Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 95273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
It’s too fucking cold outside to walk back and forth from the house to the barn.
When I push inside, I find both Jake and Ryan standing just outside of a stall, looking grim.
“What’s up, guys?”
“We need a third opinion,” Jake says, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Thanks for coming out.”
“Of course. I figured I’d come out and visit anyway.” I hug each of them and then turn my attention over the gate to the pretty white mare, Lullaby, just inside. “Hey, beautiful girl. What’s going on in there?”
“She’s more lethargic than normal,” Jake says, his voice full of worry. “I mean, Lullaby is usually the laziest of the bunch, but she doesn’t seem to have any energy at all.”
I push inside the stall and walk around the horse, running my hands over her, cooing to her gently.
“She’s dry,” I say, taking stock. “Has she been drinking enough water?”
“Her water trough hasn’t been getting lower,” Jake says thoughtfully as Ryan listens. “I did notice that.”
“It’s winter, and horses naturally slow down a bit,” I tell him. “And if she’s a lazy girl by nature, you have to make sure she’s getting the nutrients she needs, especially water. She might need an IV, and I can’t help you there, but let’s encourage her to get some fluids into her.”
The three of us work together to urge Lullaby to drink, and finally, she does. And once she starts, she doesn’t want to stop. Finally, she comes up for air and nods her big head.
“Good girl,” Jake croons as he runs his hand down her neck. “Don’t worry me like that, baby. You scared me.”
Ryan and I smile at each other and walk toward the doors.
“Are you coming inside?” Ryan calls out to Jake.
“Nah, I’m gonna hang here for a while longer,” he replies. “Thanks, Uncle Brady.”
“You’re welcome. Anytime.”
I was here with him a few months ago when we lost one of the horses. Ryan and his fiancée, Polly, were in Paris, and it was a heartbreaking mess.
I’m glad that this won’t have the same outcome.
“We’re headed up to the house,” Ryan calls back with a wave. “I’m riding with you. I walked down, and that was a big mistake.”
“It’s fucking cold,” I agree, and we hurry to the 4Runner, and once inside, I set off for the house. “You should have known she was dehydrated.”
“I suspected, but I kind of wanted to see how Jake handled it. I like that he thought to call you for help. That if I’m gone, and he’s here alone, he knows to call you.”
“He can always reach out to me.”
“And that means a lot to me. Now, what were you going to come out here for?”
“What, I can’t just hang out with my brother?”
Ryan smirks as I park in front of the house. “Sure. Wanna play pinball or something?”
“No. We need to go to your office.”
His eyes sober as he watches me, and then he nods and pushes out of the 4Runner.
I follow him up the stairs of the porch and inside, where we shed our coats and boots. Polly comes around a corner and smiles when she sees me.
“I thought you’d be working today,” I say as I catch her up in a hug. “What with it being almost Christmas.”
“I wasn’t feeling well this morning.” She shrugs. “My girls are covering for me.”
“Are you okay?” I frown down at her. Polly is a tiny little woman with fiery red hair, and she’s currently pregnant, which has all of us brothers on edge.
“Oh, I’m fine. It was just a horrible bout of morning sickness.”
“You might have caught a bug.” I tell them about Holly and Daisy getting sick. “Could have been a stomach thing.”
“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that,” Polly admits with a shrug. “Could have been, I suppose.”
“You need to be in bed,” Ryan reminds her, kissing her on the head.
“I was just grabbing some water when I heard the door. Don’t worry, I’m taking it easy.” She smiles up at me. “He hovers.”
“I’m allowed to worry,” he replies before Polly leaves to go sit on the couch, cuddled up with a blanket and the remote. “We’ll be in the office.”
Ryan’s office is big. And it should be. As the owner of Wild Industries, he has a lot of responsibility and a lot of work to do, most of which he does out of this home office.
“Have a seat,” he offers, and I lower myself into the chair on the other side of the desk from him. “What’s up?”
“Well, it looks like I’m about to come into a lot of money, and we’ll need to invest.”
That piques his interest, as always, and I fill him in on the sponsorship opportunities that Sandy called about just this morning.
“You’re pretty fucking badass, Brady.”
“Yeah, I know. Now, let’s make this money grow because this is my last year on the circuit.”