Page 6 of Ride With Me
I nodded, thinking, as he made his way to Lena’s stall. The 12 year old chestnut mare was munching on hay, her belly heavy beneath her. She moved to the window as I approached, sticking her nose in between the bars. I rubbed her nose. “Hey, girl. Looks like it’s you and me for the next little bit. Think we can do it?”
Lena moved her head up and down.
“You think so?” I smiled.
“Her moving her head like that means she’s bored. Or impatient. Sorry, son.” Craig barked out a laugh behind me. “You might want to start looking for help with this one.”
Fuck. Yeah, I was way out of my depth here. I hadn’t been around horses for years, and even when I lived on the ranch, we hadn’t bred any of the horses. Pretty sure we were screwed.
I picked up my phone and started running through my contacts while I sat at the weathered kitchen table. Surely there was a friend of a friend that I hadn’t thought of yet. I knew everyone, or just about, but none of the names stood out to me. I scrolled to Drew’s number and hit send. He knew even more people than I did.
“McCord.” Drew’s clipped voice answered.
“Hey, man. Logan. Weird question, but I’m looking for someone who knows about horses. Specifically, who knows about horse babies.” I sounded ridiculous. “Like, what to do when a horse goes into labor and someone has to deliver the foal.”
Drew’s chuckle on the other end did nothing to assuage my worries. “A horse midwife? Not off the top of my head. Let me ask Emma and give you a call back. She knows everyone.” He ended the call.
I tried Brax and Luke—no luck—before my phone buzzed with a call from Drew.
“Any luck?” I answered, not bothering with a greeting.
“Yep. You may not like it, though.” Drew sounded amused.
“Dude, I’m desperate here. Talk.”
“You know Savannah?”
Did I know Savannah? Of course I fucking knew her, and Drew knew that. She’d appeared in my dreams—and my daydreams—constantly since the first night we’d scened. But what did that have to do with horses?
“What does that have to do with anything? You know we haven’t scened in months.” I could hear myself getting short, but fuck, I didn’t have time to care how I came across to one of my best friends.
“I know. But she knows horses,” Drew said.
I paused. “What do you mean, she knows horses?”
Drew continued. “She’s a riding instructor. She works at a barn in Parker. Pretty sure she’s been around horses a long time, although she won’t talk about her past to almost anyone. She might be your best bet.”
I blew out a breath. “Savannah and me…. it’s complicated. We had this insane connection when we scened. But she won’t talk. She’s afraid to let me in.”
“Well, that’s between you and her, man. But it sounds like she’s your best option, if not your only option. Let me know if you need her contact info. Or come to Blackstone tonight and convince her. Maybe let her know you’ll respect her boundaries. Let her dictate how much she shares, at least for now.”
“If I make that girl mine, she’s going to share everything. That’s how this works. How else would I take care of her?” We were getting off topic here, but just like every time Savannah’s name came up, she was all I could focus on.
“You’re a Dom. Make her trust you. Then make her talk. Or learn how to deliver a horse baby yourself.”
I hung up on Drew’s chuckles. Typical sadist, enjoying someone else’s misery.
5
Savannah
Iwalkedintothefront lobby of Blackstone, clutching a jacket around my skimpy fetish wear. I blushed as I made eye contact with Jackson at the check-in desk. He’d invited me to scene a few weeks ago, and I’d declined. I always hated saying no—I was such a goddamn people pleaser—but at least he’d been nice about it. Jackson nodded and smiled at me as I passed. At least he didn’t seem upset by me turning him down.
I took a deep breath as I pulled open the door to the main club area. I could do this. I was not going to run away this time.
I ordered my usual, a rum and Diet Coke, from Brax at the bar once I’d tucked my shoes, jacket, and purse away in a locker. I sipped at the sweet drink while I looked around to see who was there.
Emma and Kaylee were together on a couch, deep in conversation. I waved when I caught their gaze, and they motioned for me to join them.
