Home for Christmas (19 page)

We reached Alaric's stall, and the four-year-old gelding's head was over the door. He pricked his ears at Jenn and me. Alaric's conformation was flawless, but it wasn't his gorgeous features that made it easy to fall in love with him. It was his response to attention and his calm, curious demeanor.

“Oh, you're a nice guy, huh?” Jenn crooned at Alaric as the gelding rubbed his forehead on Jenn's shoulder.

“It amazes me how gentle and loving he is despite what he's been through,” I said. “It makes me sick to think that someone was willing to almost give him away to a slaughterhouse.”

Jenn's jaw tightened. “I can't even stomach that thought,” she said. “People who use, abuse, and throw
away animals are disgusting. I'm so grateful for Safe Haven and all of the organizations like it.”

“I wish every horse will get a home today, but I know that's asking for a lot.”

Alaric lipped at Jenn's sleeve, and she grinned before petting his neck.

“Try to remember that every horse who doesn't find a home today will be safe here,” Jenn said. “There will be another chance for them.”

I nodded, Jenn's words making me smile.

“Would you like to take Alaric out of his stall?” I asked. “We can find a quiet place for you to walk him around and get to know him.”

“I'd love to.”

I took a royal-blue cotton lead line from the hook near Alaric's stall and clipped it to the ring under his chin. He backed up like a gentleman while I opened the stall door, then followed me out.

“He's very easygoing,” I told Jenn. “Want to lead him?”

“Absolutely.”

I handed Alaric's lead rope to Jenn. The Thoroughbred pranced beside her, and I stood back as Jenn led Alaric through several circles and figure eights. She halted him, picked up each hoof, and checked his teeth and ears.

“They've all been vetted prior to today,” I said. “Last week, they were shod and dewormed, too.”

“That's great,” Jenn said. She smiled at me, but she only had eyes for Alaric.

He's got a new home!
I cheered in my head. Unless something completely unexpected happened, I just knew Jenn was going to take him. She was scratching under his chin, and the almost blue-black gelding flapped his lower lip.

Both Jenn and I laughed.

Jenn took her eyes off Alaric and met my gaze. “Where do I sign?” she asked.

“Really?! Oh, yay!” I clasped my hands together.

“I'm already in love with him,” Jenn said. “I hope I meet all of the qualifications.”

I stepped forward to pat Alaric's neck. “I'm sure you will. If you can tear yourself away from him.” I grinned. “Lyssa, who's standing at the first banquet table, is the person you need to see. She'll get you the paperwork and go through the adoption process.”

“Thank you so much, Lauren,” Jenn said. “You're an incredible volunteer. I can't thank you enough for setting me up with Alaric.”

I blushed. “I just pulled the right paperwork. It's an early Christmas present for all of us—especially you and Alaric.”

Jenn nodded and handed me the lead line. “I guess I'll have to get a bigger tree to fit him under it.”

With that, Jenn squeezed my forearm and headed off to talk to Lyssa.

I threw my arms around Alaric's neck, standing on my tiptoes to reach him. “Congratulations, beautiful boy! You're going to your first real home. Jenn is going to spoil you and take such good care of you—I know it.”

I led Alaric back to his stall to await the final verdict from Lyssa. Something told me, though, that Alaric was going to have a very,
very
merry Christmas.

23

Sasha

I MADE MY WAY BACK
from a trailer where I'd helped load my first adopted horse. I felt like I was floating across the driveway. I'd seen at least three other horses loaded into trailers, and it was barely eleven. There were still at least a dozen people talking to volunteers, filling out paperwork, or talking to a coordinator and getting to know a horse.

I spotted Lauren—her smile couldn't have been wider. She walked out of the stable next to a black gelding led by a beaming older girl. The horse's legs had been wrapped for travel. A warm red-and-black-checkered blanket was buckled at his chest, covering him from withers to rump.

“Good news?” I asked, slowing and smiling at her and the other girl.

“
Fantastic
news!” Lauren said. “This is Jenn, and she adopted Alaric.” Lauren placed a hand on the gelding's neck as Jenn drew him to a halt.

“Congratulations!” I said to Jenn. “I've learned how seriously Safe Haven takes matching its horses to the right people. I'm sure you're going to be very happy with your new horse.”

The black gelding held his head high. His giant brown eyes were wide and warm. There was something about the star on his forehead that made me smile.

“I love him already,” Jenn said.

Alaric bumped Jenn's arm with his muzzle. “I think he already knows that,” I said, laughing along with Jenn and Lauren.

“Happy holidays,” I said to Jenn. “And the same to you, Mr. Alaric.” I touched the gelding's muzzle, then gave Lauren a thumbs-up when Jenn started to lead Alaric forward.

Omigod!
Lauren mouthed.

I waved, grinning at her, and looked for anyone who might need help. Near the application table, Jacob and Paige were stapling applications. They kept passing the stapler back and forth—almost unable to keep up with the papers Lyssa kept handing them.

A gray-haired man in jeans and a puffy green coat stood
in front of the corkboard at the wall at the entrance of the stable. The board had photos of all of the horses available for adoption. Brit had been one of the volunteers who had helped arrange the photos. The board was decorated with garland along the top edge, and the cork had been sprayed with green and gold glitter before the pictures had been glued onto the board.

“Hello,” I said, walking up to the man. “I'm Sasha, a volunteer with Safe Haven. Do you have any questions that I might be able to help you with?”

He turned to me, wrinkles forming around his kind brown eyes as he smiled at me. “Hello, Sasha,” he said. “Nice to meet you. My name is Tedd Orson.”

“It's nice to meet you, too, Mr. Orson,” I said. “How can I help you?”

Mr. Orson ran a hand over the back of his neck. “Please call me Tedd,” he said.

“Tedd,” I said, smiling.

“Honestly, I'm not here to adopt a horse,” Tedd said. “I want to contribute to Safe Haven in another way, and I wondered if you could help me with that.”

“I'd be more than happy to,” I said. There was just
something
about Tedd that made me feel as though I needed to speak to him away from the commotion of everything
going on around us. “If it's okay with you, we can go to one of the quiet, private offices and speak.”

Immediately his shoulders dropped, and he nodded. “Please.”

Once we were inside Lyssa's office, I half closed the door and motioned for Tedd to take a seat in one of the chairs across from Lyssa's desk. I pulled a chair away from the wall and sat across from him, grabbing a notebook and pen from Lyssa's desk.

“I've been meaning to come to this event for almost a decade,” Tedd said. “I'm afraid I've been too much of a coward.”

I didn't know what to say. Or do. This was
not
anything at all like what I'd expected him to say.

“Well,” I said after a pause. “You
are
here today. That certainly counts.”

Tedd looked at his lap for several seconds and cleared his throat. “My wife used to be an equestrian,” he said.

“Oh,” I said. “Are you?”

“No,” Tedd said quickly—almost harshly. “I mean, I was, but I'm not any longer.” His tone softened. “Ten years ago, my wife died in a riding accident.”

I sucked in a breath so fast that it made a tiny
whoosh
noise. “Oh my gosh. I am so sorry.”

Tedd nodded. “Thank you, Sasha. I'm sorry too, not only for the loss of my wife, but of my behavior since her passing. My wife was a passionate equestrian who loved everything about horses. She couldn't spend a day without them. She taught me to love them too.”

He smiled, and I forced myself to smile despite the deep sadness I felt.

“My wife was killed during what had always been a routine cross-country ride,” Tedd said.

The pain in his face and eyes was visible.

“Sir,” I said. “Please don't feel that you have to explain. I can't imagine how painful that must be.”

Tedd's eyes met mine. “I appreciate your kindness. It's time, though, that I tell my wife's story. I haven't spoken of it since the year it happened, and I became somewhat frozen in time. Hopefully, today, that stops.”

I nodded. “I understand,” I said.

“My wife, Hillary, was riding her favorite mare on, like I mentioned, a familiar course at our stable,” Tedd continued. “I wasn't jumping, but I followed my wife along the course to exercise my own gelding and spend time with my wife.” He cleared his throat again. “Hillary and her mare approached the second-to-last obstacle—a fallen tree. I don't know why, but her mare refused the jump.
Hillary was caught off guard, and she went over the tree and landed on the other side.”

I covered my mouth and bit the inside of my cheek. It would not help if I cried. It didn't seem right to interject with another “I'm sorry,” either.

“I dismounted and ran to her,” Tedd said, his eyes glazed over. It was as if he was back on that course. “She was unconscious. At the hospital, she was found to have a broken neck and brain damage. She had to be on life support and was in a coma for a week before I let her go.”

Tedd shifted in his seat.

“Mr. Olson, I can't even begin to pretend to understand what you must be going through,” I said. “It must be incredibly difficult to be at the stable.”

“It's easier than I thought,” Tedd said. “I sat in my car for a long time before coming in. But once I was here, I felt a sense of calm. Hillary would want me to be here. Since her passing, I've erased horses from my life. I'm not in a place of mind to own a horse today, or maybe ever, but I would like to offer a monetary contribution to Safe Haven.”

“I obviously didn't know your wife, but I'm sure this is something she would be incredibly proud of you for doing,” I said. “Please know that whatever amount you give will go one hundred percent to the animals in Safe Haven's care.
We do not charge adoption fees—we only ask adopters to contribute what they are able. Your donation is so appreciated.”

Tedd reached into his coat and produced an envelope. He handed it to me. “Sasha, I cannot thank you enough for listening to me. I'm thankful that you approached me and were so kind to hear me speak of Hillary.”

“I'm truly honored that you shared something so personal with me,” I said. “Thank you so much for your donation. May I send a thank-you note to the address on the check?”

Tedd stood, a genuine smile on his face. “You're welcome, although I actually owe this organization a thank-you. The address is actually from my company—not my home. I'd like to keep my donation known to as few people as possible.”

“Your secret's safe with me,” I said. “I promise.”

“And I promise to be back next year.”

I saw Tedd to his car and walked back to Lyssa's office. I found the ledger we were supposed to use to record donations. I wrote
anonymous
in one of the spaces. There were dozens of other listings for ten, twenty, one hundred dollars—they all added up. I slid open the envelope and took out a blue check.

“Oh my God,” I said aloud.

I read the amount of the check again. And again. And again.