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Desiree flinched. “Ouch.”
“Sorry, but if anyone can handle Adler, you can.”
Desiree waggled her eyebrows. “Yeah, well, I can handle what I know so far, and damn, he is just plain hot. I can’t wait to see what he looks like out of those clothes.”
They pulled up on the opposite side of the main house, and Stacey’s eyes went wide at what she saw. There were a couple of large white tents set up on the vast lawn. One had tables with chairs and a buffet. There were large grills out the rear of the tent, and the smells from those grills were amazing.
The other tent had a dance floor, chairs, and a band setting up. Wow! Dinner, dancing, and horseback riding. There were also large inflatable jump houses and a slide. A guy was practicing with balloon animals. They had it all. Stacey smiled as she looked around. Yeah, it was a lot, but it might actually be fun.
“Penny for your thoughts.” Tristan wrapped an arm over her shoulder and brought her back to the present.
“This is just all so much and amazing.” She was in awe and didn’t hide it from her voice.
“Yeah, Uncle Don always goes above and beyond.” Tristan gave her a quick peck. “There he is. Let’s go. He’s gonna love you. I do.”
Her insides flopped.
They got closer to the man who was a spitting image of Adler. Just bigger and more important looking.
Her insides squeezed into a knot. She thought she was going to throw up.
Adler was introducing Desiree to his father when they caught up with them. Desiree had her hand out and was shaking his. “Yes, sir. I love horses. I don’t have as much experience as Adler, but I have gone to the stables with a friend and rode a couple of times. I’m looking forward to spending the day with the horses and kids.”
“Well, good to hear. Just make sure this one treats you right and uses manners.” His baritone voice carried to Stacey’s ears, and the nerves started again.
“Sir, not to worry. I’ll keep Adler on his toes.” Desiree assured him.
With that, Adler’s dad let out a loud belly laugh and slapped his son on the shoulder. “Boy, I like her. She’ll hold your hand to the grindstone.”
Adler rolled his eyes.
“Hi, Uncle Don,” Tristan said.
Don held his stomach and tried to gain control. His face lit up when he looked at Tristan. “Hey there, Trist.” He wrapped his nephew in a tight hug. His eyes quickly fell on Stacey. “So, I’m going to guess that this is the girl who has caught your eye and taken all your attention.”
Tristan’s face glowed with pride. “Yes, sir.” He placed his arm around Stacey. “This is Stacey. Stace, my Uncle Don.”
Don grabbed Stacey’s hand in his two large, beefy palms. Stacey gave him a nervous smile. “Hi, Mr. Warfield. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Oh, please.” The man bellowed. “Call me Don. Mr. Warfield was my dad, and I’m not that old yet. Am I? Do I look old?”
Stacey smiled and felt herself relax. “No, sir, you don’t look old at all. You could easily pass as Adler’s older brother.”
Adler let out a breath. “Oh, Lord. Really?”
Desiree laughed, elbowing him in the side as she grabbed his hand.
The big bellowing laugh came again. “I like her, Trist.”
Stacey grabbed Tristan’s arm and cuddled close.
“You two are good for each other. I can tell. Have you seen your aunt yet?” Don looked around.
“Not yet. We just got here. She wasn’t at the stables,” Tristan told him. He fidgeted and put a little space between him and Stacey.
“Well, I know she wanted to talk to you both, give you last-minute instructions, and make sure you were both here and ready to go.”
“Translation,” Adler added. “She was making sure I was here, and Tristan was prepared to be in charge, thinking I wanted nothing to do with the little brats and might have tried my best to get out of it like I did last year.” He turned to his dad. “Well, you can tell my mother that she will be disappointed. I am here and ready to work with the brats. And I’m looking forward to it.”
