The Halloween Coachman (Tipperary Carriage Company Mystery Book 3) by J A Whiting & Nell McCarthy

Author:J A Whiting & Nell McCarthy [Whiting, J A]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: J A Whiting Books and Whitemark Publishing
Published: 2020-10-28T16:00:00+00:00

12

Early the following morning, Mae walked into the barn with a large cup of hot coffee in one hand and a plastic bucket filled with cleaning rags and a big bar of saddle soap in the other. It was very quiet and peaceful in the barn with only the soft sounds of the horses moving about and grinding the last of their morning hay.

As always, Mae found the place to be an oasis of calm in a chaotic world. The horses had no preconceived notions about anything, but simply dealt with things as they actually were and did the best they could. Somehow she’d always found that reassuring.

A few of the stalls were empty with their doors open, including Steel’s and Star’s. Walking to the end of the barn aisle and looking around the corner, she saw that Ross was just coming back from the field after turning the two horses out to join those already outside.

With him were Mick and Mack, the two black-and-white border collies. The dogs raced over to Mae the moment they saw her, whipping their tails back and forth as they greeted her.

“Hey, dogs. Glad you’re so happy this morning.”

“They always are,” said Ross, walking back inside. Suddenly both of the dogs bolted towards the front end of the barn.

Mae instantly turned around. “Brandon,I never expected to see you this early.”

“Sure, Mom. I told you I’d be here.”

Brandon looked tired. He was dressed in jeans, t-shirt, and jacket and had even combed his hair. He greeted his mother with a hug and then shook hands with Ross.

“You all go ahead,” said Ross. “I have six more to turn out.”

“I don’t mind helping,” said Brandon. “We can each take two.”

“Sure thing.” Mae set her coffee down inside the tack room and followed Brandon down the row of stalls. “It is nice to get out here where it’s quiet, sometimes.”

“Yeah. And normal.”

She looked closely at her son for a moment, and realized how down he seemed. “Okay, let’s go take these horses out, and then get started on the harness and the carriage.”

He nodded and picked up the first halter, going into the stall to get the horse. Mae knew that he would talk when he was ready and the best thing was to just provide him with the opportunity. It sure seemed he had something on his mind. She knew that her son had not come out here this early just to polish carriage wheels.

They each led out two horses apiece. Ross’s other boarders were mostly older retired animals whose owners came out to see them a few times a week, mostly just to groom and check on them. A few would do some occasional light riding, though Mae was the only one whose horses worked on a regular basis.

It was a good arrangement for everyone. The older horses were little trouble to care for, and their owners just wanted a comfortable, and affordable, place to keep them now that they were mostly past work. And Mae could see that Ross was happy to provide exactly that.

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