“I have dinner cookin’. My girls don’t know about Austin, but both are gone tonight. I want you all over for dinner,” Lily said graciously, before calling over her shoulder to Kitt. “And that means you too.”
“Yes ma’am.” It was the only indication he even knew what was going on around him. All eyes turned toward Kitt as he held tight to Hooch’s halter. He walked slowly with the horse and never turned or looked up, but kept his free hand rubbing on Hooch with each step they took.
“Lily, you didn’t have to go to any trouble for us,” Seth said, after a minute of silence.
“I didn’t at all. I’m headin’ home to finish things now. Kitt, they look great,” Lily called out, and for the first time, everyone watched Kitt turn toward Lily and acknowledge the others.
“Oh, Austin, he’s yummy! I see why you like it here so much!” Cara said, linking her arm in Austin’s, moving them to the fence. Austin covered her words with an ease only achieved by years of hiding from the public.
“He’s Hooch, the oldest of the horses, but only by a few weeks. Or about a month, right Mike?” Austin asked. Cara stepped up on the fence and laid her chin in her hand watching Kitt work.
“This is the colt you guys had while I was here?” Seth and Mike followed along behind them.
“Yep, big isn’t he? He’s like his dad, really pretty fast already. Getting faster every day,” Mike said. Seth came to stand behind Cara. Everyone else was back to watching Kitt work with the chestnut.
“Huh. Well that’s something else,” Seth said, dropping his hands in his pockets.
“It is. He and Kitt are like one,” Mike added.
“He’s beautiful. Can I see them all?” Cara shaded her eyes with her hands from the bright sunlight. She stood on the bottom rail and Micah’s boys were standing off to the side. Austin looked back at them, catching them stare at her ass. All he could do was chuckle. He totally got where they were coming from, he was still as transfixed with Kitt’s ass.
“Boys, let’s get home. Cara, it was nice to meet you, Seth, good to see you.”
Hands were again shaken as Southern manners required. The boys looked so regretful to be leaving, but listened to their father without any outward protest. Their slow moving feet said it all.
“Come on, I’ll take you on a tour,” Austin said.
“You guys go. I’m going to check email,” Seth said.
“Baby!” Cara whined. “It’s our honeymoon, we’re supposed to be together twenty-four-seven!
“You should’ve read the fine print, honey. It said unless we came here. Go have fun. Come get me when it’s time to eat.” Seth ignored her whine, and kissed her pouty lips. He grabbed his briefcase along with a suitcase from the backseat of the Prius and went straight for the house.
~~~~~~
Kitt sat in a darkened corner of Austin’s porch and waited for the chatting to end in the barn and for Austin to come back to the house. The best he could hear, Cara and Austin were in the barn doing another walk through and Seth was in the house, staying hidden away from any of the scary farm things that might go bump in the night. Kitt rolled his eyes at the thought.
Austin made him promise to come over tonight and spend time with them, but he hadn’t wanted to, not even a little bit. He’d suggested Austin get some quality alone time with his friends because even after all these months, Kitt truly wanted nothing to do with Seth at all. Jealousy ran thick in his heart over the guy. It didn’t matter that he was a married man, a married straight man, with a brand new beautiful wife or that Seth seemed overly afraid of his own shadow. Kitt never managed to get the image out of his head of Seth and Austin walking up to Lady’s stall all those months ago. It set his heart on fire every time he thought about it.
Most people knew of the Kelly temper, but Kitt tried to always be cool, calm and collected. He wanted to come off like there wasn’t much more on his mind other than work. Those were defense mechanisms he learned years ago when dealing with his dad. Any sort of awkwardness and Kitt would pull deep inside himself, outwardly appearing to focus on nothing but the task at hand. His dad’s backhand had taught him to keep an eye on everything. You never knew when the proverbial or literal fist might be coming out of nowhere to punch you in the gut. Keeping your head down helped keep the attention away from you. That fist came out of nowhere and punched Kitt hard today, squarely in the chest.
When Kitt watched Cara with Austin this afternoon, so many of those old feelings of thinking Austin would eventually leave and return to Hollywood came rushing back. Austin and Cara were so pretty together. They fit with one another. Seth fit with them too. That polished pretty world had a place for Austin. How had Kitt let himself forget that? So, instead of going in, trying to make amends with Seth or interrupting Cara and Austin on their tour, Kitt sat outside and waited. For what, he didn’t know for sure.
“They’re so perfect, and I love the idea of you all racing them! Did you always plan that when you bought this place?” Cara asked, walking beside Austin. This time she held Austin’s hand as they walked slowly from the barn to the house.
“No, not even a little bit. I just stumbled on it, and Kitt let me get involved.” The lights were all turned off. The night was quiet. Kitt could see and hear everything said between them.
“I wasn’t sure you were as happy as Seth kept telling me, but I can see he’s right. I’m glad for you, Austin. I can’t see how no one knows about you and Kitt, it’s so obvious,” Cara said. It perked Kitt’s ears right up. Any worry he felt about eavesdropping just came in second to worry they were being too blatant to the people around them.