positive sign.
Grace still found it baffling that there were men and women alike who would
come to ride horses wearing less-than-appropriate apparel, namely shoes. Daring
a look, Grace confirmed that the man was wearing sneakers. She smiled to
herself as she looked back up at him. “My name’s Grace Lambert. Welcome to Dead
Heat Ranch. Hopefully someone already told you that I’d be your guide for the
entire time you’re here, which, if I remember correctly, is two full weeks?”
“Yes!” Maddie exclaimed. “I get to be a cowgirl for
two whole weeks.”
Ben chuckled at his daughter before meeting Grace’s
eyes, his smile strengthening with each passing second. “Yes, we’re here for
two weeks.”
“Y’all are gonna have a great time. I promise. And
we’re gonna do a lot of fun stuff. Starting now. This mornin’, I’m here to show
Maddie the horses, maybe take y’all for a ride if you’d like.”
Maddie jumped up and down, clapping her hands. “Yes!
Yes! Yes!”
Ben chuckled, shoving his hands into his pockets and
once again directing his focus on Maddie. “She loves horses. I’ve promised her
we’d do this for a long time. So, here we are. Whatever you’re willing to teach
us, we’re your eager students.”
“Have you ever been on a horse, Maddie?” Grace
questioned.
“Nope! But I wanna ride one.”
Grace couldn’t help but share the little girl’s enthusiasm.
“So, I hear you wanted a tour of the barn?” Grace
asked, once again speaking to the little girl.
“I wanna see the horses,” Maddie corrected, her smile
like a ray of sunshine.
“Well, the horses aren’t actually in the barn.
We keep them in stables. And on this ranch, we have many horses, which means we
have a lot of stables. How about I show you the main barn first, then we’ll
head over there.” Grace pointed toward the largest stable on the property, the
one that they had recently relocated all of the family’s horses to. “That’s
where I keep my horse. His name’s Astro Boy.”
They had previously housed several of their personal
horses in the barn, but with the significant changes being made to the ranch in
recent weeks, they had decided to allocate the barn fully to housing things
other than the animals. Initially, Grace had refused to move Astro Boy, her
beloved five-year-old paint, but when Grant had informed her that they were
also upgrading the main stable, she’d relented to their demands.
“Are there any real cowboys here?” Maddie asked
as Grace started to amble toward the barn, the pair falling into step beside
her.
“ Real? Like the guys who wear boots and have
horses?” Grace teased, referring to Maddie’s definition of “real.”
Maddie nodded, bouncing as she walked.
“Last I checked, we have roughly forty, I think,”
Grace explained. “Everyone who works here also lives here.”
“I wanna live here!” Maddie exclaimed, making her
father chuckle. “We get to stay in a real cabin. It has walls and floors
that are made of wood and everything. I get to sleep in a bunk bed. On the top.
Oh, and I have a TV in my room! I don’t have a TV in my room at home. That’s
why I like this place. I can hear the horses and cows when I’m sitting on my
bed. Oh, but the stove is kinda weird.”
Grace laughed as she tried to keep up with Maddie. The
girl clearly wasn’t shy, that was for sure.
Each of the cabins that they reserved for the guests
was individually decorated to enhance the rustic appeal of the ranch. Somewhat
drastically, in Grace’s honest opinion. She knew there were working wood stoves
placed in several, which was probably what Maddie was referring to.
As the three of them made their way into the shadowy
interior of the barn, Grace explained what everything was, including the hay
and the various equipment that they had stored there. Maddie was full of
questions, continuing to pelt Grace with one after another, which she answered
quickly and efficiently.
This type of tour
Grace still found it baffling that there were men and women alike who would
come to ride horses wearing less-than-appropriate apparel, namely shoes. Daring
a look, Grace confirmed that the man was wearing sneakers. She smiled to
herself as she looked back up at him. “My name’s Grace Lambert. Welcome to Dead
Heat Ranch. Hopefully someone already told you that I’d be your guide for the
entire time you’re here, which, if I remember correctly, is two full weeks?”
“Yes!” Maddie exclaimed. “I get to be a cowgirl for
two whole weeks.”
Ben chuckled at his daughter before meeting Grace’s
eyes, his smile strengthening with each passing second. “Yes, we’re here for
two weeks.”
“Y’all are gonna have a great time. I promise. And
we’re gonna do a lot of fun stuff. Starting now. This mornin’, I’m here to show
Maddie the horses, maybe take y’all for a ride if you’d like.”
Maddie jumped up and down, clapping her hands. “Yes!
Yes! Yes!”
Ben chuckled, shoving his hands into his pockets and
once again directing his focus on Maddie. “She loves horses. I’ve promised her
we’d do this for a long time. So, here we are. Whatever you’re willing to teach
us, we’re your eager students.”
“Have you ever been on a horse, Maddie?” Grace
questioned.
“Nope! But I wanna ride one.”
Grace couldn’t help but share the little girl’s enthusiasm.
“So, I hear you wanted a tour of the barn?” Grace
asked, once again speaking to the little girl.
“I wanna see the horses,” Maddie corrected, her smile
like a ray of sunshine.
“Well, the horses aren’t actually in the barn.
We keep them in stables. And on this ranch, we have many horses, which means we
have a lot of stables. How about I show you the main barn first, then we’ll
head over there.” Grace pointed toward the largest stable on the property, the
one that they had recently relocated all of the family’s horses to. “That’s
where I keep my horse. His name’s Astro Boy.”
They had previously housed several of their personal
horses in the barn, but with the significant changes being made to the ranch in
recent weeks, they had decided to allocate the barn fully to housing things
other than the animals. Initially, Grace had refused to move Astro Boy, her
beloved five-year-old paint, but when Grant had informed her that they were
also upgrading the main stable, she’d relented to their demands.
“Are there any real cowboys here?” Maddie asked
as Grace started to amble toward the barn, the pair falling into step beside
her.
“ Real? Like the guys who wear boots and have
horses?” Grace teased, referring to Maddie’s definition of “real.”
Maddie nodded, bouncing as she walked.
“Last I checked, we have roughly forty, I think,”
Grace explained. “Everyone who works here also lives here.”
“I wanna live here!” Maddie exclaimed, making her
father chuckle. “We get to stay in a real cabin. It has walls and floors
that are made of wood and everything. I get to sleep in a bunk bed. On the top.
Oh, and I have a TV in my room! I don’t have a TV in my room at home. That’s
why I like this place. I can hear the horses and cows when I’m sitting on my
bed. Oh, but the stove is kinda weird.”
Grace laughed as she tried to keep up with Maddie. The
girl clearly wasn’t shy, that was for sure.
Each of the cabins that they reserved for the guests
was individually decorated to enhance the rustic appeal of the ranch. Somewhat
drastically, in Grace’s honest opinion. She knew there were working wood stoves
placed in several, which was probably what Maddie was referring to.
As the three of them made their way into the shadowy
interior of the barn, Grace explained what everything was, including the hay
and the various equipment that they had stored there. Maddie was full of
questions, continuing to pelt Grace with one after another, which she answered
quickly and efficiently.
This type of tour
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