Read Online Love Somebody Like You by Susan Fox - Free Book Online Page B

would never slaughter them. She had named them, of course. Now she murmured greetings and stroked feathers as she filled waterers and feed cans and collected eggs. The birds clucked and chirped, keeping up their end of the conversation. She netted six eggs, which she cleaned with a sanding sponge and placed in an old basket. They looked so pretty: medium brown, light brown, and a pale pinkish egg from Lucille, one of the Barred Rocks. Sally would give them to Ben. Eggs had become a staple of her diet—cholesterol be damned—but now that Corrie wasn’t around, Sally accumulated more than she could eat. “Thanks, ladies,” she said as she left.
    Walking toward the trailer, she saw that Ben and his chair were gone. Tentatively, she went to the door and called, “Hello?”
    No response. Probably he’d gone to check on Chauncey’s Pride. After putting the egg basket on his doorstep, she turned toward the paddock. As she passed the barn door, whistling came from inside: “King of the Road,” an oldie. She went inside. “Ben?”
    â€œHey there.” He stuck his head out of the door of her office.
    â€œI thought you’d be checking on your horse.”
    â€œDid that before breakfast. I was taking a look at your schedule.”
    She kept a printout tacked on the wall by the desk.
    â€œThose two horses you brought in last night are boarders, right?” he asked.
    â€œYes, their owners are coming for early rides.”
    â€œDo we need to get their horses ready, or do they do it themselves?”
    â€œI need to do these two. Their owners come out before work and want to maximize their riding time. But you don’t have to—”
    â€œI can help with grooming, and muck out stalls.”
    She frowned skeptically. “You can’t wield a pitchfork or a shovel with one hand.”
    â€œBet I can. Though not at a blinding pace.”
    Wait a minute. Why was she having this conversation? She was supposed to send him on his way. “Ben, I put a basket of eggs on the doorstep of your rig. You should—” She intended to say that he should put the eggs in his fridge, load up his horse, and head away.
    But he cut her off, with a smile and a “Much obliged.” Striding toward the barn door, he said, “I’ll put those away and be right back.” And he was gone, leaving her with her mouth open.
    If she really wanted him to leave, she should run after him and set him straight. So what did it mean that she instead took Rambler out of the stall where he’d spent the night, tied him in cross ties, and began to groom him? And that, when Ben came back, she let him take over the grooming while she went to get Rambler’s tack?
    As she saddled the horse, Ben got a wheelbarrow and a pitchfork, and stepped into the stall Rambler’d been in. “The other boarder’s the dapple gray you brought in?”
    â€œRight.”
    â€œWhat about the bay gelding? He’s been in a stall since I got here.” Ben’s voice, along with the sounds of a pitchfork being wielded, came from the open stall.
    â€œCampion’s mine. He had a hoof abscess. It’s been drained, the vet filled the hole with hoof putty, and the farrier will be out day after tomorrow to replace the shoe.” Sally finished putting Rambler’s bridle on. “There you go, pretty boy. You’re all ready for a nice morning ride.” She took him out to the yard and tied his reins to a hitching rail.
    Returning, she saw that Ben had mucked out the stall and was laying down fresh straw. She took Smoke Signals, the dapple gray, out of her stall and into the cross ties, and got to work.
    As she and Ben went about their tasks, they chatted back and forth, with him asking her about the horses and her schedule at Ryland Riding. It was companionable. Kind of like when she’d worked with Corrie, but different because Ben was a man. Because Ben was