Page 9 of Mistletoe Cowboy

“Why isn’t he in jail?” she asked angrily.

“Because his people are rich and they protect him,” he said flatly, and with some anger. “If I get called to testify, they’re going to get an earful from me!”

“Good for you,” she said.

“You need to get the farrier out here before those hooves get any worse,” he said.

“I’ll call him today.”

He smiled. “I’m glad you and Teddie decided to come and live here. Benton’s a nice place to raise a child. I raised three, with my late wife. I miss her every day.”

Katy took a breath. “I miss my husband. He was a good man.”

“Life goes on,” he said. “It has to. Have a good day.”

“You, too. And thanks for coming out.”

“No problem.”

She watched him drive off and called the farrier. He agreed to come right out and check the poor horse’s hooves after Katy had described the state they were in.

He cleaned them and replaced the shoes with new nails. “Hell of a condition for a horse to get in,” he said.

“Yes, it is. They’re prosecuting the former owner.”

“I know him. Bad man. Really bad. I hope they’ll get farther than they did with the last case they tried against him.”

“Me, too.” She watched him put in the last nail. “Do you know a man named Parker who works for J.L. Denton?”

“Parker.” He rolled his eyes. “He’s fine as long as he’s not within earshot,” he added on a chuckle. “J.L. has to keep women away from him.”

“Why?” she asked, with some shock.

“His mouth,” he replied. “Nobody cusses like Parker.”

“But he caught Bartholomew–that’s the name of the horse you’re working on–and promised to help my daughter learn how to take care of him.”

“Nobody knows more about horses than Parker,” he agreed. “He likes kids. But he’s hell on women. Tried to date a couple of local girls and when they got a whiff of his language, they ran for the hills.”

“But he never used a bad word,” Katy continued, trying to explain.

The farrier looked at her with total shock. “We talking about the same Parker? Big guy, long black hair, breaks horses for Denton?”

“Well, yes.”

He caught his breath. “That’s one for the books, then.”

Teddie laughed softly. “Well, apparently my daughter has a good effect on him.”

“I would say so.” He finished his work, accepted a check for it, and said his good-byes after giving Katy instructions about keeping the horse in the stable for a few days until the worst of the damage healed. She didn’t mention that the vet had told her the same thing.

“How is he?” Teddie asked when her mother came into the house.

“He’ll be fine,” she assured the girl. “He just needs to rest for a few days while he’s healing. By Saturday,” she added with a smile, “he should be ready for Horses 101.”

Teddie laughed. “That’s a good one, Mom. Horses 101.”

“Well, let’s get supper going. Then we need an early night. School tomorrow, for both of us.”