Read Online Lucky Penny by Catherine Anderson - Free Book Online Page A

toadflax had sprouted up to line the walkways with spots of brightness, and field bindweed, sporting delicate pink flowers, formed knotted mats in between. The whole town looked shabby. David couldn’t help but draw comparisons to No Name, which was at least kept tidy and in good repair, with a layer of fresh paint slapped on all the buildings every summer.
    The hotel looked none too inviting. The letter E was missing from the sign that hung at an angle out front, and the windows looked too grimy to admit much light. David sighed. The beds probably weren’t much better. He hated lumpy mattresses. He could only hope that the sheets and linens were clean. Time to worry about that later, though. Clucking his tongue to Blue, he guided the gelding toward the livery, a dilapidated structure with weathered planksiding and a battered billboard above the stable doors that hung catawampus and flapped in the breeze.
    David dismounted out front, eyeing a rickety buckboard that sported a For Rent banner fluttering on the sidewalls. Gathering Blue’s reins, he started into the building only to find his path blocked by an elderly fellow in blue denim dungarees held up by purple suspenders that clashed with his bright red shirt.
    “Howdy, stranger,” he said. “How can I hep ya?”
    The man’s drawl told David he harkened from somewhere south of the Mason-Dixon Line. He rested a hand on Blue’s neck. “I need to put my stock up for the night.”
    The man nodded and spat a stream of tobacco juice before rocking back on his bootheels and hooking his thumbs under his suspender straps. A growth of grizzled whiskers lined his jaw. “I got three empty stalls, so ye’ve come to the right place.”
    David inclined his head. “Sounds good. I’ll see to their needs myself, if you don’t mind. My horse has been ridden a long stretch, and the mule has been carrying a load. I’d like to walk them and rub them down before they’re fed or watered.”
    “Happy to accommodate ya.” He smoothed a hand over his ruffled gray hair. “Got me a hitch in my get-along. Hip injury years back. Walkin’ a horse is a trial for me.”
    As the man turned to lead the way, David noted how he swung his right leg out to the side with every step. “Upkeep around here must be taxing for you.”
    “Don’t do much of it,” the proprietor called over his shoulder. “Hired me a young fellar for the heavy work. I run the place during the day, and he takes over at night. In exchange for muckin’ out stalls and handlin’ the rare customer after hours, he gets three squares, the use of a cot in the tack room, and a fair to middlin’ wage.”
    The stalls were better than David had dared to hope. Both were clean, with layers of fresh straw, and the feed troughs held no remnants of hay from prior feedings. No sign of mouse or rat droppings, either. He was equally glad to note that the water buckets had been upended instead of left to sit half filled with stagnant, slimy water.
    Despite the tumbledown condition of the building, David felt compelled to say, “You run a first-rate operation here.”
    “Love horses—mules, too, as far as that goes,” the older man replied. “Yer welcome to check the hay. Ya won’t find no mold or cheat grass. I only buy quality.”
    One devoted horseman recognized another. David knew he would find good fodder. “How much for a measure of oats for my friends? They deserve a treat.”
    “Oats are covered by the fee. Same goes for hay and fresh water.” The man gimped into the adjacent stall to take the load from Lucy’s back while David relieved Blue of the riding gear. The moment her pack was removed, Lucy buckled her front legs and rolled in the clean straw, grunting with pleasure. Glancing over the dividing wall, the livery owner said, “That is one
fine
-lookin’ blue roan, son. Never seen his like.”
    David chuckled. “His sire is a magnificent black, and I was aiming for a duplicate when I let him cover my blue