“I’m getting by,” Aunt Kim says. “Can’t complain. This is my niece, Josie, and her daughter, Everly.”
“Hi,” Heather says brightly. “I’m Heather.” She turns, motioning for her daughter to get out of the truck. The girl is in the front seat with her hands crossed over her chest. Heather points at her, gesturing for her to come out. Now. It’s a look I recognize. A look only a mother can give their child: silently yelling at them to knock it the fuck off, get your shit together, and behave.
It’s a look I’ve given my own daughter a time or two.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I tell Heather right as her daughter gets out of the truck. She has to be the fifteen-year-old Aunt Kim told us about, and I instantly feel awkward. The fact that I’m only thirty with a fourteen-year-old suddenly sticks out like a sore thumb, though there’s a good chance I’m the only one who notices.
“And this is my daughter, Maria,” Heather goes on.
Maria gets out of the truck, slamming the door with a sour look on her face. She’s about to sass off to her mother—which is another look I’m all too familiar with—when she sees Everly.
“Hi,” my daughter says with a wave. “I’m Everly. We’re visiting from Indianapolis. Penny is your horse, right?”
“Hi, and yeah, she is,” Maria says back.
“She’s so pretty.”
Maria smiles. “Thanks. Do you have a horse?”
Everly shakes her head. “I wish. I’ve been taking lessons for a couple of years, though. I’m going to start riding Odin.”
Maria turns to her mom. “Can we ride on the trails?”
Heather’s eyes meet mine in question. “That’s fine with me if it’s fine with Everly’s mom. Though, I don’t know if Odin is ready for the trails yet.”
“Take Bailey. He’s been on those trails so many times he’ll walk through on his own,” Aunt Kim says to Everly, and the kid almost does a happy dance. Maria, clearly happy to have someone to ride with, rushes down, meeting Ev near the barn doors. I can’t help the smile that takes over my face as I see the girls talking, instantly getting along and bonding over their love of horses.
“How long are you in town?” Heather asks as she rakes her hair back into a low ponytail.
“I’m not sure,” I tell her honestly. “We kind of came here on a whim.” Shaking my head, I take a few steps in the direction of the barns. “My daughter was being bullied, the school wasn’t handling it, and I wanted to get her out as soon as possible. But now I’m second-guessing the whole situation because we’re so close to the end of the school year. It’s either enroll her in school here and start over or go back and finish what’s already been started.”
I’m about to apologize for rambling, but don’t get the chance. “What grade is she in?” Heather asks.
“She’s a freshman.”
“Oh, that’s a tough year regardless.”
“Right?”
“Well, Silver Ridge High is a great school, and I’m not just saying that because I’m the assistant principal. Though, I will admit I’m biased to say you should enroll her.”
“It’s not too late?”
“Not at all. I can help you get the ball rolling. We’ll have to get through some red tape since you don’t have a Silver Ridge address, though you technically are living here at the moment.”
“Oh, wow. Help would be much appreciated.” We step into the barn and Heather picks up a broom and turns to me.
“Looks like stalls are already cleaned. Want to tag-team dusting the rafters? I’ve been meaning to for months, but other projects keep getting in the way.”
I’m smiling once again. “Let’s do it.”
I hang up my towel on a hook on the back of the bathroom door, done with my second shower for the day, and the day is far from over. A storm is brewing, so we brought all the horses in early, not wanting to have to chase anyone across the fifteen acres of pasture in the rain. Everly offered to help Aunt Kim with dinner, and I’m going to run to the feed store, picking up several bags of horse feed as well as refilling a few supplements that I noticed were running low.
I get redressed in shorts and a tank top and pull my shoulder-length brown hair up into a ponytail. Everly is in the barn, and I go in to find her and tell her I’m leaving, and she should head in to start helping Aunt Kim with dinner.
“Okay,” Everly says and goes to Thor’s stall. The pony flattens his ears and turns away from her. “Hey, little dude.” She undoes the latch on his door and slides it open a few inches but doesn’t step inside. “You’re going to be my friend by the time we leave.”
“Just remember ponies are the OG creators of Little Man syndrome,” I say, swinging keys to Aunt Kim’s truck around my fingers.