Page 20 of His to Please

DEAN

“Hey,I didn’t think you’d be done for another hour or so,” I tell Tallulah. I’ve got Honey Belle in the round pen. She has a halter on with a lead rope attached.

“Hi, well, I got a lot done at the house, and since I’m not working today, I figured I’d come by early. Someone forgot to bring the treats fromWhisked Away.” Tully climbs up on the first wrung of the fence panel as I walk toward her with Case strapped to my chest. When we all met up for breakfast this morning, Mom mentioned she had an errand to run in town and couldn’t take the little man with her for this particular one. I already knew Ryland was going to be working on fences. I’d be the closest to the barn or house, so I was up. Mom kept him until lunch, and I took a break and made sureCase ate lunch, changed his diaper, then strapped him to my chest.

“Appreciate that. It wasn’t easy getting out bed this morning.” I dip my head, hand going to the back of Case’s head, and plant a kiss on Tallulah’s lips. Shit, I’m rethinking this uncle gig. The barn is empty, everyone’s out doing what they gotta do, and we’d have the tack room to ourselves.

“I bet it wasn’t. The snooze button was used quite a bit. How’s Case doing?” She looks down, a look of adoration on her face. It’s good to fucking know Tully likes what she sees.

“So far, so good. He took a nap, woke up, had to change a diaper that rivals anything you could think of. We worked on some emails while he hung out in the pack-n-play deal Mom has set up, and now we’re here.” Honey Belle stops on the other side of the round pen, looking at us likewhy the fuck are we stopping?“You wanna walk with her for a few minutes? She’s just about done for the day.” Tallulah nods.

“So, first things first. You look seriously hot with a baby strapped on your chest. I talked to my parents. They’re going to help me write up a report about Herbert, and they want to come visit us.” She climbs up each wrung on the fence instead of walking around to the gate.

“Got no problem with that, sunshine. We’ll make sure the house is all set up, so they have a place to sleep.” Her back is to me as she climbsdown. It’s been a hell of a long time since I’ve seen her in a pair of tight-fittin’ jeans, a cotton shirt, and boots.

“They’re not picky, but it’s probably a good idea all the same. I also made a pretty sizeable dent on the spare room. There’s a lot I need to donate. Then, of course, Mom dropped a bomb on me, Dad and I talked, and everything is going well, almost too well. I’m worried all this good is going to turn into something bad,” she says after she’s on the ground and facing me, rubbing her hands together to knock off the dirt.

“Sunshine, I promise you this. Nothing bad is going to happen to you or to us, ever.” My hand goes to hers, holding it and leading her to Honey Belle. Her gold coat is shinier than it was when she got here, her white mane much the same. She’s slowly filling out, too. But if she doesn’t get worked like she wants, well, Honey Belle may as well be nicknamed Mischief Maker.

“Promise?” Tallulah bends down to pick up the lead rope and starts walking toward her horse.

“Yeah, Tallulah, I promise.” I tell her. “I’ll be on the other side of the pen. I’m thinking next week, we’ll work her with a saddle on her back, see how things go, and if she’s comfortable, you’ll be able to ride her around a little.”

“Really? That would be awesome. I’m coming around tomorrow to check in on Buck. I’ll look at Raven, too. Honey Belle is here already, so it’ll be easy.” I watch as Tully walks around withher horse, guiding her into a walk. I’d suggest she do a trot, but I’ve worked her pretty well before Tallulah got here.

“Yep.” Lawson’s truck pulls up to the barn, and I watch as three doors open. The front passenger door opens up, and JW steps out, the back passenger does the same, and I’m shocked to see Fletcher in the flesh. Shit, this day went from good to bad fucking quickly. The only reason Fletch would fly from Georgia to Wyoming is for a massive damn issue. I look from the guys to Tully then back again. She’s slowing down and walking toward where I’m standing. Honey Belle is behind her, and watching how close she gets, I know she’s a good girl and is going to be an even better momma.

“Who’s the guy with Law and JW?” Tallulah asks.

“Fletcher, Lawson’s buddy who’s a cop. I asked him to look into the shit from the auction house. I had no idea he’d come out here to help.”

“Want me to take her back the barn or to the pasture?” Tully asks.

“I’ll take her to the pasture in a minute. Let’s see what they have to say first and go from there.” She ties Honey Belle to the same wrung she climbed over a few minutes ago.

As soon as she’s done, she slides open the latch and comes up beside me. When my arm wraps around her shoulder, she asks, “Is it possible to hold Case?”

“Hell, yeah.” I step back for a moment, loosening the strap in order to get Case out of the cocoon-like wrap. I’m not sure how everyone carries my nephew around as much as they do. My lower back is killing me, and I’ve only had him a few hours.

“Thanks. I haven’t held a baby in so long. My brother is married, and they’ve decided children aren’t in their future. I hope you realize I’m going to want more than a couple.” She says it like we’re talking about the weather.

“Anytime.” I dip my head once she has my nephew on her chest. Watching her with a baby is hot as fuck. It’s also why I whisper, “I’m gonna enjoy knocking you up, sunshine.” She likes my words, and I’m damn glad. Now I need to get a ring on her finger, quick like.

“Are you two love birds done yet?” Lawson asks from his truck, where he’s staying instead of moving toward us. It seems we’ll be walking to the bunch of them.

“You really wanna go there?” I toss back. He shakes his head and keeps his mouth shut.

“Hey, Lawson, JW. And you must be Fletcher.” Tully’s hand is out to shake Fletch’s. I nearly lose my shit seeing another man so much as touch Tallulah. I refrain, barely, and Fletch must catch on because he’s quick with the handshake.

“Nice to meet you.” My arm wraps around Tallulah’s shoulder, and she snuggles in.

“Everything okay?” I get down to business.

“It is now. The two guys from the auction are being arrested. Damn idiots. This wasn’t their first time, but it’s their last. It wasn’t hard to find the trail. Herbert is involved, and you’re not going to like this one bit.” Tully nods her head, face turning red, and she looks like she’s spitting mad.

“I’d like to say I’m shocked, but given the turn of events and the name he’s made for himself, I’m also not surprised.” My hold on her tightens, unaware of where this is going.

“Well, those were his nephews. Owners were off-loading them to Herbert because he said there was an uncurable disease to them. He’d offer to buy them, and his nephews would keep them on Herbert’s back property, but they obviously didn’t know what they were doing, or those animals wouldn’t have been half-starved. Herbert found out the horses were in bad shape and told the two individuals, Chad and Thad.” I snort at the frat boy names.

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