Alex (Killarny Brothers 2)

Before I could make any kind of a move, a charcoal gray cat jumped down from the fridge and bounded toward us, intent on checking me out and giving my boots a good sniff.

“Oh, I should have changed into something a little cleaner than my work boots before coming here.”

She shook her head. “No, don’t worry about it. I’m sure I carry worse up here on my shoes. That’s what the wood floors are for.” She regarded me quietly for a moment. “So, was there anything else you needed?”

I scratched the back of my head. I hated that when I was around her, I felt a kind of shyness creep back, like a memory from the past. I wasn’t a shy man. On the contrary, I could kick up a real ruckus when I wanted to. But something about this woman made me forget where I was. As much control as I was used to having, there was something about being in her presence that made me feel like I was completely powerless, in a way that usually made me uncomfortable. The thought of being powerless around Maddy though? Giving her permission to do whatever she wanted? That thought was enough to make me shiver. I wondered what grown up Maddy would do now that we had some privacy. When we were teenagers, we were always scrambling around trying to find a place where we could be alone and make out for a few moments without being caught. Her parents’ place had been out—too small. My mother watched us like a hawk, and we rarely had a moment to ourselves there. So it was almost always out in the back pasture, in my truck.

“I did want to ask you your thoughts on what the best course of action would be to take with the filly. And I guess I could help you put your groceries away since your being kind enough to answer my question.”

Without waiting for her to give me permission I grabbed one of the bags and started pulling items out, picking out the produce first and putting it in the fridge.

“I hope you’re not particular about where things go,” I said as I put a head of lettuce in the crisper.

She frowned slightly, but shook her head and allowed me to continue.

“Well, I’ve been giving it some thought this afternoon. You guys still own the filly, right?”

I nodded affirmatively.

“Okay, so that’s not as big of an issue as it might have been if you’d already sold her. Do you think the buyers will still want her and if not, will that matter to you greatly?”

I thought about the money that a horse like Pineapple would bring. We relied on the money we made selling our thoroughbreds and Pineapple came from good stock.

“It wouldn’t be the end of the world if they backed out of the deal, no. I’m sure that if things went okay with her foaling that we could find another buyer, that’s if this one fell through, or we could keep her. It’s not a big deal either way. The money isn’t that much of a concern.”

I could see her bristle at those words and I regretted bringing the topic up in that way. Of course for Maddy money was a big deal. It was a big deal for her father. Still, I was sure. He was still paying to lease his land from us after all these years.

“And,” I continued, “considering that the foal is from Nevada Rebel, we would like to keep it. He has been slow to produce any offspring in the past couple of years, and he is in pretty high demand. He was a great race horse for us, and I would love to see another foal from him.”

Maddy was standing on her tiptoes, putting a box of granola in the cabinet. “Well, if that’s the case then I say she should go ahead and carry to term. You’ll be able to watch her closely and call me if there are any issues. I’m close enough that I can attend to her regularly, but chances are she’ll have a normal, healthy pregnancy. There probably isn’t anything to worry about. Unless the foal is too big for her, considering her age. I think it’ll be fine though.”

I nodded and smiled. “Okay then, I’ll take your word for it…doctor.”

Maddy rolled her eyes and laughed at that. “Weird, huh?”

I gave a shrug. “It’s just something to get used to, that’s all. Unexpected, but not all that surprising when I think about it. You always did love animals.”

“I sure did,” she said as she leaned over to scoop up her cat and I silently cursed the face that the feline was now between us. Now wasn’t the time, but I so desperately wanted to pull this woman close and kiss her, to feel her breasts pressed against me and grind into her pelvis.

“There was just one more thing, and I hope you’ll agree to it.”

She gave me a little side eye. “Go on.”

I leaned against her countertop as I spoke, trying to look more casual than I felt. “As a thank you, and to put some of the animosity behind us, I was hoping that you’d join me for dinner at the ranch. At my place.”

She seemed to be calculating her answer before she spoke. “There’s really no need to thank me. It would have been caught eventually.”

“I know, but I appreciate your expertise and I wanted to…I don’t know. Open the door to the possibility of a friendship between us. I know you said that we don’t have to socialize or anything like that and I won’t press it if you really don’t want to. But Maddy…we were friends for a really long time. Before we ever dated. We chased each other all over the place and probably knew each other better than anyone else. You’re back and time has passed. I’m not asking you to brush everything that happened under the rug. It’s just dinner. What do you say?”

After a second she nodded, then narrowed her eyes and grinned suspiciously. “But…can you even cook?”

My mouth dropped open in mock offense. “I’ve picked up a few skills along the way. Being a single man all these years I’ve had to learn a few tricks.” A few I wanted to show her.

She laughed at that. “Okay then.”

“Friday night?”

Maddy nodded. “Can’t wait to see what kind of tricks you’ve got up your sleeve.”