Innocence

“I can be her friend.”

Standing, I noticed Sydney watching me with a sweet expression. “I’m Sydney. It’s nice to meet you, London. I appreciate you helping out my parents.”

“Thanks. I’m excited to be here and have a new friend.” I ruffled the hair on Ty’s head which caused him to look up at me with a huge grin.

Pam came up beside us. “Ty, why don’t you get your muck boots real quick so you can go with London and Grampa to the stable?”

Like the wind, Ty took off racing and calling over his shoulder, “I’ll be right back, London. Don’t move.”

Touching my shoulder, Pam brought my attention back to her. “Jaxson was thrown from a horse a couple of weeks ago. Ty saw it. He refuses to ride now.”

That explained the fear in Ty’s eyes. “No problem. Was Jaxson hurt?”

“Not really. A little banged up. It looked worse than it was, but scared the hell out of us.”

The front door slammed open. “I’m back! Let’s go!”

Ty pulled my arm; I lurched forward.

Over my shoulder, I spoke loudly. “It was nice meeting you. Have a great trip, Sydney.”

She waved and laughed. “We’ll catch up when I get back.”

Levi chuckled. “Calm down, Ty. You’ll pull her arm out of the socket.”

Ty looked back at me, eyeing my shoulder. “It’s still attached, Grampa. Don’t worry. We don’t need no first aid yet.”

Yet. A small giggle escaped me. This boy would keep me busy and I loved it. The barn was about a five-minute walk from the house. I enjoyed the feel of the gravel crunching under my feet. It made me think of home and the walk to our barn. Ty babbled excitedly while I only got a few words in here and there. Levi didn’t have a chance to sa

y anything.

As the barn came into view, Levi pointed to a larger building off in the distance. The rock cedar-theme from the homestead was replicated on this edifice also. Levi answered one of my internal questions about the large arena-type building behind the stables. “That is where we have events such as the McCole Classic. You saw the barn yesterday. Ty and I will show you the rehab center attached to the side of the stables, as well as the running arena.”

“Perfect. Is there anything I need to do today?”

Levi thought for a moment. “We’ll wait until Jaxson gets back tomorrow. He’s due in early afternoon. From there, we’ll figure things out. We have a general idea on the schedule, but need to fine tune it since you’re helping out with Ty.”

Ty grabbed my hand. “That means we get to play all day since Grampa said no chores. Are you excited?”

“No chores for London, but Ty, you still have yours.”

His small shoulders slumped. “Oh, man.”

I knelt down. “How about we do them together today? You help me take care of Sparkles and I’ll help you.”

“Deal.”

Shaking on it, we solidified the arrangement.

We headed to the stalls where Sparkles stayed the night. Instantly she perked upon hearing our approach. “Hey, girl. I have a new friend for you to meet.”

Shaking her head it came over the stall door. “Sparkles, this is Ty. Ty, this is Sparkles.”

Hands grabbed the sides of my legs. “Why is her name Sparkles?”

“Because, when I picked her up she was in a field that looked like it was sparkling as the sun hit the morning dew.”

Ty looked at me as if I was crazy and then asked, “Does she buck?” There was trepidation in his voice.