Chapter 7: The Foaling Stall

Ward came in, sat down, and drank his coffee without looking at either of us.

The cook set a plate in front of him.

He ate every bite of it.

When the hands had gone out, he put his cup down and spoke to the table.

"The foaling stall. Nine o'clock tonight."

The cook turned the burner off and went out to the porch with her cigarette.

She didn't say a word.

"She knows," I said.

"Carrie's cook knew everything." His mouth moved. "Nine."

I spent the whole day in a fog.

I did the mare charts and cleaned two stalls and failed to hear three questions from the hands.

At nine I walked into the barn, and the aisle lights were off.

Only one stall was lit, the big end stall we kept for foaling.

He'd laid fresh straw in it, deep and gold, and hung a lantern on the post.

He stood in the middle of the straw with his sleeves rolled up.

"Shut the gate," he said.

I shut it behind me and slid the bolt.

"I want to say something first."

"Okay."

"I'm not going to be gentle about this being a bad idea." He looked at the floor. "It's a very bad idea. I know exactly how bad."

"I know you do."

"But if you walk out that gate right now, I'll never say a word about any of it. We go back to the barn and the book."

"I'm not walking out."

"I know." He breathed out. "I've known since you were standing at the breeding stand with a chart."

He came over and took my face in both hands.

He kissed me, slow and deep, with none of the roughness from the tack room.

It was worse.

It went all the way down my spine.

Keep reading free with an account. Start Daddy Can You Teach Me Some Naughty Night Things? from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.