“Just a little farther, sweetheart,” Wayne murmured quietly to the pied mare as he led her by the reins toward the corral. There was a small area to the side of the temporary ring where some of the Cavalierites kept their tack and the cowboy liked to keep grooming tools as well. It made it easier to care for the horses quickly, and once he reached where the saddles and bridles were hung, Tupelo seemed to understand that this was the end of their jaunt.
The pregnant mare wasn’t getting much slack despite the burden ever growing in her belly, but Wayne knew it’d be a few more months yet and some females were safe to ride up until they foaled. He wanted to make sure she stayed exercised, too, especially with the current festival situation and their inability to wander around the entirety of Casa di Cavalieri territory.
“All right,” the wolfdog said, reaching up to remove the bridle from the long white and brown head. Tupelo spat the bit out into his palm, and he went to hang it on the post before going through the rest of the routine of taking off the saddle and blankets and rubbing down the sweaty, dirty patches with a sponge.
After he’d dried her off and checked her hooves, Wayne led the mare into the actual ring and turned her loose. The others of the Casa herd greeted her, and she gave her old comrade Buckeye a nip on the shoulder that sent him cantering off around the outer edge of the pen. Laughing, the Labrador mix watched them for a moment then noticed a luperci leaning on a tree on the other side of the fencing. Head slightly tilted, the brawny male wandered over and rested his arms on the fence, taking his hat off with a smooth motion and calling out to the stranger.
“Howdy there! Ain’t seen you around before.”
His greeting was unconventional—normally he didn’t go out of his way to say hello to anyone, but if this was a newcomer to the pack, it was his responsibility as one of the higher-ranked members to make sure they were settled in and used to Casa. Of course, seeing that the other male had been watching the horses brightened him up a bit. He grinned when Fern wandered over and rested her chestnut head on his shoulder, whickering.
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