“How’s it going?”
“Tate!” Stevie exclaimed. “We’re so glad you’re here. We need your help. Max asked us to mix grain this week, and usually Lisa helps us, but she’s not here today. We could really use an extra set of hands. How about it?”
Tate looked a little surprised, but he shrugged agreeably. “Boy, Max really is a slave driver, isn’t he?” he said with a laugh. “Sure, I’ll help you out.”
Carole gave Calypso one last pat, then followed as the others headed down the aisle toward the feed shed. After a moment, Stevie dropped back and gave her a conspiratorial wink.
“What do you think?” she whispered. “This will give you some quality time to get to know each other. Especially if I have to step out for a while to go to the bathroom …”
“Don’t!” Carole whispered back, her eyes widening.
Stevie just grinned, winked again, and hurried forward after Tate.
“… A ND THEN THERE ’ S wood shavings,” Tate said happily, leaning back against a large sack of alfalfa pellets. “They’re easy to find, and mucking out isn’t a problem as long as you have a scoop and a shavings fork. They’re comfortable, too, and most horses won’t try to eat them. However, it’s best to avoid oak shavings. There’s tannic acid in oak, and that can be damaging to a horse’s hooves. Then there’s sawdust.…”
Carole sighed and scooped out another batch of bran to add to the mix she and Stevie were working on. Tate had been going on and on about stalls and bedding for what seemed like forever. Carole hadn’t thought she could ever get tired of hearing about horses, but now she was beginning to wonder.
She was also beginning to wonder about Tate. Didn’t he notice that neither she nor Stevie had spoken for at least ten minutes? Didn’t he care? Or did he care more about showing off what he knew than talking to them? It also hadn’t escaped Carole’s notice that Tate wasn’t helping much with the grains. Still, that might have been partly Stevie’s fault. She had insisted on making Tate sit on a stack of empty burlap bags next to Carole, where he couldn’t reach any of the ingredients except the barley. Since Max’s feed mix didn’t use much barley, Tate didn’t have much to do.
“What’s going on in here?” an unpleasant voice demanded.
Carole was startled out of her thoughts. She looked up and saw Veronica standing in the doorway of the grain shed, her hands on her hips and a suspicious expression on her face.
Tate grinned at her. “Hey, Veronica,” he said. “How’s it going?”
Veronica’s expression quickly changed to a big smile. “Hello, Tate,” she cooed. “I didn’t know you were in here.”
Yeah, right
, Carole thought with disgust. She was sure that Veronica had known exactly where Tate was. Otherwise, why would she have bothered to come out to the grain shed?
Stevie seemed to be thinking the same thing. “Thanks for offering to help us, Veronica,” she said sarcastically. “Luckily we’ve got everything under control. Oh, and I heard Max calling you a few minutes ago. You’d better go see what he wants.”
Veronica shot her a poisonous glance. “That’s okay, Stevie,” she said smoothly. “I just talked to him. He asked me to supervise what you’re doing in here.”
Stevie glowered at her, and Carole bit back a laugh. She knew as well as Stevie did that there was no way Max would have asked any such thing.
Tate didn’t seem suspicious at all. “Cool,” he said, scooting over to make room for Veronica next to him.“We were just talking about stable management and stuff.”
“Oh, really?” Veronica sat down and then moved a couple of inches closer to Tate. She smiled at him and batted her eyelashes. “It figures. These two never want to talk about anything but horses, horses, horses. But I’d much rather hear more about you.”
“Oh, really?” Tate smiled back at her. Without seeming to realize what he was doing, he reached
“Tate!” Stevie exclaimed. “We’re so glad you’re here. We need your help. Max asked us to mix grain this week, and usually Lisa helps us, but she’s not here today. We could really use an extra set of hands. How about it?”
Tate looked a little surprised, but he shrugged agreeably. “Boy, Max really is a slave driver, isn’t he?” he said with a laugh. “Sure, I’ll help you out.”
Carole gave Calypso one last pat, then followed as the others headed down the aisle toward the feed shed. After a moment, Stevie dropped back and gave her a conspiratorial wink.
“What do you think?” she whispered. “This will give you some quality time to get to know each other. Especially if I have to step out for a while to go to the bathroom …”
“Don’t!” Carole whispered back, her eyes widening.
Stevie just grinned, winked again, and hurried forward after Tate.
“… A ND THEN THERE ’ S wood shavings,” Tate said happily, leaning back against a large sack of alfalfa pellets. “They’re easy to find, and mucking out isn’t a problem as long as you have a scoop and a shavings fork. They’re comfortable, too, and most horses won’t try to eat them. However, it’s best to avoid oak shavings. There’s tannic acid in oak, and that can be damaging to a horse’s hooves. Then there’s sawdust.…”
Carole sighed and scooped out another batch of bran to add to the mix she and Stevie were working on. Tate had been going on and on about stalls and bedding for what seemed like forever. Carole hadn’t thought she could ever get tired of hearing about horses, but now she was beginning to wonder.
She was also beginning to wonder about Tate. Didn’t he notice that neither she nor Stevie had spoken for at least ten minutes? Didn’t he care? Or did he care more about showing off what he knew than talking to them? It also hadn’t escaped Carole’s notice that Tate wasn’t helping much with the grains. Still, that might have been partly Stevie’s fault. She had insisted on making Tate sit on a stack of empty burlap bags next to Carole, where he couldn’t reach any of the ingredients except the barley. Since Max’s feed mix didn’t use much barley, Tate didn’t have much to do.
“What’s going on in here?” an unpleasant voice demanded.
Carole was startled out of her thoughts. She looked up and saw Veronica standing in the doorway of the grain shed, her hands on her hips and a suspicious expression on her face.
Tate grinned at her. “Hey, Veronica,” he said. “How’s it going?”
Veronica’s expression quickly changed to a big smile. “Hello, Tate,” she cooed. “I didn’t know you were in here.”
Yeah, right
, Carole thought with disgust. She was sure that Veronica had known exactly where Tate was. Otherwise, why would she have bothered to come out to the grain shed?
Stevie seemed to be thinking the same thing. “Thanks for offering to help us, Veronica,” she said sarcastically. “Luckily we’ve got everything under control. Oh, and I heard Max calling you a few minutes ago. You’d better go see what he wants.”
Veronica shot her a poisonous glance. “That’s okay, Stevie,” she said smoothly. “I just talked to him. He asked me to supervise what you’re doing in here.”
Stevie glowered at her, and Carole bit back a laugh. She knew as well as Stevie did that there was no way Max would have asked any such thing.
Tate didn’t seem suspicious at all. “Cool,” he said, scooting over to make room for Veronica next to him.“We were just talking about stable management and stuff.”
“Oh, really?” Veronica sat down and then moved a couple of inches closer to Tate. She smiled at him and batted her eyelashes. “It figures. These two never want to talk about anything but horses, horses, horses. But I’d much rather hear more about you.”
“Oh, really?” Tate smiled back at her. Without seeming to realize what he was doing, he reached
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