“I need some time,” he mimicked. “You matter to me Beckett. I need some time to decide to dump you. Let me meditate about it or maybe I’ll flip a coin. And now let me run out of here without a flashlight so I can fall down in a ditch and hurt myself.”
Yeah, he was good and mad. He wasn’t about to be ousted from their relationship without a fight.
Gia hurried down the dark gravel drive from the brewery to the stables. Relief flooded her when she heard Aurora’s giggle and Jax’s amused voice inside.
“That’s it, Ev,” Joey called. “Really nice.”
Gia plastered on a happy face before stepping up to the fence. Evan, in a black riding helmet, was posting pretty as you please on the back of a gray horse as it trotted around the ring.
“Awesome,” Joey said. “Now bring her down to a walk.” She watched with careful eyes as Evan used the reins to neatly slow the mare’s pace. He came to a halt in front of Joey and the grin on his face was balm to Gia’s heart.
He spotted her, standing on the bottom rung of the fence and started to wave but stopped. “What’s wrong?” he demanded.
So much for my happy face, Gia thought wryly.
“Nothing,” she called brightly. “I’m just really impressed. Are you sure you haven’t been skipping school and sneaking over here to ride?”
She could see the pride in his shoulders, but his eyes remained wary.
“You sure everything’s okay?”
Damn her intuitive kid. “Everything’s good. Really good.”
“Mama! Look at me!” Aurora squealed from the opposite end of the massive ring. Jax was leading her around on a white and gray pony that pranced and swished her tail.
“Wow! What am I going to do with two equestrians?” Gia laughed.
“Can I have a pony, Mama?”
“Thanks a lot, Joey,” Gia rolled her eyes.
Joey grinned. “You can visit Princess anytime, Roar.”
“Yay! Princess, did you hear dat?” Aurora leaned forward a little too zealously to pat Princess’s neck, but Jax was there to right her before she slipped.
“Don’t you have a slightly shorter steed?” Gia asked weakly.
“Yeah, but she’s a goat,” Jax said with a grin. “And she’s evil.”
“Cwementine! She’s so funny,” Aurora giggled. “She eats shirts. Demon hell spawn!”
They all froze, eyes on Aurora, who was too busy cooing at Princess to the notice the attention.
Jax looked guiltily in Gia’s direction. “She may have been within earshot of me when Clementine attacked.”
“I thought Beckett was kidding about that,” Gia said, covering her mouth.
Evan shook his head. “Oh, it happened. And it was pretty awesome. Beckett got video on his phone.”
Jax gave Evan a mock glare across the ring. “You watch it, kid, because I’ll feed you to her next chance I get.”
“What have I exposed my children to?” Gia asked the heavens.
Joey told Evan to take a lap walking with his mount and strolled over to Gia, her long legs eating up the sawdust between them. “He’s good,” she told her. “Really good. You should think about formal lessons for him if he’s into it.”
Gia looked at her son’s face as he ambled past. Serious, but with that unmistakable sparkle usually reserved for video game victories. She sent him an air high-five that he returned.
“I’ve got a group class of kids his age twice a week. I could catch him up to them with a few private lessons and then he could join the group,” Joey suggested, watching Evan’s form and calling out a correction here and there. She turned her attention back to Gia. “He’s like, really good. I think this could be his thing.”
Gia felt the warm glow of pride spread through her. “I’ll talk to him and see if he’s into it. I’d love to sign him up.”
Joey nodded. “Good. Now you don’t want to talk or anything about why your face looked like you ran over a litter of kittens when you came in, right?”
Gia shook her head guiltily. More secrets, she supposed. “No. I’m good, thanks.”
Joey looked marginally relieved. “Good,” she said again. “Because I’m pretty sure the only thing that can put a look like that on a woman’s face is a Pierce.” She shot a dark look at Jax’s back.
Gia shredded the lettuce with a little more force than necessary in Carter’s kitchen. She’d returned to the farmhouse with Jax, Joey, and the kids, and Phoebe had put her to work on a salad to go with the soon-to-arrive pizza. Carter had taken a break from his invoices to turn on the lights in the front paddock for the kids to play with Dixie and Hamlet before dinner.
Summer had nailed down the wedding menu with Franklin and only given her an odd look when Gia told her that Beckett was finishing up the measurements in the barn.
“You know what’s funny?” Carter said quietly as he leaned against the counter next to Gia. “I went up to the barn to help you guys and I couldn’t find you.”
Gia felt her face go fire engine red. “Uh …”
“You look like you could use a beer,” he said. “How about I get you one?”
Gia could only nod her head. He so knew what she’d been doing.