Erin got another carrot from the stash in her shirt, let the mare sniff it, and then began stroking her neck again, inching her fingers closer and closer to the animal’s head with every pass. She stiffened when she saw Four Toes approaching the paddock. She didn’t want to get trampled if the mare went berserk. But apparently the mare and the bear had already met and established a relationship. Four Toes made a moaning sound as he walked along the paddock fence, and the horse rumbled back at him. Erin likened their exchange to that of two people who didn’t speak the same language and settled for making sounds of greeting. The bear continued on its way to the main house.

“So, you’re not afraid of Four Toes,” Erin observed. “I think that may be amazing. I don’t imagine horses normally like bears. But then, Four Toes has been domesticated. Maybe he told you about that.” Erin reached the crown of the mare’s head and offered her another carrot. “You’re a good girl,” she whispered. “And maybe tomorrow, you’ll let me touch your ears. Domino and Four Toes both love to have their ears scratched.”

As Erin spoke, she realized she’d just committed to staying on the ranch one more day. The horse was starting to trust her, and Erin didn’t think it was right to befriend the animal and then just walk away. That thought reminded her that it had been too long since she’d talked to Julie. Her friend had tried to contact her a few times, but Erin had let her calls go to voicemail. She’d just quit her job and taken another one at the ranch. She’d known Julie would ask questions, she hadn’t known how to answer them then, and she still didn’t now. But that didn’t matter. She still needed to get in touch and at least assure Julie that she was okay.

For another hour, Erin held a piece of carrot in her loosely closed fist, allowing the mare to smell it, but not letting her have the treat until she’d managed to touch the crown of the horse’s head. She was pleased when the mare stopped flinching. And at that point, she decided the mare had been through enough for one day.

She went to find something else she could do and ended up mucking stalls for the rest of the afternoon. This time, she tried to follow Vickie’s advice and took smaller bites of the straw and manure with the tines of the pitchfork. She also bypassed using the wheelbarrow and used the skidder to haul stuff away.

Chapter Fifteen

Erin was drained by quitting time, but today it was a good kind of tired. As she walked toward the bunkhouse to help fix dinner, she decided she definitely wanted to remain on the ranch one more day. She wouldn’t unload her car. She’d just get out a set of clean clothes and her toiletries. If things got ugly again tomorrow, she’d be ready to leave when her shift ended. The thought of abandoning the mare to fend for herself made Erin sad, but it wasn’t as if Wyatt couldn’t take over with the animal and do a better job.