Page 75 of Home Hearts Hooves

“What about Poppy?”

“Well, she’d obviously be moving with me.”

“Obviously, why is it obvious that she would be moving?”

“I’m her mother.”

“And I’m her father.”

“Please, come on, Pres. You’ve been in her life all of five minutes.”

“And whose fault is that?” I ask, my voice louder than intended, but my heart is racingandthere’s a lump in the back of my throat that won’t swallow down.

“Look, I did what I thought was best for Poppy, and this is, too.”

“Moving her out of town from the only home she’s ever known is what’s best for her?”

“I don’t see any other way this works. My parents are too old and they have the farm to look after. She’s too much for them full-time. If we move, I can find her a school close to mine.”

“What about me?”

“Pres.”

“No, seriously. What about me? I can have her. She can live with me. Or during the week she can, and then you’ll be back for weekends.”

“I don’t think I could be away from her all week.”

“I don’t think I can either, but Izz, what is best for our daughter? Is it being ripped away from her family, her friends, and her hometown, to start over in a new school where she doesn’t know anybody, orshecomesto live with me Monday to Friday and still sees her grandparents every day, and her friends? You could drive down to Savannah on Monday morning and drive back Friday afternoon, so really, you would still see her Friday night, all Saturday and Sunday, and Monday morning. Izz, come on, you have to see that my idea is better.” I’m grasping at straws. My world was amazing a moment ago, and now it’s back to the unknown and fearandI hate it. But I also know if I blow up at her, she’ll take her away for sure. I flash back to my reflection in the storefront when I confronted Isabel. I don’t want to be that man. I have to show her that Poppy staying with me is what is best for all of us.

“I’m not sure, Pres.”

“Just think about it. I have the spare room here I was using for storage; I was going to clear it out anyway, hoping she would maybe start wanting to stay weekends.”

“I…I’ll think about it.”

I want to keep going, to keep telling her the million and one reasons flying through my mind that this idea is brilliant, but I also don’t want to push her too hard.

“I’m really proud of you, Izz.”

It takes a few seconds, but then she replies. “Thanks.” While I’m terrified of losing Poppy, Iamproud of Isabel for chasing her dream. Parents sacrifice for their kids all the time, but they need to see their parents doing what they love, too. Reaching for their dreams. How else will they know they can reach theirs?

***

“So, Doc. Have you sorted out Poppy’s present yet?” Dean asks from the couch where he’s spent the last fifteen minutes, buck naked, watching me cook us some omelets. We put down a blanket, and I guess, if Izz comes around to my idea for Poppy to move in here, these naked breakfasts will be very short-lived, but I don’t mind, and Dean won’t either. He’s already tried to help sort through the boxes in the spare room. But there’s no way he can carry any of them downstairs with the boot on his fractured leg, so it will have to wait until I can get a few minutes spare. Well, when the minutes I have aren’t being perfectly filled with ecstatic pleasure at Dean’s hands, mouth, and cock. Okay, all of him. I’ve never been this happy in a relationship, and it’s only been two weeks since we started dating. I expect it could be some kind of honeymoon phase, but I will continue to choose to ignore that idea and just revel in the bliss that is us. But while he’s been the reason I’ve not stopped smiling for the longest time, his question sends me into a panic, and I drop the spatula with the omelet only half folded over.

“Fuck, no, and now this one’s going to be ruined.”

“Sorry,” he says, coming to my side and wrapping his large arms around me. His cock rests perfectly between the cheeks of my ass. “That one can be mine.”

“I wanted to make you a perfect breakfast to mark the first time you’ve stayed over.” After our first date at the ranch two weeks ago, we had dinner in the mini barn loft that ended with mutual blow jobs. I’ve attended game night with the ranchfamily,and lost, in spectacular fashion, to Nial, who is so good at Monopoly he has to be cheating. I’ve stayed at his place on four separate occasions, but last night was our first night at my place. I cooked him dinner, and we watchedRomance on the High Seasbecause I’ve quickly learned that Dorris Day is Dean’s favorite, and hearing him sing along to the music in her movies is quickly becoming my favorite. He’s got this throaty rumble that melts me every time.

“I think we marked it prettygoodlast night,” he replies, kissing my shoulder and then picking up the spatula from the floor and washing it in the sink. “How about we brainstorm this together? She likes cows, right, now I know you said she can’t have a cow, but what if she could?”

“Her mother would try to kill meandher grandparents would probably be the ones holding her back, but only so they could kill me first.”

I laugh. “What if it didn’t stay on the Moore farm, but it was still her cow?”

Where’s he going with this? I admit, I have a habit of bringing my work home with me, which is why there’s a cat tree in two corners of my living roombuthosting Fluffy for a few weeks isn’t the same as keeping a cow. Even the mini highlands need more room than this, plus access to a yard, trees, grass, nature, and sunshine.

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