I’ll have to stop and say hello to.”
“You’ll probably see him at the Spotted Horse first. He’s there every weekend.”
“Yeah?” He glanced at her speculatively. “How about if we go Friday night? It might be fun.”
“I don’t know, Quinn. What about Zack?”
“Martha will be here. She can take care of him. We can ask Duncan and Sherry to go with us if you’d like.”
She hesitated at the door of the stable. “Duncan doesn’t like me.”
“He doesn’t know you yet and Duncan is always a little standoffish with strangers at first. Give him time.” It wasn’t exactly the truth, but Quinn had an idea what the 6problem was. Duncan knew his history, knew the kind of hell he had gone through.
Now he was probably worried it would all start again if this attempt with Lanie didn’t work out. Maybe he needed to have a talk with Dunc.
“Okay, Friday night, then.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “I’ll ask Sherry tomorrow if she wants to go.”
“Dad!”
The call came from a stall at the far end of the stable, and Quinn smiled. Would he ever get used to this rush of joy at being called Dad? He doubted it.
“On my way.”
Zack was kneeling in a pile of straw, a mass of wiggling puppies crawling all over him. When Quinn stopped next to him, the mother, a Border collie mix, rolled onto her side, tail thumping gently as she eyed him. Leaning from the waist, he extended the back of his hand to let her catch his scent, then scratched behind her ears.
“I take it this is Daisy?”
Zack nodded. “She’s the mama.” He patted the straw. “Sit down so you can see the puppies.”
Quinn hesitated. Getting down wouldn’t be much of a problem, but getting back up might be. His leg tended to give out when he put too much weight on it.
Carefully, he checked to see where Lanie was. She had opened the pasture door and was freeing the horses from their stalls.
Making sure he was close to the stall partition so he could use it as a brace, he gingerly lowered himself to the floor, extending his left leg in front of him. He barely got settled before the puppies mobbed him. They looked about six weeks old and were a mixed lot. Daisy obviously wasn’t choosy when it came to lovers.
Zack held one up for his inspection. “This one is mine. Mom said I could keep him.”
The pup was only half the size of his littermates, but just as energetic.
“Got a name picked out yet?”
“Spot.”
Quinn eyed the solid black pup wryly. “Works for me.”
“You can have this one.” Depositing Spot in his lap, he picked up a brown and black ball of fuzz and thrust it at his father, giggling when the pup tried frantically to wash Quinn’s face. “Now you have to pick out a name, too. How about Frodo?”
Quinn examined the pup critically. “There’s just one problem with that. It’s a girl.”
Zack tilted his head, thinking, and Quinn’s heart turned over. God, he looked so much like Lanie when he did that. It made him ache for all the time he’d missed with this child they had created together.
“Okay, how about Pippin? That could be a girl’s name.”
It was easy to tell who his favorite characters were. Quinn laughed. “Pippin it is.”
He glanced around as Lanie stopped at the stall.
6“Five more minutes, guys. Martha will have supper ready soon.”
“Aren’t you going back with us?”
“I’ll be there in a bit. I want to run over to the brood mare barn first. One of the mares has been acting restless all day and she had some problems with her last foal.
Kenny is there, but I want to check her myself.”
“Kenny?”
“Kenny Kelly. You don’t know him. He and his wife, Barbara, moved here a few years ago. He helps me with my breeding program, and trains the colts.”
Quinn nodded. “Guess we’ll see you at supper then.” He breathed a sigh of relief as she left the stable. At least it gave him a chance to stand up without her watching. He wanted her love, not
“You’ll probably see him at the Spotted Horse first. He’s there every weekend.”
“Yeah?” He glanced at her speculatively. “How about if we go Friday night? It might be fun.”
“I don’t know, Quinn. What about Zack?”
“Martha will be here. She can take care of him. We can ask Duncan and Sherry to go with us if you’d like.”
She hesitated at the door of the stable. “Duncan doesn’t like me.”
“He doesn’t know you yet and Duncan is always a little standoffish with strangers at first. Give him time.” It wasn’t exactly the truth, but Quinn had an idea what the 6problem was. Duncan knew his history, knew the kind of hell he had gone through.
Now he was probably worried it would all start again if this attempt with Lanie didn’t work out. Maybe he needed to have a talk with Dunc.
“Okay, Friday night, then.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “I’ll ask Sherry tomorrow if she wants to go.”
“Dad!”
The call came from a stall at the far end of the stable, and Quinn smiled. Would he ever get used to this rush of joy at being called Dad? He doubted it.
“On my way.”
Zack was kneeling in a pile of straw, a mass of wiggling puppies crawling all over him. When Quinn stopped next to him, the mother, a Border collie mix, rolled onto her side, tail thumping gently as she eyed him. Leaning from the waist, he extended the back of his hand to let her catch his scent, then scratched behind her ears.
“I take it this is Daisy?”
Zack nodded. “She’s the mama.” He patted the straw. “Sit down so you can see the puppies.”
Quinn hesitated. Getting down wouldn’t be much of a problem, but getting back up might be. His leg tended to give out when he put too much weight on it.
Carefully, he checked to see where Lanie was. She had opened the pasture door and was freeing the horses from their stalls.
Making sure he was close to the stall partition so he could use it as a brace, he gingerly lowered himself to the floor, extending his left leg in front of him. He barely got settled before the puppies mobbed him. They looked about six weeks old and were a mixed lot. Daisy obviously wasn’t choosy when it came to lovers.
Zack held one up for his inspection. “This one is mine. Mom said I could keep him.”
The pup was only half the size of his littermates, but just as energetic.
“Got a name picked out yet?”
“Spot.”
Quinn eyed the solid black pup wryly. “Works for me.”
“You can have this one.” Depositing Spot in his lap, he picked up a brown and black ball of fuzz and thrust it at his father, giggling when the pup tried frantically to wash Quinn’s face. “Now you have to pick out a name, too. How about Frodo?”
Quinn examined the pup critically. “There’s just one problem with that. It’s a girl.”
Zack tilted his head, thinking, and Quinn’s heart turned over. God, he looked so much like Lanie when he did that. It made him ache for all the time he’d missed with this child they had created together.
“Okay, how about Pippin? That could be a girl’s name.”
It was easy to tell who his favorite characters were. Quinn laughed. “Pippin it is.”
He glanced around as Lanie stopped at the stall.
6“Five more minutes, guys. Martha will have supper ready soon.”
“Aren’t you going back with us?”
“I’ll be there in a bit. I want to run over to the brood mare barn first. One of the mares has been acting restless all day and she had some problems with her last foal.
Kenny is there, but I want to check her myself.”
“Kenny?”
“Kenny Kelly. You don’t know him. He and his wife, Barbara, moved here a few years ago. He helps me with my breeding program, and trains the colts.”
Quinn nodded. “Guess we’ll see you at supper then.” He breathed a sigh of relief as she left the stable. At least it gave him a chance to stand up without her watching. He wanted her love, not
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