“Morning,” she mumbled.
Pedro turned from the counter, and was surprised to see her eating a bowl of cereal, but he didn’t comment on it. He opened the refrigerator, removed eggs, and made himself scrambled eggs and toast. As he ate, he studied Myrna, and went to say something, but she suddenly stood, took her dishes to the sink, rinsed them, grabbed something from the refrigerator, and looked directly at him.
“I’ll be at work, go ahead and pack some lasagna and pie for your lunch.” She held up the bag she held. “I did.” Then, she walked away from him.
“Shit,” he mumbled into his forkful of eggs, and sighed heavily. He finished his own meal, cleaned up, and to try to make it up to her, he pulled something from the freezer, and got it ready to put in thecrockpot for their dinner. As he worked, he realized that as much as her actions pissed him off, he realized that she only matched his energy, so he had no one to blame but himself for her treatment of him.
By seven he was ready to head to the barn, so he did, making sure the bunktel was locked behind him. He went to his truck with a heavy heart, and went to work. That was how the next week and a half went, he would make supper, they would eat together in total silence, and she made breakfast for them both, again, eating in total silence. It was like they were strangers sharing a mutual space.
The breaking point came when Pedro came out of his office and heard Myrna laughing. The sound shot through his heart, then down to his loins, pissing him off that he still had sexual feelings for her. When he didn’t recognize the person she was laughing with, his voice was sharp when he spoke. He would find out until later that he had been totally wrong.
“Instead of flirting, Ms. Trenton, why don’t you see if the horses have their nightly feed.”
He didn’t know if it was his tone, or words, that caused her to whip her head toward him and scowl. “If you were my boss, I’d do that, but since you aren’t, then you can do it yourself.” She turned on her heel and walked away with her head held high.
“That’s it,” Faith said as she came out of the tack room, gripped Pedro’s upper arm tight enough to leave bruises, and dragged him back to the office theyshared. As soon as they entered, she slammed the door so hard, the cups on the shelf rattled. “What the hell is wrong with you? You’ve been totally ignoring Myrna for days, then you snap at her like that? She’s right, you know, you are not her boss, Cole is.” She studied the man who had been her friend for decades and shook her head. “I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you, but it’s starting to affect the horses. They are jumpy when the two of you are close. Do I need to talk to Shay about moving Myrna into one of the cabins?”
Pedro just stared at her, not saying anything, but he shook his head. “It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not. Work it out with Myrna, Pedro, or I will.”
“Kid, for such a small thing, you have a big mouth.”
“Yeah, and don’t make me use it. I love you, Pedro, you know I do, you’re my older brother, but something is going on between the two of you, and you’re being a total bastard. Shape up and make it right.” She turned on her heel, pulled the door open, and slammed it as hard as she had when she’d entered. Pedro stood there, then quickly deflated.
“Shit,” he said to the empty office and slumped in his chair. He thought back to seeing Myrna laugh like she hadn’t ripped his heart out of his chest, and felt instant jealousy by how she could move on so quickly.
“Shit,” he said again, and scrubbed his face. He looked up when the door opened, and saw Shay and the man Myrna had been laughing with enter.
“Want to talk about it?” Shay asked.
“Not really,” he said as he looked at the man.
“I’m Tom Stolls, the vet.”
“Shit,” he said again, and shook his head. “Christ, I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you.”
“Sometimes it’s better to talk things over with strangers.”
“I don’t air my dirty laundry to everyone.”
“Okay, but know that we’re here if you need to talk. You didn’t ask, but I’m going to give you some unsolicited advice. Whatever is going on between the two of you, you need to fix it. This next part is not a threat, but what are you going to do if Naomi or Cole gets word that there’s tension between the two of you, and you’re asked to leave?”
Pedro looked at him with wide eyes, and sighed. “Shit,” he said again and scrubbed his face. He looked at Tom when he spoke.
“On a happy note, Chocolate Champion is clear to come out of quarantine. I don’t know what you’re going to do with him, but he’s healthy, if not underweight, but he can interact with the other horses.”
“And Sally?”
“Same, out of quarantine, and healthy. Her foot is even repaired from where she’d picked up that rock.” Tom studied Pedro, and spoke quietly, “I don’t knowif you’re going to race Chocolate.” He paused when Pedro spoke a different name.
“Cocoa, that’s what we call him off the track. I need him to put on more weight before I race him. I don’t think he’ll ever get back to his Triple Crown speed, but then again, Faith and I were his team back then. If it doesn’t work out on the track, I’d like to stud him out.”
“I can help with that.” Tom grinned and explained about what he did for Erin and Riceman Stallions.
The three of them talked for almost an hour before Tom’s phone went off, and he looked at the message. “Work.” He stepped out, and once his call was done, he stuck his head back into the office. “I have to go, Pedro, reach out to me if you want to use Cocoa for stud.” He turned away, then turned back. “Trust me, talking things over with Myrna will be better than letting this fester. I don’t know what’s going on between you and her, but I can tell you from experience that it’s better to put all your cards on the table than let this fester, and there’s no coming back from that.” He shrugged, backed out of the office and closed the door gently.
“Want to talk?”
