He eased into her slowly. But she clenched around him and he thrust hard. Once again. The third time she went off fast. He held on until she was done, then whispered, “Again.”
They came together in a deluge of ecstasy.
Afterward, they lay still, their bodies aligned.
Finally, he said, “Did the FBI give a timeline?”
“I don’t think so. They’re investigating and we have to wait to see what happens. Now, speaking of time. How much do we have before Seth gets home?”
He slapped his forehead. “Oh, no.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Seth’s um, going to a friend’s house after school. I’m supposed to meet him there.” He leaned over her and braced his arms on either side of her. “Scarlet, sweetheart, I kind of have a date tonight with the kid’s mother. I met her at the co-op. She invited us for dinner.”
“What the hell?” She grabbed onto him. “You can’t go!”
“I have no choice. Seth will already be there. I’ll leave as fast as I can get him in the car.” He laid back. “We still can’t be together openly until the collective finds some answers, right?”
“Right. Hopefully, the medallion guy will be the last of it.”
“The medallion guy?”
“His name is Lewellen Brock. But it’s a long story.”
“Then not for today.” His voice was hoarse and his eyes determined. “I want you again. Right now.”
“I want that too, love.”
* * *
The next day, Scarlet visitedBreeding and Branding, the horse farm where Stanley went to stud. Most people found the smell of horse manure, the hay and the horses themselves unpleasant. But she didn’t. She’d become accustomed to them when she visited her grandfather. Today, though, she came without Stanley.
“Well, if it isn’t Ms. Scarlet. How you doin’, honey?” Abe Cantor was the head of this enterprise, about sixty, and he reminded her of her grandfather. He even resembled her grandpa with white hair and white stubble on his face.
“Hey, there, Abe.”
“What brings you here? I know it ain’t time for Stanley to visit.”
“I wanted to talk about Stanley’s pony, the one that was weaned a couple of weeks ago.”
“Yeah. She’s eating solid food and is pretty independent now.”
“Since I have the right of first refusal before she’s sold, I’m interested in buying her this time.”
“You want to keep another horse?”
“Not exactly. I’m giving her to someone. A little boy.”
She’d been thinking about doing this on and off for a while now and made the decision after much thought. Since Seth could no longer come to her house, she decided she wanted to give him the ponyto make him feel better—his words when he petted Stanley. One side of Joe’s barn already had a couple of stalls. All he’d need to do was to build a paddock and if he’d let her, she’d pay for it.
“The little tyke must be important to you.”
“He is. So’s his father.” She smiled. “I want to get the tack too. Make sure the saddle and all the reins are for an eight-year-old.”
“We got one that’s near to his size. It’s a little bigger than he’d need now, but you can pad for him and then he’ll grow into it.”
“Great thinking.”
