Page 74 of The Cowboy's Bullfighter
“I’ll give you straws, mate. From your stallion. From Hades.”
He paused, because that was tempting. “I’ll let you know.”
“Think about it. Seriously mate. It’s just a week.” Nothing with Pete was just anything—it was always a production.
“Let me talk to my family. I’ll call you back.” He hung up and stomped the snow and muck off of his boots. Now there was a temptation and a half.
Seriously.
Hades was one of the finest creatures he’d ever dealt with in his whole life. There was no way he was going to be able to make the money to actually buy semen from that stallion anyway.
But that was a long damn flight, and there were Valentine’s parties for Mina, the Favorites dance for Ricky, piano lessons, and all the other activities that five kids piled on.
Coop was working in the media room, whistling along with the radio like a happy cricket. He did all the renovations by himself, only calling in help when he absolutely had to. Thank God he didn’t have to much because Ricky was on it, happy to help and earn a little cash doing it.
The room was an absolute wreck, but Brooks was beginning to see a media room at the end of the tunnel.
His lover was on a ladder, painting everything a rich dark burgundy that promised to make the place seem like a movie theater. So smart.
“Hey, babe, what’s up?” Coop grinned down at him, the expression warm, happy, heating him up, and he wandered closer. It was so easy to reach up and put one hand on Coop’s tight, hard butt. Yummy. “Mmm. How are those babies?”
“The horses are great. Everybody’s put back in the barn. I was getting a little chilly.”
“Sounds good, I’m just a painting fool up here. It’s looking good though, don’t you think? They’re supposed to be delivering the chairs in a week or so, and the projection screen’s here.” Coop had picked one of those damn things that had a remote control, which Brooks thought was hilarious. “I’ll put up that up as soon as the paint over there dries, and I’m satisfied with it.”
He grinned, but his brain was still in Oz.
Dammit, he didn’t want to have to make decisions.
Coop tilted his head, looking down at him, curious. “What’s wrong?”
That bullfighter had instincts he envied the fuck out of. “I got a phone call from my old boss in Australia.”
“Oh? You forget something there?”
He rolled his eyes and sighed, moving to sit down on a paint-splattered folding chair. “No. He’s having trouble with one of the horses. He needs to get a new trainer, and he wants me to come hire somebody.”
One of those expressive eyebrows winged up. “Seems like it’s a lot of money for you to fly all the way out there and stuff just to hire somebody. Can you do it online?”
“I wish.” He shook his head. “No, I need to see them work the horses, need to watch him ride. I need to know. I mean,you know how it is. These horses are athletes; they’re not going to work with somebody they don’t want to work for.”
Coop put the paintbrush down and climbed down off the ladder. “And so I’m assuming that they work with you, and somebody wants you to do something for them before you hire.”
“Good guess.” He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Yeah, there’s a competition. So I’d be going out, doing a competition, hiring somebody, and coming back. He’s saying about a week, ten days on the top end.”
“Okay. What’s in it for you?”
“Well, that’s the real temptation. He’s offered to give me some straws of my favorite stallion, Hades. And I’ll tell you what, Pansy would make some beautiful babies…” And he wanted that. Bad.
“Well, now I know that that is a temptation and totally worth going out for a week. I say you should do it.”
“You think so?” Okay, that was a surprise.
“Well, I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I don’t mind one way or the other, but that’s a pretty good deal. Fly out, send some pictures back here to the kids. Do your thing with the horses. Get everybody a present. Bring the straws back. You’re not missing anybody’s birthday or anything. We haven’t got a birthday until Ricky’s in March. Hell. Just for ten days? You’d be golden.”
“You sure you can handle all these hooligans?”Don’t you need me here?He didn’t say it out loud, but he thought it.
“It’s a week. If I have to, I will duct tape them to the walls. Really the biggest problem’s going to be the horses. All I have to do with them is feed them, right? I’ve dealt with a lot more kids and cows, than I have horses.”
