Breaking Rein (Horse Play Series Book 3)

by A. D. Ryan

  “That’s our baby,” Madison whispered, looking up at me with wet, teary eyes while giving my hand a squeeze. “Isn’t it amazing?”

  Leaning down, I pressed my lips to hers. “It sure is.”

  “Would you guys like a picture of the little one?” Dr. Smith asked.

  Madison’s eyes snapped to him before she started rapidly nodding her head. “Yes. Please,” she replied, her smile so bright it rivaled the sun.

  “I’ll leave you two to get your things together. Madison?” Madison turned to her doctor, more tears brimming her eyes. “I’d like to see you every four weeks. Be sure to book your next appointment before heading home, all right?”

  “Definitely,” she assured him softly. “Thank you.” With a curt nod, the doctor left the room, but Madison didn’t move from her spot on the table.

  We picked up the ultrasound photo at the front desk when we booked our next appointment. Once that was all figured out, I led Madison to the car.

  “Can you believe it?” she asked as I opened her door. “I mean, I knew it was happening, but there was always that fear in the back of my mind that maybe it wasn’t true. But we saw her, Jensen. We saw our baby.”

  “Still stuck on it being a girl, huh?” I teased. “Aren’t you going to be mighty disappointed to find out he’s a boy.”

  She dismissed my teasing by shrugging her head to the left and smiling cockily. “We’ll see who’s disappointed, Davis.”

  The minute she said my last name, I couldn’t help but relate it to us. To our family. Having only been together just over two months, it should have been too soon to be imagining Madison answering to “Mrs. Davis.” In light of everything going on, however, it didn’t feel too soon. No, it felt right.

  I wouldn’t ask her right then, though; I’d already been turned down, and wasn’t looking to relive it. Sure, I understood her reasoning, but the rejection still hurt. I would ask again, though, but I wanted the moment I asked her to spend the rest of her life with me to be perfect. Everything else in our relationship was pretty damn unconventional, so I would be sure to make this moment one she would remember forever. Plus, I needed to find the perfect ring.

  The entire ride home, Madison had trouble paying attention to anything other than the ultrasound picture—not that I could blame her. If I hadn’t been driving, I’d have been just as captivated by it also.

  “Should we go and get Bones?” I asked as I put the car in park once we arrived home.

  We got out of the car and started for the house. “Uh, no. If Dad knows we’re back he’s likely to ask questions about car shopping, and I haven’t done nearly enough fake research to answer them,” she said, unlocking the front door.

  Madison and I headed straight for the kitchen where we began preparations on tonight’s meal. Because Madison was still sensitive to the smell of cooking beef, she worked on the vegetarian dish at the island behind me. By five, both dishes were in the oven and Madison had put together a platter of cheese and crackers for everyone to munch on until dinner was ready. With just a few minutes before everyone was set to arrive, Madison and I went to our room to change.

  “Madi?” Wayne’s voice called through the house as he let himself in. “I’m here.”

  With an excited gleam in her eye, Madison started for the door, but I quickly grabbed her arm and stopped her. For whatever reason, I was suddenly terrified to tell Wayne that I had knocked up his daughter. I didn’t know where the fear came from; one minute I was excited to share this with everyone, and the next I was scared shitless of the man with all the guns. A lot of guns. And he was a crack-fucking-shot. As I took all of that into consideration, I started to find it hard to breathe.

  “Jensen? What is it?” she asked, approaching me with a concerned look in her eyes.

  My mouth opened and closed several times as I tried to find the words. “We … Madison … He’s …” I couldn’t seem to even string two words together, at least, not until she placed her hands on my cheeks and forced my eyes to hers. “He’s going to kill me.”

  “What are you talking about?” Madison asked. “Jensen, he’s going to be thrilled.”

  “But, we’ve only been togeth—”

  Madison pressed her fore and middle fingers to my lips. “Relax. Everything is going to be fine.”

  It was official; Madison and I had officially switched roles; where she was always the one to worry, she was now the one saying whatever needed to be said to give me strength. She was my anchor in that moment when I needed her to be.

  I found the strength needed to take the necessary steps out into the hall with Madison by my side. In the kitchen, we found Wayne standing at the island picking at the tray of cheese and crackers, and Bones greeted us excitedly, hopping up and licking our joined hands as he begged for affection. Laughing, Madison released my hand to comply, kneeling before him and petting his head.

  Wayne looked up when we entered and tipped his head. “I see car shopping was a bust.”

  Madison raised her head to look at me, her right eyebrow arched as if to say “I told you so.”

  Pushing herself to her feet, much to Bones’ displeasure, she looked at Wayne. “I’ll need another day to look,” she told him, not really lying, merely omitting the fact that we didn’t really go car shopping. She was good at side-stepping around the truth.

  He smiled in response. “Just let me know when.”

  “Will do,” Madison assured him.

  “So, when’s dinner?” he asked, sounding pretty eager to eat.

  Madison couldn’t contain her elation as her smile grew wide again. “Um, we’re just waiting on Jensen’s family and then we should be good to go.” Wayne looked momentarily confused. “Did I forget to mention that? Crap. I’m sorry. It must have slipped my mind.”

  He shrugged it off. “No worries. It’s always good to visit with Henry.”

  Soon enough, there was another knock on the door before my parents entered. Madison and I greeted them as they removed their shoes. As I spoke with my dad, I noticed Madison and my mom share a firm embrace before my mom cradled her face and whispered something that made the two of them smile radiantly.

  “Kyle and Lilah will be here soon,” Dad informed me. “They left their place around the same time we left ours, so I don’t suspect they’ll be too long.”

  Mom wrapped an arm around Madison, and we made our way back to the kitchen where Wayne had stayed behind. Madison went to the stove, my mom staying right by her side, and she checked on dinner. Seeing the way the two of them continued to grow closer made me deliriously happy.

  “Would any of you care for some wine?” Madison asked, turning from the stove after taking the lasagnas out.

  After pouring everyone a glass of white wine—and herself a glass of sparkling cider to give the illusion of joining us for a glass until she broke the news—Madison grabbed plates and placed them on the island for when dinner would be served. Just as the oven timer went off, there was yet another knock on the door followed by Kyle’s voice announcing his arrival.

  Madison met them halfway between the entry and the kitchen, hugging each of them tightly before pulling them to where we were all gathered. My heart sped up as I realized that the moment we told them all—told Wayne—was getting close. It suddenly felt really fucking hot in the room. Were the walls starting to close in? Fuck, I couldn’t swallow …

  As I struggled with my composure, Madison grabbed the two extra glasses of wine and handed them to Kyle and Lilah before grabbing her own glass and moving to stand beside me. When she looked up at me, she smiled, slipping her hand into mine and lacing our fingers together. The comfort her touch brought moved through me, slowly at first, but eventually relaxing me and making it easier to breathe.

  We both turned back to our guests to see them sipping their wine and conversing causally, none-the-wiser about why we had invited them all over. I watched as Mom and Lilah talked about meeting up for lunch the next day, and I caught a brief conversati
on between Kyle and our fathers about their day. Just like the night of Madison’s birthday when they were all together, I was reminded of just how seamlessly the individual aspects of our lives meshed together.

  I cleared my throat, and Madison squeezed my hand, her excitement obvious by the slight tremble in her fingers. Once everyone quieted and gave us their full attention, I spoke. “So, the reason Madison and I invited you all to dinner tonight was because we’ve got an announcement to make.”

  Who knew it was possible for a silent room to become even more quiet.

  Everyone’s gaze shifted between the two of us, my mother struggling to contain her smile since she knew what was about to happen. My mouth suddenly felt dry, and I swallowed thickly before continuing.

  “As you all know, Madi and I have only been together for a short time.” Loosening my grip on Madison’s hand, I lifted my arm and wrapped it around her, tucking her tightly to my side.

  I noticed that each and every one of our guests had a huge smile on their face—even Wayne—which made me feel infinitely better about making this announcement. It pretty much guaranteed me a longer life-span.

  I had just opened my mouth to speak when Wayne cut in with premature congratulations. “Well, sometimes the heart just knows what it wants, and you just have to go along for the ride.” He looked at me before holding out his hand. “Welcome to the family, Jensen. I’d be proud to call you my son.”

  Oh, shit. He was misinterpreting what we were trying to tell them. Suddenly, I was afraid to correct him; it seemed safer to let him believe that I had asked Madison to marry me than gotten her pregnant.

  Without thinking, I took his hand and smiled weakly, a nervous chuckle escaping. I was pretty sure I started mumbling something incoherent before Madison rescued me.

  “No, Daddy.” Scratch that. Not rescued; she was throwing us under the god damn bus. “We’re pregnant.”

  Wayne yanked his hand back as though I’d just bit it, staring wide-eyed at the two of us for a minute. I felt Madison’s hand grip the back of my shirt tightly as her father took longer than she had hoped to absorb the news. This wasn’t the reaction she was expecting, but I kind of was—not that it made me feel any better. I didn’t always like to be right.

  As Wayne continued to look between us, I could vaguely hear the congratulations from my family pouring in around us. I think I felt Kyle’s hand clamp down on my shoulder, and it was possible my mom and sister hugged me. Unfortunately, I was watching Wayne’s every move and trying to figure out what was going on inside his head.

  “Daddy?” Madison whispered, breaking free from my arm to approach him.

  He blinked for the first time since hearing the news, a wide smile breaking out across his face. “What exciting news, honey,” he said, pulling his daughter into his arms, and I finally allowed myself to exhale.

  “We’re so happy for you,” my mom said, placing her hand on my cheek and forcing my attention to her.

  “Thanks, Mom.” Suddenly, Wayne’s whispered words caught my attention, and I turned to find he and Madison had moved a few feet from the crowd. The smile on Madison’s face never wavered as she listened to everything he said.

  “I’m happy for you, honey—really, I am. It’s just …”

  Madison nodded. “I know. It wasn’t how I ever thought it would happen either, but it did, and Jensen and I are happy.”

  “God,” he breathed out, running his hand over his face. “I thought he’d asked you to marry him.” He looked at her with an arched brow. “Unless … Did he?”

  Laughing, she bit her lip lightly. “No. We’re not engaged. I know you probably wished I would have done things the way you and mom had. Fallen in love, gotten married, had a baby … But, this is what life threw us, and we’ve accepted it. I hope you’re not disappointed.”

  Wayne pulled Madison into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “Oh, Madi, no. All I ever really wanted for you was your happiness, and I’m so glad you were able to find it with someone as upstanding as Jensen.”

  “Me, too,” she said before pulling free. “Hey, do you want to see a picture?” Madison didn’t give him a chance to answer before she rushed from the kitchen and to our room to grab the ultrasound picture we had been given.

  She handed it to her dad, and the smile that spread across his face was one that only a proud grandfather could have. Madison reached over and started pointing out the baby, and she showed him the dark spot where the baby’s heart had been flickering on the monitor, describing in detail how fast it was and what it sounded like. I loved seeing her like this.

  “Henry,” Wayne said loudly, an air of extreme pride now filling his strong voice. “Come take a look at our grandchild.”

  Madison stepped aside as my parents, Lilah, and Kyle approached Wayne to view the sonogram image. They all began oohing and aahing over the baby’s first picture, and I moved to Madison’s side, pulling her into my arms. Immediately, she wrapped her arms around my waist and looked up at me jubilantly.

  “That went well,” I said, pressing a kiss to her forehead as she nodded against my lips. “Your dad’s okay?”

  “He is. I knew he would be. I think we just caught him off guard.” She turned to look at him. “Look at him now, though. He’s so excited—they all are. God, how lucky is this baby?” When her voice wavered, I knew she was on the verge of tears.

  Coaxing her face to mine, I kissed her softly, using the pads of my thumbs to wipe the small tears that had fallen over her cheeks. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you too. I’m so happy, but my cheeks are starting to hurt from all this smiling,” she announced with a slight bounce. She was so fucking adorable.

  “What do you say we go eat dinner?” With a nod, Madison announced it was time to eat before the food got cold. Wayne looked like he was going to pass out when Madison told him we had a lasagna with actual beef in it—though, he faltered even more when he watched Madison cut herself a piece.

  Realization dawned on him then. “Well, I guess that explains my steak a couple weeks back.”

  “Yeah.” Madison blushed as she leaned up against the island, leaving the four chairs around the table available for our guests. “Still sorry about that.”

  Throughout dinner, we talked about the baby and Madison’s plans for work. It turned out that Wayne and I were on the same wavelength when it came to Madison riding—that she shouldn’t.

  “Actually, Dr. Smith said I could ride until my second trimester. Clearly, I won’t be doing any jumping, but I can still work with Tom and go for trail rides,” Madison explained before going on about everything the doctor said about it. “Besides,” she continued. “We’ve had many, many clients ride pregnant.”

  Looking at Wayne, I shook my head. “It’s no use trying to argue with her. I told her as long as it was approved by a doctor, I wouldn’t try to stand in her way.” I shifted my focus to Madison. “As long as she’s safe.”

  “Pfft, please. Name one episode lately where I haven’t been safe.”

  True to form, Kyle had to offer up his two cents. “Well, considering what we’re here tonight celebrating, I’d say there was at least one episode.”

  “Kyle!” the women exclaimed in tandem.

  “What?” he asked, his grin wide and goofy as he arched his eyebrows. “You can’t tell me you weren’t all thinking it.”

  “Regardless of whether we were or not, our parents are sitting at the same table,” Lilah pointed out, slapping his upper arm lightly. The smile on her face told me she still found his comment pretty damn funny.

  Truthfully, we all did.

  Chapter 5. Intruder Alert

  Bones’ barking woke me from quite possibly the raunchiest sex dream I’d ever had. It would seem that my pregnancy hormones not only increased my libido, but had my imagination running wild, too—not that that was a bad thing.

  The dream was so intense that I was certain I was only seconds away from humping Jensen in my sleep had i
t not been for the dog startling me awake. At first, I was confused about what was going on, my brain still kind of muddled with sleep and kinky dream-sex as I blinked my dry eyes and propped myself up to look at the alarm clock; it was just after two in the morning.

  Bones growled low and threatening, and I was just about to get out of bed to see if he had to go out when Jensen grumbled, running his hand down over his face. “Fuck,” he rasped. “What the hell is the dog barking at?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine,” I replied, tossing the blankets from over my legs and stepping onto the cool hardwood floor. “Maybe he needs to go out?” The words barely left my mouth before Bones was barking wildly as he threw himself at the window. With his front paws on the window ledge, his bark deepened in tenor, frightening me as he went on and on. Of course, the alarm I felt was nothing compared to the paralyzing fear that coursed through my veins when I saw movement just outside the window.

  With wide, terrified eyes, I turned to Jensen. “I think there’s something outside,” I whispered in a voice that shook just as fiercely as my entire body.

  He was up and out of bed in a flash, running for the door in nothing more than his flannel pants before turning around. “Stay put. I’ll go check it out.”

  “No!” I cried out, running to him and taking his hand. “Don’t leave me…please.” I didn’t want to believe it, but I suddenly realized it could be Dane.

  Bones was still barking, moving back and forth between the two windows and trying to locate the trespasser that was causing him such distress. Jensen cradled my face in his right hand. “Baby, I’ll be right back.”

  Before I could object a second time, Jensen left the room, and I heard the door open and close behind him. Without thinking, I flew down the hall and locked the door, just to be safe—Jensen would have wanted that. Then I waited

  Every passing second that Jensen was gone, my heart beat at speeds that shouldn’t have been possible. My chest tightened, and I had trouble breathing as I backed away from the door. Wrapping one arm around myself, my other sweaty hand clutched the neck of Jensen’s T-shirt that I had put on before we fell asleep. I couldn’t do anything but stare at the door while I waited, Bones’ barking still going on down the hall, only partially muted by the pounding of my own pulse in my ears.