“Oh,” she said regretfully. “I was hoping to get started by Friday.”
“Even if the contract’s not finalized, you can bring a small group on Friday morning to see the mule and tour the stables.”
“Not to sound ungrateful because I truly appreciate this, but how big is small?”
“No more than six clients at a time.”
“Another of your attorney’s suggestions?”
“Don’t be mad. It’s his job to watch out for the family and the ranch.”
“I’m not mad. If six is our limit, then that’s what we’ll bring.”
The vet was bent over, one of the mule’s hooves braced between his legs. Using a pick, he dug around inside the hoof. Jake and Gary had their own suspicions about what had caused the animal’s lameness. It would be interesting to see if the vet also concluded it was a deformity.
“Doc Mosby was out here anyway to examine one of our pregnant mares,” Jake explained to Lilly. “I’ll just have him add the charge for Big Ben to his bill. Your clients can work it off, along with the other expenses.”
“Big Ben?”
“That’s the mule’s name.”
A smile touched the corners of Lilly’s mouth. “It fits.”
Jake agreed. The mule stood as tall as any of his horses and was considerably wider than most. “My guess is his mother was a draft horse.”
“What kind?”
“A Belgian. They’re similar to the Budweiser Clydesdales you see in the TV commercials, only sorrel.”
“And sorrel is?”
“The color of his coat. A kind of red like Big Ben. Clydesdales are usually a darker shade of brown.”
She sighed miserably and shook her head. “I think I might’ve gotten myself in over my head. Everything I know about horses and mules could fit into a thimble.”
“You’ll do fine.” He smiled encouragingly. “And we have plenty of experienced ranch hands around to help.”
“I hope it wasn’t too much of an inconvenience to pick up Big Ben today,” she said, changing the subject to a safer one.
“Not at all. I sent Little José.”
“Make sure you add that expense to the others.” She gave a small laugh. “At this rate, we’ll be here every day for a year working off our bill.”
Against his better judgment, Jake was liking their arrangement more and more. He seized the chance to study her while her attention was on Doc Mosby and the mule.
At the time of their breakup, Jake had been completely positive that continuing their relationship was a mistake. He liked Lilly and hadn’t wanted to string her along when there was no hope whatsoever for a future together.
That hadn’t been his initial feeling, though. In the beginning, their dating arrangement had been exactly the enjoyable distraction he’d needed to take his mind off his ex-wife’s engagement and help him move on. But things had quickly become complicated, in large part because of his daughters, although they weren’t the only obstacle.
Once he and Lilly became intimate, the complications increased. Not because there was anything wrong with the sex. Quite the opposite, in fact. But Lilly didn’t give herself to just anyone. Sex came with a commitment from her and him.
Jake had held her in his arms after they made love that last time, stared into those gorgeous brown eyes that brimmed with hope and expectation and realized, with a sinking heart, that he couldn’t offer her what she wanted, what she needed. Not anytime soon. To continue as they were would have been unfair to Lilly. So, instead of postponing the inevitable, he had broken up with her the following day, telling himself he’d done it for her sake.
But after their meeting in his office last week, it had occurred to him that his actions weren’t entirely noble and were calculated to spare him grief, not her.
“Good boy.” Doc Mosby dropped Big Ben’s hoof and patted his round rump, then came over to chat with Jake and Lilly.
“Lilly, this is our vet, Dr. Greg Mosby,” Jake said. “Lilly Russo is the administrator of the adult day care center that owns the mule.”
“Nice to meet you.” Doc Mosby pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and wiped his hands before shaking Lilly’s.
“What do you think?” Jake asked.
“Well, I’d say he’s in pretty good shape overall. A little fat—” Doc Mosby patted his protruding stomach “—but aren’t we all? I suspect he’s been standing in a pen too long. Exercise should shave off a few of those extra pounds.”
“How lame is he?”
“Some. Corrective shoeing will help. He was born with a slight deformity to his right front hoof, and it’s gotten worse with age. It causes his foot to turn in.” Doc Mosby demonstrated with his hand.
“A birth defect?” Lilly’s interest was visibly piqued, which, in turn, piqued Jake’s.
Doc Mosby grinned. “I reckon you could call it that.”
“If you want to return him to the Malcovitches—”
“No, no!” Lilly cut Jake short. “He’s perfect for us. A mule with a birth defect helping people who are themselves physically challenged.”
“Have your farrier insert a leather wedge between the shoe and the hoof,” Doc Mosby explained. “It should straighten the hoof and reduce the pain.”
“Can he be ridden before then?”
“I wouldn’t recommend it.”
Lilly’s smile dimmed.
Jake touched her arm. “I’ll call the farrier, have him come out here Friday morning. That way, the people in your program can watch Big Ben being shoed firsthand.”
She instantly brightened. “Oh, that would be wonderful!”
Clapping the vet on the shoulder, Jake gestured at Gary with his other hand. “You ready to look at that mare?”
“Sure.”
Gary, who’d been standing nearby, took charge of the vet, leaving Jake alone with Lilly.
“Is it all right for me to pet Big Ben?” she asked.
“Would you like to walk him to his stall?”
“Yes!”
Jake went over and untied the mule’s lead rope. Big Ben ambled obediently alongside Jake, his large feet clip-clopping in the dirt.
“Here.”
She took the rope. Bunching it in her fingers, she gazed up at Jake. “What now?”
“You walk, he follows.”
“Just like that?”
“With him. Not so with all horses or mules. But this guy’s a teddy bear.”
“I walk.” She took a tentative step.
“That’s it.”
“He’s not following.”
“Keep going.”
She did. The heels of her completely inappropriate shoes wobbled and dust coated her expensive slacks. Big Ben finally extended one foot and lifted his huge head to snuffle her hair.
“Hey! That tickles.” Lilly raised her hand, not to push the animal away but to stroke his nose.
Big