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"Ladies," I interrupt.
The look on Penny's face screams thank you. She looks like she wants to get out of here.
"Conrad, how are you." Donna smiles.
"Good, I just wanted to steal Penny for a few minutes. You can spare her?"
Penny instantly stands. "Be back in a second." She says before walking towards my office. I follow close behind her.
As soon as the door closes, I push her up against it and give her a long kiss. I just wanted a moment, some private time. But after this kiss, I feel like I will need a few hours with her.
"Lets go out for dinner, just the two of us. We can go into town and get a hotel. Hell, lets stay the week." It was an impulsive suggestion, but one that now feels like a brilliant idea.
She lets out a long sigh, defeated. "I can't. I promised Mom and Donna I would run into town with them to finish picking flowers, cake, and god knows what."
I rest my head against hers. "How did it end up like this," I mutter more to myself. Penny tenses for a second, and I look down to see what's wrong. Before I can ask, the office door opens, and Oscar and his father push their way in.
"Conrad, there you are. We planned a big poker game with Burt and a few other barn hands." My father-in-law says.
"Right now?" I ask in disbelief. I still have so much work to do, and Penny and I haven't even discussed when we can carve out some alone time together yet.
"Not now, tonight. It's going to run late. We need a ton of supplies." Oscar says. "I'll need your help. Can we set up in the den?" He fired out about twenty more questions before he was done. By then, Penny had left to leave with Donna and her mom. I felt like shit. Something was bothering her.
After helping Oscar set up a plan for tonight, I head back to the barn. Two of our barn hands greeted me in the middle of a brawl. It took three of us to break them up. Then they up and quit. So on top of everything that's going on, we are now down two employees.
"How will we fill two jobs this time of year?" I complain to Burt.
"We can get some greenhorns temporarily." He suggests.
Having amateurs in my barn makes me uneasy. We have million-dollar racehorses here; it just takes one mistake to ruin a horse.
"I don't want a bunch of green people here."
"I can reach out to some of the local race barns. See who wants some extra work over the holidays."
"But till then, we will need to pick up the slack," I mutter.
"When was the last time you mucked out any stalls? It's good for the soul." Burt says.
I can't help but roll my eyes. Growing up he would say that about every chore.
"Fine. What’s more work added to our plate." How can I fit anything more into it? I have no idea, but what choice do I have?
CHAPTER5
PENNY
Running the brush over Opus, I finish polishing his coat before moving to his mane. I gave him a light ride today, it's pretty cold and I didn't want him to sweat too much. Even if the indoor riding is heated, I feel like he should get something like a holiday, even if I'm not.
I still have a few horses to get through today; keeping up with the regular training schedule has been challenging. I almost feel like I'm going to fall behind altogether.
"Why so glum, Penny?" Burt asks to lean on the stall door.
I smile at him, not wanting to confess my worry, frustration, and guilt about how the last week or so has been going. My mind wanders back to what Conrad said: "How did it end up this way?". He sounded disappointed and sad—the opposite of how I wanted him to feel.
But beyond my holiday wish is Burt and Donna's wedding. Something I'm happy about.
"Just thinking about your wedding, and why you haven't asked me to be your best woman?" I grin.
