The fear of what she’d find had turned to joy. Mel sighed deeply then walked to turn out the light, step outside, and close the door, replacing the padlock and key as she did so. Once outside, she pulled the cellphone from her back pocket. Looking at the screen, she wandered around the yard until she finally found a sweet spot with three bars of signal. She dialed the number from her address list.
“Hey Hoyt,” she said as the call was answered. “Thanks for taking care of my saddle.”
“Weren’t much. Dad did it until he died. When he cleaned his saddle, he just did yours too. After he went, Sammy and I, we just kept up the practice.”
“Speaking of Sammy,” Mel said, referring to her youngest nephew. “Do you think he’d mind if I started riding Old Blue?”
“Not at all. You seen that bald-faced
