Free Love Means Courage - Andrew Grey by Andrew Grey

your facilities for lessons?”
“Of course not.”
“Could you hold on a minute?”
“Certainly.” He could hear her covering the phone with her hand, and he waited for her to come back on the line. “Could you take five horses?” “Five?” That was a huge surprise. “Yes, we have room. May I ask what happened?”
    “The barn we were using was hit by lightning. We were able to get the horses out but not much else. If it’s not a problem, we’ll load the horses and bring them over in the next hour or so.” Len could barely believe his ears. He hoped Cliff would be pleased. “My name is Nicole Robinson, and I’ll see you soon.” 63
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    “I’m Len, the barn manager, and I’ll be looking for you.” He hung up the phone and started for the door. Jesus, he hoped he’d done the right thing. After all, the barn was empty, and Cliff had hired him to manage the barn, so he had. Len left the tack room and got to work. The stalls that weren’t being used were bare, so he got busy hauling loads of sawdust for bedding.
    “Morning, Len.”
“Morning, Fred.” He dumped the load and spread the bedding, closing the stall door.
“You’re busy this morning. What’s up?”
    “Do you know a Nicole Robinson, by any chance?” Fred chuckled. “Sure, everyone that has anything to do with horses knows Nicole. She’s one of the best riding instructors in the county. Trains out at Old Man Padgett’s place. Why?”

    “That barn that burned yesterday must have been Old Man Padgett’s, because she’s on her way over with five horses.” Len smiled as the business student in him took over.

    “Does Cliff know?”

    Len shook his head. “I just got off the phone with her, and I’ve got four more stalls to get ready before she gets here.” Fred grabbed the wheelbarrow. “I’ll haul; you spread and get the stalls finished. Randy will be here in a few minutes, and he can check on the cattle.”
    They heard Randy’s truck pull up, and Len told him the plan while Fred began hauling. Len returned to the barn, and a few minutes later the tractor started, and Randy headed out. They worked like men possessed, preparing five stalls with bedding, hay, water, and a little grain. They were just finishing up when they 64
    Andrew Grey
heard tires on the gravel drive and then the crunch of feet.
    Len closed the last stall door and walked out front to near pandemonium. There were three horse trailers. “People, please.” Everyone looked at Len. “Which of you is Nicole?” A middle-aged, stocky woman stepped forward, and Len introduced himself, shaking her hand. “What seems to be the problem?”
    “After I hung up with you, some more owners arrived, and they followed us over, hoping you might have stalls.” Some of the owners started to push forward, but Len stopped them, addressing himself to Nicole.
    “How many horses are there?”
“Seven.” People began to argue, and Len saw the back door to the house open with Cliff running toward him.
Everything stopped when Len yelled, “Enough!” Then he said,
“I have enough room for everyone, so just be patient.” Cliff walked right up to him, speaking softly to Len. “What the hell is all this?”
    “Padgett’s barn burned down last night, and these people need barn space for their horses.” Cliff’s eyes widened. “They’ve got seven horses to board, and there may be more.” People were becoming impatient again. “I’ve got this,” Len said. “When they’re settled, I’ll fill you in.” Cliff nodded and walked back to the house just as Geoff was opening the door.
    “Okay, before we unload the horses, I have agreements that need to be signed.” Len had found them in the tack room after he hung up the phone. “Owners, follow me, and Nicole, the ring’s out back if you want to take a look.”

    She tromped through the barn as Len led the owners to the 65
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tack room. He handed each one an agreement, updating the rate by