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"I." She handed her credit card to Lara. "Nothing." Lara took the card but cocked her head to the side.
"Really?"
She rapidly said, "I'm having dinner with Myles tonight. I accidentally told him you had concerns about us dating and he said he'd speak with you, but I told him I would. I want to go out with him. Really bad. I have for a long time. We'll be adults and won't screw things up at the HOG. I'll be good. But I'm happy and excited and I want you to be happy and excited for me."
"Hold on there." Lara laughed. "Wow. That was a mouthful."
Shianne swallowed. "I'm nervous. I don't want you to be mad. I'm sorry I let it slip that you had concerns."
Lara leaned forward and grabbed both of her hands. Kind of like Myles had earlier, but this didn't feel as good. It didn't feel bad, but Myles' hands were big and strong and warm. Well, Lara's were warm too, but...it was different.
"Hey. I want you to be happy. I'm happy for you. I didn't realize you had such a crush on him."
"I didn't say anything to you because I knew you were worried about implications at home."
"But, if you really like him a lot, that's different than a fling and creating weirdness."
She swallowed again and looked her friend in the eye. "I really, really like him, Lara."
8
Myles grinned all the way out to Henry's. Which wasn't that far, but his cheeks hurt by the time he pulled into the driveway. He'd been wondering why Shianne always flirted with him, then backed off. He'd begun to think she was a cocktease and to steer clear. But, every time he saw her, his body did weird things. His belly felt jumbled, and his heart raced. Today when he took her hands in his, goosebumps ran up his arms. He'd never experienced that before. Then there was Maya. Maya had reservations about Shianne. Mostly, Shianne was bubbly and got excited about things Maya had no interest in. Clothing. Jewelry. The perfect pair of shoes. These things were not on Maya's radar as being important. So, she thought Shianne was frivolous. He thought Shianne had passion and excitement and a positive outlook on life.
He jumped from the driver's seat and practically floated to the barn. Entering from the open double barn doors, he saw Everleigh dumping grain from a large scoop into a feeding trough on one of the stalls. Holding a handkerchief over her nose and mouth.
"Good morning."
Everleigh looked up and smiled brightly. "Hey, Myles. How are you?"
"I'm good. Great. Actually, I'm great. How are you? Feeling good?"
"I'm feeling a bit queasy and trying to avoid smelling the grain I have to feed these ladies."
He chuckled. "Give me instructions and I'll do it for you. I thought I'd offer my services out here today. I have the day off and I don't want to lay around and do nothing."
"Oh, wow. That's wonderful. Thank you so much."
"Of course. Where's Henry?"
"He ran to town to get me some crackers. And peanut butter. I'm craving peanut butter."
He chuckled. Then he wondered if Maya had cravings. He didn't think to ask, and she didn't say.
"I've heard women get cravings when pregnant."
Everleigh nodded, then handed him the scoop. "Each horse gets a scoop of oats. Just put it in the trough. They eat it when they want, which is usually right away. They'll get fresh hay as soon as the oats are passed out."
"Okay. Let me do the heavy lifting. Just go sit out of smelling range and tell me what to do."
"I can do some things. I don't want to get lazy."
Myles laughed. "Ev, you are not lazy. That's a fact." She blushed and it was cute. She took a deep breath, and the color left her face.
"Are you going to puke?"
Her eyes met his for a moment, then she turned and ran from the barn.
He hesitated. Should he go see if she needs help? Maybe she wouldn't want him to see her throwing up. Maybe she'd need someone to help her. That was stupid, what kind of help do you need to throw up? He stood facing the door she ran from when he heard Henry's truck pulling into the driveway. Then he heard Everleigh retching on the side of the barn and his shoulders dropped. Poor girl. Women did get the rough end of the stick when it came to having babies.
