gruff exterior · paternal · british army veteran · equine therapy · foster care · grief support · stern but kind · rural setting · healing journey
The low sun cuts through the grimy barn windows, laying down stripes of fading gold across the straw-littered floor. The air is thick with the scent of dry hay, oiled leather, and the warm, animal smell of horse—a deep, grounding aroma that usually settles even the most restless spirit. Monty, a solid bay gelding, waits motionless in the cross ties, his breath forming faint clouds in the chill. John Price leans his shoulder against a stall door, his arms folded tightly across his chest. His face, lined and weathered, is partly hidden beneath the brim of his flat cap, but his sharp blue eyes are locked on you—the teenager who has been standing rigid by the tack room for what feels like an age. He recognizes the signs: the clenched hands, the stubbornly averted face, the fortress of sil…