“I’m staying,” I say and turn around. “Everly loves it here, and I do too.” I slowly inhale, trying not to panic. It’s a big undertaking and I’m not sure how to cover everything financially, but I’m going to make this work.
Chapter Fourteen
JACOB
“Hey, buddy,” I tell the gelding, whose name is now Pongo, Monday morning. After a somewhat quiet weekend, I’m refreshed and ready to tackle another busy workweek. Pongo softly nickers to me, picking his head up. I smile, happy to see how the horse is progressing. “We might be able to wean you down a bit on these treatments.” I’m holding a nebulizer, talking to Pongo as if he understands every word I say. I’ve always talked to animals like that and have always thought they understand more than we realize. Most people just don’t know how to listen.
I slip the nebulizer over his nose, going slow. He didn’t like the feel of it at first but after doing five treatments a day, he’s used to it by now. I start the treatment, petting his neck for a few minutes to keep him calm. I clean his wounds while the neb treatment finishes and then clean the abscess on the miniature horse—my other patient at the barn. It’s looking good but is healing slower than I’d like, so I go into his chart and make some minor changes to his feed routine.
“Hey, Jacob,” Crystal says, coming into the barn. She has an iPad tucked under her arm and is carrying two coffees. She hands me one. “How’s everyone doing?”
“As expected, but I’m adjusting Macaroni’s AM grain,” I tell her and then go over the horses’ charts. I have back-to-back surgeries today, so Crystal is going to oversee our equine patients’ care for the rest of the day.
“I’m still in shock about Kim,” she says, shaking her head and taking another sip of coffee.
“Kim? Kim Walker?” I echo and Crystal’s jaw drops.
“You didn’t hear?”
“Hear what?” My heart speeds up as I brace myself for whatever she’s going to say because I know it can’t be good.
“She died.” Crystal’s brows go up. “Saturday morning. There’s a rumor going around that she OD’d on purpose but that’s a horrible thing to go about saying, isn’t it? Though it’s also rumored she was a lot sicker than she let on. Cancer is a bitch, after all.” She shakes her head again. “I just can’t believe she’s gone.”
We’re standing in front of Pongo’s stall and now it makes sense why Kim didn’t call me for an update yesterday. It crossed my mind and I even thought it was odd, but Kim has always respected my time on days off, so it wasn’t that out of the question not to hear from her.
“I just saw her on Friday,” I say, voice void of emotion. “Who’s taking care of her animals?”
“Her niece. I also heard that Kim left her niece everything and she’s staying. Like permanently.”
My brows furrow. “I met her niece. She’s a nice kid, but she’s just that: a kid.” I’m not the best judge of age, but the niece, Everly, can’t be over sixteen.
Crystal tips her head, eyes narrowed. “Ohhh, you’re thinking of her great-niece. Right. She came with Kim to the clinic. That was Everly, and her mom, Josie is the one who inherited the farm. Apparently, she’s selling her house in Indy so she can stay here.”
“For someone who claims to hate gossip, you sure know everything about everyone.”
Crystal shrugs. “I hate partaking in gossip, but I like knowing what’s going on. And I overheard most of this while waiting for coffee this morning.”
“Does this Josie woman know anything about rescuing horses? The last bunch Kim brought home were in really rough shape.”
“That I don’t know, but that’s a good point. There are nine horses, two llamas, a cow, and like a dozen chickens on the farm. Plus, Riley and those cats.” Crystal makes a face. “That’s a lot to take care of, not to mention pay for.”
“Right,” I say, mind whirling. Kim’s property butts up against mine, and it could be mutually beneficial for me to buy it. The animals will be taken care of and I could use the space to expand, opening another barn that caters specifically to horses. Well, once I hire another vet or two to take over the small animal side of the practice, allowing me to focus solely on horses.
“Don’t feel bad about not knowing about Kim,” Crystal goes on. “I also heard it was Kim’s wishes not to have any sort of obituary or funeral. If my sister’s daughter wasn’t friends with Maria Talbet, I wouldn’t have known.”
“At least I can count on you to fill me in,” I only half-joke and pinch the bridge of my nose. “I suppose I should talk to the niece.”