Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 123171 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123171 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
“Don’t swear.”
“You do.”
“I’m Mom. And Aunt Kim was a well-liked woman in Silver Ridge. She left us some big shoes to fill. You sure you’re up for it?”
“I am.” Everly gets a mug from the cabinet that has rainbow galloping horses on it. The last person to use that particular mug was Aunt Kim and it’s like a punch to the gut to see it. “I think it’ll be fun.”
“Yeah,” I agree, knowing it’s not going to be as fun as she thinks. Rewarding, yes, but rescue and rehabilitation is a marathon, not a sprint. I speak and as much as I hate to admit it, Jacob was right to say this is going to take an emotional toll on all of us. It’s going to take months to get some of our horses healthy enough to start training.
Which is yet another thing I need to look into. I’m a decent rider, but I’m not a trainer. I don’t know how to start a horse under saddle and the older I get, the less I want to get bucked off. Hopefully, I can find a decently priced trainer nearby who can help us…though we have no indoor arena to ride in and the only places outside to ride are currently muddy.
Anxiety from being overwhelmed starts to creep up on me. It always starts in my stomach, feeling like icy cramps that slowly make their way through the rest of my body, rising up and making my heart race, my throat tighten, and my thoughts race.
I know the horses will be in good hands.
Aunt Kim’s voice whispers in my ear again, and goosebumps break out along my skin. God, I hope she was right.
Chapter Nineteen
JOSIE
Groaning, I reach over and blindly feel for my phone. Or, at least, I try to. My arms are so tired from carrying box after box up from the basement. Since there’s no rain in the forecast for the next few days, we put everything on the porch for the time being. Mom was right to call most of the stuff trash, but it should be broken down and recycled if it can’t be donated.
Everly and I started out strong, separating the plastics into one section, glass into another, with paper going in a large cardboard box on the porch. But by ten PM, I was ready to just throw everything in the dumpster once it arrives.
Which is sometime today.
“Shush,” I tell my phone, stretching out. Riley is in bed with me, squishing me on this twin mattress. I finally hit snooze and lay back down, dreading the alarm going off again. Which it does, and I hit snooze again. And then again.
“Mom!” Everly throws my door open and the wonderful smell of coffee wafts up the stairs and into the tiny room.
“You are so much better than me in every way,” I grumble and force myself up. I sent Everly to bed around nine-thirty and stayed up another two hours carrying crap up. Then I got distracted with a box full of photos. I’m keeping them, that’s for sure. I didn’t get to bed until nearly two AM, and I regret it now. A nap would be wonderful, and I want so badly to crash back into bed once Ev is on the bus, but I have to go take care of the horses.
“I know.” Everly snatches my covers back.
“You’re lucky I didn’t sleep naked tonight.”
“Like I’ve never seen that,” she huffs and hurries out of the room. When I realize just how late it is, I jump out of bed, pulling on the same clothes I stripped out of last night. Raking my hair into a messy bun as I go down the narrow staircase, I head straight into the kitchen.
“Did you eat breakfast?” I ask.
“I had a granola bar. We’re low on food,” she says almost apologetically, and it occurs to me that I’ve never gone grocery shopping since I’ve been here in Silver Ridge.
“Right. I’ll go today. Do you have what you need for lunch?”
“Yeah. I might get the Mac and cheese today.”
“Really?” I stop mid-reach for the coffee pot.
“Heather said most of the food is locally sourced and a lot of the milk products come from Frankie Martinez’s family farm, so it’s not as bad for the environment as the commercial dairy industry.”
“That is very true. So, if I were to pick up some locally made cheese, you might eat some?”
“Maybe. Don’t buy it just for me, though. I’ve been researching no wasting food has a bigger environmental impact than making a new dish that’s me free. Food waste is terrible too.”
“You really are the better version of me.” I kiss the top of her head. “I love you, you know that, right?”
“You only tell me like five times a day.”
“Five times? That’s it? I need to up my game. I love you. I love you. I love you.”