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“You should see the panicked look on your face, dude. It’s fucking hilarious.”
I shot Trevor a dirty look. “Fuck you.”
The moment Maebh climbed up on the horse, I knew she had been around horses. She grabbed the reins and made her way over to the corral. The way she worked Spirit made both my mouth and Trevor’s drop open.
“Yeah, I’m going to guess your girl knows how to handle a horse.”
With a shake of my head, I laughed. “Hell, I bet she’s gonna wanna race now.”
Trevor laughed a bit harder. “Have fun and enjoy the beautiful weather. We don’t usually get cool days like this in September.”
“We will,” I called back over my shoulder. Maebh came out of the corral and walked her horse up next to mine.
“Want to race?” she asked, flashing a huge smile. Trevor could be heard laughing even harder as I pressed my knees lightly into the horse, causing him to trot.
“Next time, baby. When you’re not on the slowest damn horse in my father’s barn.”
We spent the next few hours riding all over the ranch. I stopped once to help a deer that had been caught up in one of the fences when it tried to jump. Maebh was worried the entire time the thing would kick me, but the doe was tired from fighting. Once she was set free, she ran off toward the river. Trevor and Wade had kept some feeders down there that were stocked year-round. I sent Trevor and Wade a text letting them know what I’d just found and to put a few blocks out.
“It’s so beautiful here,” Maebh said. “Different from home.”
“I bet. Doesn’t rain as much here,” I said with a wink.
“So, what are you going to do while I’m gone all week?”
My body was starting to ache, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was because of the lack of sleep I’d been getting from staying at the bar late, then crawling into bed and fighting the urge to make love to Maebh. Some nights I gave in and woke her up, but most I simply held her until she woke up early and then we made love. I was only averaging three to four hours a night and it was fucking catching up to me.
“Sleep. I’m so fucking tired.”
She frowned. “I’m sorry. Cord, if you want to sleep at your place by yourself, you know I don’t mind.”
“Fuck that. I can’t sleep without you. I’m worried about you being gone. I think I need that giant-ass body pillow you sleep with.”
She giggled. “Want me to spray it with me perfume?”
“Yes!” I said with a wide grin.
“You’re an eejit, Cord Parker. You’ll be able to sleep just fine without me.”
“Will you be able to sleep fine without me?”
“No,” she quickly replied, shaking her head to emphasize her words.
My cell phone rang, and I cursed. “I’m not even going to see who it is.”
Maebh glanced away, lost in her thoughts for a moment.
“It might be important. Could be Trevor or Wade about the deer.”
I sighed and pulled out my phone. I frowned when I saw the name. What in the fuck could she possibly want?
Pushing it back into my pocket, I said, “Nope. No one important.”
Her smile lit up the already bright blue sky.
After heading back to the barns, we washed up the horses and headed to my folks’ house. My mother had asked us to stay for lunch, and I couldn’t refuse. It would only take us an hour and a half to get to San Antonio, so I wasn’t worried about time. Although, I would have liked to have had Maebh once more before she left. Last night at Mitchell’s old place, the shower, and then again this morning didn’t feel like enough to last me a week without her.
We walked into my parents’ kitchen hand-in-hand. When my mother glanced down to see our fingers laced together, she grinned like she had witnessed a Christmas fucking miracle. Maybe she had; even I was still having a hard time believing how fucking happy I was.
“How do roast beef sandwiches sound?” my mom asked us.
“Sounds good!” Maebh exclaimed.
I pulled out a bar stool for Maebh, then one for me. We sat at the large kitchen island and watched my mother move about the kitchen like a pro.
“Do you need help with anything?” Maebh asked.
“It’s all under control. There are chips…I mean, crisps…and fruit on the island. Put some on your plate.” She looked over at Maebh and smiled. I loved that my mom went out of her way to make Maebh feel like family and was even learning some of the Irish lingo.
Maebh and I both did as we were told.
After my mother had served up hot roast beef with melted cheese, I leaned back and let out a contented groan. My stomach was full and satisfied.
