AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You know I have an IUD, right?” Okay, so she had to bring it up, after all.
“Yes, and with an IUD and a condom, the likelihood of pregnancy is minuscule, but there’s still a chance, and this isn’t negotiable for me. Not having vaginal sex is the surest way of making sure I don’t make a baby until and unless I’m absolutely ready.”
“Your mom raised you. You visited your dad in the summer.” She got it, but it felt like they needed to completely discuss this before they moved on, so she gave him a prompt.
“Yes, and it killed my dad that he couldn’t be there for me. My mom moved us to another city specifically to keep him out of my life as much as possible. She hated my dad more than she loved me. Revenge against him was more important than what was best for me, and I never want my child to be put into that kind of situation. I’m not saying you would, or that we’ll never get there, but a lot has to happen before we do.”
Heather moved towards Marcus and went up on her knees to kiss him on the cheek. “Okay. I get it. It won’t be the last time we talk about it, but I’m good with it for now.”
Marcus put his arm around her and kissed her on the forehead. “Thank you for understanding.”
“Hey, we’ve all got our baggage we carry around. This just proves you’re human, after all.”
Kyle spoke from his side of the tub. “We’re supposed to be at the ranch in forty-five minutes, and it’ll take at least thirty minutes to drive, so we should probably get dressed.”
Heather grabbed a bar of soap and spent a few minutes soaping up and rinsing off. It seemed silly to have run a bath to only spend ten minutes in it, but it seemed to have done the job of facilitating their conversation, so she didn’t say anything.
She wrapped a towel around herself when she exited the tub, and moved to the sink to get ready.
When she finished brushing her teeth, Marcus said, “Tell me more about your ranch, and the guy who runs it for you. I’m assuming you think he’s pretty damned trustworthy, so I imagine the two of you are close.”
“Jonah’s great. There was a house on the land when I bought it, and I originally intended to live there. I thought I’d make the Collegedale airport my base of operations, but the reality is that most of my passengers prefer to fly in and out of the Chattanooga airport, so living in Apison wasn’t ideal. Anyway, Jonah lives in the house, though I still have a bedroom in it, and he doesn’t mind me staying over occasionally. I always let him know ahead of time though, because I don’t want him to feel like he’s living in my house, even though I guess technically that’s the case. Anyway, you’re asking how close we are, and I trust him with my horses.” She shrugged. “Doesn’t get much bigger than that.”
Chapter 25
When they arrived at the ranch, Jonah came to the door to welcome them into the house before they had a chance to ring the doorbell. Scout the border collie had run beside them once they turned onto the long driveway, showing his excitement that Heather was there. Heather tossed his ball for him a few times before she went into the house, and Scout followed her in.
She introduced Jonah and Marcus, they did the standard nice-to-meet-ya, then Jonah headed back to the kitchen, saying, “Pancakes, potatoes, and sausage are all on the table. The eggs will join them momentarily. There’s a pitcher of ice water and a pitcher of orange juice on the table. If you want coffee it’s back here. Feel free to pour yourself whatever you want. Glasses are on the table, mugs are in here.”
Heather went to the dining room to see what kind of pancakes Jonah had made, but it wasn’t obvious from looking at them, so she grabbed one and took a bite. “Mmmm, peach pancakes. You’ve outdone yourself Jonah.”
“Ziggy’s been here a few days nonstop, working with Woodstock. He doesn’t want any advice from me — do you think you can watch one of their sessions and maybe see if you can help?”
“What’s the problem?”
“Woodstock is being stubborn and Ziggy’s not using finesse to counter it. I know we’re technically just boarding Woodstock and aren’t being paid for any training, but it kills me to watch when I know what Woodstock needs, but he’s not my horse so I can’t do anything.”
Heather sympathized. “I’ll see what I can do, but you didn’t have to invite us to breakfast to ask me. You can always call or email me that kind of thing.”
“Oh, I made breakfast because I’ve missed you. You’ve been even busier than usual the past couple of months. You’ve been here a few times a week to spend time with Phantom, but you and I haven’t had much time to connect.”
“Speaking of Phantom, I’m going to ride Marcus behind me on him, assuming Phantom doesn’t hate Marcus at first glance.”
Jonah looked at Marcus. “You’ve ridden before?”
“Yes, but it’s been a while, and Heather tells me she doesn’t let just anyone ride her horses.”
Jonah paused and then spoke slowly, with intention. “True, and Heather doesn’t usually let anyone ride Phantom with her, either.”
Marcus looked at Heather. “Is that true?”
Heather shrugged. “Phantom’s my friend. He carries me because he wants to, because I’ve earned his respect. We respect each other, and—” She rolled her eyes. “It’s hard to explain, but yeah, I’m not in the habit of asking him to carry someone besides me.”
“I don’t have to ride, if it’s a big deal.”
“It’s not so much that it’s a big deal, it’s just not something I make a habit of. It’ll be fine. Well, unless Phantom doesn’t like you, but I think the two of you will get along.”
Marcus looked to Jonah, as if wanting him to verify it was okay, and Jonah told him, “Heather’s smaller than most kids, and you’re tall but kind of thin, so I doubt you top two hundred pounds. She doesn’t have much of an ass, so the two of you in one of my saddles will easily accommodate the two of you.”
