Take the Reins (A Cowboy's Promise #2) - Megan Squires Page 0,38
too much. Seth wanted to assure her it was fine, but Bridgette bulldozed right through any attempt at making that happen.
“I should be able to take the horses off your hands as soon as the stallion and colts are gelded, which, Dr. Cranford says, could happen as early as next week. Isn’t that great news?”
“I thought you had the horse with strangles.”
“We do, but he’s recovering nicely and should be in the clear soon. We’ve had him quarantined to limit exposure to the rest of the animals and so far, no one else has come down with it. We’ll be good to go before you know it. It’ll be great to get these horses in a proper setting where they can finally relax.”
In Seth’s periphery, he could see Josie take another step back, peeling herself away from the conversation. She wrapped a hand around a pipe panel and slumped her weight against the fence.
“I don’t know that they’ll be ready by then, Bridge. They still need a lot of work.”
“And I have a lot of volunteers to help with that.” She touched Seth’s forearm in a familiar move. “Remember that grant I applied for last spring? It finally came through. I was able to set up a huge round pen and purchase five more pens with the money. Coincidentally, that’s the perfect amount for this little herd. It’s like it was meant to be.”
Something resembling disappointment slid across Josie’s face. When Seth tried to give her a reassuring look, she diverted her gaze to her boots like they were the most interesting thing in the world. She wouldn’t look back up.
“We’ll see,” was all Seth could commit to in the moment. “Dr. Cranford, what are your thoughts on gelding them? You think they’re ready?”
“I will really need them halter broke before we do any procedures involving sedation. And hopefully that happens sooner than later because the colts are definitely of age,” the veterinarian said. “Wait too long and you’ll have to pull them from their mothers. You might also want to think about removing the stallion from the paddock, unless you want the mares bred back this quickly.”
“Good advice,” Seth said with a nod. “Josie’s been working with them everyday. Shouldn’t be long before we can get a halter on them.”
“But that’s a pretty big task to do one handed, isn’t it?” Bridgette’s eyes shifted toward Josie’s cast and she spoke low near Seth’s ear like two parents discussing their child in hushed tones.
“I’m handling it just fine.” Josie piped up and took a step closer.
Bridgette turned to Seth completely. “Seth, I’d be happy to send over a few of my volunteers to help Josie out. I can spare them, no problem. I want to make sure she’s not biting off more than she can chew—”
“Didn’t you just hear her say she’s doing just fine on her own?”
“I did, but—”
“We’ll have the horses halter broke by early next week, Dr. Cranford.” Seth skirted Bridgette and thrust his hand forward to shake the doctor’s. “I appreciate you coming out to the ranch today. I’ll call the office this afternoon to get an appointment on the schedule for the procedures.”
Seth made a movement to walk away, but Bridgette grabbed his elbow. “Can I speak with you in private for a moment?” she said in a breathy almost-whisper.
Seth looked over his shoulder to glimpse Josie occupied in conversation with Dr. Cranford, discussing the upcoming procedure and the current condition of the horses. He nodded to Bridgette and moved out of their earshot.
“Seth, I know you haven’t really been dating Josie.”
“How would you know that?”
Her hand was still on his arm. Seth thought about shaking it loose, but the feel of it was like a memory and he couldn’t say it wasn’t a good one.
“Well, for one, in order for the two of you to be dating as long as she says you were, you would have been cheating on me. You’re a lot of things, Seth Ford, but a cheater isn’t one of them,” she reasoned. “And second, you had no idea who she was when I recommended her as a farrier. That was just last week. Things aren’t adding up.”
Seth inhaled for several long moments before releasing the breath slowly through his mouth. “You’re right. I didn’t cheat on you, nor would I ever do that. And I didn’t know who Josie was until a few days ago. That’s true, too. But one thing led to another and—”