Breaking Rein (Horse Play Series Book 3)

by A. D. Ryan

  “Since Dane left—”

  “You mean since I kicked his ass to the curb.”

  Dad laughed. “Right. Well, since then, you’ve buried yourself in work and haven’t gotten a moment to just relax.”

  “Dad, you’ve allowed Jensen and me plenty of weekends off. Trust me, I’ve relaxed.”

  “Alone,” he stressed before taking a bite of his sandwich.

  Smiling, I shrugged and sipped my hot chocolate. “I just don’t think this is the right time.”

  He refused to let up, shaking his head at me in the process. “And I just think a little separation might be good for the two of you.”

  “Yeah, I understand that. But trust me when I say it would only complicate things right now,” I explained gently, really hoping he didn’t ask for specifics on how.

  “Do me a favor and just consider it? Obviously, you can expense it to the company if that’s what you’re worried about,” he said.

  “That’s not it at all,” I assured him. “Look, if I say I’ll consider it, can we drop it?”

  Dad laughed again, sipping his own hot chocolate. “I suppose. But I get the feeling you’re not going to …”

  After discussing the idea that a little alone time might actually benefit us, Jensen agreed. The idea of a massage sounded like pure heaven, but Jensen made sure I was careful and had me confirm that the place I was going to offered a masseuse who was licensed in pre-natal massage as well. Just to be safe.

  “Okay, you have a good day. I’ll be home for dinner. Call if you need me to pick anything up,” I told Jensen as he saw me to the door, handing me the keys to the truck and kissing me soundly.

  “Will do,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around me.

  “You’re sure you’ll be okay?”

  Jensen laughed. “Madi, go, or you’ll be late for your massage. I love you.”

  “Love you, too,” I whispered, giving him one last peck on the lips before turning for the door.

  “Drive safe,” he told me as I took a step away from him. “You’re no longer the only precious cargo in that death trap.”

  Shaking my head, I laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”

  “Yeah,” he agreed. “But you love it.”

  With one more glance over my shoulder, I opened the door to the truck and climbed in, adjusting the seat so I could actually reach the pedals since Jensen was the last to drive it. After waving, I put the truck into reverse before driving up the driveway, and through the rear-view mirror, I saw Jensen pick Bones up as they watched me leave from the doorway. Soon, it would be our baby Jensen would be holding, and Bones would be far too big for such affections, sitting obediently by Jensen’s side instead.

  The leaves had mostly fallen to the ground in preparation for winter and the fields had all been harvested and cleaned out weeks ago. A few miles down the road, I noticed a truck with a horse trailer driving down a driveway to a plot of land that had been empty for the last seven months.

  The trailer rocked violently, inciting a gasp of fear for both horse and driver. While I knew some horses didn’t travel well, I never knew them to be bad enough to threaten the stability of both the vehicle and trailer. However, most people who had horses that were poor travelers gave them a mild sedative for long trips in order to guarantee everyone’s safety. Seeing this only made me more and more curious about our new neighbors, especially since the house I knew to stand on the land was just a termite infestation away from being condemned. No one in their right mind would buy that place.

  I pulled up to the spa and put the truck in park, suddenly a little more excited about my day. I would have to make sure that Jensen got the opportunity to have a day off to himself too. In fact, I was going to book him an appointment for the day after tomorrow; I knew Dad wouldn’t mind.

  “Good morning,” the receptionist greeted me as I stepped through the doors.

  Smiling, I stopped at her desk. “Hi, I have an appointment. For Madison Landry?”

  The receptionist looked down at her appointment book before grabbing a highlighter. “All right. I’ve got you in with Rebecca… She’s fabulous with pre-natal massages.” Looking up at me, she smiled. “How far along are you?”

  “Um, just over a month, actually.” It was the first time I’d said it out loud, and my stomach flipped with nervous excitement.

  “And do you have any serious injuries—past or present—we should be made aware of?”

  “I broke a couple ribs back in August. But my doctor seems pleased with how they’ve healed,” I informed her as she jotted it down.

  It wasn’t long until Rebecca came out to the front and introduced herself to me. We walked into her little massage room where she handed me a towel and left me alone to disrobe. Once I had the towel secured around me, I folded my clothes and placed them on the little chair in the corner before opening the door a crack so she’d know I was ready. I had just hopped up onto the table when she re-entered the room. She was on the taller side, probably close to five foot ten with a dark complexion and long, silky-looking black hair. Her deep brown eyes were warm and inviting, made brighter when her smile reached them. She looked like someone everyone liked.

  “Okay, Miss Landry—”

  “Madi, please,” I told her.

  She smiled warmly and nodded. “All right, Madi. Why don’t you go ahead and lie down on your stomach for me, and we’ll begin.”

  As she worked, we talked—well, she talked, I did a lot of moaning and groaning as she worked out kinks and knots I didn’t even realize I had—and she asked me all about what I did for a living, telling me she used to ride when she was a girl.

  “So, have you been to the doctor yet?” she asked, her hands firmly running up the length of my back before focusing on my neck as we neared the end of my massage.

  “Mmmm …” I moaned, my brain turning to mush as her fingers kneaded my deltoids. “Not yet. I go next Monday.”

  “All right, Madison. You’re all done. How do you feel?”

  “I can’t believe how great I feel. Thank you so much,” I said, wrapping the towel around me tightly as I stood. I hadn’t realized just how much tension I’d been carrying around. My neck and shoulders felt phenomenal, the stiffness in my lower back had been relieved, and even the residual pain from my accident a couple months ago seemed to be far less than before. I would definitely be coming back.

  “Any time. I’ll let you get dressed and I’ll meet you outside.” After leaving the room, I dropped the towel in the wicker basket she had next to the door and pulled my clothes on before stepping out into the hall. Rebecca was just outside the door when I opened it and walked with me to the waiting room. “If you’d like to book weekly appointments for the remainder of your pregnancy, that would be—”

  “Madison?”

  The minute the familiar voice called out, I could have sworn my heart stopped. Slowly, I turned my head to see Janet Davis—Jensen’s mother—standing not three feet away, her blue eyes wide with shock as she walked out of another one of the massage rooms.

  “Janet, h-hi,” I stammered, looking sheepishly between her and Rebecca.

  She didn’t say anything as she blinked her now-glistening eyes, shaking her head and stepping toward me in order to wrap me in her arms. Oh yeah, she knew, that much was clear by the strength behind her hug.

  Releasing me, she smiled knowingly before looking somewhat embarrassed. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. Madison, why don’t you finish up, and then maybe I can take you to lunch? It feels like it’s been ages.”

  “Uh…” Apparently “uh” was now a permanent part of my vocabulary. I shook my head to clear the fog that had rolled in. “Yeah. I’d like that?” I hadn’t meant for it to come out as a question, and I was glad she didn’t call me on it.

  Janet excused herself and headed for the main seating area while Rebecca looked between us. “That’s my boyfriend’s mom,” I explained. “She, uh, didn’t exactly know about the baby yet …”


  Rebecca immediately looked apologetic, eyes wide with regret. “I’m so sorry.”

  “No, you couldn’t have known. I definitely wasn’t expecting to see her here.” I shook my head. “Anyway, yes. I’d love to book weekly with you.”

  We had just entered the sitting area, where I saw Janet sitting in one of the seats flipping through a magazine as she waited for me, and Rebecca led me to the reception desk. “Just book yourself in with Elise here. It was a pleasure meeting you, Madison. And I’m sorry again.”

  “Thank you, Rebecca. I’ll see you next week.” After making an appointment for Jensen and making sure I got the next few weeks booked for myself, I turned nervously to where Janet sat.

  I walked to her slowly, not quite sure what to expect from her. Trying to mask my nerves with the widest smile I could muster, I picked up the pace until I stood before her. She was already setting her magazine down before I reached my destination, looking up at me with the brightest smile.

  Not sure how to bring up what she probably overheard, I decided to wait until she mentioned it. “How’ve you been?” I asked instead.

  “I’ve been well, dear. And you? How are you and Jensen?” There was a twinkle in her eye that was absolutely begging me to just come clean.

  I was a chicken shit, though. “We’re good. Better than good …” I paused, biting the inside of my cheek nervously. “So, uh, where do you want to go for lunch?”

  Janet looped her arm through mine and led me through the doors. “There’s a little place just down the block. How was your massage?”

  “Uh, good?”

  Janet laughed, patting my arm. “You sound uncertain. Did she not do a very good job?”

  I told myself to just rip the Band-Aid off. There was no way she hadn’t overheard my conversation with Rebecca. “No, she did a fantastic job. In fact, I made a few more appointments and even booked Jensen to come in for a massage. He’s so stressed and overworking himself.”

  We had just reached the cafe where the hostess seated us near the front window and offered to bring us drinks before our server came over.

  “Does he know?” Janet asked, snapping my attention right back to her.

  “I’m sorry?” I said, even though I was a bazillion percent certain I knew what she was asking.

  “Forgive me for being so forward, dear, but we’ve been tiptoeing around this since the spa.”

  Here it comes…

  “I didn’t intend to eavesdrop—goodness, I didn’t even expect to see you there!” She laughed lightly, finding humor in our situation, but I could only feel guilt tangling itself around me. I was about to tell Jensen’s mother that we were pregnant, and he wasn’t here with me to share in the moment.

  Taking a deep breath, I steeled my resolve and nodded, my mouth turning up into a wide smile. “Yes. I’m pregnant, and of course he knows. He’s the one who figured it out, actually.”

  I didn’t think it was possible, but her smile widened upon confirmation. “When did you find out?” she asked, her eyes glistening with what had to be happy tears.

  “Before we went camping.” She looked both shocked and somewhat hurt that we’d known for quite some time and hadn’t said anything, so I rushed to explain. “It wasn’t that we intended to keep it from you—any of you, really—Jensen wanted to tell everyone right away—”

  Out of character for her, Janet cut me off. “But you didn’t?”

  Shit. “Yes … Well, no. It’s just …” I took a deep breath, hoping to gather my thoughts quickly before she misinterpreted my feelings the same way Jensen had. “I was scared to share our news just in case something happened. I didn’t want to put your family through any more grief than you’d already experienced because of Kaylie.”

  “Well, that’s like comparing apples to whores,” Janet mumbled, lifting her mug to her lips before taking a sip.

  I, too, had just raised my glass to take a drink and choked on it. Did she just …?

  “And how are you feeling?” Janet asked, forcing my scatter-brained thoughts to focus on something other than what she just said.

  “Um, better. If I’m being honest, I’m a little scared because of how fast everything is happening,” I explained, rolling my condensation-covered glass between my palms. “But I’m excited, too.”

  “Well, I’m happy to hear that.” I could hear the smirk in her voice before I looked up and confirmed it. “But I was talking about physically. Are you having any morning sickness or anything?”

  Heat bloomed beneath my cheeks, a little embarrassed about over-sharing and opening up a whole new can of curious worms. “Oh, right. Um, sometimes I feel a little sick, but for the most part, I’m okay. Changing my diet seems to have helped.” She looked at me strangely, and I realized why immediately. “Apparently the baby needs a diet a little higher in iron. I’ve taken a strange liking to beef.”

  “And my son?” she inquired after our server came and took our order. “How does he feel about all of this?”

  I smiled, my heart swelling with joy. “Jensen’s thrilled. He’s been so great, and it makes me feel a little guilty for how I’ve acted until recently,” I admitted with a sad shrug.

  It was as though she could read my mind. “He thought you had doubts.” I nodded once. “Did you?”

  Shaking my head, I met her intense stare. I knew that Kaylie had betrayed them all, not just Jensen, so I could understand how they all might come to question my certainty. “Never.” Hoping to assure her of that, I straightened my posture and smiled wide before telling her about our epic blowout the night before. “We’ve had a chance to talk about everything, and we understand where the other was coming from.”

  “I’m glad to hear it,” Janet said happily. “Henry is going to be thrilled. And Lilah?”

  Feeling a little more nervous for what I was about to ask of her, I forced an awkward smile. “Would you mind if I asked you to keep this to yourself? I mean, I know that you’d feel obligated to tell Henry, but Jensen and I were planning to tell everyone after our doctor’s appointment next week—once we’re sure everything is viable. I actually feel awful for having had this conversation without him here.” Sucking in a breath, I waited for her response.

  When she reached across the table for my hand and smiled, I felt I was able to relax again. “I give you my word. Will you tell Jensen I know?”

  “I will, yes. I can’t keep anything from him. Literally.”

  When our salads arrived a short while later, Janet and I carried on a delightful conversation over lunch, and afterward, Janet offered to pay.

  “Don’t be silly,” I said. “Let me buy lunch.”

  I recognized the resolved look in her eyes as the same one Jensen got a majority of the time, and I knew I was fighting a losing battle. “No daughter-in-law of mine will rob me of the opportunity to treat her to lunch.”

  Thanks to my damn hormones, my eyes welled with tears when she called me her daughter-in-law. I was successful in holding them back as I nodded, letting her pay the bill before we walked back toward the spa where my truck and, I assumed, her car were parked.

  “So, you’ve got weekly appointments for a massage?” Janet asked as she walked me to the truck, and I responded affirmatively. “Excellent. Me too. Why don’t we make lunch a weekly thing, too? And perhaps next week we can get a bit of shopping in as well.”

  “I would love if we did this every week. On one condition.” Her left eyebrow arched questioningly. “Next week, lunch is on me.”

  Janet pulled me into her arms. “If you insist.” She held me for a moment longer than was probably necessary, but I delighted in it. “I’m very happy for the two of you, Madison. Please, let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.”

  “I will. Thank you so much,” I whispered, releasing her. After stepping into the truck, Janet walked down the lot a few spaces, climbed into a black Mercedes, and we both left.

  Feeling a little tired, I decided to forgo my last-minute plans for windo
w shopping and go home. It didn’t even occur to me until I was on the highway that Jensen hadn’t called me all day. I wondered if he was just too busy working or if he was purposely trying to give me the space I admitted to needing. If it was the latter, it had to be driving him crazy.

  I pulled into the driveway, parked the truck next to Jensen’s bike, and headed into the house to see if he was home. I knew it to be unlikely since it was almost five, and they were probably just getting ready to bring the horses in for the night before dinner. Turned out, I was right; the house was empty, so I made my way for the barn to see if they needed any help.

  As I got closer to the barn, I spotted Jensen bringing in Halley, Bones by his side. In the last month since getting Bones, we were making real progress with him around the horses, and as he got bigger, he was definitely getting braver.

  Jensen turned in my direction, and he smiled before disappearing into the barn with my horse. Bones, on the other hand, bolted toward me from Jensen’s side, yipping with every bound. I knelt to the ground when he reached me and pet him until he rolled over onto his back, exposing his belly. “Did you have a good day, big guy?”

  “As a matter of fact, I did.” Jensen’s smooth, sexy voice wrapped itself around me, and I stood up, turning to face him. Blue eyes burned into mine as his hands came up to cup my face, and he sighed before pressing his lips to mine softly. “God,” he whispered against my lips. “I missed you so much.”

  I hummed, brushing our noses together and looking up at him through my eyelashes. “I missed you too, baby. How much work is there to do? Can I give you”—I bit my bottom lip briefly, my hands moving down over his chest until they rested on his abdomen—“a hand?”

  “Are you trying to kill me?” he asked, groaning and quickly kissing me again. “We actually just finished up, so what I’d like to do is take you home and talk about your day.”

  “I’d like that very much.”

  Jensen put the kettle on for some tea while I sat at the table “So, you had a good day, love? You look very relaxed.”

  Nodding, I laughed. “Yeah, it was good. Definitely what I needed. I actually booked you in for a massage in a couple of days. I hope you’ll go?”