Page 37 of Maple Mountain
“Hey, sugar,” Muddy greeted her.
“Hi.”Lenni beamed.
“She wants to show me a horse hoof,” I explained with a laugh.“Archer let her help shoe one.”
“Go,” Muddy said.“I’ll finish the lasagna.”
I let Lenni drag me out of the house.“Did you know a farrier shop is called a forge?”
Lenni didn’t wait for my reply as she kept up a steady stream of excited chatter.And I couldn’t be happier that she’d found something to connect with her father over.
We arrived at Archer’s workstation in the barn.
Son of a bitch.
He was wearing chaps.
CHAPS.
He placed a tool in one of the pockets and turned his attention to us.His smile widened when he saw me.
“Ma’am.”He doffed the brim of his cowboy hat.
“Farrier,” I greeted.
“I told her you let me rasp a hoof,” Lenni explained.She still had a hold on my hand.
“She’s a natural,” Archer said to me.
“Must be in the DNA,” I quipped.
“Hey, Half-Pint,” Brooks called as he stepped out of a stall.“You want to feed some horses?”
She dropped my hand and ran toward Brooks, leaving me alone with Archer.
Alone with Archer, whose gaze was openly appreciative.
“Is it me, or is it kind of hilarious that your stoic brother is already calling Lenni half-pint?”
“No one is more shocked than me, believe me.”
I cleared my throat.“What about you two?Things must be going well.”
“It’s easier to talk to her when there’s something to teach her,” he explained.“Otherwise, I’m tongue-tied and frankly, terrified of her.”
“You’re notreallyterrified of an eleven-year-old girl,” I said with a laugh.
“No, I really am.”His grin was lopsided.“I’m not around kids a lot.So I don’t know what they’re like.Are they always so ...”
“Curious?Talkative?”
“Emotional.”
I raised my brows.“Emotional?What happened?What did you do?”
“Me?I didn’t do anything.I just talked to her.One minute she was eager and excited to help me, the next she shut down.A few minutes later, she was happy and excited again.”
“You’re sure you didn’t say something that gave her emotional whiplash?”
