Right as I put my phone down and get all snuggled up with my blanket, my phone dings with a text. Huffing, I unwrap myself and pick it up from the coffee table. It’s Poppy, and I have to read her text twice to make sure I’m actually reading it.
Poppy: I’ve been considering a pony to add to my lesson program, and I heard you have one. Is he sound and sane?
Me: Are any ponies actually sane?
Poppy replies with two laughing emojis
Me: We do have a pony and as far as I can tell he’s sound. Well, other than being on stall rest for a cut on his leg. It’s superficial and won’t limit him at all.
Poppy: Has he had any training?
Me: I honestly couldn’t tell you. He was very skittish at first but warmed up quickly, so I think at one point he was loved on by humans. He’s about twelve or so.
Poppy starts typing only for the little bubble to disappear. My phone rings just seconds later.
“I thought this would be easier since I’m driving,” she says as soon as I answer her call.
“Oh, probably.”
“Tell me about your pony. I’d prefer one who’s only green-broke so I can train him the way I like my horses to be trained.”
“Well,” I start and get up, needing to walk around while I’m on the phone. “We’ve been calling him Thor and he definitely thinks he’s a god.” Poppy and I both laugh, and I tell her about how my brother forgot to put the chain around the gate which lead to Thor’s injuries.
“I am interested,” Poppy goes on. “Would you mind if I stopped by and took a look at him?”
“No, not at all. Though, I would like to keep him here until he’s cleared to start work again.”
“No problem. I’ll stop by sometime soon then.”
“Sounds good. How was the show this weekend?”
“Great! We took home quite a few blues!”
Pausing for a moment while I consider asking her how her night with Mason Harris was, I see headlights coming down my driveway.
“Are you at my house?” I ask, wondering if I misheard what she said or not.
“No, I’m on my way to mine. Why?’
“Someone just parked in front of my house.” Instantly, I get a little nervous and my mind goes into planning mode. I want to call the dogs in, but if I don’t have time, I’ll lock the front door, run to lock the backdoor, and then dash upstairs to warn Ev while I call the police.
My heart skips a beat in my chest as the driver’s side door opens. Light hits Louisa’s face and I gasp. “I’ll call you back,” I tell Poppy. “Everly! Come downstairs!” I nearly drop the phone in my excitement to see my sister.
“What are you doing here?” I ask in disbelief as I throw the front door open. Everly comes clomping down the stairs, just as excited as I am to see my sister.
“I decided to take a drive,” Louisa says casually, getting out of her Mercedes and wrapping her arms around me. “And I ended up here.”
“How long are you staying?” Everly asks, getting a hug next.
“Technically, I don’t have to be back at the office for a week and a half.” Louisa makes a face. “Someone brought bedbugs into the building, so it’s closed.”
I mirror Louisa’s expression and step back. “You didn’t bring them here, did you?”
“Oh, god no.” She shudders. “It wasn’t our office, but some marketing firm the floor below us. They’re hitting the whole building just to be safe. I also just closed a big case sooner than expected so I have a little bit of downtime.”
Downtime means something different to my sister than it does to me. She’ll no doubt be up at dawn tomorrow, working on something.
“It’s late and you have school in the morning,” I remind Ev. “Help Aunt Louisa carry in her bags and you can get twenty minutes to hang out before going to bed.
“Can’t I have an hour?”
I cock an eyebrow. “Thirty minutes. That’s my final offer. You’re a crab in the morning if you don’t get enough sleep.”
“Ugh. That’s so unfair,” she grumbles, shaking her head.
“You’ve got it rough, kid,” Louisa teases and we help her carry everything inside. For someone who’s only staying maybe a week, she certainly brought a lot of things.
“Which room do I get?” Louisa asks and Ev and I exchange looks.
“What?”
“Uh, I haven’t cleared out Aunt Kim’s room yet,” I explain, holding the door open for the dogs. “There’s no mattress on her bedframe anymore. Eventually, I’ll, uh, put my own stuff from home in there, but I haven’t quite gotten to that yet.”
Louisa’s eyes go to the couch, but before she offers to take it, both dogs jump up and lay down on it.
“You’ll just have to bunk with one of us and we’ll figure something better out in the morning.”