Keeping Chilly (The October Horses Book 3) by Genevieve Mckay

Author:Genevieve Mckay [Mckay, Genevieve]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: StonePony Studios
Published: 2021-12-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

Maisy

“Hang on, I’ll grab Jet then and come along,” Jeremy said. “I’ve worked with him a couple of times in the ring but he could use some trail exposure.”

“I think Bear would like to get out to stretch his legs, too,” Lorne said and suddenly we were all smiling at each other.

“I know she tried to kill me, but I do hope Dragon didn’t hurt herself.” I bit my lip anxiously. “Do you think Julie needs any help finding her?’

“Oh no, don’t worry about Dragon.” Lorne laughed. “She’s near indestructible. I trust her to look out for herself. Julie will find her all right. I think she wanted the walk to clear her head.”

To get over her disappointment that I am a dud as a bronc rider, I thought glumly.

“Besides, it isn’t the first time she’s jumped out of the ring. Sometimes she just takes it into her head to do whatever she likes. Poor Chloe has been dragged out of dozens of dressage tests by now. But Dragon hasn’t done much bucking before.”

“It was the spurs, wasn’t it?” I asked quietly.

Lorne shrugged. “Maybe, or maybe she was just having an off day. You didn’t do anything drastically wrong, Maisy. It’s just one of those things.”

I gulped down a couple of aspirins from the medicine cabinet in the tack room, hoping they would kick in sooner rather than later. There was a spot on my lower back that throbbed painfully and my elbows were missing some skin from where I’d skidded across the ground. The bleeding had already stopped though, so I just cleaned them up and didn’t bother with band-aids.

Luckily the horses weren’t too far away. Bree and I found them grazing halfway down the hillside, their coats shiny in the morning sun.

“Hey, buddy,” I said to Chilly. Despite my half-injured state, I was happy to be able to spend some time getting to know this funny horse.

He reached out and nuzzled me gently, staying very still as I buckled on his halter and gingerly led him up the hill. He followed beside me extra-gently, keeping his nose next to my elbow. Every so often he reached out and softly ran his whiskers over my arm.

“Chilly is so well-mannered.” I looked over my shoulder to where Bree was following with the ancient looking Bear. “Are all the thoroughbreds like this? Besides Dragon, I mean.”

“Most of them have been handled a lot in training and at the track so they have decent ground manners. Sometimes they’re pushy when they get here, but most of them are good. Chilly is being extra well-behaved for you, though. I think he likes you.”

Smiling, I reached out and ran my hand down the horse’s shiny neck. Suddenly the pain in my body didn’t seem quite so bad.

“Are you okay brushing him in his stall?” Bree asked when we got back to the barn. “It’s easier for Lorne to groom and tack up if Bear is in the cross-ties.”

“Of course,” I said quickly, leading Chilly to the stall that had his name scrawled on a paper card attached to the door.

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