I smiled back at her. “Wow, really? I would love to.”
“Yes, darling. We can take our private plane and make a little weekend of it. I’ll get your number from Dean, and I’ll be in touch.” She kissed me once on each cheek and then pulled me into a big hug. Daphne was an impressive woman. Her style was chic but classic and very, very expensive. She was dripping in Chanel. She and Dean shared the same whiskey-colored eyes, but she had a long blonde bob. She was beautiful. His father, Victor, had dark hair like Dean but with piercing blue eyes. He was a tall man, but a little shorter than both Dean andArcher. I immediately connected with the man over horses, and the conversation flowed easily. I had been around my fair share of ridiculously wealthy families, having been with Noah for so long as well as being a part of the horse world in general, so I was prepared for anything.
Dean and I said goodbye to his parents before they climbed into their rental car to head back to their plane that was waiting for them in Austin. Dean wrapped his arms around my shoulders, pulling me back against my chest and placing a kiss to the top of my head. “You were incredible. My parents loved you, and Daphne Adler doesn’t love anyone.”
I smiled and turned my head to look at him over my shoulder. “What can I say? Parents love me.” I smirked. Dean smacked my ass as I led us toward my car.
We got back to Dean’s house, both of us exhausted, so we slipped underneath the covers for an early night. With Coal at the end of the bed, Dean pulled me up against him. “Do you need me to help you move onto the new farm tomorrow?” he asked while running his fingers slowly up and down my arm.
“I don’t think so. I’ve got my brothers and my sister. I think my parents will come by sometime in the afternoon too. You’ve already helped so much.”
“I’ll still come by after my last patient tomorrow, probably around four or five. My schedule isn’t too bad.” He leaned down and kissed my shoulder. We talked a little more about the big moving day tomorrow before we both drifted off to sleep, completely wrapped around each other.
It was officially moving day, and I was beyond excited. With Dean’s help, I had already begun moving some things over to what was now officially Mountain Laurel Farm, but today the horses got to see their new home.
Walker closed the back of the horse trailer and locked the latch. “All right, Cash and Dahlia are ready to go. Are you?”
I nodded as Weston walked out of the barn with more bales of hay, tossing them into the bed of Walker’s truck. “I know that you don’t get your hay shipment in until the end of the week, so I grabbed a couple more bales.”
I smiled. “Thanks, West. I’m ready. Let’s get these horses to their new place. Ava said she would meet us over there.”
The three of us climbed into the truck and headed to my new farm. It was a short drive, and as we pulled up, Ava came walking out of the barn with my new barn manager, Levi. I made the introductions between my brothers and Levi before heading to the back of the trailer to lower the ramp to off-load the horses. Levi jumped right in, taking Cash off the trailer and leading him toward the pasture to explore. I grabbed Dahlia and followed Levi. My new barn manager was in his early fifties with extensive experience. He was a widower but had two grown children with their own families, both of whom lived about two hours away.
Weston and Walker unloaded everything that I packed into the trailer as well as the extra hay, while Ava, Levi, and I postedup against the fence watching Cash and Dahlia check out their new field. Levi looked over at me. “They seem to be happy out here. When are the rest of your new clients bringing over their horses?”
“Next week they’ll start trickling in. The two lesson horses I bought will be here at the end of next week. Everything is about to get busy!” I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. It was all really happening.
Levi nodded. “Sounds good. I’ll be sure to get all the stalls prepped before then and organize the feed room. Y'all good here? I was going to go finish unpacking the apartment.”
Levi moved in just a couple of days ago, and he was already impressing me with how he just anticipated my needs and the horses’ needs without me even having to ask. I hoped that once my business got off the ground, I could hire him an assistant because a full barn of fifteen horses would be a lot for just one guy. The poor guy would need some days off, and until then I would be the one to cover for him.
“Yeah, we’re good. Let me know if you need any help with the apartment.” Levi smiled and nodded, knocking his knuckles against the fence twice before heading back toward the barn.
Ava scooted closer to me and bumped her shoulder against mine. “Proud of you, big sis. This place is incredible, and Levi is great. I love seeing you realize your dream.”
I bumped my shoulder back against hers. “Thanks, little sis.” We continued to watch Cash and Dahlia explore the field when the sound of tires crunching on gravel caused us both to turn around at the same time.
It was only eleven a.m., and there he was. All tall, dark, and handsome as he climbed out of his truck in a pair of dark denim, his usual cowboy boots, and a long-sleeved dark green Henley that his biceps strained against. The man made everything look good. His gaze never left mine as he strode toward Ava and me with a bottle of champagne in his hand. Once he was in front of me, he immediately snaked his hand around the back of my head and pulled my mouth to his. I just melted into him.
Ava cleared her throat. “Uh, hey, guys. Still here.”
Ignoring my sister, I laid my hand on Dean’s chest and looked up at him. “What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming by until later this evening?”
A sexy grin spread across his handsome face. “I changed my plans. I had Grant and Lottie handle the rest of my appointments for today. I wanted to be here.” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Plus, we need to celebrate, so I brought champagne.”
Ava took the bottle from him. “My kind of guy! I’ll go grab some cups. I think I saw some in the tack room.” She turned and headed toward the barn.
Dean looked out at the pasture where Cash and Dahlia were grazing side by side. “They look happy,” he said, nodding toward the horses.
“Not as happy as you make me, Adler.” I pushed to my tiptoes and placed a chaste kiss on his lips, grabbing his hand as I led him toward the barn.
Ava found some Solo cups in the tack room, and we all gathered around in the aisle by the stalls to open the champagnebottle. Just then, both my parents strolled into the barn.
My mom looked around at the group. “What’s going on here? A party?” She smiled.
My dad noticed the champagne bottle in my hand and chuckled. “I think we got here just in time, Laurel.” Ava handed them each a cup.
“Mountain Laurel Farm is officially open for business!” I popped the top off the champagne bottle, and everyone cheered. We passed the bottle around, filling everyone’s cups, when Dean cleared his throat to speak.
