Logan curled his fingers around hers. “A boyfriend convinced her to get on a horse she had no business riding.”
“Typical,” August said, smirking at Logan. “Leave it to a man to convince a levelheaded girl to do something dangerous.”
Logan ignored him. “She’s going to give it a try again.”
“When I’m ready,” she added.
“Of course, when you’re ready, baby.” He looked at Paul. “What do you think about her riding Tea Biscuit?”
He smiled. “Perfect choice. She’s a retired polo pony. Very sweet, as gentle as they come.”
“We keep her around because she’s good company for weaning foals,” August said.
“And for children to ride,” Raine added.
Paul cleared his throat at Raine’s dig, obviously uncomfortable. “Logan, tell us how you two met.”
He looked at her. “You tell them, sweetheart.”
“It was so romantic.”
“I’ll need more wine for this.” August held up the empty bottle. “Do you mind, Logan?”
“Of course not.”
“It was the first night of my vacation”—she glanced at Logan—“both of our vacations. I was walking on the beach and was attacked.”
Paul grinned. “Smooth move, Logan. Gutsy.”
He laughed. “It would have been but I’m not that slick.”
“He saved me,” she said. “My own knight in shining armor.”
Raine rolled her eyes. “God help us.”
“He stayed with me the whole time, even though it took hours to wait for security, then the police. I told him he could go on, but he insisted.” She sighed. “We watched the sunrise together. It was the most romantic night of my life.”
“Excuse me while I retch,” Raine said lightly. “Pass the bottle, August.”
“We spent every moment after together,” Bailey said.
“Then extended our vacations—”
“Because we couldn’t bear to say good-bye.”
“This could be part of a trend,” August said. “Lots of trends seem to be developing here.”
Paul sent him an irritated glance. “So you decided good-bye was off the table?”
“Exactly. We just … knew.” Logan gazed into her eyes. “It was right. We were meant to be together.”
“He proposed—”
“And she said yes.”
Paul jumped in. “And as they say, the rest is history.”
“Happily ever after,” Bailey said, beaming up at Logan.
“Obviously then, he hasn’t told you about True?”
The table went silent. Everyone looked at Raine.
“Why wouldn’t I have?” Logan asked, voice low, vibrating with something Bailey had never heard in it before but recognized as dangerous.
“We both know why, my dear brother. In this family, there’s no such thing as happily ever after.”
CHAPTER SIX
The days flowed one into the other. After a week, Bailey still couldn’t believe she was here, in this magical place, married to her very own Prince Charming. They had spent nearly every moment of the past days together, but today he’d had to go into New Orleans, to see to his land development and management firm.
Which left her alone in her new home for the first time. She considered finishing the arrangements to have her things shipped from Nebraska or calling and catching up with her friend Marilyn, but decided to go exploring instead.
Bailey laced up her Nikes, grabbed her jacket and headed outside. She would visit the stable, see if she could muster the courage to offer a carrot to the mare Logan had picked out for her. How could she be afraid of a horse named Tea Biscuit?
As she stepped through the gate, the white dog she had seen from the bedroom window her first day here burst out of the bushes.
“Hi there.” She squatted down and held out her hand. He scurried over, his whole back end wagging with his tail. She scratched him behind his ears and he went almost epileptic with pleasure.
“Tony,” she said, “you’re a friendly little guy.”
Not so little, she decided. But a puppy still.
A mutt, obviously. White and scruffy looking, with mismatched features, a black spot over one eye and a big, goofy smile.
“You have a bit of pit in you, don’t you?”
Tony smiled and she laughed. “Where’s your master? I’ll bet he’s missing you. Go on now. Go home.”
She started in the direction of the barn; Tony followed. She stopped. “Stay. Henry will be looking for you.”
The dog ignored her, loping along with her, then running ahead and circling back. Occasionally tearing off into the brush, only to return looking almost comically pleased with himself. Bailey decided she would ask about Henry at the stable and return Tony to him herself.
As she neared the barn, a couple of other dogs trotted out to meet her, the ones from her first day on the farm. In a flash, Tony had joined them in a game of tag. Bailey watched for a moment, then stepped into the barn. The interior smelled earthy but sweet, like fresh hay and clean straw. Several of the animals came to their stall doors to peer out as she passed, looking balefully at her when she passed without stopping to stroke their neck or offer a treat.
Logan had told her mornings were busy times at the barn: all the animals needed to be fed and exercised, the stalls cleaned and vet visits made. She supposed that all happened early; it was quiet now.
She had been through here with Logan, at least once every day since she arrived. Those trips had felt totally different from this one. He had been in charge. He’d pointed out each horse, which ones were boarders and which belonged to Abbott Farm. He’d explained that warmblood was a classification, not a breed, then patiently told her the differences between stallions, geldings, colts, fillies, and mares.
Each day had been another lesson; one day about naturalizing foals by handling them, another about the right age for a colt or filly to start under saddle training, and another about dressage.