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“Drop it.”
“I hear she’s pretty,” he said, raising his eyebrows roguishly.
“I said,drop it,” I snapped.
He lifted a hand in acknowledgement and didn’t say another word.
We had good luck that day, and I enjoyed my time out in the woods and the crisp air, stalking and tracking a huge buck with my brother and my dog. We made our shots and brought the animal back to my truck, then washed our hands and sat down for lunch.
“So how are the boys?”
“Amazing.”
“Oh. You got baby fever yet?”
“I don’t know what that is, but the boys are so fucking smart it’s ridiculous. Jacob’s favorite game is to turn the light switch off and on, and Matthew can recognize which cassette I’m putting in the radio by the markings on the front of the sticker.”
“So that’s ayeson the baby fever,” he laughed at me.
Brutus barked. Jonah threw him the crust of his sandwich.
“You can’t give dogs bread,” I growled. “It makes them stink.”
“Eh, he’s a stinky boy anyway. Whatever makes him happy.” Jonah rubbed the top of Brutus’s head.
I finished my sandwich and peered into my lunch pack.Maria had snuck in chocolate chip cookies. Hesitantly, I took a bite.
“Well I’ll be damned,” I said softly. They were exactly like the ones my mom used to make for my birthday, and my first day of school. Exactly the same, I’d swear on it.So much for getting her out of my mind.
“I’m taking a job in Georgia,” Jonah said. “Won’t be for a few more weeks, but I’ll be out there for a year at least.”
“Damn. What job is it?”
“Rich little daddy’s girl, wants to learn to ride horses. Family inherited a bunch of land and some animals from a relative, and the horses are neglected and skittish as hell. Apparently one of them is really aggressive.” He reached over and stole one of my cookies before I had the wherewithal to stop him.
“So you’re going out there for a year?”
“Or however long it takes to get them under control, safe, and healthy, and teachdaddy’s little princesshow to ride without killing herself.” He rolled his eyes.
“Why’d you become a horse trainer if you hate rich kids so much?”
“I hate kids, I love horses.”
“Well… I’m sure you’ll have a grand ol’ time.”
“I can take Brutus… or leave him here with you.”
At his name, Brutus looked up at me from his spot by my feet. He’d been happy stalking that buck with us, and now he was contentedly chewing on a bone.
I was quiet for a minute. “I think Brutus will be ok with the kids. Not when they were screaming all the time, but they’re better now. He’ll have to learn that he’s an outside dog now.”
“He’s great with the neighbor’s kids. They run around and crawl all over him, he just drools on them.”
I nodded. “Okay. Good to know. I’ll talk to Maria, see how she feels. If it worries her, maybe I’ll let you take him to Georgia. When are you leaving?”
“Two, maybe three weeks. I need to finalize the sale for that Bay. Man, you should see how fast that baby runs. She’s like smoke in the wind, brother.”
“I bet.”
