Page 96 of Entwined

“HEELS DOWN, TOES POINTED to the sky. That’s it. Good job Ella.” Her bright smile melts my heart. She has her daddy’s eyes and my golden hair. My heart has never been so full.

He shattered my heart, stole it, gave it back, ripped it to shreds, extinguished the light inside it, only to set it afire. Now it’s so full I don’t know how it fits inside me.

I watch her trot around the ring, so sure of herself, with such confidence. “Can we go riding together, mommy?”

I rest a hand on my belly. I’m certain Ella will have a baby brother or sister this time next year. I haven’t told Christos yet. He’d lock me up in the tower and forbid me to do a thing for nine months, just like he did when I was expecting Ella.

Although, it was an intensely pleasurable nine months.

He kept me like a mistress… fed me crepes, made me come until I wept in his bed of creamy satin sheets.

My milk came in early. He suckled my breasts, drank from me as he slowly thrust in and out, pinching my swollen clit. We joked that the last orgasm he gave me induced my labor. It was that intense.

I blush, remembering how good pregnancy sex is. I can’t wait to have it all again.

He wouldn’t want me riding if he knew I was pregnant, but I can’t deny my little doll. I’d die for her.

“Sure. I’ll go tack up Simone.”

“Yay! Can we go on a trail ride? I want to find the ponies.”

“I don’t know Ella. Daddy wouldn’t like it. There’s danger in the woods.”

“Tucker and Will can come too.”

I grin. She’s just as stubborn as I am.

“Okay. But we won’t go far, it’ll be dark soon. Slow Peter to a walk and wait for me.”

“Okay, Mommy!”

Shaking my head at how much she’s like me, I enter the barn. I’m not the only one who became a parent. “Hey Ollie, how are the kittens today?” The tabby sits guarding the litter who are curled up with their mother, Beatrice. She showed up mewing, shivering with a coat full of snow one day last year.

Ella and I scooped her up, placed her in a warm towel and gave her some warm milk. She never left.

Life’s been growing all around us.

Christos and I have built something here. This once lonely estate is full of laughter, love, and souls—both human and animal.

Simone nickers as I unclip the rope across her stall. ‘Let’s go for a ride, eh girl?”

“Are you taking her out?”

“Yes. And Ella insists you and Tucker come to.”

“The boss won’t like it.”

“The boss isn’t here.”

He shakes his head. “He’s going to punish you.”

“Oh, I hope he does,” I smile wickedly.

Will blushes and shakes his head. He’s come into his own as well. He’s now not only the barn manager, but the head riding instructor here at Exmoor. The children from the special needs school get bused here once a week for lessons. Christos and I expanded the stables and have plans to build an indoor ring.

Hopefully by the first day of summer, the Riding School for Special Needs at Exmoor will open. It’s a project I’ve been so passionate about. Christos supported me every step of the way. We visited schools all over the UK, set up scholarships, spoke with parents about the benefits we can provide children with special needs when they have a chance to work with the horses.

I haven’t told Christos yet, but I already have plans to build cabins and expand the riding school to include a summer camp where kids can come and stay for a few weeks; immersing themselves with the healing powers of Exmoor.

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