your fences, Jade,” Travis warned. “You can’t pronounce Owen’s latest equine accommodation fantastic until you’ve inspected it from bottom to top—though it is,” he added with a grin.
“Well, then,” she said, hitching Georgie higher up on her back. “I want the deluxe tour.”
“We put in six box stalls, as requested.”
“So now there’ll be room for Doc and Archer to come live here with the other ponies, right, Aunt Jade?” Max,her eldest nephew, was marching alongside her like an army soldier. She was pretty sure his footsteps were ringing louder than anyone else’s.
“Right, Max, because you and Kate and Olivia are being really terrific about letting me use Doc and Archer when I teach the other kids.”
“And we’re gonna get to ride the other ponies too,” Olivia piped up.
“That’s a fact. I’ll need a lot of help exercising them, and you guys are already good riders.”
“Fortunately we have a steady supply of child labor here,” Margot said wryly.
The group had come to a stop in the center of the immaculate barn, and Jade looked about her. “Nice. Very nice.”
Owen smiled. “Travis, Ned, and I decided on standard-size box stalls in case you ever want to put horses in here. But I went for the same sliding-door design that we have at Hawk Hill.” Owen and Jordan used their barn and fields to house Rosewood’s retired broodmares. “I figured sliding doors would be easier to negotiate when the kids are leading the ponies in and out of the stalls. I realize it’s a different design than Rosewood’s other barns—”
“But it works better with a barn this size.” She glanced around, taking in the pristine concrete floor, the pine-wood box stalls gleaming gold in the daylight. It looked wonderful and was going to look even more wonderful when she bought four barn mates for Doc Holliday and Archer. She could already imagine the space filled with kids learning how to pick hooves and pull manes and use a currycomb. She nodded happily. “This is perfect. Really. Thanks, guys.”
“The tack room’s down here, opposite the club room.”
She turned to stare at Margot. “Club room?” she asked blankly.
“That’s Jordan’s and my contribution to the barn. We thought the kids would need a place to sit and stow their school stuff without it cluttering up the aisles.”
Margot and Jordan led the way down the wide aisle. Pushing open a door, Margot waved Jade inside a room that was roughly the size of two box stalls. A pair of windows gave the room a bright, airy feel. On the far wall stood a line of cubbies with hooks for coats and backpacks, and in the center of the room two sofas faced each other, with armchairs at either end.
“Swank” was all she could say as she looked about her. Her brows came together in a slight frown. The club room was great, but it bothered her to think of her sisters spending extra money when they’d done so much for her already. After giving them each a fierce hug of thanks, she said, “I’ll reimburse you for the furniture.”
Jordan shot that idea down quickly. “Don’t be silly. Everything you see here is from the third floor of the big house. Remember my telling you that I was redecorating this spring? Margot and Travis wanted to make the third floor over for guests—you know how much Damien Barnes and Charlie Ayer like to come and stay. It needed a whole new look.”
“Those sofas were the ones you had when you were living with the kids up there?” Jade asked.
Jordan nodded. “I simply got new slipcovers for them and the chairs. On sale. The fabric’s washable, by the way. The rug’s price was slashed too.”
“And Doug and Jesse put up the cubbies and the tack-room equipment gratis. Their graduation present to you,” Owen added.
Doug and Jesse were two of the builders who worked for Owen and his architectural firm, Gage & Associates. They’d helped Owen restore Hawk Hill, the house next door, where he and Jordan and the
“Well, then,” she said, hitching Georgie higher up on her back. “I want the deluxe tour.”
“We put in six box stalls, as requested.”
“So now there’ll be room for Doc and Archer to come live here with the other ponies, right, Aunt Jade?” Max,her eldest nephew, was marching alongside her like an army soldier. She was pretty sure his footsteps were ringing louder than anyone else’s.
“Right, Max, because you and Kate and Olivia are being really terrific about letting me use Doc and Archer when I teach the other kids.”
“And we’re gonna get to ride the other ponies too,” Olivia piped up.
“That’s a fact. I’ll need a lot of help exercising them, and you guys are already good riders.”
“Fortunately we have a steady supply of child labor here,” Margot said wryly.
The group had come to a stop in the center of the immaculate barn, and Jade looked about her. “Nice. Very nice.”
Owen smiled. “Travis, Ned, and I decided on standard-size box stalls in case you ever want to put horses in here. But I went for the same sliding-door design that we have at Hawk Hill.” Owen and Jordan used their barn and fields to house Rosewood’s retired broodmares. “I figured sliding doors would be easier to negotiate when the kids are leading the ponies in and out of the stalls. I realize it’s a different design than Rosewood’s other barns—”
“But it works better with a barn this size.” She glanced around, taking in the pristine concrete floor, the pine-wood box stalls gleaming gold in the daylight. It looked wonderful and was going to look even more wonderful when she bought four barn mates for Doc Holliday and Archer. She could already imagine the space filled with kids learning how to pick hooves and pull manes and use a currycomb. She nodded happily. “This is perfect. Really. Thanks, guys.”
“The tack room’s down here, opposite the club room.”
She turned to stare at Margot. “Club room?” she asked blankly.
“That’s Jordan’s and my contribution to the barn. We thought the kids would need a place to sit and stow their school stuff without it cluttering up the aisles.”
Margot and Jordan led the way down the wide aisle. Pushing open a door, Margot waved Jade inside a room that was roughly the size of two box stalls. A pair of windows gave the room a bright, airy feel. On the far wall stood a line of cubbies with hooks for coats and backpacks, and in the center of the room two sofas faced each other, with armchairs at either end.
“Swank” was all she could say as she looked about her. Her brows came together in a slight frown. The club room was great, but it bothered her to think of her sisters spending extra money when they’d done so much for her already. After giving them each a fierce hug of thanks, she said, “I’ll reimburse you for the furniture.”
Jordan shot that idea down quickly. “Don’t be silly. Everything you see here is from the third floor of the big house. Remember my telling you that I was redecorating this spring? Margot and Travis wanted to make the third floor over for guests—you know how much Damien Barnes and Charlie Ayer like to come and stay. It needed a whole new look.”
“Those sofas were the ones you had when you were living with the kids up there?” Jade asked.
Jordan nodded. “I simply got new slipcovers for them and the chairs. On sale. The fabric’s washable, by the way. The rug’s price was slashed too.”
“And Doug and Jesse put up the cubbies and the tack-room equipment gratis. Their graduation present to you,” Owen added.
Doug and Jesse were two of the builders who worked for Owen and his architectural firm, Gage & Associates. They’d helped Owen restore Hawk Hill, the house next door, where he and Jordan and the
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