And that’s all I had ever wanted.
35
Sage
The afternoon sun beat down on us the following Saturday as we prepared the horses for the Bottom of the Buckle Horse Rescue parade. Callan was supposed to pick Avery’s horse up on Thursday, but the seller had an emergency so he had to push it to next week. Thankfully, Avery was looking forward to the parade and fair tonight, so she wasn’t too bummed about the delay.
The county fair took place once a year in the next town over, and everyone from the surrounding towns showed up. The community always helped set everything up and volunteered to work booths if they needed extra hands, and the same went for the preparation of the parade.
A few of the ranch horses were here, which would be ridden by Callan and Lennon, and the rescues they brought along would be led by volunteers behind them. Charlotte and another volunteer typically held the banner, but this year, Avery would be doing it with her instead.
Avery had wanted to ride one of the horses, but Charlotte explained to her that it was a bit too risky with the chance that they could spook at something, given it was a busy event.
They only brought the rescue horses that were more used to people and noises, and never the skittish ones. They didn’t want to spook them and have a horse running loose. The parade would only be a few minutes anyway, with it being a short walk down the main road through this town, then they’d be loaded back into the trailer to take home.
The awareness the parade brought to the rescue helped a ton, so they always opted to take part in it. Donations would flood in for months after, which made a huge difference in the coverage of medical bills and feed.
I made my way back over to Avery where she was brushing pink glitter paint into the mane of Callan’s horse. He’d given her free rein to decorate Ace however she liked, so she took advantage of that and wanted his entire mane and tail to be pink.
“Here you go,” I said, setting the plastic hair ties on the stool next to her.
“Can you help me braid his hair?” she asked, her fingers sticky with the paint.
“Of course.” I grabbed a hair tie and got to work on the bits she’d already covered in pink. “Are you excited to be in the parade?”
She nodded. “Callan said he’s gonna ride on my side.”
“Did he?” I asked, my lips quirking up on the sides as I glanced over to where Callan was talking to a volunteer. He was wearing dark brown chaps and his tan cowboy hat, but all I wanted to do was take it all off and have my way with him.
Unfortunately, that’d have to wait until tonight.
He caught me staring and winked, the act instantly igniting a flame inside me.
I turned back to the braid as Avery said, “Yeah. Just wait until he sees Ace.”
I was sure Callan would flaunt this horse around even more with the work Avery did on him. A little girly makeover wouldn’t scare him away.
“He’s going to love it.”
There were people floating around everywhere, everyone helping each other out as they got ready. There were a few other nonprofits in the parade, but they were in various spots around the dirt parking lot getting ready with their own banners and volunteers.
Bottom of the Buckle was the only horse rescue in the county, but others were raising funds for other organizations.
All of the rides at the fair were already put together. Off of the main street, behind the small businesses, was a large grass lot that they’d set it up in every year. People could watch the parade, then hop on over to the fair to enjoy the rest of the night.
Avery and I had never come before. My anxiety was always too high at crowded events like this, but something about having Callan here, along with the entire Bronson family, made it a little more bearable. I wasn’t constantly looking over my shoulder, despite Jason still being on the run. With a community like this, no one would let anything happen to us.
I had to believe we were safe, because the longer I told myself we weren’t, we’d keep isolating ourselves and miss out on everything due to fear.
It was time I stopped letting that fear run our lives.
Beside me, a hand came up to pat Ace’s neck, and I instantly knew who it was.
“Parade is starting soon,” Callan said, watching me as my fingers worked the coarse hairs of Ace’s mane.
“Almost done!” Avery said down by his tail.
“You still don’t want to join us?” Callan asked.
I glanced at him as I continued braiding. “I want to watch you guys from the side. I’m hoping to get a few pictures.”
He nodded and pulled a cookie out of his pocket. Ace instantly moved to take it from him, his big lips grabbing for it in the palm of Callan’s hand as he held it out for him. “Need help with anything before the parade starts?”
“I have an extra ribbon I don’t know what to do with,” Avery said, fishing through her pocket to then hold it up with pink fingertips.
Callan eyed the light pink ribbon, approaching her. “I think I know just the place.” He reached up to remove his hat, then crouched to prop it on his knee. Grabbing the piece of ribbon from Avery, he looped it through the band around his hat, tying it into a delicate bow. “How’s that?”
“It’ll match Ace so good!” Avery replied, elated.
“Avery, you ready?” Charlotte asked as she walked by with the banner rolled in her arms.
Avery quickly ran the remnants of paint on her fingers through the tip of Ace’s tail, then spun to follow after Charlotte. “Ready!”
Callan stood, placing his cowboy hat back on his head as I watched her scurry off. She wiped her sticky hands on her jeans as Charlotte explained what her task was. She was so attentive to everything she said, her passion for this evident in her demeanor.
Looking at my work, I considered it good enough. I hadn’t braided his entire mane, but half would have to suffice.
“She worked very hard,” I told Callan as he surveyed his horse.
