Free D is for Drunk by Rebecca Cantrell Page A

One rested its muzzle against his bare shoulder.
    “Glad he didn’t put on a shirt yet,” murmured Tex.
    Sofia hoped Jaxon hadn’t heard.
    “Hello,” Sofia said. She quickly introduced everyone.
    “If it isn’t Action Jaxon, the professional surfer,” said Aidan.
    Jaxon quirked his mouth into a half smile. “Horses are easier to ride than waves.”
    Violet tentatively stroked the nearest horse. “What’s her name?”
    “Inky. Wanna sit on her back?” Jaxon asked.
    “Yes.” Violet actually sounded a bit worried.
    Jaxon lifted her up with one arm and deposited her on the horse’s back. Violet clung to the mane and smiled.
    “Good girl,” she said.
    “What’s the other horse called?” Van looked longingly at the second horse.
    “Clyde.” Jaxon boosted him atop the other horse.
    “Like in Pac Man?” Van asked. “After the ghosts?”
    “Exactly,” Jaxon said. “Most people don’t notice.”
    Van puffed up with pride.
    “The show was great!” Sofia said.
    “If you’d told me you were bringing the whole family, I would have left out more tickets,” Jaxon said. “But I’m glad you liked it.”
    “We loved it,” said Emily.
    “Especially the part where the horses bowed,” said Aidan. “Very subtle.”
    “Aidan’s an old family friend.” Emily put her hand on his arm. “The kids love hanging out with him.”
    “Can you train these horses to do anything?” Violet asked. “Like battle?”
    “I wouldn’t want these two big babies going into battle.” Jaxon stroked their muzzles. “But horses have been trained to go to war as long as there’s been war and horses, so it would be possible.”
    “Can you train them to make noise? Or poop?” Van asked.
    That was actually a useful question. Had Grigoryan’s neighbor trained the horse to poop right in his car?
    “Sure.” Jaxon grinned again. “A lot of horses are trained to go pee when you whistle.”
    “Not a bad skill to learn, huh, Sofia?” asked Aidan.
    Jaxon looked puzzled. Maybe he was the last guy in Los Angeles who hadn’t seen the video of her peeing in the Big Rock Rehab parking lot. It made her like him more.
    “Inky and Clyde,” she said. “I like those names.”
    “Blinky and Pinky are back at the ranch. They work with cows, not this kind of trick riding.”
    “Is Blinky red, like the ghost?” Van asked. How did he know the names of video game ghosts from the eighties? “What kind of horse are they?”
    “American quarter horses,” Jaxon answered. “Blinky is a red dun and Pinky is gray. I got them all at the same time.”
    Clyde sniffed Sofia’s hair. His breath felt soft and moist against her scalp.
    “He likes you,” Jaxon said.
    “I like him, too,” Sofia said. “I haven’t ridden in a long time, but I used to love horses.”
    “She had horse posters in her room,” Emily said. “And she went riding every chance she got. She loves horses.”
    “Would you like to go riding on Tuesday? The show isn’t performed on Tuesdays, so the horses are free to get some exercise on their own.” Jaxon flashed that smile again.
    “I could come after work,” Sofia said.
    “Tuesdays are busy days at work,” Aidan piped up. “I don’t know.”
    “I do,” Sofia said.
    Tex threaded her arm through Aidan’s. “Why don’t you take me over there to look at that giant Percheron, Aidan?”
    Before he could answer, she’d tugged him away. Aidan went unwillingly, like a dog who was barely leash trained.
    Jaxon walked the horses around with the kids on the back, Sofia and Jaxon exchanged phone numbers, and then it was time to go.
    While Emily was dusting off the kids and frisking Van to make sure he hadn’t discovered some kind of tool that would be used to take apart the minivan, Sofia got a moment alone with Jaxon.
    “I really enjoyed your show,” she said. “The horses. The acrobats. The costumes. Just great.”
    “Your friend, Aidan, didn’t seem that impressed.” Jaxon glanced over to where Aidan