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“You bet, no point in changing a system when it works,” Tripp answered. “Oh, while you’re out there, could you take a look at the water trough? Your mother decided to try a new idea and add goldfish to the tanks. Something about keeping them from getting green so fast in this summer heat. Told her we’d try it out there before adding them to all the water troughs.”

I sighed, shaking my head. “No problem.”

“Oh, and make sure to keep the little dog away from Titon. He don’t take well to them,” Tripp added as we headed for the barn.

Pulling open the barn door, I let Bailey-Rose and the dogs in before shutting it. “First, we have to open the stall doors since they’re trained to walk right in from the pasture to their spot.” I showed her how the lock worked, and she took care of the two on her side.

“Now, we put a little grain in a bucket and shake it,” I explained, stepping into the small feed room where the grain and other everyday supplies were kept. “Those hungry beasts will come running no matter how far away they are. I’ve never met a horse who wasn’t eager to get their dinner when there was a promise of sweet, sweet grain.”

“How come these horses are kept separate?” Bailey-Rose asked.

“It was a Watson family rule that no horse who’s worked the land will ever get sold when they can’t work anymore. They’ve earned the right to retire here for their years of service. So the seniors got their own pasture and small barn to themselves where they didn’t need to compete with the youngsters,” I shared, handing her the bucket. “Care to do the honors?”

She nodded eagerly and followed me to the main gate. “Waffles, Nugget, stay,” she instructed, ensuring they were out of the way.

I watched the woman, who was teaching me to enjoy life again despite the dangers that lurked around every corner, shake the bucket. She shook that thing like it was her purpose in life and some of the grain even spilled out. That was one thing I loved most about Bailey-Rose—she did nothing half-assed. If she was going to do it, then dammit, she was going to give it her all.

A whinny rang out, and I knew it was Bandit—he had always been a vocal guy about pretty much everything. However, when it came to food of any kind, that boy wouldn’t miss an opportunity. Titon was leading the way with Bandit right behind him, and the other two picking up the rear, took their time, knowing dinner wasn’t going anywhere. Bailey-Rose laughed as the two geldings shoved each other, trying to be the first one in the barn.

Titon was what you thought of as the perfect specimen of a working horse—even in his old age, he held his form well. His bay coloring also made him quite eye-catching as well. Bandit was an ornery yet mischievous, flaxen-colored Haflinger that had been Callie’s best friend. While the ATV had been a special gift for Callie, the thing she loved most was this naughty horse that wasn’t really a pony but not quite a horse. Those two got into all kinds of trouble as they roamed the lower pastures. I know one thing—if Callie had been with Bandit instead of on that ATV, she would be alive today because there was no way that horse would let anything happen to her.

With everyone in their stall, Bailey-Rose and I slid the stall doors closed, ensuring they’d stay there. “Come here, baby girl… let me show you what each of these old fogies are gonna be eating tonight.”

Drawing her back into the feed room, I showed her the chart Tripp created and hung above the feed bins. “Can you read this section off for me while I pull it all together? These guys are special and get a fair amount of supplements. It’s one of the reasons none of the stable hands like feeding out here. It takes just as long to feed these four horses as it does half the other barn,” I joked.

“Yeah, well, it will be the same for them when they get old,” she pointed out. “Wonder if they realize the nurses will be grumbling just as much handing out their medication.”

Laughing, I shook my head as I pulled together four buckets of feed. With Bailey-Rose’s help, I got all four servings settled in no time. The final step was to add a bit of oil for Candy to mix it all up, and then we were good to go.

“Hey, there’s a note on Bandit’s column that if he’s limping or looking sore, to give him something for pain management,” Bailey-Rose pointed out. “He seemed fine when he ran in.”

“Let’s feed the other three real quick then I can look in on him. Once that feed is clipped into place, no one is able to get close to him until he’s finished,” I explained, handing her a bucket. “That’s for Candy, the white one.”

Candy was a sweet girl, always had been, probably why my mother picked her. She’d be perfectly safe for Bailey-Rose to interact with first. Titon, like his owner, was a bit of a prick, and Diego, the other gelding, was hit or miss on how he interacted with strangers. I doubt he had gotten better in his old age.

Done with the other three, Bailey-Rose pulled back the stall door enough for us to look in on Bandit. Looking at the fella, I couldn’t see anything wrong, but I decided not to take a risk and ran a hand down his legs.

“What are you looking for?” she asked as Bandit snuffled her pockets in the hope there could be food hidden there.

“Heat, when horses get sore or something is inflamed, it gets hot,” I answered. “Although it looks like he’s totally fine. I didn’t find a hot spot, so he’s probably good to go.”

Before I could stop her, Bailey-Rose grabbed the bucket and walked in to clip it to the hook. Other than Callie, Bandit always charged at the person, so we installed a second hook close to the door so no one had to get body checked into a stall door. However, to my amazement, Bandit waited for my girl to clip the bucket, pat him sweetly on the neck, and step back before he dove into his meal.

I moved to grab her and instantly, Bandit lifted his head and pinned his ears, warning me not to get any closer to his food. “Take a step back for me, okay, baby girl,” I whispered. “Bandit isn’t all that friendly when it comes to anything getting close to his grain.”

“Oh, really? He doesn’t seem to mind me,” she commented but did as I asked.

“Either way, we still need to grab hay for these guys, and then they’ll be settled for the night,” I said, wrapping an arm around her waist to keep her close.

The guys might make fun of me for being overprotective, but I’ll be damned if I ever let anything happen to Bailey-Rose, especially here at the ranch. Hay was the easy part, and we got the horses settled in no time. Bailey-Rose lingered watching Bandit as the hellion tossed around his hay, searching for the bits he liked best before eating the rest.

Turning to look at me, she searched my face as if looking for something. “Can I ask you something?”

“Baby girl, you can ask me anything. I have no secrets from you,” I told her.

“Was Bandit Callie’s horse? I only ask because when you look at him, I feel this sadness from you, and it’s the only reason I could think of,” she explained.

Stepping up behind her, I rested my hands on her hips as I peered over her head at the horse. “Yeah, Bandit was Callie’s partner in crime. He’s a pain in the ass to everyone else, but he loved my sister.”