He’d protested this picnic outing. All he’d wanted to do was give two of the horses they’d been working with a walk through pastures and woods, but he’d been overruled. Even Lester, who’d stayed at home, had sided with Jolene, Hope, and Tobias. They trod in silence, leaves and twigs crunching under their feet, rays of light streaming through the freshly sprouted spring leaves. Birds flitted and sang loudly, but the goal of the humans was to avoid spooking the formerly wild horses. Tobias and Hope were riding Lester’s personal horses bareback, enjoying being included in this mission. Jo was directly ahead of him, leading the white filly she first worked with eight days ago. Had he known her only nine days? The fight between Jolene and Andy on Tuesday of last week had cleared the air and changed everything between them. Some of it was for the better. Some was for the worse. The better part was that they got along. He had dropped his armor, or maybe she’d ripped it from him.
