I take a quick shower, not bothering to wash my hair, and then grab my computer and sit on the front porch. The reports are a hot fucking mess, and instead of trying to go through and figure out what got messed up, I just start all over and input the data from scratch. I’m only halfway done when Ev gets off the bus.
“Hey, sweet pea.” I close my laptop and stand up to give her a hug. “How was school.”
“It was good,” she says taking off her backpack and dropping it on the porch. “Can I go to Kevin’s house in like an hour?”
“Not today.” I glance back at my computer. “I really need you to help me here on the farm.”
“Mom,” she huffs dramatically. “Everyone from school is going.”
“I doubt everyone from school is going.”
“Basically everyone.”
“So, what, like five hundred kids are gonna be there?”
“Probably like 50. It’s a small school, remember? And I didn’t mean the whole school. I meant in my grade.”
“I am not letting my fourteen-year-old go to a party with fifty people,” I say pointedly.
“Fine. Not the whole school. And my whole grade isn't going. But I got invited and I want to go.”
“I understand, but I need you here.” I bring my hand to my face, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I have to turn in this report to work by the end of the day and no one has been groomed or worked today.”
“Okay,” Everly says with minimal sass. “Can I ride if Maria comes over?”
“She’s not going to the party everyone will be at?”
Everly makes a face. “She’d rather ride.”
“If she helps brush everyone, then yes. You can ride. But you better get a move on before it gets dark.”
We go inside so Everly can get a snack before heading out to the barn to start chores.
“So, I missed career day,” she starts telling me as she opens the fridge and looks inside. “But this girl, Hannah, just came down with mono and is going to be out the rest of the year.”
“I’ve yet to see how these two things are connected.” I sit at the kitchen table, going back to my work. This is beginner-level data entry, and I have no idea how it got so messed up.
“Since she’s out for the rest of the year, her career day spot is open, so I got to take it!” Everly turns away from the fridge with a smile on her face. “She was going to shadow Dr. Harris, but now I get to fill in her spot. I get to spend Monday at the clinic with him in the afternoon. School takes me there, don’t worry.”
“Oh, wow,” I say. “That sounds fun.” My mind goes back to Jacob and how my opinion changed last night. Not just on how I think he’s actually a decent human being after all, but about how I find him even more attractive when I see glimpses of who he actually is.
“There’s a permission slip for you to fill out in my backpack. Don’t forget to fill it out.”
I give her a look. “Then why don’t you get it now before we forget.”
She purses her lips but brings me her backpack. I get the permission slip signed and put it away in her bag and then go back to work. About an hour later, Maria and her sister came over to help with the barn chores. I finish fixing the reports right after the girls feed the horses. With the three of us working together, we’re able to get everything done in a somewhat timely matter.
I still don’t have as much time as I’d like to exercise and work one-on-one with the horses. The goal is to adopt the available horses out, freeing up room for more rescues. The more well-trained the horses are, the safer it is for everyone, and the easier it will be to find them good homes.
Maria ends up spending the night, and her mom will be over later on tomorrow to help the girls with the horses while I am at the horse clinic. It’s been a while since I’ve been to anything of the sort, and I’m not exactly looking forward to going alone. I had hoped Everly could come—with someone else to stay here and take care of Thor— but I am excited to sit in on some panels and, of course, do a little bit of shopping.
I had just gotten us to a better financial situation, finally. And, while I can’t say things are terrible now, I know how expensive the vet bills are going to be. When I got the price for the next shipment, I almost had a heart attack. It’s only the beginning of summer, and I already have to put a deposit down in the next week or so to make sure I have enough hay to get us through the winter.