“It’s a well-kept secret. Do you want to pet the horses?”
“Can we?” I asked, unable to contain my excitement. “I love horses.”
“Sure. If Keegan’s here, you may get a chance to see her doing time trials.”
“While I’m staying with you, if there’s ever a time you can’t find me, I’ll be here or in the greenhouses.”
He chuckled. “I completely understand. Like I said, the greenhouses and the stables are my favorite places on the farm. I like the ponds, too, though.”
“There are ponds?”
“A couple. I can show you those next.”
Keegan stepped out of a stall leading a giant horse with her. “Hey, guys. What are y’all doing here?”
“I’m giving Daphne a tour of the farm.”
“Well, you’re just in time. I’m getting ready to take this big guy out on the track. You’re welcome to stay and watch if you have time.”
“We’d love to,” I answered for both of us.
“It’ll take me a few minutes to get him ready. If you want, you can give the horses in stalls one through four a couple of treats.”
Diablo’s ears perked up when she mentioned treats. Keegan noticed and smiled. “I have some of his kind in the office, if he’d like some.”
“Yes, please. He loves treats.”
Keegan handed the horse’s lead to Dice. “I’ll be right back.” She returned with a handful of bone-shaped treats. “These are homemade. The ingredients are peanut butter, apples, egg, and a little bit of baking powder.”
“I’m sure he’ll love them. In fact, I’ll probably need to get the recipe from you.”
“I’ll have Gabby send it to you. Whenever she makes them for Shadow, she drops some off here for the customers who bring their dogs to the barn.”
After Diablo devoured his treats, we walked over to the stalls and fed treats to the horses. I thoroughly enjoyed petting them and hadn’t quite had my fill when Keegan let us know she was heading out to the track.
Dice noticed my disappointment. “We can come back to see the horses any time you want.”
“I hope you mean that.”
He grinned. “I do.”
“Do you guys have pigs here?”
“No. We have horses, cows, and chickens, but no pigs.”
We walked out to the track and leaned against the fence as Keegan rode her horse to the starting line.
“What exactly is she doing?” I asked.
“Timing him. She has a remote that she clicks to open the gate and start the timer.”
He’d just finished explaining when the gate opened and the horse flew down the track. Keegan and the horse were nothing but a blur of motion when they passed us. “Holy shit! He’s fast.”
“Who knows? You may have just witnessed a champion in the making.”
“That would be neat,” I said, still in awe of the horse’s speed.
We hung around while Keegan finished up with the horse and did his cool down. “Well, what did you think?” she asked.