Majesty

6. Doctor's Visit

It was nearing noon when Mindy's pickup rumbled back up the driveway tugging the horse trailer behind it. She checked her watch and decided that explaining events of the day to Kyla would have to wait. The doctor was due to arrive in an hour and there was plenty of work to be done. She had three more stalls to clean, yesterday's dishes to wash, and the house to sweep and put in order.

With a sigh, Mindy climbed out of the truck and plodded to the trailer. She considered again the prospect of hiring a stable hand, but quickly decided against it. Kyla would earn her keep when she was well enough.

A fearful whinny escaped the trailer as she unlatched the bolt and swung open the huge metal door. Flooded in sunlight, the dun grulla pony eyed her warily with big, round eyes. Her hooves were planted in a wide stance and she looked ready to bolt at the slightest movement, as though there was somewhere to go.

"There, there Precious," Mindy soothed. She held out her hand toward the pregnant mare. Precious spooked and bumped against the back of the trailer, panting furiously. Moving slowly, Mindy grasped the lead rope and continued speaking in soft, soothing words. When she gave a slight tug on the rope, Precious threw her head in the air and whinnied again nervously.

Minutes ticked by and it took a good bit of coaxing before she was calm enough to be led to the stable. Mindy settled Precious in the largest stall, somewhat isolated from the others. Feeding her took little time, but grooming the skittish mare proved to be a challenge. Her coat twitched at the touch of the brush and she sidestepped when Mindy moved closer again.

Abandoning the brush, Mindy rested a warm hand on her neck and held still. Precious watched her steadily but made no motion to shy away. Taking this as a positive sign, Mindy relaxed her muscles and let her fingers slide down the mare's neck. Then she lifted her hand again and placed it under her muzzle. Gradually, Precious warmed to her touch and breathed more easily. Mindy held her face in her hands and was just combing her forelock when Scamp, the barn cat, decided to take the moment to yowl suddenly and scamper from behind the buckets at the back of the stall where he had apparently been hiding.

Precious reared partway and swung around wildly, her nostrils flaring and her skittish stance returning. Mindy resisted the urge to curse at the cat and tried to ignore the distraction. Horses can sense how you feel, she reminded herself, calm down. She composed her breathing and relaxed her shoulders before slowly stretching out her hand again to the startled mare.

Precious fled to the back of the stall and cowered in the corner. She simply had no trust. With a glance at her watch, Mindy made a mental note to come back to this later. She opened the stall door, shoving the cat outside with her foot, and latched it behind her before hurrying down to Mocha's stall to face the next task that lay before her.

It wasn't until she had cleaned out her stall and fed and groomed the young mare that Mindy thought to put away the horse trailer properly. And it wasn't until that was taken care of before she remembered Kyla waiting upstairs with a tray still on her lap, which in turn reminded her of the dishes. So much more work to be done than there was time for. Mindy let out an exasperated moan and climbed the stairs halfheartedly. She forced a smile in response to Kyla's "finally!" expression then apologized quickly and lifted both trays before scurrying out the door.

She had just dumped them on the kitchen counter when the doctor pulled up in his van outside. Mindy wiped her brow, shoved stray blond hairs behind her ears, took a deep breath, and walked out to greet him. He stood patiently with hands on his hips scanning her property with a satisfied smile.

"Howdy!" she said, reaching her hand out to meet his in a warm shake.

"Greetings," he replied, "It's a nice place you have here."