The woman rolled her eyes but she was smiling too. “I’m Demi.”
“Ah, the new mom! Congratulations on your twins. And I only met your daughter for a moment but she’s a cherub and sweet as pie. Good job.”
I got a real smile for that and she softened a little. “Thanks. I certainly think so.”
“How are you doing? Recovering from a C-section and caring for two babies plus a toddler is no joke.”
For a moment, Demi didn’t answer. She studied me seriously, her gaze roving all over my face. I let her look. Eventually, her eyes lit up.
“I’m doing well, thank you for asking. Phinneas and Emerson are good babies, Aria loves her little brothers, and I have a lot of help. Their father is an angel on this earth who I love with all my heart, and my family is great.” She smirked. “We know how to do twins around here.”
Right. There were two sets of twins in the siblings. I’d picked up a lot of information just listening to the people of the ranch talk. I had to go into my mental file, but I managed to pull up the pertinent information.
“You’re a twin, right?”
“Yep. And my twin is a doctor. So win-win.” She cocked her head to the side. “Why are you staring at my brother like you want to eat him?”
Because I did. Because no matter that we’d said “just friends”, I still wanted to devour him. Lay him out on my big bed with the super expensive mattress and simply take him apart. But I couldn’t say that.Wouldn’tsay that to his sister.
“I’m waiting for him to be done so I can show him what came in,” I said instead, bypassing her statement and shaking the bag I held.
Demi totally noticed, not that I expected her to miss it. But thankfully, she didn’t push. She turned back to the rail, resting her arms on top, and watched Hawk and the horse for a moment or two.
“DH to HH,” she said.
Hawk’s hand went to the two-way on his belt, but then he cranked his head around. He saw us standing there and urged the horse into a trot—look at me, learning to recognize gaits—until he got close enough to speak without shouting.
“Should you be out here?” he asked his sister, the scowl all for show. I saw the way his eyes twinkled.
“Dad’s got the babies, Mom’s entertaining Aria, and I needed fresh air. It’s been six weeks. I’m not ready to ride but Emery says I’m healing well.”
“Emery is not an OB,” Hawk muttered.
“My OB agrees. Can the protectiveness, little brother. Harper looks good.”
Hawk patted the horse on the neck. It tossed its head, but otherwise didn’t react. “Yeah, she’s doing great. Another few weeks and she’ll be ready to go. Which gives her owner enough time to work with her before they start showing. This time next year, she’ll be a Congress Champion in Western Pleasure.”
“Maybe. Reserve champion at least.” Demi nodded her head in my direction. “Mr. Cahill here wants to show you what he bought.”
Hawk finally looked at me and I caught and held his gaze. His nostrils flared and he almost smiled, before he got that neutral look back. He reined the horse a little closer, turning her sideways, so he could see. I had the strangest urge to reach out and run my hand along his powerful thigh. I refrained but it was a near thing.
“Please, call me Carter,” I said to Demi even as I reached into the bag. I pulled out the bridle I’d special ordered for Ramona.It was hand-tooled leather with teal accents. Completely adjustable and had matching reins, which I left in the bag. “Won’t it look amazing on my girl?”
Hawk’s face did that thing where he wanted to say something snarky but kept it inside. I’d learned that look. “That it will.”
I wanted to know what he really wanted to say, so I had to push. I pulled out my phone, navigated to the saved webpage, and then held it up. “I’m going to custom order her a matching saddle. Look at the accents. And I can get a coordinating saddle pad.”
Hawk took the phone and scrolled down a little. I’d put in all extras, but I hadn’t purchased it because I didn’t know what size. According to the site, most horses could wear the standard size and per my research, Ramona would most likely fit that. But I knew how bad it was to get an ill-fitting saddle.
Hawk’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “Three thou—fuck. Carter,do notspend three thousand dollars on a saddle.”
I had a feeling he was going to say that. I gave him a shit eating grin. “Only the best for my horse.”
“No.” Hawk’s gaze turned hard. “We’ll find another saddle. More like three hundred instead of thousand. Christ, no one needs to…” He raised his eyes to the sky, took a deep breath, then another one, and focused on me again. “Look, Ramona is going to continue to put on muscle and tone for the next year or so. I’ll help you pick out something else. Then, when she’s fully trained and in shape, if you want to waste all that money, I’m not going to stop you.”
I didn’t see it as a waste. This company was known for their quality, and I figured the fancy saddle would end up lasting her years. A decade even. Did I need the pretty saddle just to ride her myself? I did not. Did I want it because she’d look gorgeous in it? Absolutely. I would have it. Eventually.
“I defer to your judgement,” I said seriously, doing my best to keep my lips from betraying me. I didn’t succeed. The corners quirked up and then I was grinning. Staring at the man on the horse and grinning like a fool.
