Free Nova by Delia Delaney Page B

hadn’t planned on heading that direction—I was mainly shooting for small companion pets—but he assured me it didn’t even matter. Apparently there were other animals on the ranch that he doctored—cats and dogs—a nd he claimed there was plenty of work for the both of us. He also added that schools like to see that you’ve had a variety of training, not just in one field.
    I was so excited that night that I couldn’t even sleep. I laid awake for several hours, just thinking about spending time on a horse ranch and getting paid to intern for an equine vet. I even became excited for the equestrian aspect of it.
     
    I arrived in Bakersfield just before nine the next morning. I left Santa Clarita early, just in case I had trouble finding the ranch. But Harmony Acres was very easy to find, just as Dr. Stevens had said. I passed acres of white- fenced fields as I drove up the drive. The guesthouse was on my left and the arena and stables were right next to it. I parked in front of a wood en sign on the arena that read “office.”
    As I got out of the car, I looked ahead to where the road continued to the main house and I had to pause. It was beautiful, a two-story Craftsman-style, and the driveway made a gigantic loop in front of it with professional landscaping all around it.
    A few people were milling about. A girl was l eading a horse into the stables and two men were loading another one into a horse trailer. There were at least fifteen horses that I could count in the fields across the driveway , and I was sure there were even more than that behind the stables .
    “Can I help you with something?” a young woman asked as she came out of the arena. She looked to be my age or maybe younger, with medium-length brown hair that was tied into a ponytail, and dusty boots that barely stuck out from her faded jeans.
    “Oh, uh, no I don’t think so. I’m here to meet with Dr. Stevens and he said to just find him in the office.” I pointed to the sign in front of me for some reason ; maybe I was waiting for her permission.
    “Yep, he’s in there,” she smiled. “Are you Nova?”
    I was a little surprised that she knew about me but I said, “Yes, I am.”
    “Hi, I’m Sam. Austin’s sister,” she added with a smile.
    I guess I could see the resemblance after she said it. And when she stepped closer to me to politely shake my hand, I could tell they had the same eye color. It unnerved me because I realized how much I wanted to see him, and the reminder caught me off-guard. “Oh, it’s nice to meet you,” I said, shaking her hand.
    “Come on, I’ll walk you inside,” she said , motioning for me to follow her.
    We walked through an open breezeway and I could see horses being worked in the enormous arena ahead of us.
    “Well, that’s the main office,” she said, pointing to our left. “And Jack’s office is right here,” she added, turning to the right. His name was on the door, and she pushed right through it. “He y, Jack ?” she called.
    A man immediately produced himself from the back room and he stopped when he saw us, seeming a bit surprised. Then he looked at the clock and said, “Oh, where did the time go?” He chuckled and stepped forward with his hand extended. “Hello, you must be Nova? I’m Jack Stevens.”
    “It’s very nice to meet you,” I replied. He looked to be in his mid- thirties. He had sandy colored hair and blue eyes, and his smile was friendly.
    “Well I’ll let you two get to work,” Sam said. “Just come find me later and we can go riding together,” she smiled at me.
    After she left I asked Dr. Stevens, “Is that a requirement?”
    “Riding?” he chuckled. “You don’t know how to ride a horse?”
    I was instantly embarrassed but shook my head no.
    “Well no worries,” he said, seeming to wave it off. “It’s not going to hurt your chances to intern,” he added with a wink. “Come here, let me show you something.”
    He motioned me to follow him to the