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“Uh, no. No, I don’t need anything. I really wanted to check on Silva today… and I was going to take a shower… because you know that the guest bathroom shower is broken, so I was going to use Brendan’s shower… and that’s okay, he’s already told me that’s okay, but he’s still sleeping, and I didn’t want to wake him, so I just dressed up there and I can take a shower later. I’m sure Silva doesn’t care what I smell like.” I laughed nervously, and it came out like a squeak.
Her eyebrow had lifted by degrees as I’d spewed everything out. When I was finished, she asked, “Where are your pajamas? Should I add them to the laundry?”
From her smirk, I could tell that she didn’t give a damn about the laundry. “Thank you for the offer, but that won’t be necessary,” I said as I stepped around her.
“I made coffee if you’d like a cup before you go out. Since you’re in such a hurry.”
I nodded. “Yes. Coffee. That sounds good. I just need to stop by my room and…” change my clothes… “get my bag because I want to work on my dissertation while I talk to the stallion. He’s been doing really well, if you’re wondering. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”
The woman muttered something under her breath as I slipped around her and hurried to my room. Immediately, I stripped off my shirt and exchanged it for a clean one. Peeking out to make sure that Janice wasn’t waiting to ambush me, I grabbed my things, poured a cup of coffee, snagged two apples, and headed to the stalls.
I did check on Silva. In the past few days, I’d grown increasingly fond of him, and I was relieved that he was eating. He had his eyes on Darling, and I could feel the romance in the air.
Or at least lust, and there was more than enough of that going around.
The problem was that I couldn’t stay with Silva, at least not alone. Brendan would probably seek me out, and it would be a lot easier to dodge him if I wasn’t alone.
“Good morning, buddy,” I said softly as I walked into the stables. Silva’s head immediately popped over the door, and he nosed my clothes when I approached. “You know that you’re not going to get treats every time, right? Now that you’re eating better, you won’t need all these apples.” I relinquished the treat and tossed the other one in Darling’s stall. The mare snorted her thanks as she picked it up.
“You know, I thought that it was insane that Brendan wanted you to keep Silva company, but apparently it was a good idea after all,” Kim said as she walked into the stable.
I turned and lifted my eyebrows. It was no wonder that I didn’t see her in the house. I wasn’t the only one doing the walk of shame. She was dressed in a cute but very short pink dress and heels.
Since I was guilty of the very same thing, I didn’t call her out on it. Besides, this was the only time that Kim had actually initiated a conversation with me. “I thought that it was a little insane too. I didn’t realize that I could bond with a horse.”
“Horses are good at picking out good souls. I guess he thinks that you’re a good soul.” She stopped and reached out to pat Silva’s head. “I’m sort of hiding from my brother. He was in the kitchen when I came in, so I couldn’t sneak in to change.”
“I won’t say a word,” I grinned. “I do love the dress.”
She looked down at herself and shrugged. “It didn’t really do the trick though. I’ve been seeing this great guy for a few weeks now, but when I went home with him, he passed out as soon as we got to his place, and I couldn’t get a ride home until this morning.” She wrinkled her nose. “You’re good at the advice thing. Should I cut my losses? I mean, something’s wrong when I can’t get the guy into bed, right?”
“Trust me, I’m not the woman to go to for relationship advice,” I murmured as I rubbed my temples.
“Man troubles of your own?” Her jaw dropped. “Oh my god, do you have a boyfriend? Is that why you’re fighting for a divorce?”
“No.” I knew I had to be careful. This was Brendan’s sister, after all. “I’m fighting for a divorce because my marriage was over years ago. I don’t need a boyfriend to validate that reason.”
“You were younger than me when you got married. I can’t even imagine myself being a wife.” She pressed her hands down the front of her dress, smoothing out the wrinkles. “I don’t think that I’d be very good at it.”
