Angel stood near the barns and stared out over all that she owned and wondered how it was she out of all the girls in the world had gotten all of this. She had the dream now; it was every little girl’s childhood fantasy come to life.
She watched the stallions as they ran around the paddock, and the two mares that were in a different paddock. She was so caught up in her own thoughts she didn’t hear Cody walk up. He said, “It’s a beautiful view, isn’t it Angel?” She nodded and said “Yes, sir it is. I’m meeting with Kyle in a bit about some quarter horses for the center.” Cody nodded and said, “I have got a line on another stallion, one of Heartbreakers sons; he’s a two-year old never been raced.” Angel smiled at him and said, “Setup a meeting and we will go have a look at him, if they are willing to sell him then we’re willing to buy.” She paused then said “I know you like to deal with reputable dealers for horse’s but there is a lot of information online and horse sales. There is a few I printed out the information on. I left the folder with the information on my desk at the house. I would like you to look at it all see if you can figure out if they are legit or just someone blowing smoke.” Cody nodded and said, “Will do Angel.”
He paused then said “You know Angel; you’ve got to learn to ride at some point here. You might want to look into buying two or three of those quarter horses for riding around here.” Angel smiled and said laughingly “You are reading my mind Cody. Hiring exercise riders and getting some decent horses for riding are at top of the list.”
Cody laughed and said “I am ahead of you, boss I got some coming for interviews. Some of these jockeys are a bit big in their britches if you ask me, a little full of themselves.” Angel’s eyes narrowed and she said “Yea we don’t want that kind of person here; we have a very Zen environment it all works well here. We won’t be causing any disruptions to that, and you know I would tell any jockey who wants to ride for us that.”
Looking back out over the landscape that encompassed her home, she had to admit she’d never let anyone tear away the peace she’d found here. It was her sanctuary. And she would make it a Sanctuary for her horses and her workers as well. In the last months’ time her life had gone crazy it was organized chaos at best, but it was her organized chaos and she would no matter what get it right.
She smiled distractedly at the horses in the paddocks and then turned to Cody and said, “I’ll need to borrow one of the hands, since we don’t have trucks or trailers for the center yet, and the barn isn’t livable we will be bringing the centers horses here for boarding until the barn’s finished.” Cody nodded and said, “I’ll send Kevin out; he can drive the second rig.” That was about the time that Kyle pulled up. When he got of the truck, he looked around then said, “This place is beautiful Angel, you have got a piece of heaven right here.” She nodded and said “Cody is getting Kevin he’s going to drive the other rig, and you can drive the first since you know where we are heading. I just need to snag Grant and we’re ready to go.”
She explained that she wanted to go by the SPCA in town and discuss rehabbing rescue horses with them. That she would like to stop by their office first thing. When they reached the SPCA and walked inside, the girl at the desk asked if they were interested in adopting anything today, to which Angel said “No, we’d like to talk to your director if they have a moment free.” The woman seemed confused but went and found her manager first. When Angel had briefly described her plan, the man had looked stunned. He said, “You want to adopt any rescue horses that we get here, and rehab them on your ranch that is actually a therapy slash rehab center for those who have been injured or traumatized in some way.” At her nod he asked, “I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name?”
Angel smiled and he seemed mesmerized for a moment as she responded. “I’m Angel McDaniel’s, you might have heard of my father Hunter McDaniel’s?” The man blinked once then said, “You’re Hunter McDaniel’s daughter?” At her nod he said seriously “I will setup a meeting for you with our director and you can pitch him your idea then. I don’t see why he wouldn’t go for it.” She thanked him then she and Kyle left. As they exited the building Kyle laughed and said, “You know he’s half in love with you now.” Angel shrugged and replied “I don’t have time for men. I have my hands full with all my projects.”
The ride to the quarter horse breeders ranch took them about forty minutes, in which time they discussed the things that still needed to be done at the center’s ranch. He told her that the architect had come through the house and found some mild damage that would have to be fixed. He suggested upgrading the bathrooms in the house with more current fixtures as the ones inside it had been there since plumbing had been put in the house. The man said the plumbing and wiring would need to be upgraded as well. She noted Kyle was looking at her as if this would be a deal breaker for her.
She smiled and told him point blank “I’ll make sure everything is done and up to code for you, Meredith and the boys. I want to get Meredith with my Interior Designer so she can tell Deanna what her taste is, since Deanna will be working on the rest of the Center. I want her to get the inside of the house ready for you guys. She will need to know what the boys are into.”
They weren’t going to buy more than twelve horse’s eight of which would be for the center and four for riding around her ranch. She let Kyle choose what would be best, because despite nearly three weeks learning stuff she didn’t know enough by far. The breeder Timothy Hanes told Angel straight up “I admire what you’re trying to do at that center of yours. And the idea of rehabbing horses it’s not something just anyone can do, but you got Kyle here, he has a good touch with wounded things.”
Much to her surprise she ended up picking her own horse, or rather he ended up picking her. She was standing at the fenced in corral as Kyle went over the horses making his selections when the big black horse came to her. He was a beauty, as he nuzzled her hand. She heard Tim say “I’ll be damned; he’s usually a skittish one. I warned Kyle about him from the start. I think you have a fan Angel.” Kyle walked over and said, “Counting the black here I’ve got the twelve we wanted marked.” They began weeding the ones they didn’t want from the ones they would be taking with them.
When they began to load the horses Tim said, “These are some damn good trailers.” Angel smiled and replied “Thanks they are for my thoroughbred ranch. We will be getting new trailers for the Center soon. Tim arched a brow and said, “You have a thoroughbred ranch as well.” At her nod he hesitated then said, “I have something you might be interested in.” She and Kyle gave him an odd look, but they finished loading the horses and followed him to a back paddock where he had a lone horse.
Tim said simply “My uncle died last year and well this was the only thing he left me. He hasn’t raced him in years; for all intents and purposes he’s been retired. But he might be good for stud service. He’s just sitting around here doing nothing; I can’t let his rutting ass near my mares. I know he’s still fertile because he got foal on one of the mares when he jumped the fence.” He paused then said, “Hell I know he’s worth a lot more, but I’d sell him to you for twenty-grand.”
Angel glanced at Kyle who was staring stunned at the horse in the fence; it was his slight nod that made her say simply “You got a deal.” She paused then said, “We’ll send someone back tonight to load him up.”
She realized in the truck on the way home she hadn’t even checked to see what the horse’s registered name was and when she did, she burst out laughing. Kyle raised a brow at this reaction and asked, “What’s so funny?” She replied “Priceless, utterly priceless.” This morning Cody told me he had a line on a two-year old that was from the Heartbreaker’s line, well we just bought Heartbreaker.” Kyle stared at her stunned and said, “Please tell me your kidding?” At her questioning look; he said, “That horse is a legend nearly; his gene pool alone is worth more than twenty grand.”
He looked at Angel and said, “You’d better call Cody.” The conversation with Cody didn’t go much differently, he was as shocked as Kyle was. He said, “I’ll send Brady down with the other trailer.” They passed Brady at the half-way point as he was headed to the Hanes Ranch.
When they arrived home and the horses were unloaded, they were taken to the corral for boarding horses so they could move around for a bit before being put into their stalls. They were standing at the corral fence when the black came up and began nuzzling Angel again. Cody seemed impressed, he said “For a woman with no horse knowledge the animals seem to love you Angel.”
She glanced at her watch and swore softly saying “I’ve got to run, she handed Cody the paperwork on the horses and said, “Could you file all this for me?” At his nod she took off at a jog for home. Kyle just shook his head and laughed, he said “That girl is always moving.” Grant who had sat quietly all day until now said “She’s worried she’ll be late for her lunch meeting.” He’d been so quiet both men had forgotten he was there.
Grant nodded at them, and then said, “I need to bring the truck around; it’s going to be a long day.” Angel showered quickly and grabbed the outfit that had all come together; it was a black dress slacks, a white camisole and a black tailored business jacket. She added her black dress boots and left her long curling red hair down. She grabbed her purse stuffing her wallet, and cellular inside it. She grabbed her briefcase off the bed that had all the paperwork that had been put together for Hope House Ranch. When she made it down the stairs and out of the house, she was relieved to see Grant had brought the truck around.
She didn’t even see the decorations that Deanna had been working on she was so focused on making her lunch meeting. She wasn’t really that shocked to see they were pulling up to the country club. Of course, her grandparents would choose this venue for a lunch meeting. When she entered the restaurant, the maître d’ asked if she had a reservation. She replied simply “I’m here to meet my grandmothers, Belle McDaniel’s and Marigold Denae.”
If the widening of his eyes could be anything to go by this man had heard of her. She was given the royal treatment from that point on. He led her to a private dining room, where her Grandmothers, Aunts, and Deanna were seated. This had become a regular thing meeting at various restaurants and discussing Hope House Ranch.
She turned to Deanna after the meal was complete and said “I’d like you to work with Meredith on making the main house a welcoming and inviting home for her and her family. Also talk with the architect, he’s found some work that needs to be done and wants them to upgrade the wiring, plumbing, and update the bathrooms in the home.”