Sapphire: New Horizons (10 page)

E
mily cringed and turned toward her aunt, who was standing right behind her. “Uncle Rick asked me to put him away for Meredith. He needed her help.”

Her aunt gave her an aggravated look. “Emily, it doesn't matter. You knew my rules, and it was your responsibility to adhere to them. You could have found someone else to take Sapphire or helped Uncle Rick yourself.”

Emily bit her lip, realizing her aunt was right. She hadn't even thought of it. She had no defense, and stared at her cast, unable to meet her aunt's stern look.

“One more time, Emily, and I'm taking him out of here.”

She jerked her gaze to her aunt's face. “What do you mean?”

Her aunt pointed behind, and Emily turned around in time to see Sapphire slide the bolt open with his teeth. “Sapphire!” She ran over to the door and slid the lock shut all the way, making sure it was latched, patting his nose when he lifted his lip in protest of being thwarted.

“Because of things like that,” her aunt said. “He would have gotten out again because you weren't careful enough shutting the door. If he gets seriously injured before I can sell him, the farm's in trouble. I already have an offer from Black Dog Farms, a barn in California who buys a lot of my horses.”

Emily's stomach dropped. “California?”

“Yes. I showed him to them when they picked up a horse a couple weeks ago. They made me a nice offer that's probably a little more than he's worth today, though I was hoping for more by the time I'm finished training him. I'm seriously thinking about taking the offer, and having to worry about you getting him injured just adds to my concerns. If I can't trust you to keep your hands off him, then it makes sense to sell him before he can get hurt. They're going to be here on Friday to drop off a horse for training, and I'll
make a decision by then.” She held up her finger. “One more incident with him, Emily, and you'll have made my decision for me.”

Then she turned and walked away.

Emily stared after her, her mouth open in shock. “But—”

But her aunt was already gone.

A heavy hand came down on her shoulder, and she looked up to see her dad. “Did you hear that?”

“I did.”

He turned Emily and started walking her out of the barn in the other direction. “Aunt Debby's stressed about money right now and she's trying her best to make the right decisions for the barn.”

“Why is she holding me responsible?”

“She isn't. She's just trying to find a way to make the right decision.” Her dad paused at the ladder to the loft. “Come on up.”

Emily frowned, but climbed the ladder, brushing aside hay bits as she climbed into the loft where some of the hay was stored. She took a deep breath while her dad followed her up, inhaling the scent of fresh, green hay. Bales were stacked to the ceiling, and stray clumps of hay dusted the wooden floor. It was hot and stuffy, but in a wonderful way, because the odor of freshly cut
hay permeated the entire area.

Her dad motioned her to the big doors used for loading hay from the giant trucks, hauled them open, and then sat down in the doorway, hanging his feet over the edge. He patted the floor next to him, and Emily braced herself on his shoulder while she eased herself down, trying not to fall out the window by tripping on her cast.

When she was finally sitting next to him, her dad motioned outside. “Gorgeous view, isn't it?”

She gazed out and realized it was. There were fields and trees as far as she could see, rolling hills, everything a lush green. She could see the paddocks off in the distance and black and white specks that were horses roaming around munching on the grass. There was even a mountain in the horizon, with a snow-covered top. It was truly magical.

“Aunt Debby's afraid she's going to lose this place. You can see why that would upset her.”

Emily nodded, her heart tightening at the thought. She heard the thud of hooves, and she looked down and to her right. Alison was riding Moondance over some jumps, her aunt giving her instruction. The jumps were at least three feet high, and Moondance was leaping over them with ease.

She sighed with envy, wanting to be able to do that, too.

“Debby's right.”

She glanced at her dad. “Right about what?”

“Grandpa was more concerned with saving horses than running a business. The farm's in bad shape. They really might lose it, especially now that all these other horses are here. They've had to hire some temporary help to get all the chores done, and that costs money, too.”

Emily swung her feet, watching the bits of hay drop off her cast. “What would happen to all the horses if they lost the farm?”

“We don't know.”

“Oh.” She bit her lower lip. “Jaws and Precious need us right now.”

He smiled. “I know they do, hon. Can you understand now why Aunt Debby's coming down so hard on you? She's a great person, and she's trying her best to sort out this mess. I'm helping, but it's not that easy.”

Emily shrugged. “I guess. But it's not my fault.”

“No, it's not.” Her dad started swinging his feet as well, and she stared at the big boots he was wearing, so unlike the polished dress shoes she was used to seeing him in. “She loves you, Em. I just thought you should know that.”

She looked at her dad. “Do you think she should sell Sapphire to those people this week?”

“I'm still deciding. I have some decisions to make.”

“We can't buy him?”

“No, not today.”

She sighed. “So, what, then? How do I keep her from selling him?”

“Try not to increase her stress.” He smiled. “I know that's difficult for you, but give it a try.”

She nodded. “I guess I can do that.”

He put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her. “I knew you could.”

She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder while she stared out at the vast fields. “Dad?”

“Mmm?”

“Caitlyn says Aunt Debby wants us to stay here forever. Is that true?”

He didn't say anything for a long minute, then he turned his head slightly. “Why? Do you want to stay?”

She chewed her lower lip. “I don't know. I hadn't really thought about it. I was just curious. Do you?”

“Sometimes. I forgot how much I loved being here until I came back.”

She peered up at him. “You're a totally different person. Riding horses, shoeing them, wearing jeans
and boots. Why didn't you ever tell me?” She touched his face where she could see whiskers. They prickled under her touch. “You don't even shave when you're here. You look like a cowboy or something. I feel like I don't even know you. How could you keep all those secrets from me?”

He rubbed his jaw for a moment while he thought about his answer. Finally, he said, “When your mom and I left town, I wanted to earn lots of money and live an exciting life. I was tired of the farm scene, and a little embarrassed by my background.”

“Embarrassed?” It was difficult to imagine her dad embarrassed about anything. He was always confident, so much so that sometimes she'd even wondered if he'd understand her feeling uncomfortable about things like not belonging at the barn. “Really?”

“Really.” He looked at her. “And then when your mom died, the farm reminded me of her, and I didn't want to remember. So I left it behind.” He sighed. “Now that I'm back, I really regret shutting it out for ten years like I did, and I regret not making you a part of it.”

“Oh.”

He picked up a piece of hay and stuck it in between his teeth. “But now that I'm back, I realize it was a great
place to grow up, and I was sort of thinking it might be good for you, too.”

She caught her breath. “You're seriously thinking about staying?”

“Not forever, but for a while. Maybe. I haven't made any decisions. It would be a team decision for both of us. Our plane tickets are transferable, and now that everything is in such an uproar with Trooper's friends, I feel like we should stay a little longer and help out. Is that okay with you?”

“I don't know.” She bit her lip. “I have all my friends and Rhapsody….” But here she had Sapphire and Meredith, and she was starting to feel more comfortable with her relatives. And here she had a barn full of horses that needed her. It would be months before Trooper's friends wouldn't need extra help.

He patted her knee. “It's too soon for a major decision. We'll plan on staying a few extra days, and then see how we feel. I can easily keep up with my company from here. Okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” She copied her dad and stuck a piece of hay between her teeth.

“And in the meantime, try not to add to Aunt Debby's stress.”

She grinned. “I can try. I'm not always that good at stuff like that.”

He laughed and hugged her to his side. “Oh, I know. That's one of the things I love about you, Em. Aunt Debby will get used to you, I promise. Let's just break her in gently, okay?”

She saluted him. “I'll do my best.”

They sat in the loft, watching the sun until it set. The reds and oranges were breathtaking, the way they turned the trees orange and lit up the sky as the sun sank below the hills. It was truly the most amazing sight she'd ever seen.

And she almost managed not to think about how much more amazing it would be if she was out in the hills riding Sapphire when she was watching it.

Almost.

E
mily was late to dinner that night because she had to finish brushing Precious. Her coat was getting softer from all the attention Emily was giving it, and it was turning into a pretty light-chestnut color. She was the sweetest horse, but she looked so miserable being so fat and so skinny at the same time that Emily had spent extra time with her.

By the time Emily slid into her seat at the dinner table, everyone else was half done eating. She'd hobbled as fast as she could all the way from Precious's stall when she'd noticed the time, but she was way late.

Her dad rolled his eyes at her. “You couldn't make it on time once this week?”

Emily grinned as she picked up her fork and plunged it into the meat loaf, knowing her dad wasn't actually mad. “Lost track of time. I was brushing Precious.” She glanced around at the table, giving Alison a shy smile. “Hi.”

Alison nodded. “Hey, yourself.”

Caitlyn tugged at Emily's arm. “You have dirt on your face. Mom doesn't like it when we come to the table dirty.”

“Oh. Sorry.” Emily rubbed her napkin over her face in embarrassment. “I'll wash up next time.”

Kyle ignored Emily entirely, instead pointing his fork at the window behind her. “Max is here.”

Emily turned around to see Max, the old gray horse, had stuck his head in the kitchen window and was watching the table with pricked ears, a hopeful expression on his face. She stared in surprise. “Max comes to dinner?”

Aunt Debby got kind of a sad look on her face. “Pa always fed him from his plate.”

“I'll do it!” Caitlyn jumped up, grabbed her salad plate off the table, and ran to the window and held it up for him. Max immediately started picking the greens off her plate with his upper lip.

“Don't let him eat the plate,” Uncle Rick warned.

“He never eats the plate!” Caitlyn set the plate on top of her head while Max cleaned it off.

Aunt Debby cleared her throat, ignoring Max. “Emily, I know this has been a crazy week, so dinners haven't been consistent, but at the farm we value the together time at dinner. Sometimes it's the only chance we all get to be together, so I would appreciate if you'd make an effort to get here on time.”

“Sorry. I'm not used to family dinners.” She ducked her head and stared at her plate as she shoved in meat loaf, feeling her cheeks heat up. It had been just her and her dad her whole life, and they ate when they felt like eating. No one set a time for dinner, and her dad would never care if she was late. “I didn't realize it was a big deal.”

“Deb, it's not Emily's fault. She's not used to it,” her dad said, and Emily shot him a look of appreciation.

“All done!” Caitlyn announced as she marched back to the table and set down her empty plate, looking quite pleased with herself. She picked up her plate with the meat loaf and started to head back to the window.

“Caitlyn.” Uncle Rick stopped her. “He doesn't need your meat loaf.”

Caitlyn frowned. “He's probably still hungry. I'd already eaten half my salad.”

“Not for meat loaf. Sit down and finish your dinner. You can give him more vegetables after you eat.”

“But—”

“Horses don't eat meat loaf.”

“How do you know? Have you ever asked them if they wanted any?” She turned and faced Max. “Do you like meat loaf?”

Max stretched his head out toward the plate and Caitlyn beamed. “See? He does.”

“Caitlyn!” Uncle Rick jumped out of his chair and grabbed the plate out of her hand just as Max was about to chomp down on the meat loaf.

“Scott, you should have told Emily about being on time to dinner,” Aunt Debby snapped, jerking Emily's attention back to the table. “You know the rules on the farm. Just because you've been gone for ten years doesn't mean everything has changed.”

Uncle Rick put Caitlyn's plate back on the table. “Debby. What's wrong?” He was wearing an old gray T-shirt, and he looked as tired as everyone else at the table did.

Aunt Debby sat back and sighed. “I got a call today that someone bought the horses from Trooper's barn. All of them. We're going to lose them.”

“What?” Emily sat up. “But Precious needs me!
What if her new owner doesn't take care of her like I do?”

Her dad cleared his throat. “I bought them.”

The table fell into total silence as everyone turned to look at him. “What did you say?” Aunt Debby asked.

He looked around the table. “I took a call today from Linda, the police chief. She said that the owner was going to fight the charges, and she was getting pressure to give the horses back to him.” He shrugged. “So I visited the owner and convinced him to sell all the horses to me for a good price. They're ours now.”

Emily stared at her dad. “You bought forty horses instead of Sapphire?”

He nodded. “I did.”

“Scott.” Aunt Debby sighed. “You didn't need to do that. I owe you so much money now.” She looked exhausted.

“No, you don't.” Her dad picked up his glass of water. “I bought them for myself. I own them. You owe me nothing. It doesn't help with the cost of running the barn, but I couldn't sit back and watch you spend all this money on the horses when you might not be able to sell them and recoup your loss. Now they're an investment.”

Aunt Debby narrowed her eyes. “Running Horse
Ridge isn't about making money.”

“Which is why you're in danger of losing it.” Emily's dad leaned forward. “I own half this place, now I own half the horses here straight out, and I'm spending my money on keeping it going. Therefore, I'm going to see that it starts to make a profit.” His face softened. “Would it really be so bad if you didn't have to worry about money anymore?”

Aunt Debby sighed and shook her head. “No, it wouldn't.” She finally smiled. “Thanks.”

Max snorted loudly, and they all laughed. “He says thanks, too,” Caitlyn said, giggling.

Emily was just relieved that Aunt Debby was smiling again. Surely, Sapphire would be safe now, right?