“It doesn’t look like the nail broke the skin,” Nick said, looking back up into her eyes. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, not really wanting to open her mouth for fear of what might come falling out.
“Good,” he said. He easily jumped the fence and landed by her side. He took her hand, and they started walking towards James. “Since you’re here and James is here…” He stopped and turned towards her. “How about I saddle up Crash, and we head out for a ride?”
She nodded again.
“Good.” He smiled and took her hand again, only this time, they headed towards the barn.
When they stepped inside, she stopped and gaped at the space.
“Wow.” She blinked to let her eyes adjust so she could get a better look.
The Howe’s ranch house was a beautiful sight. The home was easily twice the size of her family home. It was made of wood and glass and sat on top of a small hillside. The back of the home had large windows that overlooked the Howe property. The long drive split in two near the road, and a dirt lane headed off in the direction of a few trailers and a smaller ranch house. She knew that a few full-time staff lived out there, most of them in the trailers or in campers of their own. She’d always been told to steer clear of them, since most of them were drifters.
She’d only been inside the Howe home twice over the years. Once, when Nick’s mother died and the other when his father had been really sick, and her stepmother had delivered a casserole.
Kara didn’t know why she hadn’t been in there more often, but then again, Nick had probably only been inside her home a handful of times too.
The barn impressed her and made her immediately jealous. From the outside, the building looked like any other barn. It was tan, with a dark metal roof. There were thick wood beams holding up a long section of roofing that sat directly over the outside paddock areas.
Inside the barn, there were at least a dozen stalls on one side of the building, all made of the same wide wood beams and black iron railings. On the other side was a wall of doors. Some were large garage-style doors and others were smaller and led into storerooms.
Compared to her small barn, which housed three horses and had barely any storage area, this was a mansion for animals.
“This is impressive,” she said, following him to a stall.
Each of the horses had their names carved into wood plaques that hung above the stall doors.
“Crash, Bolt, Lightning, Thunder, and…” She moved down to see the last horse. “Mariann?”
Nick chuckled. “She’s not really part of the family. I’m breaking her in for the Bertons.”
“Right.” She smiled and nodded to his horses. “I see a theme. Do you name all your animals after a stormy night?”
He chuckled. “Just the horses. The cattle are named after Pokémon.”
“Gotta catch ’em all.” She smiled and he nodded.
“The chickens are named after Star Wars characters.” He walked over and opened a door. Inside was a room filled with saddles and other riding gear. He took a saddle and set it down on a bench, then walked over and got Crash out. She leaned against the door to his stall and watched as he saddled him.
“What about the goats?” she asked.
“Most of them came with names. Next generation is going to be Star Trek characters.” He smiled. “First and second generation.”
She laughed. “Nerd.”
“You know it.” He smiled.
“What about football or basketball players?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I only played in those sports to piss off Willy by being better than him,” he admitted, and she laughed.
“I knew it.” She pointed towards him. “Everyone did, actually.”
“I think at one point it was common knowledge.” He tightened the saddle.
“Is that why you dated Carla in tenth grade?” she asked, remembering the hot redhead that Willy had bragged he was going to bang before prom.