“Would you really be okay with me using it?”
“I like it better than trying to guess if you mean me or the foal.”
“Then Montgomery it is.” She paused the video. “He’s still not upright. No telling what’s happening with our dinner. Could this be another hour or two?”
“The way he’s going, it might only be five minutes.”
“Really?”
“They normally don’t take long to do it. It’s instinctive since they have to stand to be able to nurse.”
“Is he ahead of the curve?”
He laughed. “Oh, he’s definitely ahead of the curve. After all, he’s my namesake.”
“But you’re not going to call him by it, are you?”
“Not if I can help it.”
“Then you probably shouldn’t spend much time over here.”
“Would you prefer that?”
She met his gaze. “It would be for the best.”
“Doesn’t answer my question.” He had that gleam in his eyes again, the one that turned her brain into a bowl of spaghetti.
She sucked in a breath. “You probably shouldn’t look at me that way, Montgomery.”
“Your lipstick’s gone.”
She automatically touched her mouth.
“Then again, I doubt you’d grab me in the middle of this family-friendly event.”
“Exactly. I’ll put on more as soon as?—”
“You did it! You did it, Monty!”
She glanced at the foal, shaky but upright, balanced precariously on those toothpick-thin legs. He took a step, then another, and another. Eventually he reached his mother, dipped his head under her belly and began to nurse.
Belatedly she remembered the phone in her hand. She’d missed the moment once again. “Doggone it! I didn’t get the grand finale, either.”
“I got it!” Uncle Graham held up his phone. “Hey, who’s hungry?”
“Me!” Then Tex looked over at the foal. “But I don’t want to leave Monty.”
“Tell you what.” Uncle Graham tucked his phone away. “You guys stay here and take more pictures while I bring out a card table and the food. We’ll eat in the barn. How does that sound to everyone?”
She nodded. “I’m for it. How about you, Montgomery?”
“I’m in. I like picnics.”
Uncle Graham gave them each a funny look.
“Mommy, you called him the wrong name.”
“That’s his full name. Monty is short for Montgomery.”
