“Oh no, did he get too close to the menace?"
“Yeah, he made the mistake of assuming she was harmless because of her size. He came into her stall uninvited.”
Even Nana has a smile on her face as she places a cushion under his ass before helping him to sit. The other siblings still look confused, but I don't owe them any explanation. Instead, I get up calmly and head through the swinging doors to the kitchen.
In there I find Mrs. Hayton bustling around, tidying up after dinner preparations.
“Harlow, Liebling, there you are.” She hurries over to me, drying her hands on her apron before pulling me into a hug. “Oh, my sweet child, those children were Arschlöcher. Are you okay?”
“I’m okay, Mrs. Hayton,” I reassure her, but she still looks me in the eye, searching my gaze. She must see what she’s looking for because she nods and pats me on the cheek before stepping back. “You wouldn't happen to have an ice pack I could borrow, do you?”
“But of course.” She hurries over to an industrial fridge freezer. I guess with a family this big you need one. Returning back, she’s wrapping a dish towel around it. “What have you done?” she asks, worry in her eyes while handing it to me, but I shake my head as I take it.
“It’s not for me. It’s for Oliver. He made the unfortunate mistake of getting between me and my mini pony, and she took exception to it.”
The worry clears while understanding fills her expression, and she nods her head, a small smile crossing her lips.
“Yes, how unfortunate.” She pats my cheek again and returns to the dishes as I head back to the living area.
Marching up to Oliver, I hand him the ice pack. He tries to grab my hand instead, his eyes imploring me to talk to him, but I quickly drop it into his lap. It lands heavily, and a breath escapes his mouth, but I say nothing as I return to the table. When I peek back at him again, he has a hurt look on his face, but I have no sympathy for him. He’s the asshole who played me for a fool. He deserves all he gets as far as I’m concerned.
Dad and Poppy are still chuckling. “Oliver, you know better than to put your back to a strange horse like that,” Dad admonishes, and Oliver groans as he removes his jeans before placing the ice pack on his ass.
“But she’s this tiny cute thing! I assumed she'd be as sweet as she looks.” He sighs with relief as the ice starts to numb his embarrassing wound.
“No, Devil Spawn is a tyrant. Everyone at the Bostons’ place knows to be wary, and Harlow has a sign up:beware of the pony. Not many people believe it until they suffer the same fate as you. She has a thing for biting people on the butts.” Poppy just barely makes it through that last sentence before breaking out in laughter, and Nana’s lips are twitching like she’s just barely holding back her own.
“What are your plans for working the horses?” Dad asks me, changing the subject.
“Tomorrow, I’ll work them in the indoor arena, practice some of the moves that may be required during the movie, then, if you don't mind, the following day, I'd like to take them for a big run. Josh has said he’d take one, and now that Luke is here, he can take another. I was wondering if you’d like to join and maybe show us the cross-country course. All of them are jumpers.”
A huge grin crosses Dad’s face, and he nods his head enthusiastically. “Yeah, I’d love that.”
My eyes move to Jacinta, catching her scowl, and when her eyes meet mine, I feel a little guilty. I can see the hurt in them, but that quickly disappears before it’s replaced by hatred.Damn it, girl, you started this shit. Did you really think I was just going to roll over and take it?
I ignore the look and keep eating, my eyes moving to Declan and Jaxon who are sitting next to each other just down from Jacinta. Both are staring at me with hostility, but Jaxon's eyes also hold a hint of confusion. His frown seems more like he’s trying to work me out more than anything. Well, too bad. He trashed his chance when he so fiercely accused me of being a money grabbing ho.
Ignoring the two of them, I move around to Thomas and Holden. Neither of them have been outright hostile, but neither have been welcoming like Kai either. In fact, you’d think that I was a non-entity and not worth their attention, but they both hold a slight bit of interest in their eyes now. They seem genuinely interested in what’s panning out around the table. I guess being smacked on the nose like little puppies wasn’t to their liking, and they’re trying to decide which way they want to go with this. Whether they’re going to join Jacinta, Jaxon, Declan, and now Oliver, I guess, in their outright hostilities or they’re going to be like Kai and try to get to know me. I don't have a clue which way they’re going to go, but it will be interesting to see how it all plays out over the next week or so.
“Harlow, honey, I’ve organized for you to meet Hope, our PR representative, at Neighpalm Couture the day after tomorrow. I will accompany you, and I thought we’d start there since you have some experience with it. She’ll show you around and give you the run down before you and I interview a couple of people for some open positions.”
Jacinta’s head comes up at Nana’s words, and she pales slightly. “New people? You were serious?!”
“Yes, dear, we are interviewing some new designers since you have made it abundantly clear that that business doesn’t mean as much to you as we thought.” Nana’s tone is icy, and the atmosphere gets even more tense as a frown crosses Jacinta’s brow before she starts to argue.
“But I thought you wanted me to concentrate on the next line,” she stammers, sounding a little confused and hurt. It’s obvious that she’s surprised, and there’s a small pulse of satisfaction at this first crack in the ice queen’s facade.
“Yes, but it doesn’t mean we’re going to use it. You have to prove to me that you want this.” Dad's eyes show his disappointment although he doesn’t allow any emotion to leak into his voice. You’d think he was talking to a business associate right now, not his daughter.
Again, her gaze comes to mine, and I keep mine neutral despite the obvious venom in hers.
“Is that good with you, Harlow?” Poppy’s voice breaks the tense silence, and I nod quickly, happy to keep the conversation moving on.
“Yes, that’s great. Tomorrow afternoon I’m actually going to explore the abandoned house next door.”
Poppy chuckles, knowing all about my love of abandoned buildings. “Going to make yourself a YouTube channel?” he asks with a smile on his face.
I shake my head, the barest hint of a blush heating my cheeks. “No, but the building is basically calling my name, begging me to explore, and I just can’t resist.”
