AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I never wanted it to feel empty again.
* * *
“How many horses are going to be living here now?” Day asked George and me as he leaned on the mini kid-sized pitchfork George had picked up at the hardware store last time I sent him into town. Day was dressed in overalls with no shirt underneath, and his arms and shoulders were deeply tanned from the amount of time he’d been spending outside lately. It was hot as hell again today, and would be for the next week, at least.
“Six in this stable, and ten in the other one,” George said gruffly, huffing as we spread hay on the bed of the pen before moving onto the next.
“And they get here today?”
“Yep,” I replied, giving Day a smile. “I’m gonna need your help naming them.”
Day beamed, his freckled smile meeting his eyes and stretching from cheek to cheek. He opened his mouth to say something else, but from out in the paddock I heard King whinny excitedly. George gave me a look before we set our pitchforks down and followed Day outside, where Moira was leaning against the paddock with a container of chopped apples in one hand, feeding them to King with the other.
“He’ll take off your whole hand,” George warned, but Moira just shot him a look and rested her foot on the lower railing, the muscles of her legs taunt in the afternoon sunlight.
She was wearing those denim shorts I loved—the ones that hugged her ass and thighs like they’d been made specifically for her. Her white tank top was coated in dust from pressing herself against the paddock as she turned to face us, tossing a piece of apple to Day.
“He likes me a whole hell of a lot more than he likes you, George.” Moira laughed, reaching out to scratch King on the nose.
“He can be your problem then,” George said wryly, tipping his hat to Moira before going back to the stable.
I looked at King, then Moira, and had a thought.
“I never gave you that riding lesson,” I said as the two of us watched Day skip away with Jenny at his side, heading for the pasture.
“I think it’s about damn time,” she said with a smile before she rose on her tiptoes and kissed me.
ChapterTwenty-Two
Moira
“Where’s the nearest Costco?” I asked as we followed a few paces behind Day along the sidewalk in what could be considered downtown Hot Springs. Day had taken to only wearing overalls lately, and he looked like a feral farm kid with his deep farmer’s tan and wild, unkempt hair with hay and grass sticking out of his curls.
“About an hour from here,” Grant replied, his hand on my lower back as he guided me through the merchants selling their produce at the Saturday morning market. I’d already picked up a bunch of stuff, all of which Grant was carrying in the vintage shopping bags made of woven, colorful fabric I’d found at the antique shop around the corner.
Grant and Day both hated anything green and healthy, and I was getting sick of watching them eat nothing but steak and potatoes every day for lunch and dinner. Plus, Day had grown at least two inches since we got here two months ago, which meant I needed to go into the next town over soon to buy him some new clothes.
“What about Target?” I asked, ducking under Grant’s arm as he held open the door to the bar.
“There’s a Target there, too,” he chuckled. “Take my truck and do your shopping tomorrow. I’ll keep Day busy.”
“You need some new shirts too, especially since you cut all the sleeves off your T- shirts—”
“It’s been in the nineties for three weeks,” he argued with a laugh, raising his hand in greeting to Pete, who was working behind the bar, as we walked to a corner booth overlooking the street.
We’d been to the bar a few times already because they had a great grill and an awesome lunch menu, even for kids. Day was already in the booth, and he made it clear he didn’t need a menu. In fact, he didn’t need a kid’s menu.
“I want what Grant got last time,” Day stated, swinging his legs under the table.
“What did Grant get last time?” I laughed, tucking my purse between my thigh and the wall.
“I got a French dip with fries.” Grant smirked, looking down at Day. “He ate most of it. I had to eat his chicken tenders.”
I gave Day a look but couldn’t help but smile. Grant and George had been taking Day into town with them on errands and Day always had a great time. I hadn’t been stoked on the fact they’d been taking him to a bar of all places, but Pete’s place was pretty family-friendly during the day.
“Ah, hell…”
“What?” I followed Grant’s line of sight and smiled broadly as Keely, Pete’s little sister, came over to the table.
