Page 14 of The Past

The American who had come to stay the summer.

Tommy’s smirk widened, and he tipped an imaginary hat at me.“Pleasure to meet you, darlin’.”

I bristled.Darlin’?Although admittedly, his accent was charming.

Rory chuckled.“Fi, why don’t ye show Tommy around?Get him acquainted with the place.”

“Oh, but…” I looked over my shoulder, through the open barn doors and even tossed a thumb that way.“I should… I mean, I need to…”

Rory just stared at me, letting me work through the stammer, but my words dried up.My uncle grinned, pulling off his work gloves.“Show the lad around.We’ve got him set up in one of the old steadings and I’ll take him over there later.”

“I will, yeah,” I managed to say.

Rory clapped Tommy on the shoulder.“Enjoy yer time because this afternoon, we put ye to work.”

“Yes, sir,” Tommy replied with an incline of his head.

Rory shot me a wink and brushed past us, and just like that, I was left alone with the cocky American.

“The old steadings?”Tommy asked, and I jolted because he was now standing very close to me.

I took a small step back.“They’re a group of cottages that house some of the pass-through workers.They’re small and basic, but a solid roof over yer head.”I observed him closely, wondering what type of lodging this visitor was used to.The American looked as if he belonged on a farm—just not ours.Not anywhere around here.His shirt was too crisp, his boots too fine, and he didn’t carry himself like a man used to hard labor.

Oh, I had no doubt he’d worked before—his forearms, bared by the rolled sleeves, had the lean muscle of someone who knew his way around a horse—but he wasn’t hardened by it.And the leather of his belt and boots?Far too new.Money.That’s what he smelled of, even above the faint scent of horse and hay.He didn’t have to be here—he was here because someone made him.“Where are ye from, anyway?”

“Kentucky,” he replied, digging his thumbs into his front pockets and rocking on his heels.“Small town called Shelbyville.”

“Ye don’t have the look of a small-town lad,” I pointed out shrewdly, looking him over him one more time.

When they landed on his face, I found him grinning at me.“Like what you see, darlin’?”

My face flamed hot with embarrassment.“No!I merely noticed ye look like ye come from money.But here ye are staying in the old steadings and working for Rory, and he’s not an easy taskmaster.”

Tommy to the left to look at the open barn doors and he tipped his head that way.“Aren’t you supposed to be showing me around?”

“Aye,” I replied and turned my back on him, making my way out onto the gravel path.Tommy scrambled to catch up.“Do ye know horses?”

“I do.My family breeds and trains American Saddlebreds.We’re the largest such farm in the US.”

My jaw sagged a little at this revelation because the United States was huge.That’s a lot different from us Conlans being one of the biggest horse breeding and training operations in little old Ireland.I cleared my throat to hide my shock.“A lovely horse to be sure,” I managed to say.

We walked through the training grounds first, me pointing out the gallops, the different outdoor tracks, and the carefully planned exercise routines Rory had developed for the young thoroughbreds.

Tommy, for his part, seemed only mildly interested in the horses and far more interested in talking about me.

“Have you ever been to the States?”he asked.

“Aye.”We stopped at one of the pasture fences where ye could see Conlan Manor in the distance, although I didn’t point it out as being my home.“My da took the entire family over to Florida a few years ago to look at some horses.”

Tommy scoffed.“Should’ve gone to Kentucky.No better thoroughbreds around.”

I truly liked the pride in his voice and with a slight chuckle, reassured him, “Oh, trust me… my da knows Kentucky is where it’s at.In fact, I think he has plans to open a sister farm there one day.”

“There are a few Irish breeding programs doing that same thing,” Tommy replied, and I wasn’t surprised he knew something about that, even though he dealt in a different breed.The horsing community was tight, no matter what you rode.

“So, you lot don’t have saddlebreds over here?”he asked, walking a little too close.

“Not so much.We don’t find them to be very useful.”

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