Chompin' at the Bit (Horse Play Series Book 2)

by A. D. Ryan

  “How was your sleep?” Lilah asked, offering me a wine cooler.

  Holding up my hand, I shook my head. “Oh, no thanks. I just woke up.”

  Smiling, she traded the cooler for a bottle of water and handed it to me with a shrug. “No worries.”

  “I can’t believe I slept that long,” I said, still a little upset with myself for missing the last few hours.

  “No worries,” Willow replied. “Jensen filled us in on how stressed you’ve been with work. I remember how hectic it gets this time of year.”

  “Yeah, it’s been trying, that’s for sure.”

  “Ladies?” Jensen asked across the flames. “Should we be thinking about dinner anytime soon?”

  The words had barely left his mouth, and my stomach started rumbling. “I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m famished.”

  While the guys cooked, they continued to argue about what to do after dinner. Kyle was still hung up on this ghost story thing while Willow and Lilah were still lobbying for something a little more fun. Along with suggesting charades, Willow recommended truth or dare, which made Jensen and I laugh, remembering our game on the way to Lilah’s wedding a few weeks ago. After a bit more bickering, they finally decided that we could do both—not that I was looking forward to being scared shitless right before bed.

  After dinner, we regrouped around the fire, settling in so we could begin our first game of charades, which was pretty fun—probably because Jensen and I kicked ass. The sun had long set, and we were in the lead with seven wins while our competitors each had four. It was my turn to act out the clues, and I felt like a tool—just like the first three times I had to do it.

  After Jensen and I won again, Kyle admitted defeat and suggested we make s’mores and tell scary stories. My nose wrinkled at the thought of telling ghost stories out in the middle of nowhere, but I complied, snuggling up close to Jensen as Kyle began.

  “So, there was this guy and his wife who lived in Memphis, like, five years ago …” The light and shadows from the flames of the fire danced eerily across Kyle’s face, chilling me to the bone as he continued. “They had this huge Doberman in a little house just outside the city limits. One night they went out for dinner and dancing. By the time they got home it was late and the husband was more than a little drunk. They got in the door and were greeted by the dog choking to death in the family room.

  “Well, the husband passed the fuck out from all the alcohol, but his wife called the vet, who was actually an old family friend of hers, and got her to agree to meet her at her clinic. The wife drove over and dropped off the dog, but decided that she’d better go home and get her husband into bed.”

  I was freaking out as he continued, pushing myself closer to Jensen until I was practically sitting on his lap. My eyes searched frantically for Bones, only to find him huddled between Willow and Lilah as they hugged him for dear life.

  “Well, she arrived home and finally slapped her husband into consciousness, but he was completely shit-faced. Because he was about twice her size, it took her almost half an hour to get him up the stairs, and then the phone rang. She was tempted to just leave it, but she decided that it must be important or they wouldn’t be calling that late at night. As soon as she picked up the phone, she heard the vet’s voice screaming out: ‘Thank God I got you in time! Leave the house! Now! No time to explain!’ Then the vet hung up.”

  I shivered, but not because I was cold.

  “Because she was such an old family friend, the wife trusted her, and so she started getting the hubby down the stairs and out of the house. By the time they made it all the way out, the police were outside. They rushed up the front stairs past the couple and into the house, but the wife still didn’t have a clue what was going on. The vet showed up and said, ‘Have they got him? Have they got him?’

  “‘Have they got who?’ the wife asked, starting to get really pissed off. And the vet answered, “‘Well, I found out what the dog was choking on—it was a human finger.’ Just then the police emerged, escorting a dirty, stubbly man who was bleeding profusely from one hand. ‘Hey Sarge,’ one of them yelled. ‘We found him in the bedroom.’”

  I was deeply regretting this idea and definitely wanted to hear a funny and light-hearted story. No luck though; apparently Kyle either thought it was funny to tell all these dog-centric urban legends—the poodle in the microwave, the one where the girl was getting her hand licked by what she thought was her dog under her bed —or he just wasn’t thinking how freaky it might be. I shuddered again.

  It was getting late, and I was terrified. There was no way I was falling asleep. I needed to change the topic.

  Sensing my distress, Jensen started telling jokes, which got Kyle onto a dirty joke tangent. The mood in the air had shifted, and soon I felt comfortable enough to let my fatigue settle over me. I pushed myself to my feet. “Okay, it’s after midnight, and I’m feeling like I might be able to sleep peacefully now, so I’m going to turn in.”

  Jensen was on his feet next to me instantly. “Me, too. Have a good night, guys.” He turned to the dog. “C’mon, Bones.”

  Bones followed after us as we made our way to our tent and got ready for bed. We crawled into our sleeping bag, and I snuggled up to Jensen, closing my eyes and preparing for sleep.

  Jensen took a deep breath, almost like he was steeling himself for something big, and I looked up, trying to make out his expression in the dark. “Madi, if I ask you something, will you promise to be one hundred percent honest?”

  “A hundred and ten,” I assured him.

  He seemed to choke on what he was trying to say. “Do you want this baby?” I opened my mouth to speak when he interrupted with more. “It’s just … you don’t want to tell anyone, you say things sometimes that worry me …”

  Scooting forward carefully, I coaxed his face up so our eyes locked. “Listen to me,” I ordered. “Yeah, it’s all happening really fast, but I love you, and I’ll love this baby. You have nothing to worry about.”

  Even though I spoke the truth, there was something in his eyes that told me he wasn’t entirely convinced. Regardless, he smiled, nodded, and kissed my forehead.

  “Goodnight, Jensen,” I whispered. “Sleep well.”

  Chapter 33. Tripped up by Déjà Vu

  As promised, I called and made a doctor’s appointment the Monday after our camping trip. The soonest I could get in was in three weeks and Jensen seemed even more impatient about that than me. We kept ourselves busy with work, though. Jillian was still away, but she called and assured us things with her dad were looking up and she should be back within the next couple of weeks. Extending her stay in Lubbock worked out well for me since Jensen was refusing to let me do basic groundwork, and it saved me from having to explain why I couldn’t train in the afternoons. Dad seemed a little suspicious, but he hadn’t said anything outright.

  “Madi?” Dad called from the office when I’d come in from releasing Starla into her paddock after our session.

  Popping my head into his office, I found he was buried up to his eyes in paperwork. “Yeah, Dad?”

  Running his hands over his weary face, he sighed. “I was going to head in for feed and a few other things this afternoon, but as you can see, that isn’t going to happen. Would you mind running in?”

  “Not at all. It’ll be nice to get away for a bit,” I told him with a smile.

  He nodded. “Okay. Well, I called everything in earlier this week, so just tell Ken I couldn’t make it.”

  Since my dad knew where I was going, I didn’t think to tell Jensen; I knew he and Tom were busy fixing a few fence rails that some of this spring’s foals had rubbed and chewed on. My truck roared to life, and I was suddenly reminded that with Jensen and I now expecting, I would probably have to start looking for a new vehicle soon.

  I had barely been driving for ten minutes before my cell phone vibrated. Smiling at seeing Jensen’s name on my caller ID, I held it to my ear. “Hey, what’s up?”


  “Where are you?” Jensen demanded, sounding frantic.

  “Um, heading into town for feed, why?” I inquired, confused by his frenzied state.

  There was an aggravated sigh on the other end, and I could just imagine Jensen fisting his hair with his free hand. “Why didn’t you tell me you were heading into town? I’d have offered to come with you.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You and Tom have to get that fence done. How’s it coming along?” I asked, knowing I needed to change the subject.

  “It’s fine. When will you be back?”

  “Soon, I promise. I’ll see you in a bit, okay?” I told him.

  “Sure. I’ll see you soon.”

  As I made my way into Savannah, I thought back on how Jensen had been behaving the last couple weeks. For the life of me, I couldn’t think of how to assure him that everything would be fine, nor could I think of how to help him relax. Yes, I was pregnant now—but barely—and I was fairly certain that alone shouldn’t impede my ability to do any aspect of my job.

  His offer to drop everything to run an errand with me wasn’t the first; it happened almost daily. In fact, I was surprised I was allowed to pee by myself most days. While I loved him, there was so much going on (and so quickly) that sometimes I just needed a minute alone to breathe. His constant hovering made that difficult.

  Most couples so early into a relationship had the luxury of going to their own houses for time apart, Jensen and I had been living together since before we even became a couple, making it hard to find a minute to be alone. Telling him that would upset him, though. And I had done enough of that since it was confirmed we were expecting. My foot-in-mouth syndrome seemed to be flaring up a lot lately, and everything that came out of my mouth was sure to be tainted in some way. It was probably best to just keep my feelings to myself for a bit.

  Needless to say, this errand for Dad was the perfect opportunity for me to sneak away for some alone time and maybe pick up something special for Jensen. I started juggl-ing ideas of how I could help him see that I was just as happy about our situation as he was.

  I had just hit the outskirts of town when I had a great idea for what to do for him. The only problem with my plan was that I could potentially risk outing the pregnancy. Deciding it was a risk I was willing to take, I grabbed my cell phone and dialed Lilah’s number while trying to figure out how to word my question to guard our secret as best I could. I still wanted to have the doctor confirm everything was fine before we told anyone else.

  Not surprisingly, the phone only rang twice before she picked up. “Madi, hey. How’s it going?”

  “Really good,” I answered. “Listen, I don’t have long to talk as I’m just driving into town, but I just wanted to ask you something…”

  “Shoot.”

  Running the question through my mind once more, I decided to just ask. “Well, you see, Christmas is coming up, and I was wondering what Jensen’s favorite book as a child was. Do you know by chance?” I asked, nervously awaiting the why’s that were likely to follow, because “Christmas” just didn’t seem plausible enough.

  There was silence on her end before she hummed quietly. “Oh!” she said suddenly. “I think I remember when we were younger, Mom used to read him The Velveteen Rabbit all the time. Like, all the time.”

  “Yeah? Thanks, Lilah. Hey, are you still coming out this weekend to ride?” I asked, quickly changing the topic so she wouldn’t think too much about my odd question.

  “You bet. I can’t wait. Oh, and Madi?”

  Shit. “Yeah?”

  I could almost hear her smile. “I think the book is a really sweet idea. He’ll love it.”

  “Thanks. I’m grateful for your help,” I told her. “Well, I’m going to have to let you go, but I’ll talk to you later?”

  “For sure. Drive safe.”

  The first stop I made after hanging up with Lilah was for a cheeseburger—because I couldn’t seem to get enough lately. After our camping trip, Jensen took me into town where we stocked up on ground beef and steak to satiate my cravings. He was so great about it, never once making me feel worse than I already did about it.

  After eating my lunch in my truck, I decided to check out a couple of the local bookshops—not the ones where they sold the new shiny books, but the ones where they sold older ones. Some of the books were usually pretty pricey, but usually just the rare ones.

  I pulled to a stop in front of one of my favorite shops and got out of my truck. Just as I was stepping through the doors, my phone rang, and I looked down to see it was Jensen again. It had maybe been thirty minutes.

  “Hey,” I said softly, gaining a welcoming smile from the lady behind the desk. I waved at her and continued on my way toward the children’s books.

  There was a sigh from Jensen’s end before he spoke. “You on your way back yet?”

  “Uh, not quite. I stopped for a quick snack, and I had a couple of other things I needed to do in town. I won’t be long.”

  “What other things?” he asked, and for a minute, I thought he sounded terrified.

  Finding myself in the children’s section, I smiled as I perused the titles, really hoping I could find a copy of The Velveteen Rabbit. “Don’t you worry about it,” I told him through my grin, knowing for sure he had to know I was up to something—he always did. Even though I knew he’d probably see right through me, I told a tiny fib so that I could get him off the phone. “Look, I’m driving through town now, and don’t want to risk an accident. I’ll see you soon.”

  “Oh, uh, okay,” Jensen stammered slightly.

  With my phone tucked back in my pocket, I continued to read the titles of the books. There were so many classics; it was hard to abstain from buying them all for the baby’s book collection. That thought of course got me to thinking of converting my old room into a nursery. The crib would go where the bed currently sat, the dresser along the other wall and the rocking chair would remain right by the window where we would rock our child to sleep night after night. Maybe even reading him or her The Velveteen Rabbit. My vision blurred as tears welled in my eyes before I blinked them back to refocus on my search.

  Unpredictable hormone surges? Check.

  When my eyes finally settled on the title I was looking for, I held back an excited squeal that bubbled to the surface. I snatched the book off the shelf and started to look it over carefully to be sure it was in decent shape and that no pages were missing. It wasn’t a first edition, but it was old and still worth a pretty penny. Price didn’t matter. I’d happily pay double if it meant showing Jensen in some way that I was happy. I just hoped this book would do that as well as make it easier to have a conversation I knew was long overdue.

  With my book by my side in the truck, I drove over to the feed shop to pick up our order. On the way, I heard my phone vibrate on the seat next to me. I waited until a red light before reaching for it, knowing that Jensen would shit bricks if I read my text messages while driving. Not that this was any more legal or safe.

  “Speak of the devil,” I said quietly.

  Hey. Just Finished the fence.

  How’s it going?

  I quickly tapped out my response.

  I can’t wait to see your handiwork.

  Light’s about to turn green. I’ll talk

  To you soon. XX

  Setting my phone back on the seat, I drove forward when the light turned green and proceeded down the street. I made it maybe a half block before my phone vibrated again.

  OK. Well, let me know when

  you’re on your way.

  What was with his strange behavior? He was hovering unnecessarily again, and I couldn’t figure out why. This wasn’t the first time I’d run an errand by myself, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

  A half hour later, Ken was helping me load the feed into the bed of my truck, and I was finally on my way home. Because of my two unscheduled stops, I was going to be a touch later than anticipated, but I was sure Jensen would forgive me wh
en I gave him the book. Since it was already after six, I knew he’d probably be at home starting dinner by the time I unloaded the feed. I may have dawdled a little, hoping I’d make it back a little closer to dinner actually being ready.

  “Hey, you’re back,” Dad greeted, exiting and locking up his office. “Jensen’s been asking if I’d heard from you for the last hour. He must really have it bad for ya.” When he winked, I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Apparently. I probably should have texted him to let him know I was on my way.” Inwardly, I scolded myself for forgetting to tell him I was leaving the feed store. “Oh well. I’ll just get this unloaded and head home.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” Dad approached the tailgate of my truck, forcing me off to the side. “I’ll handle this, you go on to dinner and put your beau at ease. He’s so anxious when you’re not around lately.”

  “Yeah?” I asked. Dad nodded once. “Okay, thanks. See you in the morning.”

  I quickly grabbed the brown paper gift bag with Jensen’s book in it before running off toward the house. The excitement pumping through my veins had me feeling as though I wasn’t going to be able to make it to dinner to give it to him—and I was pretty certain I was okay with that.

  I was barely through the door before Jensen’s arms were around me in an almost bone-crushing hug, his present forgotten.

  “I’m so glad you’re back,” he breathed into my neck, kissing below my ear several times before lifting his head to look at me. “Why didn’t you call?”

  “I forgot?” Something definitely wasn’t right with his behavior.

  “I asked you to let me know when you were on your way home,” he stated firmly, his eyes flashing with mild irritation. He turned from me and headed for the kitchen where it looked like he was only just starting dinner.

  Following him, I set the bag on the island and crossed my arms across my body defensively; my frustration had finally reached its peak. “I said I was sorry. Had I known it was such a big deal, I’d have called.” Were we seriously fighting about me not calling when he knew I wasn’t going to be gone long?