the ride over, though, had mirrored the expression in the mare’s eyes. She’d been angry with him, resentful. For the first time, he asked himself if it was right to pursue her.
He led the mare into a round pen and frowned at her. He didn’t like the potential failure the horse represented. Forcing his negative thoughts aside, he stepped into the horse’s space and laid a hand on the side of her neck while unclipping the lead line with his other. “I’ll do my best, my friend, but in the end, your fate is something only you can decide.”
With a defiant shake of her head, the horse stomped the ground in front of him. He recognized a warning in her eyes and spun the rope between them to move the horse back from him before she kicked out. He worked the horse in circles, then demanded her attention each time she stopped. Each time she turned her haunches to him, David moved the horse off again. Most horses would begin to stop and face him, but this mare didn’t. At the end of their session, she pinned her ears and lowered her head at his approach.
Tony leaned on the railing of the round pen and said, “My gut tells me that horse needs a field, not a family. And that’s assuming she can get along in a herd.”
David relaxed his shoulders deliberately and walked up to the mare to reattach the lead line. Her ears rose along with her head. He looked into her eyes again, seeking some sign that she was salvageable, but saw nothing conclusive. “Mine says she needs more time. It took more than a day to make her this angry. The road back can take time.”
Tony shook his head and walked away. Although David understood why Tony was cautious with abused horses, it saddened him at how quickly Tony had written off this mare.
As David walked the horse back to its paddock, he recalled with painful clarity a friend he’d lost during his one tour of Iraq. Sergeant Andrew Clarendon and David had bonded during basic training but were sent to different units. He had been cocky and self-assured, but a damn good soldier.
They’d met again when David and a four-man fire team had gone into an Iraqi town on a public relations trip. Along with three other fire teams, they were delivering toys and supplies to local families when he met up with Andrew and his platoon who were in town, following a tip about hiding insurgents.
Andrew and his men had headed down an alley, and David had suggested to his team leader that they join them as backup. His gut had told him Andrew needed him, but the officer in charge of the supply delivery told him to follow orders and focus on the purpose of their trip to town. Moments later, all hell had broken loose. Shots were fired, and a wounded marine came out of the alley yelling that it was an ambush.