Page 15 of Seeking Her Studs

“Oh,” my voice is shallow and strained.

He laughs to himself as he scratches Daisy’s nose. “She used to come to Daisy’s stall and catch her up on all the gossip. We called the two of them the Granny’s Breakfast Club as we went on working all around them. I swear Daisy looked forward to it.”

I’m surprised by the tear that fall from my eye without any warning. I brush it away before Reese can notice it.

“But she doesn’t like to move around so much in the morning,” he continues. “So if you just walk around with her a bit, then I’ll clean the stall,” he nods. “You two can get acquainted.”

I only nod, fearing I’ll start crying if I try to say something. I lead Daisy away and once we’re alone in the pen, I balance myself on the fence so I can look her in the eye.

“You loved my Gram, too?” I whisper to her as I brush my hand along her nose. “I’m really sorry I didn’t get to meet you sooner.”

Her ears twitch as she looks at me curiously.

“Do you miss her?” I ask, my voice coming out strained.

Daisy puffs out some air.

“Yeah, me too.” I nod.

I take a deep breath and take in the fresh morning air. I’ve felt a lot of shame over how I visited Gram less and less as I got older. If Reese hadn’t volunteered that information about Daisy, I would never have known. I should already know these things.

But the fact is, I don’t. And this might be my only chance to ever get to know them.

I hear footsteps and both Daisy and I look to see Reese heading our way. He hops up on the fence next to me and runs his hand along Daisy’s nose.

“I’m sorry,” he says after a moment. “I think I’m jealous.”

“Jealous?” I look at him skeptically. He doesn’t meet my eyes and instead looks off at the horizon.

“Yeah,” he nods solemnly. “You have a way to say goodbye to your grandma. She’s given you such a gift, and I saw the outfit as you not taking it seriously. I know it’s not though, it’s just you being you.”

I sigh as understanding wraps around me. He’s jealous that I have a way to say bye to Gram when he and his siblings never got to say bye to their parents.

“You’re right,” I say quietly. “I’m not taking it seriously. I think I’m too ashamed to admit what I’ve missed out on. I hate that I never even knew Daisy existed.”

“Well, you’re here now, aren’t you? That counts for something.”

I think about bringing up his parents. I want to say how sorry I am, but I wouldn’t even know how to start. And he never responded to my texts, so I think it’s safe to say it’s not something he wants to open up to me about.

“Thanks, Reese.” I say instead.

I think about how quickly our morning together devolved into chaos, and suddenly I can’t help it when I start to giggle.

“What in the hell are you laughing about?” He looks up at me like I’ve lost my damn mind, but a smile dances at the edge of his eyes.

“No one has ever spoken to me like that in my life.” My laughter grows deeper. “Did you really threaten to hold me down and put the boots on me yourself?”

He laughs and gets down, offering his hand. “Yeah, well, get used to it, Hollywood. You were acting like a stubborn little princess.”

“I’ve played like five princesses in movies, so…” I take his hand and jump down.

“Well, you’ve got about five more stalls to shovel shit from, Princess.”

CHAPTER NINE

Blaire

Have I had a few hiccups since leaving my home in Los Angeles? Undoubtedly, yes. But I’m out of my rancid clothes and freshly showered, my lovely little green room is a safe space from all that testosterone around here, and Lacey is on her way to pick me up.

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