The shuffling of people carried us all the way outside the building. In the parking lot, a huge group of people were clustered around a large black truck. From the stickers on the back of the tailgate, I could tell it was one of the bull riders’. Then the wail of an infant made me look over at the truck beside it. The woman bouncing a very small baby against her shoulder was someone I knew too well.
"Hannah?" I gasped, hurrying over to see her. "You were supposed to tell me when you had the baby!"
"Well, he decided to come a few days early, and with gusto," Hannah admitted. "It's been chaos, but the good kind." Then she turned and offered me her son. "His name is Enzo Vieria, and he decided to show up on October thirtieth. Reni had a minor panic attack. I had a major one, but his mother was amazing." Then her eyes jumped over my shoulder. "Kris!"
"Hey!" Kris called back. "Congratulations, Violet."
Holding the baby, I turned to find Scarlet and a girl just a bit younger than Faith. "And who is this?" I asked.
The girl thrust her arm at me. "I'm Annika Jakobsson. My dad's the guy who talked in there."
Scarlet looked at the girl proudly. "Go tell him that I'm going to be a bit, ok? And keep him out of trouble, Anna?"
"Promise, Kris," the girl said before hurrying off.
Kris waited until she was out of hearing range, then sighed. "She's more of a handful than her father."
"So..." Hannah said. "You're banging the Olympian?"
"Shit," Kris laughed. "Um, so Violet isn't the only one with a party. It seems that Anna's mom left because she no longer found Ian's lifestyle fun. By that, I'm not talking about touring the world with the horses. I mean his boyfriend. The one I'm also dating."
"No!" I gasped. "So Ian's bi?"
"Pan," she corrected. "Andreas too. Evidently there aren't that many straight men in the top levels of English riding - or so they say." Then she looked around. "I know I saw Luke around here. Is it true that you're dating him now too?"
"And Cy, and Ash," I agreed. "You know Luke?"
"Bea taught me to ride," Kris pointed out. "She always had Luke in the barn working on something, so we got to be friends. His little girl was actually how I figured out that I don't hate kids."
"I only saw him in passing," Hannah admitted. "Then again, he was clearly too nice to be on my radar."
"But this guy?" I asked her. "Um, Renato?"
"Reni," Hannah said, shortening his name. "Yeah, um, it was an accident, and he just kept being so nice that I couldn't ignore it. Well, and he looks really good in his tight jeans and chaps." She lifted a brow, making sure we all knew what she was talking about. "But Enzo isn't exactly his. I mean, he is and he isn't."
"Oh, that's a story," Kris teased.
"I found out I was pregnant after I left the last asshole," Hannah admitted. "So, Reni offered me a ride, and I puked in his hotel room. I'm trying to make this the short version. Well, he can't have kids, so he didn't see a thing wrong with this, and um... Most of our friends know, but his mother thinks little Enzo is a miracle."
"Noted," I assured her even as I tickled the little boy's cheeks. "He's gorgeous, Hannah. Looks just like his dad."
"Oddly enough," Hannah agreed. "Granted, my shitty ex was Hispanic, so that explains his great tan, right? Sure didn't come from me."
I passed her son back, then turned to hug Scarlet. "It's so good to see you again."
"Same," she agreed. "I've missed home."
"Where's mine?" a guy called out.
Looking up, I found a lean, handsome man with wire-frame glasses that did not quite match his tattoos. "Teal!" I breathed, hurrying over to give him a squeeze. "Thank you for the hacking."
He hugged back. "As soon as I told my friends, they were all in." Then he grinned. "Um, I'm also living in Denton now. Transferred there for my master’s. Means I can come home sometimes, and I might even bring my girlfriend."
"The one who looked at the videos?" I asked.
He nodded. "Zoe. Yeah. We're taking things slow, because that's what she needs. You'll love her, though. Oh!" He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a business card. "I'm also supposed to give you this. The guy who brought in the agent? Yeah, um, his sister raises horses. He said if you need something big, send an email."
I looked at the card to see Andrews Shires printed across the top. The address was in Sanger, which wasn't that far away, and the chances of us needing more horses were high. If nothing else, it was a good connection to have, so I carefully tucked the card into my tablet case.
