“Good job, Emma,” Charlotte called, then turned to Laurel again. “I hear congratulations are in order. I hope it’s okay that Gavin told me your good news.”
“Oh, the cat’s way out of the bag. Gavin’s mom guessed just about the same second we confirmed it with a test.”
“Oh no.”
“It’s okay. The family managed to keep it under their hats for the first trimester—a real miracle. I thought Lisa would burst.”
Charlotte chuckled. “I don’t know her very well, but she seems like a terrific woman. I’m meeting her tomorrow to go over some things for Trail Days.”
Laurel offered a smile. “She roped you into that, did she?”
“Let’s just say she thought it might be a good opportunity to get the word out about my expansion.”
“She’ll have all kinds of ideas on that. And the event does draw a big crowd. It’s definitely worth your time.”
“Look, Mom, I’m riding good!” Emma called.
Laurel snapped another photo. “You’re a real pro, honey.”
“I’m a real pro, Dad.”
Gavin seemed like such a good father. Charlotte was proud to have such a stand-up guy for a brother. Proud of the way he’d stepped up for Emma when her birth parents died. The way he’d embraced the child as his own. Did that mean he’d embrace Charlotte, too, once he found out they were siblings? Just the thought of being rejected by him stung.
She pushed away the negative thoughts. “You should take a peek at the barn your husband’s been building. It’s amazing. I don’t know how they’re constructing it so fast.”
“He has a lot of help and you caught them at a good time.They were between house builds. Come July, they’ll be busy again.”
“I’m glad I caught them when I did then.”
“It’s his first barn—he’s pretty proud of it.”
“He should be. It’ll still be standing long after I’m gone.”
When the trio completed the full circle, Emma drew Firefly to a halt. She’d added the word “whoa,” apparently on Gavin’s instruction. When the horse obeyed, Emma patted her side. “Good girl, Firefly.”
Gavin lifted her from the horse.
“She’s a natural.” Charlotte meant every word. “You should bring her back sometime.”
“Can I, Daddy? Can I come back and ride Firefly?”
“We’ll see. We don’t want to be a nuisance.”
Emma’s brows furrowed. “What’s a nuisance?”
Charlotte laughed. “Something you could never be. Seriously, Gavin, just give me a call whenever you want to bring her over. And as I told Laurel, we don’t really offer lessons, but I’d be happy to work with her a bit.”
“That’s awfully kind of you.”
“She clearly loves horses, and I like to encourage that in the little ones.”
“Well, we’ll give it some thought.” He glanced up at the new stable. “Mind if I take my family up to see the barn?”
“Of course not. I was just telling Laurel she should check it out. Take your time. I have some work to do up at the house.”
“Thank you again for letting us visit. It was nice to meet you.” Laurel took Emma’s hand. “Say thank you, angel.”
“Thank you!”
