warned. “She’s a horse, just like every other horse on this ranch, except that she’s much smaller and a lot smarter.”
“Smarter?” Parker scowled. “Smarter than a cutting horse ? Bullshit.”
Zach sighed. Parker was never going to wrap his mind around this idea. “No bullshit, just fact. I’ve never seen a horse learn as quickly as she does.” Zach bent to stroke Rosebud’s fluffy forelock. “In another six months, she’ll blow your socks off.”
“She scarcely comes up to the tops of my socks,” muttered Parker. “But hey, okay. I’m on board.”
Zach’s brothers ventured forward to pet the mini. Quincy glanced up questioningly before he touched her. “Is it okay? I heard you say on TV that contact isn’t allowed.”
“Only when she’s working,” Zach replied. “Go ahead.”
Quincy hunkered down to get at Rosebud’s eye level. After searching the mini’s gaze, he muttered, “I’ll be damned. She really is a horse, blind spot and all.”
Clint laughed. “A horse is a horse.” He went down on one knee to run his hands over the palomino’s legs, then leaned back to give her body a long study. “She’s got beautiful conformation, perfection in miniature.”
Rosebud nuzzled Parker’s thigh for petting. Parker laughed and scratched behind her ears. The mini angled her head sideways and leaned into his fingers. “Just like any other horse, a hog for affection.” He looked at Zach and extended his right hand. “Are we good? Apologies accepted?”
Zach shook with him, and then said, “Oh, to hell with it,” and hooked an arm around his brother’s shoulders to give him a hug. “Apologies accepted, you hardheaded ass. Just remember, from now on big horses aren’t the only game in town.”
“Apparently not,” Parker conceded. “Just do us a favor and try not to embarrass us again when cameras are pinned on you.” As he drew back, he playfully slapped Zach’s shoulder. “Has it really been two years since you’ve been to bed with a woman?”
Zach laughed. He and his brothers were tight, but Zach’s encounters with females, no matter how rare in recent months, needed to remain private . “Let’s just say sex is no longer my mainstay in life.”
Quincy and Parker exchanged skeptical eye rolls, and Clint grinned. “If you’re going to train a guide horse, don’t do a half-assed job of it. Turn it into another coup for the Harrigan clan.”
“I will,” Zach promised. “At least, I’m going to try. It’s no easy task to teach her some of the things she has to learn.”
“Like what?” Quincy asked.
“Leading me around overhead obstacles, for one. She’s short, so I have to teach her to watch for stuff I may hit my head on.”
Quincy shot the little horse a startled look. “Are you shitting me?”
After his brothers left, Zach couldn’t wipe the grin off his face as he led Rosebud toward the house. He felt as if he’d just gone through a rite of passage. Until now, he couldn’t remember a single time when his brothers had ever looked at him with respect. Maybe, he decided, he should fire up and tell them to shove it more often.
But no. Clint had been nothing less than honest. Until Zach had decided to do this, he truly had acted like a jughead much of the time. Rosebud, or at least the thought of Rosebud, had turned him onto a different path, and over the last two years he’d grown up, setting aside his swinging-bachelor ways to concentrate on something that really mattered. The longer he was away from the whole bar scene, the less he missed it. He still dropped in for an occasional beer, but not often.
It felt good. He might not have a wife and kids, but he had a purpose, something to drive him. He rested his hand on Rosebud’s head as they approached the steps, twelve of them, which led up to the deck of his veranda. Zach drew Rosebud to a stop, wondering why in the hell he’d built a house with a daylight basement. Rosebud hadn’t gotten the
“Smarter?” Parker scowled. “Smarter than a cutting horse ? Bullshit.”
Zach sighed. Parker was never going to wrap his mind around this idea. “No bullshit, just fact. I’ve never seen a horse learn as quickly as she does.” Zach bent to stroke Rosebud’s fluffy forelock. “In another six months, she’ll blow your socks off.”
“She scarcely comes up to the tops of my socks,” muttered Parker. “But hey, okay. I’m on board.”
Zach’s brothers ventured forward to pet the mini. Quincy glanced up questioningly before he touched her. “Is it okay? I heard you say on TV that contact isn’t allowed.”
“Only when she’s working,” Zach replied. “Go ahead.”
Quincy hunkered down to get at Rosebud’s eye level. After searching the mini’s gaze, he muttered, “I’ll be damned. She really is a horse, blind spot and all.”
Clint laughed. “A horse is a horse.” He went down on one knee to run his hands over the palomino’s legs, then leaned back to give her body a long study. “She’s got beautiful conformation, perfection in miniature.”
Rosebud nuzzled Parker’s thigh for petting. Parker laughed and scratched behind her ears. The mini angled her head sideways and leaned into his fingers. “Just like any other horse, a hog for affection.” He looked at Zach and extended his right hand. “Are we good? Apologies accepted?”
Zach shook with him, and then said, “Oh, to hell with it,” and hooked an arm around his brother’s shoulders to give him a hug. “Apologies accepted, you hardheaded ass. Just remember, from now on big horses aren’t the only game in town.”
“Apparently not,” Parker conceded. “Just do us a favor and try not to embarrass us again when cameras are pinned on you.” As he drew back, he playfully slapped Zach’s shoulder. “Has it really been two years since you’ve been to bed with a woman?”
Zach laughed. He and his brothers were tight, but Zach’s encounters with females, no matter how rare in recent months, needed to remain private . “Let’s just say sex is no longer my mainstay in life.”
Quincy and Parker exchanged skeptical eye rolls, and Clint grinned. “If you’re going to train a guide horse, don’t do a half-assed job of it. Turn it into another coup for the Harrigan clan.”
“I will,” Zach promised. “At least, I’m going to try. It’s no easy task to teach her some of the things she has to learn.”
“Like what?” Quincy asked.
“Leading me around overhead obstacles, for one. She’s short, so I have to teach her to watch for stuff I may hit my head on.”
Quincy shot the little horse a startled look. “Are you shitting me?”
After his brothers left, Zach couldn’t wipe the grin off his face as he led Rosebud toward the house. He felt as if he’d just gone through a rite of passage. Until now, he couldn’t remember a single time when his brothers had ever looked at him with respect. Maybe, he decided, he should fire up and tell them to shove it more often.
But no. Clint had been nothing less than honest. Until Zach had decided to do this, he truly had acted like a jughead much of the time. Rosebud, or at least the thought of Rosebud, had turned him onto a different path, and over the last two years he’d grown up, setting aside his swinging-bachelor ways to concentrate on something that really mattered. The longer he was away from the whole bar scene, the less he missed it. He still dropped in for an occasional beer, but not often.
It felt good. He might not have a wife and kids, but he had a purpose, something to drive him. He rested his hand on Rosebud’s head as they approached the steps, twelve of them, which led up to the deck of his veranda. Zach drew Rosebud to a stop, wondering why in the hell he’d built a house with a daylight basement. Rosebud hadn’t gotten the
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