Riana's Cavatina (Sonata of Love Book 2) Page 12

  “Shhhhh.”

  “Ma’am, please, get back.” One of the guys called as I continued to get closer.

  The big boy’s eyes locked on mine and he slowed and lessened his hops. He continued to toss his head and snort but he never took his eyes off me. “Shhhh” I said again. His front right hoof pawed at the ground and he stopped hopping. Without breaking eye contact I held my hand out to the nearest volunteer in a silent request for the lead.

  “Who is this?” He asked another volunteer.

  “No idea.” They answered.

  “Ma’am I can’t give you the lead.” He said.

  “Give it to her.” Luna’s voice said from behind me. As the worn and soft lead was placed in my hand Luna commanded that the other two leads be dropped.

  “Luna, I don’t think that’s a good—“

  “Do it.” She commanded again. “He’s never done this.” She said just under her breath.

  Once I was the only one with a lead to the most magnificent animal I’d ever laid eyes upon I draped the line over my shoulder, deliberately dropped my gaze from him, and turned around. I waited silently, not even acknowledging everyone around me, until I heard him take one step. Then I took two steps and waited. A few minutes passed again before I heard him take another step. I closed my eyes and took a breath before I took another two steps. We didn’t wait as long before he took another step behind me.

  “No way.” I heard one of the young men say.

  “Luna.” I said softly. I glanced over and smiled. “I’m going to have to take him home.”

  Tears welled up in Luna’s eyes as she watched this “unsuitable” horse follow my lead. She nodded. “Yes. Yes, you are.”

  “Lex, go open up the trailer.” I didn’t want to break the nice flow he and I currently had of me taking a few steps and him taking one hesitant step behind. She nodded as she quickened her pace. She knew better than to run and risk spooking him. “Luna, does he have a name?”

  “He was called Fritz. Fritz the Friesian.”

  “Hmm.” I shook my head lightly. “No.” I spun my vertical labret. “We’ll discuss it when we get home, huh buddy?”

  “He hasn’t been started yet. He’s young, only five, and came from a really bad situation.”

  “I see that.” I said. His fresh wounds and old scars did not go unnoticed by me when I initially approached him. “Not that it’s any of my business, but I hope whoever did this to him got nailed in court.”

  “That’s how we got him.”

  Convincing the new love of my life to get in the trailer was much more difficult than convincing him to take a short stroll with me. I stood just beyond the ramp in the trailer and he remained frozen at the base of the ramp. Sam gave a light laugh to the side of the trailer. “You are a match made in heaven, Ri. He’s about as stubborn as you are.”

  “Hush.” I resisted a chuckle. “Shhhh….come on buddy…it’s okay.” At 17.2 hands high, he was the largest horse to ever enter my trailer, and as he finally stepped in I worried for a moment he wouldn’t fit. He paced in place as he tried to take in his suddenly enclosed surroundings and I hushed him again. I didn’t touch him as I quickly tied him, stepped under the lead and closed up the trailer. “That’s a good boy.” I said softly as I stepped backwards.

  “He’s not aggressive with other horses.” Luna assured as I checked in on my other three up front in the trailer. Satisfied that they’d be okay while we signed adoption agreements I nodded and walked away from the trailer.

  As Luna sat down with the agreements she caught my eye. “Being as I didn’t plan on ever adopting out Fritz, I didn’t have a fee set on him.” She pursed her lips.

  “Price is not a problem.” I said.

  “It’s not that. I’m just so thankful that someone clicked with him. I just, I never thought he’d truly be rescued.” Luna turned from us as she fought being choked up. “I’m not charging for him.” She finally said.

  “Luna.” I gasped. “A Friesian would typically come with a hefty price tag.”

  “No. Knowing that there’s obviously a connection between you two is enough for me.”

  “I’m not just taking him.” I started to write a new check. “If you won’t charge a fee on his adoption I’m making a donation to the rescue.” I handed her the check and smiled. “I hope that this will help in your mission to save other horses like him.”

  Her eyes read over the eight thousand dollar check more than three times before she nodded. She struggled to find her voice. “Riana, this will make a huge impact on our work. Thank you doesn’t even begin to cover it.” I knew that in a private breeding situation, my new Friesian stallion could easily bring in twenty to twenty-five thousand dollars once broke to ride. My donation of eight, while unnecessary, was a way for me to relay that I knew his worth, even as an unbroken horse.

  Fritz, as he was called, was much more eager to disembark the trailer than he was to get in it. I jogged over to the side of the trailer, tied him, then got the other three unloaded. “Alright Sam, bring Lilo out to the main pasture, Lexi and I will follow with Daisy and Chester.”

  It had taken some time with Sonny, Sebastian, and Ringo—my first three rescues—for Sam and Lexi to get comfortable and confident with the horses, but they were practically pros now. They had also worked with my trainer to enhance their skills and expertise with the horses. And I utilized the skill and hard work of knowledgeable ranch hands—especially when I wasn’t in Arizona. I needed trustworthy people to care for my herd as lovingly as I would. As I glanced back at my beautiful boy at the trailer I realized that I couldn’t leave him any time soon, and would have to remain at the ranch longer than I ever had before.

  We got Lilo, Daisy, and Chester settled in the pasture, leaned on the fence for a moment and watched them. “Well, congratulations on your new kiddos.”

  Sam snuggled into my side. “Thank you, Ri, I love her so much.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t break up the pair.” Lexi said as Daisy nuzzled the side of Chester’s neck.

  “It would have been like breaking the three of us up, and that would be absolutely tragic—to say the least.” I dropped my boot from the fence and stepped back. “I’m gonna go get him. I think for now I’ll put him in the east pasture, alone. Let him settle some.”

  Lexi and Sam went to start on dinner while I untied and led ‘Fritz’ to the east pasture. We went slowly of course, occasionally delayed by a moment of stubborn resistance on his end, and as we patiently moseyed I started to ponder his name. “I don’t like Fritz for your name. I mean, nice play on letters of course with the whole Fritz the Friesian, but it doesn’t suit you. You’re more of a Ben, or Miguel, something that implies the strength and beauty you have.”

  He sighed dramatically behind me and I laughed lightly. “Okay, so beauty might be the wrong word, huh? Not tough enough for you? You’re a very handsome boy. We need a name that sends the message clearly how perfect you are. Zeus? Or Hercules?” I laughed and then stopped short. “Oh my God, what about Adonis?” He snorted as he danced behind me and I felt we had an answer.

  “Good boy, Adonis. Good boy.” I stopped at the gate and noticed that the lead rope behind me was not as taut as it had been at the rescue or even on our walk to the pasture. I barely glanced over my shoulder and saw that he was a full step closer to me than he had been. I smiled as my heart swelled. I unlatched the gate and swung it in as I led him inside. I secured the gate behind us then unclipped his halter. He stood still for a moment, his dark eyes locked on mine before he raised his head in defiance and cantered off to the far side of the pasture. I sighed with a small smile as I draped the lead over my shoulders and sat down against the fence post.

  Adonis remained at the far end of the pasture, aware that I was still within the fence. His head was high and still as he watched me, likely worried about my intentions with him. I pulled my phone from my pocket, made sure it was silenced then sent a message to Lexi asking her to bring out my blue
leather notebook from my office and a pen. I watched Adonis from the corner of my eye and as his head jerked to the left and he trotted further up the fence line I knew Lexi neared the pasture. “Ri, what are you doing?” she asked softly.

  “Just hanging out with Adonis.”

  “What a perfect name.”

  “Right?” I reached my hand out under the last rung of the fence and motioned for my notebook. “I just want to stay with him for a bit. Figured I might as well get some more work done.”

  Lexi left me alone with Adonis, where I remained on the sandy ground for the next two hours and worked on what would end up being my debut book. At first Adonis stood exceptionally still as he watched me, then he started to pace along the back fence. He eventually relaxed enough to nibble on the hay found under his pasture shelter and take a few long drinks of water before he went back to “standing watch” as I started to call it.

  After dinner I immediately returned to the east pasture. I brought a bucket of feed with me, and another armful of hay. Adonis watched me carefully, and mirrored my movements to keep as much distance as possible between us. If I stepped left, he stepped right. If I approached, he retreated. I cooed him softly as I set out his dinner. “It’s okay baby boy, it’s just dinner time. You seem a bit thin, have to beef you up some.” I shook his feed in the bucket and watched his ears prick forward. Glad to have gotten his attention I continued to talk.

  “Come on Adonis, it’s okay. You thirsty?” I turned on the faucet above his water trough. Adonis continued to watch but refused to come forward.

  “Alright buddy. I’ll leave you to it. I’ll see you in the morning, okay.”

  I hopped up on the fence and watched him tentatively approach the shelter. He paused and watched me until I swung my legs over to the other side and hopped off the fence. He happily snorted and swung his head before he stepped in and devoured the feed in the bucket.

  Lexi and Sam stayed at the ranch for another month before heading back to their professional lives; Sam had a new site in New Guinea to excavate and Lexi was planning some new programs for a few group homes in the Twin Cities area. I was almost a bit envious of their careers, but as I found myself alone and able to sit and write in Adonis’ pasture, the envy soon faded. Adonis started to be less concerned about my location within the pasture, but was still not so inclined to come visit with me.

  My ranch-hands were quick to voice their disapproval of my adoption when they met him. “Riana, senorita, no. This is not the horse for you.”

  “Unsafe my lady, very unsafe. He can’t be trusted.”

  “Guys, it’s fine. I promise. He’ll be fine.” I could tell my assurances meant little to them as they had far more experience with horses than I did.

  They refused to deal with him, and while I’m sure they had hoped that the decision would send the message that he was an undesirable and unsuitable horse, I was relieved that they stayed away from him. I was sure that the fewer people that tried to get in his space the better—at least for now.

  About three weeks after Lexi and Sam left, I was leading the rest of the herd to the main pasture when a nicker came from the east pasture. Adonis had never nickered before, but when I turned my gaze to the east pasture, there he was, standing at the edge closest to the main pasture. His head was high and ears forward. He lifted his chin and nickered to me again. I unclipped Sebastian, gave him a playful slap on the rump and went to get another horse from the barn. As I left the pasture and made my way to the barn I heard another, louder neigh and nicker. I turned and watched as Adonis trotted along the fence in an attempt to follow me. I laughed and shook my head. “What Adonis? Are you jealous?”

  I brought Chester and Daisy from the barn, the last two to join the herd in pasture and laughed as I watched Adonis again call to me in an effort to have all my attention on him. I released them, then turned to Adonis who stood in anticipation at his own fence.

  “What do you need silly boy?” I approached slowly, but confidently. Adonis snorted and splayed his front legs. “Come on now, don’t be like that.” I took one more step and Adonis took off to the back of his pasture.

  I stepped up on his fence and called out to him. “So you don’t want my attention, but no one else can have it either? You’re such a typical male!” I was teasing him, but I could see the significance in his behavior. He was starting to see me as belonging to him, as part of his herd. He didn’t want to share, even if he wasn’t ready to fully trust me.

  I continued to spend the majority of my days outside with Adonis as the weeks continued on. I purchased a stand-alone hammock and set it up by the entrance to the pasture and then each subsequent day, moved it closer to be in the middle of the pasture. I spent hours in the hammock every day. I mostly wrote, but also simply relaxed and watched Adonis.

  As much as I knew he’d be perfectly content to stay isolated and unengaged with anyone, his farrier appointment soon approached and I had to get him into the barn for trimming. “Alright Adonis. I think we’ve watched each other long enough, don’t you? Let’s get you in the barn and washed up. Maybe you’ll use up all your extra energy fighting me instead of Phillip when he comes to do your feet. You were such a jerk last time.”

  I’d already had Adonis for almost three months and he was only barely becoming easier to handle. Phil, my farrier, put in more effort with Adonis than he did with the other six horses combined.

  I stood and took a deep breath. Adonis eyed me but his body language wasn’t as tense as I expected. “That’s a good boy.” I smiled. He remained still, and relatively relaxed as I approached him and slipped on his halter and lead. I felt his hot breath on my face as he took in my scent. “Come on Adonis, let’s go take a bath.”

  Adonis followed me into the wash stall in the barn fairly easily considering where we had started. As I cross-tied him I heard one of my ranch hands mumble, “Buena suerte con ese caballo mal.” As he mucked out Lilo’s stall.

  “He’s not an evil horse, and I don’t need any luck, thank you.” I snapped. Little did most of my helpers know that much of my time in the hammock was also spent practicing my Spanish. He stumbled over his words as he tried to back pedal and apologize. “Ignore him Adonis, you’re a good boy.”

  I grabbed a rubber curry comb and brought it to his nose. “It won’t hurt, I promise.” I said softly. “Give it a sniff, it’s okay.” Adonis gave it a good sniff then brought his gaze to me. I smiled gently as I finally placed my hand along his neck. It was our first time touching and I held my breath. I knew he’d feed off of my anxiety, so I consciously worked to calm myself down as I kept my hand on his neck. His muscles tensed and gave a small twitch of surprise but then relaxed under the pressure of my hand. I patted him twice, “Good boy.”

  I brought the curry comb to his neck and started to clean off chunks of mud from who knows how long. I knew it was unlikely that anyone at Healing Hearts had been able to properly groom him. I watched as his eyes relaxed and drifted closed as I continued to loosen the dirt in a steady circular pattern. I grinned, “You like that? I like having my hair brushed by someone else too.” I continued my swirling down his neck, along his shoulders and sides.

  I chuckled lightly. “You’re ridiculously tall Adonis. I can’t even reach your back.” As I approached his hindquarters he gave a start and snorted anxiously. I noted his scarring and frowned, knowing full well why he startled and resisted any combing.

  I stepped back and fought against my own intrusive memories. I knew that feeling of betrayal, and the constant fear that someone else would hurt you in the same way. I tried not to cry as I ran my bare hand down his neck. “I know baby boy, I know.” My eyes met his and I bit my lip against a sob. “I know they hurt you. I’m so sorry they treated you so badly. I promise you won’t ever be hurt here, okay? I will never hurt you.”

  Adonis relaxed his neck and dropped his head. He gave a soft sigh into my hair.

  “Should we keep going? I’ll be careful, okay?” I ran my ha
nd back along his neck, over his shoulder and belly before I gently caressed his hindquarters. I hushed him as I used only my hand to trace along his hindquarters and thigh. After I ran my hand along him a few times, I brought the curry comb back up. He gave a deep breath as I did my first circle.

  “That’s a good boy.”

  I continued along with the curry comb, got as high as I could before I circled around his backside and combed out the mud on his other side. Once his sides were done as high as I could manage I brought out a three step stool to get the tops of his withers and back. Between comforting him and humming along with my Motown I told him all about Lexi, Sam, my lack of ‘family’, and my writing.

  “So you’ll have to let me know if I’m on the right path sometimes. I can get a bit scattered when I write, and go off on tangents that I’m not sure fit. You seem to be the kind of guy who has strong opinions so I expect you to give me your honest feedback.” I giggled.

  “Alright, we got most of the nasty chunky stuff off you—and you look a hundred times better already, but what do you say to an actual bath? Water, some sudsy soap? Should we give it a try?” As I left the stall he gave a loud nicker for me to return, but when I did so with a bucket in hand he did not look amused—especially when he discovered there were no snacks in said bucket.

  “Listen, I’ll get you an especially delicious treat after you finish your bath and allow the farrier to trim and shoe you—No sooner.” I grabbed the hose off the hook on the back wall and turned on the faucet. Adonis danced in surprise and pulled on his cross-ties as I sprayed him down.

  “Hush now Adonis, it’s okay.” I softened the spray setting and he calmed just enough to convince me I could suds him up and massage him down without incurring any injury. I slipped my microfiber wash mitt onto my hand, soaked it in the bucket and poured some shampoo on it. I lathered it up with my other hand and then started to rub him down. “See? Doesn’t that feel nice?” I said as I massaged down his neck, into his chest and down his legs.