Freedom

J.F. GOLDBERG

It’s Saturday and I didn’t ask Jackson to prepare Miss Holy. Not because I am not going riding but because I decided to free rein her. I don’t know the terminology in the ‘horsey world’, but I do know that to me, that means freedom.

Miss Holy looks as cute as a button when she is all decked out with her shiny saddle and running martingale and everything but there is something so freeing about just throwing a halter on her with a lead rope clipped on each side and a comfortable rug un her back to catch our sweat with no more complications than that.

Just me, her and the open road. And Maya of course, my floppy eared little dog wouldn’t miss a run like this for the world! She has come such a long way since I picked her up out of that cardboard box by the stream.

She was so tiny and emaciated and covered in lice and mites and all sorts, you wouldn’t know it now though. My happy go lucky girl seems to be just in love with life! It makes my heart so happy to watch her frolic and play as she should.

Miss Holy wasn’t much better when I found her at that auction house either. I told the guy that I wouldn’t have him arrested for animal abuse if he handed her over at once.

When I went to pick her up, that was when I saw the holding pens with all the other horses. I wish I could have rescued more but by the time I got there, they were already sold and there was nothing I could do.

No amount of money was going to change their minds, I think they were all scared that if I got a good look at the state of the horses then I would start pressing charges on everyone.

I learned pretty quickly that going in with an aggressive attitude just makes them clam up and disappear. I still wonder what happened to a few of them that were clearly not fit to be moved. No evidence was left behind though; they made sure of it.

That was when I started Blues ranch, and I have made it my mission to try and help as many horses as possible since then. Equines I should say, I also have a healthy herd of donkeys and mules too now.

Miss Holy’s best friend is Mini-Bell, she was one of our first donkeys and I spent many nights, nursing her wounds and trying to sooth her. I have found that generally, donkeys seem to get down, especially when they are on their own too much.

Whist she was recovering, I put her in the stable next to Miss Holy as she has her paddock on my estate, so it was easier access than the ranch. By the time Mini-Bell was better, her and Miss Holy were inseparable.

I have rescued hundreds of animals at this point but there are always some that just stick with you somehow. I try to rehome as many as I can, but Miss Holy, Mini Bell and Maya just stuck with me.

I duck under another low branch as we trek on through the forest, the stress of the city and the office left far behind. Right here, right now, I am just the girl who dreamed of having a horse of my own one day and made it a reality. My happy place.

By the time Monday rolls around I am ready to face the week ahead. I don’t hate it here; I would just rather be outside than stuck in a stuffy office. I have a lot of people who are employed by me though, both directly and indirectly.

So, I will deal with the suits and the meetings and the paperwork and make sure that everything continues to run smoothly. I even put on my Meryl Streep face from ‘Devil wears Parada’ when I have to sit through the interviews for Marias assistant.

Only the absolute best will do for her and I, frankly, don’t care how many graduate students I have to scare to get it. She is invaluable and where we are happy to train people, they do have to be trainable in the first place!

By the afternoon, I am about ready to give up hope that we will find our diamond in the rough, letting Maria take over with the questioning.

I’m hardly even paying attention to them anymore; my mind is already on the meetings I have lined up and the mound of paperwork that’s just getting higher as we sit here. Maybe this was a bad idea.

That’s when I hear it, the change in Marias voice, interest colours her pitch and my attention is pulled back to the room. In front of us sits a very well put together, handsome man.

His chiselled jaw, clean shaven face and wavey, dark hair certainly wouldn’t be bad to look at every day at least. I tune in to see if he might be a good fit for the job, I’m quite sure it’s going well so far by Marias tone, but we’ll see.

“Well, that went well.” Maria casually says after he leaves the office. “He seemed to know what he was talking about, do you think we’ll find anyone better?” I ask with a raised brow, holding back my relief that this might be over.

“Honestly, no, he has experience, he seems pleasant to work with” Charming, I think is the word she is looking for. “He even came with great references from his old job so we could start him right away!” She finishes with an edge of enthusiasm.

“Great!” I breath “Lets send the rest home, if I have to sit through one more teenager who wants to use this post as a stepping stone to the career they really want, then I might just throw my Jimmy Choos at them just to try and knock some sense into them.”

Maria laughs but I was only half joking. At least some of them were honest enough to come right out and say that they wanted to ‘work their way up to the next step’, eye roll.

The ‘next step’ is Maria and then me and if they turn into a multibillion-dollar entrepreneur overnight then more power to them, but they can do it on their own damn time.

I am not spending time, training an assistant who is just going to leave or who’s more interested in other things. More to the point, it would be a serious waste of our time when the whole point is to take work off of Maria in the first place.

I felt us both breathe a sigh of relief today though. “What was his name again?” I ask Maria before we part ways. “Johnathan Michael Thornton” She lazily recites, “36 years old, recently moved to the area, single...”

She gives me a side-eye with the last bit of information and wiggles her eyebrows with a playful smirk. I roll my eyes “Mmmhmm, good for him. Not happening though Maria. Anyway, I am too in love with me to have room for anyone else.”

I give a dramatic hair flip and exaugurated sexy pose. She crumples into laughter, “Never say never Miss Goldberg, at least it would be a nice view in the mornings.” With that she winks and walks off to chase the other candidate's home.

Maybe it’s crazy but I do take a second to let my mind wonder on that possibility. I’ve never had much luck with relationships in the past, small men get intimidated by large women, personality wise and physically.

Turns out there are a lot of small men in the world and none that I have found so far that can handle me. Still, nice to daydream once in a while.... especially when it’s distracting me from the mountain of paperwork on my desk.

I internally groan and set to work on it. It’s almost the end of the day but I can at least get a start on it before I leave tonight.

The low rumble of a vacuum cleaner disturbs me, and I realise, through the glass walls, all I can see is dark cubicles. The rumble of my stomach tells me just how late it is as I pack up to head home for the evening.

I have a fridge full of left over, take outs so I can speed home to let Maya out, she will be doing the pee-pee dance by now, poor girl. My phone dings as I drive home.

“I was dropping off a late delivery of medicine at the barn and setting up the cameras for foal watch for that mare we rescued last month when I noticed you weren’t home yet. Let Maya out for a quick run whilst I was there, let me know if you need anything else.”

It’s from Jackson, I really don’t pay that man enough! He is a fully qualified equine veterinarian, but he is so much more than that to me. I had forgotten that mare was close to her due date.

She is in much better condition now so everything should go smoothly. Thankfully, the med bay or barn is almost empty at the moment because we haven’t done any big rescues for a while.

That will change soon if I manage to get this next project up and running with the south marketplace. We have the team to do it and a folder full of volunteers who are happy to hop in and help make these things possible.

Jackson manages all that and he is dam good at it too! My stomach rumbling again, interrupting my thoughts and I am so glad I can eat as soon as I get in the door. There were so many years that I spent every night either in the office or in the barn.

The fact I am finally able to get a little more balance in my life is no small miracle. Finding the right people to help was no small task but so, so worth it. Jackson and Maria are my right and left hands, and I couldn’t do it without them now.

Other staff may be replaceable but not them! That’s why I make sure that what they want happens. Jackson wants new equipment? Consider it done. Maria wants to take a few days off for one of her kids? Not even an issue.

Well... It was an issue, I feel like I significantly age every time she is away but that’s why we hired Johnathan. I just hope he is everything Maria and I need but we will see after his two-week probation.