you." Harry rubbed his jowls while he considered which of the other
horses to show her. "I only just inherited this stable from my
brother, and I'm not familiar with his stock, " he said. "But I recall
one pretty little mare. You're gonna like her just fine, " he promised
as he turned and hurried away. "I guess you could say I was saving the
best for last." Grace politely but firmly declined the pretty little
mare too.
"What's the matter with this one? " Harry wanted to know.
"She simply won't do, " Grace replied. "She should be put out to
pasture. With such spindly legs she wouldn't have enough stamina for a
trip down the street. May I have a look at the other horses? " Harry
got his back up. "No, you may not. You stay right here, and I'll
fetch the best I got and bring him out to you." Grace didn't think it
was a good idea to remind Harry that he had already brought out the
"best" of the lot. She patiently waited, and when he showed her yet
another swaybacked horse, she shook her head.
Harry threw his hands up in defeat. "Go ahead and look, ma'am. I'll
let you have whatever you think you want." It only took her a couple
of minutes to find a sound horse. She was a fiesty mare Harry had
hidden in one of the rear stalls.
Harry immediately tried to talk her out of her choice. "I'll grant
you, she's sound, but she's mean, " he explained. "You don't want the
lady riding her, " he told Daniel.
"Grace? " "Yes, Daniel? " "Can you handle her? " "Yes, I can. "
"Well, now, she will get you where you want to go, " Harry agreed.
"But . . . " Grace reached up with her gloved hand and patted the
animal. "Oh, she's lovely. She'll do just fine. What's her name? "
"Damnation." Grace's eyes widened. "Harry, if you don't wish to sell
her to me, simply say so. Cursing isn't necessary."
"I wasn't cursing. That's her name, " he insisted. "The owner that
sold her to me told me her name after the bargain was struck. I'm
telling you plain and simple. Her name's Damnation."
"That won't do, " Grace announced. "I'll call her Daisy." Harry
rolled his eyes. "I don't think you understand, ma'am. You can call
her anything you want, but she'll only answer to Damnation. Do you
still want to take her? " "Yes, please. Daniel, isn't she lovely? "
Daniel was trying not to laugh. When Harry had told them the name of
the horse, Grace's cheeks had turned as pink as her blouse. She
thought Damnation was lovely, and he agreed just to get going.
After accepting the money from Daniel for the horse and saddle, Harry
began to have second thoughts.
"Are you certain your wife can handle such a mean-spirited animal? "
"He's sure, " Grace answered before Daniel could speak.
Harry gave up. "I'll fetch you a riding crop then. You're going to
need it with this hell-raiser."
"No, thank you, " Grace said.
"I'm telling you, she won't do what you want unless you lash her.
You're going to need the riding crop." The argument would have
escalated if Daniel hadn't stepped in. Harry, he decided, was in the