Will she ever make amends with her family? Will she have to choose between her passion and her career? What happens when their relationship hits rocky waters?
Julia POV Will and I had spent some time at the beach. I had to head back home though as I had more work and a business to run. I headed back home because I knew we had reached one of the most cumbersome seasons of the year. Shedding season. It was the most disgustingly beautiful time where all of my animals were shedding off their winter layers for their spring and summer ones. As soon as I got back I headed out to the field to get one of my new rescues, Goldie. "Hello girl." I said gentle as I connected her lead rope to her halter. Goldie was definitely one of our more spirited ones, but I think it was just because of how young she was. Often times during shedding season, I just made sure to bathe all my animals to help them get rid of their excess hair. Goldie just happened to be first on my list of many. Kierstin, usually would've been there to help me out, but she stayed behind to spend more time with Alex and his family. I didn't blame her and I knew she needed the break. I put Goldie in the cross ties as I started brushing her down to get off all the loose fur. I heard tires in the parking lot which was strange because this was Rachel's day off. I walked out of the barn a bit as I cleaned my hands on my riding pants. I saw a woman around my age hop out of a white jeep. "Can I helo you?" I asked as I walked her way. "Yes, I'm looking for Rachel?" She said as she walked toward me. "She's not working today, but is there something I can help you with?" I asked her giving her a one over. She was wearing a very clean riding uniform. "Well...actually today is my first day of work. I'm the new stablehands she hired. My name is Jessica Walker." I had forgotten that Rachel had hired a stablehands, but it was a good idea considering this wasn't really Kierstins job. "Well Jessica. Welcome to Safe Haven. My name is Julia Winters. I'm the owner." I said shaking her hand and she looked at me surprised. "I didn't expect you to be so..." "Young? I get that a lot. So tell me Jessica. What's your experience with animals?" I asked her. "My mothers a vet in the local clinic. She's a good friend of Robins. I've helped her with plenty of animals. I prefer horses though, and you can call me Jess." She said smiling. "Okay Jess. Well I have a few rules, but one very important one. These animals all come from different backgrounds. Most of them have been abused or neglected so mistreat any of them and you're done. The other rules are kind of precaution protocol so you'll learn those later. You've actually come at a good times. It's spring shedding for all the animals so they all get baths. I'll go grab Spirit while you start brushing and hosing down Goldie here." I said before handing her a brush and walking off to our side pasture where we kept Prince and Spirit. I walked into the pasture and whistled. The sound of hooves was clearly heard. I hooked up Spirit to a lead rope and walked him over towards the barn.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"So what's some of the rules?" Jess asked. "Rule number 1: DONT go in the side paddock ever. I don't care what the situation is. The only people allowed in that paddock is Kierstin and I. Spirit and Prince are wild horses and the last thing I need is someone getting hurt." "Side paddock off limits got it. Anything else?" "Close everything behind you. And put everything back in its place. I have the horses gear lined up with their things and each of them are color coordinated so that should help keep it easy. Lastly don't go on any trail rides without first notifying Rachael, Kierstin, or myself. We've already lost enough horses this year due to people's own carelessness." "Keep everything clean and don't go on trail rides without permission." She said as she washed the soap off Goldie. I finished hosing down Spirit and put him away for the night in the barn closer to the house. I showed Jess which horses were kept where and then I showed her the feeding schedule for all the animals. "Alright come with me. You are going to go into the back field and grab Clover. After that I'm going to head to the front field and grab Romeo." The mares were in the back field grazing lazily. I walked over to Clover and let Jess grab her from the field. "You'll learn all their names and personalities eventually." She grabbed Clover and we started walking through the field.
