Isat at the kitchen table with my feet tucked under me, nursing my third cup of coffee and thinking about last night. I still felt bad about turning Declan down at first when he’d arrived bearing food, but I had been sick of feeling like I was always last when it came to his list of priorities, and I’d wanted him to have a taste of what it felt like. I was really glad that I’d changed my mind.
When we got back in the house, we’d taken the picnic basket upstairs and fed each other before starting on round two. As much as I enjoyed the sensation of reverse cowgirl with every thrust rubbing against my g-spot with increasing intensity, what I really craved was the chance to look him in the eye and watch all the different emotions flutter across his face as we made love.
We’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms only to be awakened by his phone’s ring tone. And just like that, he was off to an emergency, leaving me alone in bed. I’d tossed and turned for almost an hour before rolling over onto the remains of the apple pie. As soon as that happened, I was out of bed so that I could dump all my bedding in the wash.
My laptop sat open on the table. The presentation I was working on for Josh was still unfinished. It’d taken days to transfer everything over from all the paper files to the pedigree app Declan had recommended, and I’d been delighted to see that the app allowed me to build family trees for all the horses. Right now, I was looking at my mom and gran’s legacy. That legacy wasn’t the paper files or the cutesy logo or the outdated methods. It was the horses, going back generations. I tabbed over to Iris’s tree. Brandon had given me access to Kingston’s full lineage and watching the data populate the tree back the full ten generations was amazing.
This right here was what I was working toward. A lineage that would live on long past me.
I heard boots stomping up the steps and looked up to see Fiona and Eli come inside.
“Morning, Shannon,” Eli said while Fiona grumbled something unintelligible and headed straight for the coffeepot.
I smirked at my sister who was never fond of getting up early. She thumped down in the chair next to me and looked at my laptop screen.
“What’s that?”
“It’s the family tree for Kingston,” I told her. Eli poured coffee into his travel cup and then came around the table to look.
“Who’s Kingston? Did you do a live cover and not tell me?” she demanded and I flinched at her loud voice. I didn’t want Josh to find out I was trying AI this way.
“No. Declan called in a favor with a friend and he shipped out some frozen semen?—”
“You used AI?Youdid?” Fiona practically vibrated with excitement and I shushed her.
“Keep it down, will you? It was a test run only—and I still haven’t decided yet if I’m going to integrate it into my breeding program. I don’t want Josh knowing about it until I’m ready. Got it?” I looked at both Eli and Fiona and they both nodded in agreement.
“Which mare did you use?” Fiona asked pulling the laptop closer to look at the data.
“Iris.”
“The Cremello?” Eli said, and I nodded. “She’s a good-looking mare and given this Kingston’s coloring, I bet the foal will be gorgeous.”
“I hope so, but we won’t know until next year.”
“So, she’s pregnant?”
I shrugged. “Not sure yet.”
Josh pulled up and slammed the door to his truck. I reached over to close my laptop. “I mean it. I don’t want Josh to find out this way.” Fiona mimed that her lips were sealed and I nodded.
Josh stomped into the house and looked at the three of us sitting around the table in surprise. “Hey there, folks. Fancy seeing you here.”
I managed to keep from rolling my eyes but Fiona gave into temptation, making Eli chuckle. Josh grabbed himself a cup of coffee and turned around, leaning up against the counter. He took a couple sips before speaking. “Since everyone is here, how about a quick meeting?”
Fiona groaned at that and pushed to her feet. “No thanks. No time. We have a small group coming in at eight and we need to get the horses ready.” She didn’t wait for a response before leaving.
Josh looked over at Eli who raised his hands in surrender. “Sorry, boss, but she’s right. We do need to get going. Happy to chat with you later.”
When Josh turned to look at me, I already had my laptop tucked under my arm and was pushing my chair in. “Nope. Not me either. Got things to do. Bye.”
I got out of the house before Josh could say anything and grinned when I heard him shout: “Fine then. It’ll just be a meeting of one!”
Heading into the barn, I almost ran into my sister and Eli locked in an embrace. “Oh my God, you two. Didn’t you just come from home?” Eli jumped back as if he’d been stung and Fiona laughed. I shook my head. “Don’t you have horses to saddle?”
“Oh, come on, Shan. We’re just having a little fun.”
I waved my hand in a shooing motion. “Have fun elsewhere. The barn is for work.” There was no way I was going to tell them that Declan and I had had sex up in the hayloft. I’d never hear the end of it.
