Take the Reins (A Cowboy's Promise #2) - Megan Squires Page 0,2
the same as a period at the end of a sentence. “I’ve got the vet here and a horse who was just diagnosed with strangles. We’re under complete quarantine.”
Well, if that wasn’t a sucker punch to the high he’d been riding after the morning’s successful roundup. “What am I going to do with five scared and starved horses?”
“You’ll have to take them to your ranch. You’ve got the old milking barn you can put them up in for now. It’ll do. I’ll be by later in the week with Dr. Cranford to check them out, but for today, that’s the best I can offer.”
It didn’t feel like much of an offer at all, but Seth knew Bridgette was doing the best she could with what she had. His day set aside for rotating his herd to a new pasture had been completely shot, but that had little to do with Bridgette’s current situation. Nonetheless, there was an inevitable interconnectedness. And this news just flipped his whole plan on its head.
“Give Jo Friar a call.” Bridgette slipped a business card through the rolled down window before backing away. “If the horses are as bad as you say they are, you’ll eventually need a shoer who knows how to handle them. This one is the best.”
2
Josie
There was a very real possibility Josie Friar’s truck was still moving, even with her no longer at the helm. She tore out of the driver’s seat in a surge of panic, hoping she’d put the truck in park out of habit. She didn’t even bother to look over her shoulder to confirm that the vehicle wasn’t, in fact, gliding down the country road on its own accord. Honestly, the truck could crash, for all she cared. Everything else around her already had.
“Foreclosure?” With another swing of his hammer, the stranger nailed the sign into place. It felt like a backhand across Josie’s future and she couldn’t help but wince as metal struck metal. “There’s gotta be a mistake.”
“Yep,” the older man spoke around a long nail bit between his front teeth. He huffed a laugh that sounded like it was full of gravel. “A big mistake. As in, the owners forgot to pay their mortgage.”
Josie shook her head. She knew Marcie and Marty had fallen on tough times. They all had. Everyone felt the unavoidable strains of a struggling economy. But the Stephens’ farm had been a generational asset. She’d assumed it had been paid off long before it was ever placed in Marcie and Marty’s name.
Apparently she’d been wrong.
“Where are they going to go?” Josie mused under her breath, unaware her thoughts had formed audible words.
“The owners? I’m sure they’ve already figured that out. It’s not like they didn’t know this was coming.” Like he hadn’t just delivered news that did a complete one-eighty on the trajectory of Josie’s life, he added, “Have a good day,” before slipping into his silver hatchback and speeding down the two lane road.
Josie watched the rooster tail of dust spray from his tires and felt a growing tightness weave through her ribcage. With a balled up fist, she thrust firmly against her chest, releasing a choked cough. Her eyes burned like they hadn’t been shut in days. Stinging and dry, she fought the tears that begged to moisten them.
She was not going to cry about this. That wasn’t her style.
But seriously, what next?
First the broken arm. Then the loss of half her clientele due to said arm break. And now here she was, for all intents and purposes, effectively homeless.
Sure, she still had her trailer, but the land it rested on had been pulled out from under her like a tablecloth magic trick gone wrong.
Ballooning her cheeks with a massive inhale, she sputtered a breath that lifted the sweat-laden hair from her face. Then she let out a strangled grunt of pure frustration that sounded almost animalistic. This was just her luck.
At least the truck was still in place and hadn’t barreled down the road without her. She’d have to dig deep for silver-linings today. She walked back to it and once inside, slammed the driver’s side door, then yanked her seatbelt across her lap with more force than usual. She didn’t know who to be angry with, but at the moment, an inanimate object was probably her safest option. If Marcie or Marty had been there to greet her upon her arrival, she wasn’t so sure she’d be able to keep her cool.