Sam had described Erin as “at that age” where she hated every voice of authority, even if those voices belonged to loved ones. There was nothing of hatred in the girl now as she took her sister’s arm and pulled her to her feet. Sam moved like a mannequin, and Erin clenched her hand tight.
“Sam? Sam, come on, we need to go inside.”
How sad that it took a shock to bring a bratty teenager to her sweet side.
Emmie made sure the sisters were well on their way to the barn before she rounded on her star student. “What in the hell did you say to her?” she snapped, surprising herself, surprising Tonya, if the woman’s expression was anything to go by.
“Excuse me?”
Oh yeah. Tonya was used to having her ass kissed. Emmie flushed hot with anger, head-to-toe, and it was nothing like the impotent fury of the majority of her life. This wasn’t the blind, grappling sense that she could say nothing, do nothing, must only nod and say “yes, ma’am.” No, this was clear-edged, focused anger, backed by the knowledge that she half-owned this farm with her husband; knowledge that he would calmly and completely devastate anyone who dared set her off. She’d always had convictions; now she had support, and that was a deadly combo.
“No, Tonya,” she said. “Excuseyou. What did you just say to her?”
The air between them crackled with a new electricity. Silence. Then an awareness, a quiet understanding that the balance had shifted.
Tonya collected herself – she always was the picture of decorum, after all – and calmed her tone. “She indicated that she was dating Aidan. I wanted her to understand what she was getting into.”
“And that is?”
“That Aidan got me pregnant.”
Holy fucking shit.
“Clearly,” Tonya continued, sighing like this was all so burdensome, “he hasn’t told her. And according to his sister and stepmother, he wants the baby. So the dumbass was going to bring the damn baby home and then tell her? Fool. The poor girl needed to know she was being lied to. I just did her a favor. Aidan Teague is a disease.”
A dozen thoughts collided in Emmie’s head. Aidan and Tonya? Pregnant? Did Walsh know? Why hadn’t he said anything?
“Tonya,” Emmie said through her teeth. “A little advice. It’s not polite to drop bombs on people like that.”
Tonya shrugged. “It’s not like I set out to. She started it.”
Emmie bit the inside of her cheek to keep her temper in check. She sighed. “So you’re pregnant.”
“Yes.”
“And Aidan is the father.”
“Yes.”
“I thought you were engaged to that banker guy.”
“I am.”
Was this bitch for real?
“That’s why I came by,” Tonya said. “I wanted to turn in my thirty day notice. I’m going to be moving Chaucer to Glenda’s barn.” That would be Glenda Demarco, the premiere trainer in the greater Knoxville area. “She’s going to keep him fit while I’m unable to ride.” She said the last with obvious irritation.
Emmie should have felt punched. Tonya was her highest level student, the one who made her look good as a trainer. She had plenty of youngsters who would eventually grow into the role, but for the moment, Tonya was the only superstar. Losing her, and her family’s patronage, should have been a real blow.
But in this moment, Emmie was one-hundred-percent a Lean Dogs old lady, and she felt like taking care of her own.
“You aren’t keeping the baby?” she asked, appalled by the notion.
“No. I was going to find an agency to place it, but according to Aidan’s family, he wants it.”
Holy shit again. Emmie didn’t envy Sam right now. Not at all.
~*~
