Page 20 of The Only Seconds that Matter
Taylor sulked back, pouting slightly.
“You got kids?”Kayla asked.
“Only the horses.”
One side of Kayla’s mouth twitched upwards as she gestured at Taylor.“I’d take a horse over this one any day.”
“Hey!”Taylor protested.
“You into rodeo?Is that how you met Johnny?”
“No.I just sold him a horse.”At this point Johnny had sold the horse to the feedlot owners, though he still rode her plenty while at work.Apparently having a job cured her of her desire to buck, though Victor bet it was also the fact she couldn’t get Johnny off with her usual tricks.
“Taylor’s been tellin’ me she wants to be a horse trainer now.”
“I could work here!”Taylor blurted.“Maybe I can clean stalls and stuff.”
“You’re a nine-year-old.I’d rather you put that effort into school instead.”
“School’s boring though.”
“Ain’t no way your ass is doin’ anythin’ unless you graduate middle school.”Kayla turned back to Victor.“I don’t wanna hold you up too long.I’m sure you got other things to be doin’.”
“I’m just getting ready to go to an auction with some folks tonight after Taylor’s lesson.”
“A horse auction?”Taylor exclaimed.
“Yeah.It starts at seven.”
Taylor’s mouth dropped open, and she turned to her mother with pleading eyes.Kayla pursed her lips, looking prepared to say no.
“Can I go?”Taylor asked.“Please please please?”
“He don’t wanna be hauling your skinny butt along with him to no damn horse auction,” Kayla told her daughter.
“I wanna go!Please?”Taylor turned to Victor, hands clasped.“I really really really wanna go!”
Kayla rolled her eyes, clearly prepared to tell her no again.Victor decided to cut her off before she could get there.
“I wouldn’t mind her tagging along, if she really wants to come.I’m going with my assistant trainer and another woman who has a lot of contacts with local rescues.I’m there to be the experienced horse person and she’s there to scope out horses we can possibly pull for rescue purposes.”
“How late’s it go?”Kayla asked.
“Midnight, about.I know that’s pretty late for a child, but—”
“It’s not too late!I can stay up all night if I have to!”Taylor interjected.
“Yeah, and who is gonna pick you up after?”Kayla asked Taylor.“I’m workin’ night shift, and Mike’s got work at five, so he ain’t gonna be up until midnight to pick you up either.”
“Maybe Uncle Johnny could pick me up.”
“On a Friday night?Good luck with that.He’ll be four bottles deep at a bar by then.”
“Uncle Johnny will pick me up if I ask him.”
“Fine, thenyoucall him.”Kayla handed Taylor her phone.“And make it quick.This is running into your lesson time.”
Taylor walked off to call her uncle, her mother’s phone looking comically large in her small hand.Kayla dug into her back pocket to pull out a cigarette, then lit it with a flick from her lighter.Victor thought it odd she was expecting her child to set up arrangements with her own brother, but he wasn’t about to say anything about it.
