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“Will you come look?” She looked up at him hopefully, and I knew there was no way he was telling her no, and I won’t lie, I was happy for the possibility of escaping both his fathers’ scrutiny.
“Yeah, Spence, why don’t you go take a look? Your dad and I will keep Nash company. I’m dying to hear all about this horse rescue he works for.”
He looked up at me, unsure what to do, and while I’d rather go with him than be left here like a lamb for the slaughter, I didn’t want my boy thinking he needed to protect me from his big bad parents. I leaned down and kissed him on the temple.
“You go ahead with David and Danni. I’ll be right here.”
He nodded and turned back to the kids. “Okay, munchkins, show me to your horses.”
The little boy grabbed him by the arm and pulled him toward the barn door, and as I watched him walk away, a lump formed in my throat. I might not be thrilled about being left here with two men who were judging me to see if they thought I was worthy of their son, but I owed these men a debt of gratitude. Spencer was loved. That was only because these men had stepped up to be the family he needed when his biological family had let him down, which meant I would happily let them grill me if it made them feel better.
I watched until Spencer and the kids went through the door of the barn, then turned to face the music.
“So is this the part where you either ask about my intentions with Spencer or tell me a simple cowboy isn’t good enough for him?”
Lincoln chuckled and shook his head. “That actually was the plan. Well, the what are your intentions? part anyway. Notice I said it was. But not anymore.”
“It’s not?” Matt grumbled.
“No, it’s not,” Lincoln said firmly, and Matt let out a resigned sigh.
“Why’s that?” I asked.
“Because your intentions are clear, Nash. You look at Spencer the way Matt looks at me. Like he knows he’s in over his head but wouldn’t want it any other way.”
I nodded. “Yep, that would pretty much cover it. But if it makes you feel better, I won’t hurt him. Not intentionally, anyway.”
“That’s good enough for me. Now, why don’t you tell me about this horse rescue?”
Spencer
So much for everyone being so busy with the party they wouldn’t have time to grill Nash. We hadn’t been there ten minutes, and it had already started. And now I’d gone off and left him with Pops and Dad, which was not part of the plan.
As I followed David and Danielle to the last stall in the barn, I sent up a silent plea to whoever might be listening that my dads would behave themselves and not scare Nash off.
“See, here they are,” Danni said.
“Oh my, aren’t they beautiful? What are you gonna name them?”
“I’m gonna name mine marshmallow,” she said confidently.
“That’s a dumb name,” David grumbled.
“It is not,” she insisted. “He looks just like a marshmallow when you cook it on the fire.”
She actually wasn’t wrong. The horse was a chestnut Appaloosa with what they called a blanket print, and it did look a little bit like a toasted marshmallow.
“What about you, David? What are you going to call yours?”
“Not marshmallow.”
I held back a grin and waited to see what he would say.
“My horse is going to have an important name, not a silly name. He just hasn’t told me what it is yet.”
“Well, there’s no hurry. You have time to get to know him first, and then you can give him a name.”
“I was worried that they would get lonely here since we live far away, but Aunt Meg promised to take them for rides, and she also promised to keep them together so they won’t be alone.”
