Lia Carter

It was a miracle that Lia had found this place. When she’d stopped at a gas station on the way into town and asked about boarding stables--even a temporary situation--this was the only one that the clerk knew of. Her cell phone’s service wasn’t the strongest with the mountains so close, so using her GPS was out of the question, and the clerk’s directions here had been vague at best.

Hank was currently being “stabled” (if you could call it that) at a horse-friendly campground about twenty minutes away, with just a round pen as “turnout” and an open-sided lean-to for a “barn.” She’d left her trailer parked next to the round pen to provide an extra wind break, even though she wasn't sure if it actually helped. It was a far cry from what he was used to. For all of Troy’s downfalls, his barn was amazing. It had large, airy 14x16 stalls with wire mesh fronts, custom mats, and paddocks off of each stall. Hank usually got turned out overnight in a large, lush paddock with three other geldings. He already wasn’t the best at settling into new places, and she wanted to make sure that she got him somewhere he was comfortable--fast. She was praying that this place had availability. She didn’t know if she could handle Hank being in that awful round pen another day.

Lia parked her white F-150 in the nearest available spot to the barn. She dug around in the bag in her passenger seat for an additional layer, since it was still pretty chilly outside, only finding her black softshell jacket with Carter Horsemanship embroidered on the back. Reluctantly she slipped it on over her gray sweater. She’d have to replace it soon. The fewer reminders of her ex, the better. She tugged the rearview mirror down and double-checked her reflection. She had on a little extra makeup than she normally would have--concealer, highlighter, bronzer and blush, in addition to her typical eyeshadow and mascara. The bruise on her left cheek was still slightly visible, despite the layers of powder, but she was hoping that in the dim light of the barn it wouldn’t be obvious. She sighed. One last souvenir from her marriage.

She opened the glove compartment and pulled out her checkbook. The checks technically came out of Troy’s account, but she doubted he’d notice any missing money for at least a month or two, which was (hopefully) enough time for her to get herself sorted out. She had always done their books, and she didn’t see him immediately getting careful with his cashflow, or having the forethought to actually hire an accountant. She stuffed the checkbook into her jacket pocket. She wanted to be ready to leave a deposit, or even first month’s board if they had space soon enough for her to bring Hank right away, but she didn’t want to look desperate.

Taking a deep, shaky breath she opened the truck door and slid out of the seat. The soles of her Ariat boots hit the ground. She brushed her hands against the dark denim of her bootcut jeans, and tugged her wavy brown hair into a high ponytail at the back of her head. Drawing herself up straight, she strode purposefully into the barn. She hoped someone was around who could answer some questions.

Kayla Anderson

There was always something going on at Clover Fields. They were one of the largest stables in the Valley, possibly the largest, and there was always work to be done. Already this morning, the horses had been turned out into their respective pastures. It took a bit to make sure that they were all out, though they had all become a well oiled machine over the three years running the stable. They were all young, but they had been raised in a stable and around horses her entire life. It was just their way. It was all any of the Andersons knew. Once the horses were all turned out, it was time to muck out the stalls.

Kayla was in one of the stalls closes to the entry of the stable when the dogs began to bark to alert them that there was someone there. Most of them were quiet, but a few of them took it as their job to alert to anyone visiting if the horses weren’t around. They all knew better than to bark around the horses, had been raised around them just as the Andersons had been raised around the stable life. She leaned out of the stall that she was cleaning to see who they were barking at.

That was when she saw a woman getting out of a white pick up. She sat the pitchfork that she had been using to clean the stall against the wall before wiping her hands on her jeans and then walking out to meet the woman. A smile tugged at her lips as she hooked her thumbs in her pockets. Then she stopped in front of the other woman and held her hand out. ”Kayla Anderson, what can I do for you?” Her own voice held a distinct southern twang.

Lia Carter

The routine was something Lia already missed about living on a working farm. The Carter Ranch was smaller than this operation. There were only about 20 stalls in the barn, and it was mostly for training clientele. Any horses Troy bought were usually sold for a profit almost immediately. People loved a Troy Carter “branded” horse. Troy had made a fairly big name for himself in the reining and cow horse world, and he was widely praised for his horsemanship techniques, and he and Lia kept very few of their own horses. Lia had two horses growing up--both warmblood she competed in the hunter and equitation rings--and she’d retired one with her parents and sold the other when she moved in with Troy. He’d finally conceded with her having her own horse when Hank came along. Hank had been an engagement present instead of a traditional ring, which is why there wasn’t a diamond to go along with her white gold wedding band. She’d always been fine with that. She would’ve taken Hank over a piece of jewelry any day.

The sound of dogs barking instantly sent a pang to Lia’s chest. Despite Troy never keeping horses around long, he always had dogs. Their two Blue Heelers, Bullet and Gunner, had been with Troy at the competition the weekend that she’d packed up and left. They were technically not hers; Troy had them before they met. But that wasn’t to say that she might not have taken them with her if they’d been home. She missed the dogs terribly. She kept waiting for the heartache over Troy to roll in, but so far she just felt numb.

Immediately after the sound of the dogs she heard the voice of a woman. As her eyes adjusted to the dim barn she saw the young woman approaching her, hand extended. Something about her warmth, and the familiar twang in her voice, made Lia like her instantly. Lia didn’t usually trust people right away, but something about her seemed so genuine she couldn’t help but return the smile.

Hi, Kayla. Nice to meet you. I’m Lia.

Lia’s eyes scanned the barn quickly. This was nice. Big, spacious stalls, an open and airy aisle way--it seemed perfect.

I’m new here and I’m looking for a place to board my gelding, Hank. Someone in town told me to look up this place. You don’t happen to have any availability, do you?

Kayla Anderson

Jayla, Rose, and Rocky had left the barn where they had been laying in one of the unused stalls when they had heard the car pull up. The Aussies seemed to think of themselves as the unofficial greeters of the ranch. Luckily, the pups were in the fenced in back yard or they would be jumping all over the lady who stepped out of her truck. They weren’t quite old enough to know to be calm around the horses and they were only brought out with strict supervision. They didn’t want one of the horses to be spooked and someone to get hurt. At Kayla’s whistle, all three of them backed away from the unknown woman and made way for Kayla to approach her.

A smile was worn on the girl’s lips as she shook the other lady’s hand and then brushed her hair back from her face where it had fallen over the course of cleaning the stalls. Her smile grew all the more when the lady told her what she was doing there. ”We have some stalls open. She confirmed, actually, in a place like this it seemed that most who had horses had their own farms, so they didn’t get too many boarders. ”I can show you around? I just turned the horses out for the day, so the place is pretty empty but I can show you around the stables and the turnout pastures if you want?”

Because Kayla would want to see where her horse was staying if she were boarding him somewhere. They had had this place specially built to be exactly what they wanted, a product of this being more or less an offshoot of their family’s thriving ranch back home. But it was solely theirs, she was pretty sure that the woman would find it satisfactory, even if it wasn’t as high tech and fancy as some places tended to be nowadays. ”Don’t mind the dogs, they’re all friendly but they like to greet everyone that comes by.” At least it was just the Aussies today. Otherwise it could be a bit overwhelming.