I walked up to him and gave him a kiss, then sat down heavily. “So, I’m gonna need sustenance for two that can be eaten in the car.”
“I think Rey’s up and might have quick ideas. He’s really into this stuff,” Lake said and quickly texted Rey.
“Awesome.” I told him about the situation and what we were doing about it.
Ben appeared, bleary eyed as he trudged to the coffeemaker. Rey was a minute behind him and practically jogged into the kitchen.
“Okay, I’m here, what do you need and who is it for?” He rubbed his hands together, peering at me expectantly.
Lake finished his breakfast, got up, and patted my shoulder. “Let me make you coffee and then just before you leave, I’ll fill the big travel mugs.”
“Thanks, baby,” I said, and he leaned down to give me a kiss, which made Rey wolf-whistle. As Lake stepped away from the table, I patted his ass, which made him glare at me with anouchlook.
I tried not to appear smug.
“The food is for me and Seb, we’re going to be on the road for five hours or so and same back.”
“Okay, so, sandwiches and I think I have some of the muffins in the freezer…” Rey began to mumble to himself.
“You have half an hour to be ready with it all,” I told him, then graciously accepted my coffee.
I pulled out my phone and started to put together a list. Lake wrapped his arms around my shoulders and examined the screen.
“Six tops?” he asked.
“Yeah, that’s what fits in Penny’s trailer.”
“Okay. Did you alert Sierra yet?”
I let my head drop forward and groaned. “I knew I forgot something.”
“I’ll call her. She’s not due until later, but she’ll have everything you’ll need in the office.”
“Okay, thanks baby.” We kissed again, and my heart thrashed violently in my chest.
“Sierra, morning, sorry to call so early,” he started the call.
I sipped at my coffee, quickly googling the auction. It was one of the ones where most of the horses were bought for slaughter. That meant people dumped their problems there and nobody cared.
It was in an area that had a problem with this kind of thing, it was as outlaw an operation as horse auctions could get, basically. I hated these places, and Ruth had refused to go after her first trip to one. The regular auctions had been bad enough for her.
Sebastian had seen it all, maybe even too much, in his career. Sometimes I saw this weariness in him and a loneliness I couldn’t help but wonder about. He needed to find his person, but I didn’t know how to help with that or even if I should.
* * * *
An hour later, I had a fancy trailer, a handsome veterinarian, and a basket full of food.
“Rey outdid himself,” Seb said as he grabbed his coffee and sipped at it happily.
“The kid is going to be a chef or a vet, mark my words.”
He chuckled. “I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“How did you manage to reschedule your day?”
“I called in an extra tech who can do a bunch of the little stuff, rescheduled something for tomorrow, and the two urgent things I had on, I called in a favor from a colleague with his own practice.”
I huffed. “You ever think how much we deal in favors?”
