Feeding the Heart (Serenity Stables Book 1): Falling in love over the healing of a horse.

by Wendy Nickel

  “Welcome,” he called over his shoulder, already on his way down the long driveway. She watched him walk for a minute, hypnotized by his stride, and by his faded but perfectly fitted jeans paired with a black-and-white plaid flannel shirt.

  Josie felt a warm rush through her body. Startled, she shook her head, turned, and made her way back to Pammy and the new rescue.

  Horses first.

  2

  Josie

  Josie made sure to calm and quiet her steps as she approached the stall that held the new rescue. Pammy was in there and had begun her healing touch routine with the new rescue nested in the wheelbarrow.

  When Josie first started at the barn, she hadn’t heard of healing touch, or energy healing, or any of the stuff she had normally chalked up to “woo woo” and completely ignored. So, when she saw and learned how Pammy began working with each new animal on the farm, she really tried to keep her eye-rolling in check.

  It had come as a real surprise for Josie to see how Pammy’s connection with each new rescue was actually activated and then immediately deepened with this stuff. Reiki, as Pammy called it…it was silent, noninvasive, and Pammy just touched or hovered her hands over a part of the body or head for a few minutes.

  Josie just watched through the upper bars of the stall rather than stepping in and distracting Pammy from her work.

  Now it was just time to wait for Ewan Grier, the vet. He had been the go-to vet almost since Pammy opened up her farm to accept rescue horses, some nine years ago now.

  She turned as she heard the familiar engine of Dr Grier’s vet truck roll up and stop in the gravel. She murmured to Pammy, “Vet’s here.” Two men, the vet and that, that... guy…got out of the cab and walked up to the barn, walking quickly but talking in low voices. As soon as they were inside the barn, they became focused and aware, not talking at all as they approached the stall where Josie stood.

  Pammy, unwilling to leave the horse’s side, waited until the vet stepped into the stall. Dr. Grier motioned for the other guy to join him in the stall. What the... ? Who is this guy, anyway? Josie, not to be left behind, stepped in, and the four of them circled around the stable’s newest addition.

  “This is your stand-in farrier while Knox is away.” Said Dr. Grier quietly. “Meet Cam Delaney, he’s new to Maple Valley, but we’ve worked together already this week. Since he’s here, let’s get a look at the legs and hooves. Cam, this is Pammy, the owner, and this is Josie, the barn manager.”

  Pammy nodded, anxious to start talking about the state of the mini, not make chit chat and introductions. Cam nodded to Pammy and then he looked at Josie. His eyes locked with hers and there was an almost a palpable click as he held her gaze for seemingly endless seconds. Josie nearly squirmed her discomfort at being so… seen. So visible. Everything fell away for long seconds and then zoomed forward again, jolting her back as the vet began to gently open up the blankets to examine the mini inside. She actually felt a little dizzy.

  “Take a look?” inclined Dr Grier, breaking the spell, as he uncovered the mini’s legs and hooves for Cam to see.

  Cam squatted down and gently brought a front hoof forward just to see, nodding to himself without saying much of anything out loud. Josie was grateful that Cam wasn’t much of a talker in this case, for Pammy’s sake.

  Cam looked up into the vet’s face and said, “I’ll be here in the morning.” Left unspoken were the words, “If he makes it through the night.”

  Both men nodded solemnly, and both women understood.

  “Let’s get some fluids going on this little guy first, Pammy,” started Dr. Grier. “We’ll get the IV going right here for now. No, you don’t need to move him. Then I want to hear more of his story.”

  Pammy nodded and made no move to leave.

  Dr. Grier and Cam walked back to his truck and Josie followed closely behind, figuring that Pammy wouldn’t leave the barn for the rest of the night. She was making a short list in her head of what to get from Pammy’s house for her: warmer sweater, hot tea, a couple of snacks... what else?

  She didn’t notice that Cam had stopped and let the vet go on ahead to his truck. As he turned toward her, she ran right into his black-and-white flannel chest.

  “Uh. Oh, sorry,” Josie flushed and turned away, embarrassed, a hot flush creeping up her neck upon contact. Why was she so flustered?

  “No worries, Josie,” he gave a good natured smile. “I’m gonna take off now. Figure you’ve got plenty going on and there’s not much help I can give until we’re sure that little fella is going to make it for the next day or two. I wanted to come and see the property and get acquainted a little bit today. This wasn’t the introduction I had in mind,” he chuckled and then came back to seriousness. “I hope the little guy makes it.”

  “Thanks, Cam,” said Josie. “Appreciate you calling and getting the vet out here.”

  Should she ask for his number? ... For the barn? Ask for his number for the barn? He was the stand-in farrier, after all.

  “Do you, uh, have a number?” she blurted out before the thought had fully formed.

  Dr. Grier had gotten the IV and a few other medical specifics into his kit bag and waved at both of them as he walked back to his patient. They both waved back and Josie began to fidget, suddenly aware of how anxious she was to get back in the stall and hear Pammy tell the mini’s story.

  “I’ll text it to the stable number,” said Cam, seeing that Josie was now getting distracted. “Knox gave me the list of his clients. Does the stable number go to you or to Pammy?”

  “Me,” she said, with her first smile just for him.

  “Well, good,” he said, but his dimples and smile said it better.

  Josie ran back into the barn, slowing to a walk and calming her energy a few stalls away in order to make a softer and quieter approach. Horses were prey animals, even the minis, after all. This poor little guy had enough stress already; he didn’t need loud noises or high-pitched worry getting on him.

  Low voices from inside the stall came out in waves as she reached the entrance. Josie heard the vet’s worn leather kit bag close with a crisp click.

  “Definitely fluids, Pammy,” reminded Dr. Grier. “That’s critical right now. I’ll be back to change the IV bag and give him some more before I call it quits tonight. I’ll see you guys in a few hours.”

  “Thanks, Ewan,” sighed Pammy, some of her worry escaping with her breath since the doc affirmed he’d be back soon.

  And then he was gone.

  Josie already knew the look Pammy had on her face. Grim determination. Pammy wasn’t going to leave that sick little guy in the stall for a second.

  They looked each other dead in the eye at the same time. Pammy’s determination met Josie’s questioning look.

  “Tea,” stated Josie simply, and she turned on her heel and made for the house to prep things for the next few hours.

  Who knew if Pammy had eaten anything all day. Once she got involved in a case and a horse was in distress, there was nothing else that came into Pammy’s consciousness.

  Josie had been through this before. She put the kettle on and dropped 4 bags of Yorkshire black tea into the biggest light-green Stanley thermos Pammy owned. She went into the laundry room and grabbed a fresh sweatshirt from the dryer, a headband and... should she?

  Yep. This little horse was in real trouble. Josie opened the hall linen closet and reached up high for Pammy’s up-all-night-with-the-baby blanket. It was THE softest blanket Josie had ever touched and Pammy would usually drape it over the lost kittens and hurt dogs who had somehow made their way up the drive and to her house and into her care.

  Every time this blanket came out, the animals somehow began to thrive under it and under Pammy’s care. Josie was only half joking at the thought that Pammy must wash this thing in 100% healing magic.

  She paused as she petted the blanket again and absently stared into the shelf full of towels.A vision of soft black-and-white flannel came right into her mi
nd…draped over warm muscled shoulders that flowed like a sculpture into a nuzzle-able, nibble-able, neck... and a spellbinding, 100% magic smile...

  Whoooeeeeeee! The kettle’s high-pitched whistle jolted her out of her daydream before she could linger over the delicious thought of nuzzling Cam’s dimples and breathing him in.

  She ran back to the kitchen and snapped the dial on the stove to turn the burner off. “Killjoy,” she murmured. Then she hastily poured the water into the thermos to steep the tea.

  Several spoons of sugar and a few generous glugs of whiskey later, she had everything piled into an empty laundry basket and made for the barn to get the scoop on the other exciting new stallion that just came into her life today.

  “His name is Enzo,” shared Pammy in a low hush and with a calm in her voice that suggested she had been meditating and doing some energy work over him in those few minutes of quiet since the vet left.

  She nodded at Josie for the tea and picked up the blanket, unfolding it and blowing her warm breath into the fibers, she said a few words into the blanket as well: “healing, care, health, restoration, sleep, safety and... you’re home now.”

  Josie had stopped and turned to look when she heard Pammy’s voice.

  “What?” asked Pammy. “This? It’s not magic, it’s wishes and care, that’s all.” Pammy tucked the blanket in around Enzo’s shrunken body and then began layering a few other blankets over him. “Let’s get some more shavings in here to pack around him. The temp is supposed to drop again tonight.”

  Josie asked one of the volunteers to go get a barrow full of shavings for her. She needed to hear the story now and wasn’t going to leave Pammy or Enzo until she knew more about him... and how Pammy found him.

  When the shavings came in, and the volunteer had been thanked and excused to check on the geldings in the loafing sheds down the hill. Josie pushed a mug of hot tea into Pammy’s hands and joined her on the stall floor on the other side of Enzo’s head with a mug of her own.

  Pammy rooted in the laundry basket for the foil-wrapped loaf of sliced banana bread that Josie always brought down from the house.

  “Thanks honey,” said Pammy, worry still furrowing her brow. “I haven’t eaten since this morning. Here, you eat some too.” It wasn’t a request. Josie took it and broke off a corner, not really interested in the tea or the sweet bread, only the story. Stil, with Pammy issuing a direct…suggestion…Josie took a small bite and waited.

  “Well,” began Pammy, “it was definitely a hoarding situation, like I mentioned. I was lucky to get this little guy out today. The owner just didn’t want to let him go. Any of them, really. But I finally managed to get through that this one just wasn’t going to make it if I didn’t take him today.”

  “How many others are there, Pammy?”

  “Dozens,” she replied flatly as she continued to keep a hand on the bundled horse. “She—the owner—said we could get a couple more in the next few days. So we’ll go back with a truck and trailer for them Saturday. I want to help them all, but we don’t have the barn space or the capacity to take on the vet bills that’ll be needed for all of them.”

  “She’s been breeding the minis,” Pammy went on as she tenderly stroked the forelock on Enzo’s head. “The only time he got to get outside of his tiny stall in the barn was to breed. You can’t imagine the muck and the filth in there, Josie. They haven’t had clean water or their stalls cleaned in I don’t know how long. The grain bins were dirty and grimy and she’s been laying out straw…not even hay. She has other troubles as well, but the horses are really suffering there.”

  Josie sucked her breath in as her heart cracked in three new places. She set her jaw to a firm line and vowed to herself to do all she could for the minis who’d be coming to Serenity in the next few days.

  “The vet said he wasn’t sure Enzo would make it through the night, Josie. He was pretty up front about that. And Enzo’s feet have some real problems, too. We’ll keep him warm and quiet for now, and hopefully we’ll know a little more when Dr. Grier comes back in a few hours.”

  Josie knew this about Pammy and her process: she needed some alone time. The volunteers had everything under control for the pm shift chores and they weren’t due to bring the horses in from the paddocks for another hour at least. It was a good time to get off the property for a bit and take a break.

  Josie hustled into her car and made her way slowly down the drive to the gate. What sounded good? What was close and cozy? The banana bread that Pammy insisted she eat had opened up her appetite a little bit, and her body wanted more food…not just a few seeds, thank you very much.

  Okay then, the diner. They served breakfast all day and that seemed like as good a plan as any right now. She could bring something back for Pammy, too.

  The bells looped around the door chimed at her entrance, and she felt eyes on her from all of the surrounding booths and folks sitting at the bar.

  “Anywhere you want, hon,” sang out the frosted-blond waitress from about 20 yards away, brightening the spotlight on Josie and making her cringe. She waved weakly and slunk her way over to the nearest booth with a window seat.

  Just as she was settled, the server came by and asked her order while expertly sliding a glass of ice water in front of her.

  “Coffee, soup of the day, and a side of mashed potatoes, please.” The idea of breakfast had gotten her here, but the French onion sounded better now that she was inside. “Yes, that’s all, thanks.”

  She sipped at the water and stared out the window, but really into space. Her mind stole back to the thoughts of Cam’s shoulders, the softness of his shirt with the hard muscles underneath, those jump-right-in dimples and the gentle way he touched…

  “Hey again,” said a low, quiet voice. Josie turned her gaze toward the voice and was startled to see the very man she’d been dreaming of... Cam. Standing at the booth, right in front of her.

  “Hey,” he said again, smiling. “You lost? Looks like you’re a million miles away.”

  Wholly distracted by her own thoughts and the utter surprise of seeing him again, Josie, shook her head and grabbed for her water, stalling for a bit of time as she peered up at him under her eyelashes. Even from here, he smelled amazing.

  “Only half a million miles away,” she smiled back, and he chuckled. “Couple things on my mind, including that new little mini you saw come in. Thanks again for the assist on that.”

  “Of course,” assured Cam, “glad I was there. Mind if I…?” He gestured to the empty bench facing her, asking the rest of the question with his gold-speckled chocolate brown eyes.

  “Sure, yes, have a seat,” Josie motioned him into the booth and now had the excruciating task of speaking with him without staring like a love-struck doe. “I’m on a pretty quick break here, so I won’t be long.”

  “Got it. I just grabbed a sandwich to go... kind of making the rounds to say hello to new clients and neighbors before I jump in and start working. I feel better with a sense of what I’m getting into. Uh, more, who I’m working with, I guess,” he offered.

  She nodded and the waitress came by with Josie’s food and pointedly eyed Cam before asking, “anything for you here?”

  “No, no, I’m good, thanks,” he shared as he lifted his sandwich up with a little wave. He looked at Josie.

  Great, she thought. Gorgeous man sits across from filthy barn manager and watches her eat super cheesy onion soup.

  The mashed potatoes, scooped into a perfectly round ball, were really what her body was crying out for. She picked up a spoon and carved a little runnel design into the heavenly mash, stalling, still stalling.

  The smells of local creamery butter and salt wafted up and beckoned; her stomach gave a roiling, rolling growl. She shifted in her seat, praying to whatever was holy in the universe that he hadn’t heard it. She put the spoon down and looked at him.

  “Well, I guess I should let you eat in peace,” Cam slid out of the booth and stood in front of her. Was th
ere some reluctance in his voice? Was there something else?

  “How’s the little guy?” came the question.

  “He’s in really rough shape,” she answered in a low voice, her appetite sputtered like a lightbulb that suddenly burned out. “Dr Grief is coming back to change out fluids and help us put together a plan for tonight. We’re at the ‘let’s hope he makes it through the next few hours’ stage.”

  Josie looked up and into Cam’s eyes. What she found was tenderness and she felt an almost affectionate strength emanating from him, like sunshine. She felt a lift of hope wave from him and felt a smile coming up for him.

  Recalling instantly his expression as he was studying Enzo’s feet earlier in the day, she slipped into barn-manager business mode, “You were looking pretty grim when you saw his feet. Will you be by in the next day or so to check on him? He’s gonna need those feet if he makes it through this next bit.”

  Cam smiled and his eyebrows lifted at her question. “He’s certainly got overgrown hooves to deal with, but I spotted some pretty significant splits in them too. His muscles are really atrophied in his legs as well. I’ll need to see what’s going on inside his hooves once he’s cleaned up.”

  “You’ll show me what we need to do to get those feet healed up?” This was more statement with a hanging question at the end. Josie looked directly into his eyes seeking a rare willingness, in men especially, to collaborate with her.

  “You bet,” dimpled Cam, with one side of his smile showing more white teeth than the other. “I’ll be in touch with Ewan tonight about him. It sounds like you and Pammy are in for a long night. I’ll let you go.”

  He backed away with a sheepish grin and Josie nodded, still feeling his sunshine warmth wrapped around her and her appetite powering back up.