Page 42 of Rootbound
“I left Tait directions to come here in case she wanted to join,” he says.
Duane continues to get redder, stuttering for a second before regaining composure. “Tait’s here?” he asks, more quietly than I would’ve guessed, judging by his face.
“Yes, she is. And you are to treat her to the warmest and kindest version of yourself, do you understand me? You owe us that, at least,” Charlie spits with surprising venom. Even more surprising is Duane’s downward look and nod, not putting up any fight in return.
At that moment, we all hear the truck coming up the driveway. Something somersaults in my chest.
“Well, at least she knows how to show up on time. Early, in fact,” Duane says in my direction. I roll my eyes. I was on time after the morning chores, but he just enjoys lashing out at me.
I inhale deeply through my nose and step out the front door behind James, who is practically running to greet her. He picks her up in a hug and shakes her back and forth a few times before setting her back down. Grady’s lack of boundaries may not come from Charlie, but clearly they stem from somewhere in the Logan bloodline.
“Holy shit. Look at you, kiddo. The last time I saw you, your teeth were as big as your eyes and pointed in different directions!” They both laugh, and James turns to me and says, “Her teeth, not her eyes.”
I can feel her looking my way from behind her sunglasses, so I nod in her direction. Duane shoulder checks me as he passes.
“Tait. Look at you, all grown up. What brings you hereafter all these years? Is your sister joining you?” he says, putting unnecessary emphasis on the “all these years.”
She picks up on it, her body language stiffening. I’m not surprised by the sass in her tone when she responds, “Well, I’m here to take some photos, Duane. I was hired. And uh, no, Ava isn’t joining me.” She frowns.
“Hired by who?” Duane asks quietly, more to himself than anyone else. Charlie shoots him one of his death glares, so he doesn’t press.
James laughs and throws his arm around her again. “Looks like we don’t need an extra body after all, Duane. You’re off the hook.”
He rolls his eyes. “Perfect. I’ve got a shitload of actual work to take care of anyway. Someone has to. Tait, it’s lovely to see you. I’m sure we’ll all get together soon.” He turns and takes his leave.
“You can ride with me in the rig!” James says, looking down fondly at her. Charlie and I simultaneously reply “NO.”
“What? Why not?” James whines.
“Because you’ve flipped that thing three times. You’re on your own. We are all going to stay on horseback,” Charlie states.
“Fine. Let her at least ride with me in the truck down the road so we can all catch up with her a bit?”
“She’s here for six weeks, James,” I say when I see that Tait’s face has gone from happy to nervous in an instant.
“That okay?” Charlie asks her.
“Yeah, I just—haven’t ridden a horse since I was a kid. I love them and everything, but I’d imagine this kind of ride requires some speed and skill in that aspect.” She toes a pebble with her boot.
“Ah… I didn’t think about that,” Charlie says, and proceeds to do the same thing.
I see these two are going to need a little coaxing, so, mentally setting aside the irony in it beingmeto do it, I offer up a suggestion…
“Charlie, why don’t you take her in the rig, and James and I will keep up on the horses? There’s an extra helmet and a headset in the trailer. That’ll be better for taking pictures, anyways.”
Tait and Charlie both nod emphatically, as if relieved. I load up the truck hauling the horse trailer while James follows with the toy trailer.
“What’s the need for driving these horses out of the valley, exactly? Wouldn’t they typically avoid groups of people, anyway?” Tait asks when we’re all in the truck, quickly avoiding any awkward silence.
“It’s less to do with the show and being concerned about them, and more for the horses’ sakes, actually,” says Charlie. “It’s a small enough herd that we’ve grown somewhat accustomed to them, but you still have to encourage them to rotate areas before they decimate one in particular, plus it’s just better conditions for winter. Eventually, we’ll have to push them onto government land where they’ll most likely be driven to auction, but I haven’t felt the need to yet.”
“Auction for what?” she asks, concerned.
“Just for pets, really. The ones that aren’t bought usually end up in a comfortable sanctuary, with plenty of hay and shelter. Nothing sinister happens to them. Actually, horses that would have otherwise died because of the state they were in often get savedthat way. And we—by ‘we’ I mean LeighAnn—end up with the rest.”
“I had no idea that was even a thing, still. Or that there were still herds of wild horses out there—anywhere.”
“Yeah. In a lot of places, even in California, they get large enough that they’ll use helicopters to drive them out.”