"You want me to what?" I laughed as Evelyn pulled me down the barn isle the next morning.

"You have a horse now, so why not ride her?" Pearly white teeth flashed at me as she looked back, meeting my eyes.

"Evelyn," I laughed again, unaccustomed to her excitement. "What about my stomach?" She stopped immediately, before suddenly spinning on her heel. My cheeks reddened as many of the stable hands eyed us. Her fingers were warm against my skin as she lifted my shirt, running them over the bandage. Her eyes were calculating as she inspected my stomach, poking and pressing here and there, and I was surprised to discover that her antics didn't cause me pain.

"I think," she paused. "That you will be fine, we just have to be careful to not stretch the skin when you get on and off the horse." I chewed thoughtfully on my bottom lip.

"I want to work with her, but I think I should start slow. Believe me, I'm just as excited as you, but I just want to be sure." She sighed, her shoulders dropping. I almost giggled at the childish disappointment that she exhibited. I half-expected her to stomp her foot.

"Why do you have to be so smart." She grumbled, grabbing my hand and towing me along.

I laughed and shook my head and let her lead me away.

She led me to a garage-like room with a sliding medal door that she pulled up and secured with a broom. I eyed it, half afraid that it was about to fall down and crush me, but it held firm as I ducked inside. Immediately I was hit with the smell of freshly cut hay and grain. We walked in and Evelyn looked back at me with a smile on her face as she flicked on the light. "So, now we get to feed them." She handed me a black scooper-thingy with a deep opening and pointed to a green bag. "That is Strategy, which provides nutrients such as essential oils, controlled sugar and starch, and helps with shine."

My brow furrowed as I took in the information. "Shine?"

She chuckled. "Yes, a horses coat is very important to their survival. Their coat helps them live in many different environments and wether conditions, which is why we need to fill it with nutrients as well. Plus," She winked at me. "December is very proud of her coat and would never allow it to be anything less than dazzling."

I laughed. December did seem like a very flashy mare, the exact opposite of me.

"Horses pride themselves on their coats and the way they move their muscles, how they show them off. This is essential to a horses survival and how they appear in a herd."

I nodded, captivated by how she explained this to me so fluidly. It didn't really matter that I had no idea what she was saying, I only hung on her every word. It seemed like a lot to remember, but I suppose you become an expert when you're a teacher. I'd never really seen Evelyn teach, but it was obvious now, as I watched the way she moved her hands and the vocabulary she used. She was captivating.

She shut the light off before sliding the heavy metal door down. We moved on to another storage shed a minute later, and as she slid the door up I was hit with a wave of dust. We coughed and Evelyn offered me an apologetic smile before we walked in. Light flooded the room and hay stacks as high as the ceiling covered nearly every square inch of the room. Evelyn pointed to the nearest stack, which looked grassy and loosely-packed. "That is Timothy Hay, which is what we grow here. It's a grass-based hay that is filled with proteins and a high calcium content. We usually feed it to the horses who have a hard time accepting their food. All horses like grass, so its easy to get them to eat this hay."

I nodded again, eating up her words apparently as easily these horses ate their grass hay. "What does December eat?" Over by the wall was a row of wheelbarrows. Evelyn made her way over to them and grabbed one, wheeling it over to me. She grabbed two big flakes of the grassy hay and put them in the wheelbarrow, before moving onto the next stack. This one looked chunkier and was thicker.

"This is Alfalfa, which is also used to encourage horses to eat. It is high in sugars, which tends to make the horses kind of crazy, so we don't feed it in large quantities like we do the grass hay."

"Isn't December only three years old? Why would you give her more sugar if she already has so much energy?" Evelyn took my questions in stride, I'm sure they were kind of stupid questions, but the smile on her face indicated that she didn't mind at all.

"Good point." She laughed. " Yes December has a lot of energy, which is why we give her so much food, because she tends to burn through that energy quickly. We have to match what she burns through in order to keep her at a healthy weight." I was sure my head was going to roll off with all this nodding I was doing.

"That's cool, I had no idea that there was so much horses needed." Evelyn smiled fondly at me.

The morning air was slightly chilly as we moved outside. Evelyn was beside me as she pushed the wheelbarrow towards the second barn, I could see some of the horses, as they were outside in their pens. Their tails swished and a few of them nickered hungrily as they caught sight of the wheelbarrow. "You have so many horses, how did you guys get them all?"

Evelyn glanced sideways at me. "Well, Collin used to breed and train them, and then later moved onto selling them to people who had children in 4-h and other equestrian groups. He started really young, but then he became immersed in the firefighting business and has been in love with it ever since. He left the business to Lucille, who luckily was also raised around horses. When I first came to be with them, I didn't know shit about horses, but she taught me everything I know. We're sort of partners now." I ate up her every word, my amazement of the woman in front of me only growing the more she talked. I had no idea that she was even a horse person, everything about her screamed classy and sophisticated, which is who she was, but well, you get what I mean!

"So do you train them too?" I nibbled on my bottom lip as I waited for her answer, eagerly waiting to hear more about her, to learn everything I could about this Evelyn.

"Yes, when I have to. I busted my knee trying to work with a rambunctious colt a few years ago and I figured that I should probably tone it down." She grinned sheepishly at me. "Now I, well, I sort of hold training sessions for a few groups around here that have disabled children. We provide the horses and the two hour sessions are free." She rubbed the back of her neck, her cheeks pinked slightly.

My mouth hung open.

She was an absolute saint.

How could I not have seen it sooner? She is incredible.

"Wow, Evelyn....that's amazing." She shook her head and I stepped forward, cupping her cheek in my hand. She sighed and immediately sank into my touch. "Really, I mean it. That's amazing." Her eyes flashed gratitude at me, and so much more. " Thank you."

We walked on, my mind still struggling to process all that I'd learned today. I felt so lucky to have met this woman, so lucky and grateful to be a part of her life. Overall I just felt an over whelming amount of love for her. Learning so much about her made me realize that it was possible to grab life by the balls and run with it, to not let the bad in life overrule the good.

🙄😂❤️😊

😆