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The wind was whipping through the streets, howling between the buildings. The rain slanted down and dribbled down my back. Shivers went up my spine as I ducked into the Post Office. The glass door slammed behind me. The wind buffeted against it. My hand shook as I inserted the key into my P.O. Box, inside was a form requesting a signature. I grabbed it and hurried over to the counter. Eddie, the postmaster, handed me a certified envelope after I signed the form. He gave me a toothless smile, before returning to sorting mail.
A sort of glee overcame the loneliness I had felt since Kade left. The return address was from Kaleb Kisment. The envelope tore open with a loud rip. My fingers fumbled with a piece of paper. I withdrew a check with a slip of notebook paper folded around it. On the paper, Kaleb wrote: Thanks for everything that you have done. I gave you a bonus for getting him off the couch. Kaleb
A smiled creased my face as I scanned the note for the second time. I glanced at the check. “Holy cow,” My jaw dropped open at the amount written on the check. “That’s a lot of money.” My finger dialed Melanie’s number on their own accord. She answered on the second ring.
“Hey Melanie, are you sitting down?”
“Should I be?”
“I got the money from Kaleb. You’ll never guess how much is in there.” I paused for dramatic effect. Lowering my voice and glancing around the Post Office. “There were sixty thousand dollars in the envelope.”
She screamed on the other end. I slumped against the bench in the lobby. Sixty thousand dollars! I couldn’t believe it.
“Did you count all the zeroes?” She breathed.
“Yes,” I laughed. I scanned the check again. There were four zeroes. “I just double-checked and there are four.”
Melanie screeched some more. The low tones of Pete’s voice came through my earpiece. “Delilah got paid a load from Kisments!” I cringed as her voice hurt my eardrums. “I’m calling the bank in a minute once my excitement calms down.”
My head spun with the money. It was what we needed. It would get our therapeutic riding stable off the ground. I leaped into the air and whooped. Eddie looked up from where he was sorting mail.
“Good news I take it?” He grinned. I nodded before racing to my car as the rain pelted down my back. Nothing was going to ruin my mood.
I pulled up outside of the bank. Melanie’s little car slid into the parking spot next to me. I waved at her and then waved the check at her. She grinned back at me with a black folder tucked under her arm. We got out of our cars and dashed for the double glass doors of the bank. The warm air on the inside blasted us as I slid my arm into hers and we headed up to the counter. I signed the back of the check with a flourish before handing it over to the clerk.
“Can you put it in my business account?” I hopped up and down on my toes. She nodded as she typed rapidly on her keyboard. She handed over my receipt, said there would be a day or two hold until the funds transferred, and bid me a good day.
I turned to Melanie. “Now what?”
“We should talk to Mr. Dillard. I think he is in his office?” Melanie turned her gaze to his corner office.
Mr. Dillard leaned back in his chair, snacking on a bag of potato chips. His double chins wiggled as he chewed. Melanie looped my arm with hers and marched to his office. I struggled to keep up with her in her high heels and tight skirt. She knocked sharply on the door frame.
“Mr. Dillard, do you have a minute?” She turned on a megawatt smile towards him. He sputtered and wiped his fingers on the side of his shirt.
“Yes, ladies come in. What can I do for you?” He straightened in his seat and hastily stood up. He extended his beefy hand towards each of us. It was sweaty and sticky. I tried not to cringe with all the germs on it.
“Melanie and I have the money to secure the loan for our startup costs-” I started.
“Here’s the business plan that we put together for the therapeutic riding stable.” Melanie interrupted me and passed him the black folder. He paged through the several sheets that Melanie and I had pieced together.
“It looks good, ladies. We can get started on the paperwork. Have you found a place to rent or buy?” He settled back in his chair and stacked the papers on the side of the corner of his big desk.
“We are in the process of negotiating rental terms with Mr. Giffery’s attorney.” I shifted my weight from foot to foot. I met his gaze when his face fell.
“Sorry, girls. That property was bought this morning.” My stomach dropped. The attorney was sure that he could work out a rental agreement until it was sold. It was a big piece of property that had been for sale for the last six months. “I can get the paperwork ready for the loan within the next couple of days. Think about where you want to have your new business. You can always check with a realtor.” We would have to start over on our search, again. I drew in a deep breath and held it to hold the frustration at bay while Melanie had a blank look on her face.
We stood and left the bank.
“I could ask Pete if he could rent us some space for our therapeutic riding stable?” She twisted her hands. “I hate asking him though. The ranch is finally doing good on its own and he uses every available inch.”
“It’s alright. I may run the idea by Lindsay and her uncle, too.” The rain had slacked when we got outside. The sun peaked through the clouds, glistening on the puddles in the parking lot. There had to be a place to rent. Tabitha and those other children needed a place to ride.
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A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER, I bounced on my toes as I waited outside of Melanie’s dress shop. She was due any moment to pick me up. The rain had finally stopped, and the sun was scorching the water off the sidewalk. I rolled my shoulders and pulled my baseball hat down to block the intense rays. Pete’s truck came down Main Street. It sidled next to the curb. Its engine rumbling as Pete waved at me. I hurried over to the passenger side. Melanie slid across the worn seat. She wrapped her hand into Pete’s.
“Pete said he found the perfect place to have the stable.” She smiled over at me.
I jumped in the truck. “Really, where is it?”
“I’ll show you.” He pulled his sunglasses on and swung away from the curb.
I groaned. I forgot Pete loved to do surprises. The truck straightened out of town in the direction of the Kisment Ranch. My heart ached at the familiar sight. I reminded myself that maybe it wasn’t meant to be. That’s what Nanna had said. We’d been talking and texting, but I hadn’t seen him in weeks, and last time we talked he wasn’t coming home for a long time. Acres of hay fields and pasture ground rolled by. The driveway to the Kisment Ranch appeared next to us. Pete slowed the truck down but turned in the driveway across the road from the Kisment Ranch. Melanie’s jaw dropped as I squealed.
“We were told it was sold,” I said as I leaned out the windows.
“Yup, it was.” He answered as he dodged potholes. The main house appeared on the left, but Pete followed the driveway to the right. Up ahead, a rambling white barn with a red roof opened into small paddocks. A large, covered arena sat next to the barn. When he pulled to a stop, Penny’s head popped over her door. She nickered at us as we climbed out of the truck.
“How did you talk the new owners into renting to us?” I asked. I was in a daze. All the therapy horses were munching on hay in the stalls that lined the barn. Penny blew her nose in my direction as I searched my pockets for a peppermint.
“He didn’t talk me into anything,” Kade said softly behind me.
I spun around to find myself nose to nose with the most handsome man I had ever seen. His muscles rippled as he stepped forward and grasped my hands. He brought them to his lips and kissed my wrists. A tingle started in my hands and ran up my arms. I shivered slightly. His eyes shifted to my arms as he gently ran his hands up and down them.
“I’ve missed you these past couple of weeks. I’ve spent my whole life traveling, looking for that missing piece of me. But it was always you. You’re the person that I think about every moment of every day.” He pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. “It just took me a while to figure it out. Walking out that door for the second time in our relationship was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” He kissed the corners of my eyes and traveled to the tip of my nose. “I want you to be happy. So, with the money I won, I bought Mr. Giffery’s place.” He kissed me fully on the lips, slipping his hands around the back of my head, tilting it. My world was spinning, and I grasped on to his shoulders. He pulled back slightly. “I am donating the barn and the twenty-five acres here to your therapeutic riding stable.”
I gasped and pulled him close for another kiss. Melanie and Pete cheered.