land.”
Clint jerked off his hat, then plopped it back on his dark head. “Give a man a second, all right? I’m trying to figure out how to apologize.”
“That’ll be the day,” Zach sneered. “You never say you’re sorry. You damned near choke on the words.”
Clint settled a thoughtful gaze on the tiny palomino. Typically of him, he bypassed saying he was sorry. “A horse is a horse. I don’t guess size really matters.”
Like Clint, Parker had to fiddle with his hat before speaking. It was a trait of the Harrigan brothers, handed down to them by their father. “Clint’s right. It’s a horse, and maybe we were out of line to get all fired up. It’s just ...” He looked to Quincy for help.
“We were just shocked to see you on the news, especially when everything went wrong like it did,” Quincy said. “Okay, so maybe all of us initially thought you were doing something harebrained again. It’s not like this would be the first time. And you sure as hell could have given us a heads-up before you took her out in public.”
Zach clenched his teeth. An inability to apologize without flubbing it up was another Harrigan trait that he was not happy to share with his brothers.
“Scratch that,” Quincy quickly added. “ Harebrained wasn’t a good choice of words. I meant ...” He shot a look at Clint. “Your turn, big brother. I’m mangling it.”
Clint sighed and kicked halfheartedly at a clump of grass. “Like I’m a slick talker?”
Parker took a second stab at it. “We didn’t understand. About this being so important to you, I mean. It’s not like none of us has ever messed up with a horse in public. Shit like that happens—no pun intended.”
“That’s right,” Clint agreed. “We’ve all messed up a time or two. What you’re doing makes some sense, now that you’ve explained. Any man worth his salt has moments when he wants to do something more with his life, something that’ll really count.”
Quincy nodded. “If you can train that”—he broke off and swallowed hard—“ horse to assist a blind person, hats off to you. It really might make a huge difference in someone else’s life, and that’s a commendable intention.”
Zach wanted to cling to his anger, but it dissipated as quickly as it had come, and with it went the stiffness in his body. “It wasn’t a momentary urge that came over me. The idea took hold and wouldn’t turn loose. Do you think I enjoyed cleaning up horse shit in front of a camera? Whatever went wrong with Rosebud in that pharmacy threatens the future of all guide horses. What if that footage goes to the syndicates?”
All three of his brothers looked horrified at the prospect.
“Sweet Lord,” Quincy said, “let’s hope not. The whole world will think we’re a bunch of crazy fools.”
Parker studied Rosebud, his mouth twitching at one corner as he struggled not to smile. “I gotta say, though, she does kind of grow on you. Rosebud, huh? Once the wife sees her, it’ll be all over. You know Rainie. She’ll fall madly in love, want one for herself, and I won’t have it in me to tell her no.”
Zach’s heart twisted because he was still stuck on the pharmacy incident and how it might affect public opinion of guide horses overall. “Yeah, well, maybe you can adopt one of the minis that may soon be banned as service animals because I fucked up.”
“That won’t happen,” Parker rebutted. “And if it does? We’ll donate to a pot and lobby like hell to get the decision reversed.”
Clint nodded. “Count me in. She is cute. Loni will probably want one, too.” He rolled his eyes. “First thing we know, we’ll have midget horses everywhere.”
“The proper term is miniatures ,” Zach said. “They aren’t dwarves or midgets. They’re a recognized and respected equine breed today. Rosebud is a blue-ribbon champion, and she cost me a pretty penny.”
Clint shrugged. “Okay, I got it.”
“No more wisecracks, then,” Zach
Clint jerked off his hat, then plopped it back on his dark head. “Give a man a second, all right? I’m trying to figure out how to apologize.”
“That’ll be the day,” Zach sneered. “You never say you’re sorry. You damned near choke on the words.”
Clint settled a thoughtful gaze on the tiny palomino. Typically of him, he bypassed saying he was sorry. “A horse is a horse. I don’t guess size really matters.”
Like Clint, Parker had to fiddle with his hat before speaking. It was a trait of the Harrigan brothers, handed down to them by their father. “Clint’s right. It’s a horse, and maybe we were out of line to get all fired up. It’s just ...” He looked to Quincy for help.
“We were just shocked to see you on the news, especially when everything went wrong like it did,” Quincy said. “Okay, so maybe all of us initially thought you were doing something harebrained again. It’s not like this would be the first time. And you sure as hell could have given us a heads-up before you took her out in public.”
Zach clenched his teeth. An inability to apologize without flubbing it up was another Harrigan trait that he was not happy to share with his brothers.
“Scratch that,” Quincy quickly added. “ Harebrained wasn’t a good choice of words. I meant ...” He shot a look at Clint. “Your turn, big brother. I’m mangling it.”
Clint sighed and kicked halfheartedly at a clump of grass. “Like I’m a slick talker?”
Parker took a second stab at it. “We didn’t understand. About this being so important to you, I mean. It’s not like none of us has ever messed up with a horse in public. Shit like that happens—no pun intended.”
“That’s right,” Clint agreed. “We’ve all messed up a time or two. What you’re doing makes some sense, now that you’ve explained. Any man worth his salt has moments when he wants to do something more with his life, something that’ll really count.”
Quincy nodded. “If you can train that”—he broke off and swallowed hard—“ horse to assist a blind person, hats off to you. It really might make a huge difference in someone else’s life, and that’s a commendable intention.”
Zach wanted to cling to his anger, but it dissipated as quickly as it had come, and with it went the stiffness in his body. “It wasn’t a momentary urge that came over me. The idea took hold and wouldn’t turn loose. Do you think I enjoyed cleaning up horse shit in front of a camera? Whatever went wrong with Rosebud in that pharmacy threatens the future of all guide horses. What if that footage goes to the syndicates?”
All three of his brothers looked horrified at the prospect.
“Sweet Lord,” Quincy said, “let’s hope not. The whole world will think we’re a bunch of crazy fools.”
Parker studied Rosebud, his mouth twitching at one corner as he struggled not to smile. “I gotta say, though, she does kind of grow on you. Rosebud, huh? Once the wife sees her, it’ll be all over. You know Rainie. She’ll fall madly in love, want one for herself, and I won’t have it in me to tell her no.”
Zach’s heart twisted because he was still stuck on the pharmacy incident and how it might affect public opinion of guide horses overall. “Yeah, well, maybe you can adopt one of the minis that may soon be banned as service animals because I fucked up.”
“That won’t happen,” Parker rebutted. “And if it does? We’ll donate to a pot and lobby like hell to get the decision reversed.”
Clint nodded. “Count me in. She is cute. Loni will probably want one, too.” He rolled his eyes. “First thing we know, we’ll have midget horses everywhere.”
“The proper term is miniatures ,” Zach said. “They aren’t dwarves or midgets. They’re a recognized and respected equine breed today. Rosebud is a blue-ribbon champion, and she cost me a pretty penny.”
Clint shrugged. “Okay, I got it.”
“No more wisecracks, then,” Zach
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