Page 147 of The Last Second Chance
Ellery’s end was silent for a second. “Uh, can you hang on a second? Beckett needs something. I’m just going to put you on hold real quick.”
“Okay.” Joey drummed a rhythm on the desk with her pencil until Ellery came back on the line a minute later.
“He has some beginner riding experience, but he’s been around horses a lot.”
“Okay. And what size is he?”
“Size?”
“You know like height and weight.”
“He’s, you know. Normal-sized?” Ellery’s voice trailed up reminding Joey of the L.A. question-askers.
“Good for him. What exactly does normal-sized mean?”
“Why do you need to know?”
“I don’t want to put a three hundred pound man on a thirteen-hand pony.”
“Can you hang on again?” Ellery asked. “Sorry, Beckett’s really needy today.”
“Sure. It’s not like I have things to do or anything,” Joey muttered.
“Thanks!” And then Ellery was gone. Joey jotted down a note to tell Beckett to get some kind of on-hold music.
Ellery came back on the line. “Sorry about that. Beckett needed stuff for some things. Anyway, my cousin is about two hundred and fifty pounds and six-feet tall.”
“Okay, no ponies. Got it.”
“Thanks for doing this, Joey. He’s really going to appreciate it.”
“Wait until after the lesson. He may hate it,” Joey told her. “What’s your cousin’s name?”
“It’s, uh—”
“If you put me on hold again I’m hanging up.”
“Woods. His name is Woods.”
32
Wednesday afternoon Joeywas in Carter’s kitchen walking him through her predicted timeline of Calypso’s heat cycles and swaying with one of the twins—she wasn’t sure which one—in her arms when the alarm on her phone went off.
“Crap. I forgot I have a private lesson today.”
Carter, who was holding the other baby, gestured at the infant seat on the island. “Just put him in there. If I can keep them quiet for another ten minutes Summer should be awake and showered or her parents will be back from the grocery store.”
Joey put Jonathan down into the seat and watched as his little face scrunched up. “Well, good luck with that,” she smirked as she headed toward the door.
“Who’s your lesson with?” Carter called after her.
“Ellery’s cousin Woods something. It’s for his birthday. Guess the guy likes horses.”
She caught Carter’s weird look but didn’t give it a second thought. Between twin babies and Meatball sleeping under the barstools he probably just smelled something ripe.
“I’m free after the lesson if you need any extra hands around the farm,” she called over her shoulder as she headed out the side door.
The March air was still brisk, but it lacked the Arctic needles that stung the face in February. She tucked her hands into the pockets of her fitted down jacket and hunkered down into the wind. She probably should have driven over to the farm, but she was good and sick of winter. She wanted to force spring along. Spring would bring with it, not just warmth, but new beginnings. The first season of her breeding program for one. It was time to see if her gamble, the Pierce’s gamble, would pay off. And warmer weather probably couldn’t help but thaw some of the awkwardness that still surrounded her when it came to Jax.
