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She was just happy to be with him and doing what she loved.
The only problem with that was her father’s silly rule.
Perhaps James had a point. She needed to start making a plan on how she would tell her father that she wanted permission to officially date James. With Adeline married, maybe his stance had softened. She could only hope that he liked James as much as he was letting on. That would be her only saving grace. Because regardless of what Brielle thought, James was a good guy.
19
James
James pulled his gloves from his hands and tossed them into a nearby bucket. The oddly comforting smell of fresh cut straw and manure wafted through the barn. Constance was over by the mare, speaking softly to her as she trailed her hands up and down the horse’s back.
The mare’s ears flicked to the sides, and she chewed lazily. Her whole demeanor was relaxed and happy. It was moments like this that he loved his job. When everything finally settled and there wasn’t anything to worry about.
The kid who’d led them to the barn stood just outside the stall, his arms folded over the top as he stared with interest at the new foal. He fired off question after question at Constance who answered every single one without missing a beat.
“Shouldn’t she be trying to stand up already?” Liam asked.
Constance glanced at James with amusement. “If she’s not walking within three hours then there’s a problem.”
His brows lifted. “Three hours? I guess it’s been a while since I’ve seen the birth of a foal.”
She tilted her head, moving away from the mare and leaning against the stall wall. “How long have you been living here?”
“My whole life.”
She shot James a concerned look and he gave a sharp shake of his head. She shouldn’t go there. These folks weren’t her charity case.
Of course she’d ignore him.
“Where are your folks? Is Wade—”
Liam laughed. “Wade? No. He’s my brother. My folks are dead.”
Constance paled and dragged her gaze over to James once more. Great. At this rate there would be no convincing her that they needed to leave well enough alone. He nodded toward their supplies. “Constance, why don’t you gather up our things?”
She faced Liam. “So Wade’s your brother, and he’s taking care of you? How many brothers and sisters do you have?”
Liam shifted his focus back to the foal. “Look. She’s trying to stand.”
“Constance,” James’s warning tone did nothing.
“Liam, how many siblings do you have?”
He glanced at her. “What? Oh. There’s twelve of us.”
She gave James a pointed look and mouthed the wordtwelve.
“Yeah. There’s Wade, Annabel, Elijah, Lucas, Henry, Daniel, Mason, Hudson, me, Carter, Caleb, and Charlie.”
“Wow. Eleven boys and one girl. I bet Annabel doesn’t know what to do with you, huh?”
He shook his head. “Charlie’s a girl.” Liam pointed to the horse. “Can I come in and pet her? Or will her mom get mad?”
Constance reached for the stall door. “She’s settled down. Just be careful.”
James let out an exaggerated sigh and opened his eyes wide, hoping the strange look on his face would prompt her to come over to him. He cleared his throat and jerked his chin toward the supplies.
Constance motioned toward Liam as if that was enough to get him off her back. Nope. She needed to butt out before Wade got back with the towels he’d said he’d get.
