Page 64 of The Wilder Widows

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

“Now, I want you ladies to take a few moments and just watch the horses.” Axel stood perched on the wooden split-rail fence surrounding the pasture. “A lot can be determined about you by the horse you choose... or maybe I should say the one that chooses you.” His bright white smile flickered in the sunlight, and my knees wobbled again.

“How do I know which one chooses me?” Doris asked, leaning on the fence beside him.

“You’ll know. And I have a hankering you’re going to get the best one out there.” His quick wink had Doris giggling again.

“Just make sure mine isn’t a nag.” Alice shielded her eyes from the sun while she looked out over the colorful herd of horses.

“There ain’t a nag in there,” Axel said. “Nothing but the finest ranch horses this side of the Mississippi. Of that, I can assure you.”

Madeline stepped up beside her brother. “The way this works is each of you gets a halter and lead rope. You’ll head out into the herd and find your horse. When you’ve found it, slip on the halter and lead it back over here. Then we’ll teach you how to tack up.”

I already spotted the one that was calling to me. A beautiful blood bay with four white socks and a long stripe down his face. He looked just like Pete, the gelding I learned to ride on when I took lessons as a kid.

“Can we go in there?” I asked, excited to get started.

“Have at it. Just watch out for the piles on the ground, and don’t walk behind ‘em.” Axel climbed off the fence and swung open the gate.

The widows and I marched inside, each going our separate way while we moved through the herd of grazing horses. A few lifted their heads and snorted at my presence, trotting away when they spotted my halter. But they weren’t the ones pulling me toward them. I continued moving through them until I reached the bay gelding at the back. Lifting his head, he looked at me, and I stopped.

“Hey, buddy,” I said, offering him my hand just like I’d been taught. “How are you doing today?” He stepped forward, pricking his ears at the sound of my voice. The lush grass bent beneath my gentle steps as I walked toward him, and he started toward me.

When we reached one another, I pressed a hand into his neck, closing my eyes while I inhaled his scent. A scent that had filled a large part of my childhood and one I hadn’t smelled in years.

“Hey, buddy,” I whispered into his mane. “You want to go for a ride with me?”

A soft snort was my answer, and I slid my lead rope around his neck to hold him steady while I slipped on the blue rope halter. After tying the knot and securing our bond, I stepped back and smiled. Warm brown eyes searched my face, and I remembered how I always felt a horse could see straight into my soul. The way he stared at me now did nothing to shake loose that belief.

“That one’s Whip!” Madeline called over the fence, and I turned toward her. “He’s a good one!”

I looked back at my horse. “Whip, huh? Let’s hope you aren’t too fast. It’s been a lot of years since I’ve ridden, so be careful with me, okay?”

Heaving a deep sigh, he tugged at the rope and went back to munching at my feet. Even the sound of his grazing flooded me with memories long since gone—memories of lying in the pasture with my schoolbooks beside Pete. Or summer days at horse camp with my girlfriends, giggling in the fields while we shared our crushes with one another as the horses grazed around us.

“Got one!” Marge cheered, and I turned to see her standing beside an older appaloosa holding her lead rope tight. His sparse mane and scraggly tail moved in the gentle breeze, and a long roman nose pushed against Marge while she grinned beside him.

“Appaloosas are notoriously stubborn!” I laughed and shouted to her.

“That’s Cochise, and he ain’t no exception!” Madeline cupped her hands to call over the increasing breeze.

“Well, so am I!” Marge patted him on the neck and started toward the gate. The stubborn gelding leaned back against her, digging his hooves into the grass while he pinned his ears in response. “Oh hell, come on. If I gotta go, you gotta go.”

Tugging harder on the lead rope, she leaned forward, and finally, one reluctant foot after another, Cochise followed.

“He’s stubborn,” Axel said. “But he knows his job. When we’re working the cattle, all you gotta do is sit tight, and he’ll handle the rest.”

Alice stepped out of the herd of horses with a beautiful white mare at her side. Not a speckle of color was present on the horse beside her dark brown eyes. “Look! It’s a clean one! And we match.” Grinning, Alice led the mare to the gate.

“You sure do have an eye for the fancy one,” Axel said. “That’s Lady, and she’s just that. She’s a bit fiery from time to time, but she’ll take good care of you.”

“Clean, fiery, and beautiful. A perfect match.” Alice smiled, and I saw her soften for a moment while she and the mare exchanged a look. As expected, Alice was all talk, and deep down, I knew she would enjoy this as much as me.

“Well, well, well.” Axel grinned and looked past us all. “I told you the best one of the bunch’d pick you!”

Doris beamed while she towed a small buckskin paint behind her. Gold and cream colors swirled around the horse’s body, the gold glistening in the bright sun. A long black mane and tail matching the black on her legs and face blew up in the wind. Doris indeed had picked a beautiful mare.

Axel stepped forward and met Doris as she approached the fence. “That one’s Norma. Such a beauty we named her after Marilyn Monroe.” He slid a hand along the mare’s long, muscular neck and then looked back over his shoulder at Doris. “It’s a no wonder she picked you. Beautiful women sticking together and all.”