They’d shared a grin, then he said good night. And Charlotte walked into the house on a cloud of euphoria, the hum of his motorcycle fading in the distance. Was it any wonder she’d hardly slept?
The grumble of an approaching engine sounded outside the barn, and she straightened from the stall gate. Her heart palpitated in response. But it was a truck engine, not the familiar rumble of Gunner’s motorcycle.
Kyle was arriving to take care of the foal and check on Daisy.
Charlotte’s stomach bottomed out at the task ahead. Regardless of what might or might not happen between Gunner and her, she had to end things with Kyle. She wouldn’t settle for some lukewarm relationship, and she wouldn’t let Kyle do that either. It wasn’t fair to either of them. She never should’ve let it go on this long. Why were these things only obvious in retrospect?
“Good morning.” Kyle beamed as he entered the barn, his soft-sided vet bag hanging from his shoulder.
“Morning. Thank you for coming so quickly.”
“That’s the job.” He stopped at the stall, observing the foal,while she opened the gate and let him in. “He’s getting around pretty well already. Tell me about the labor.”
Charlotte filled him in on the details of the birth while he gave both horses some affection. Then he examined the mare and colt and collected blood samples. Next he took a colostrum sample and used his refractometer, placing a drop on the prism, and read the scale through the eyepiece. “Brix score is 23.5 percent.”
“No supplementation then?” Kyle carried frozen colostrum for just that purpose as quality colostrum was an immediate need for a foal.
“Nope. It’s all good.” When he finished he packed up and stood. “Sounds like everything was pretty routine. Mama and baby seem healthy and happy, but I’ll run these samples today and make sure the blood work checks out. I’ll give you a call either way.”
“Thank you. I’m glad you were able to come so quickly.”
“Of course. As you know, the first hours are critical.”
Charlotte opened the gate and let him out, then followed him to his truck. “I know, but I hate to wake you at the crack of dawn.”
“I was already up anyway. I like to get an early start on the day.”
They reached his truck and he turned to her, smiling sweetly.
Oh, she didn’t want to do this to such a nice man. Should she wait for a better time? He was working after all. But the memory of Gunner’s kiss pricked her with guilt. It would be wrong to string this out any longer than she already had.
“Listen, um...” She winced. “Before you go, can we talk a minute?”
His smile slipped. “Uh-oh. That doesn’t sound good.”
She rubbed her lips together. “I just want to say that I’ve really enjoyed the time we’ve spent together . . .”
“That sounds suspiciously like a goodbye.”
“No, no, of course not. You’re such a great person, Kyle. I definitely want you in my life. You’re fun to be with, you’re a great listener, and you have the patience of Job. You have so many terrific qualities any woman would love to have in a boyfriend.”
“Just go ahead and say it, Charlotte.”
She sucked in a deep breath. “I think we’re better as friends.”
He stared at the ground and nodded slowly. “Right.”
Her heart hurt at the disappointment scrawled across his face. “I promise, it’s nothing you did or nothing about you at all. It’s me. I guess I’m looking for something different.”
His face bore a grim expression and he met her gaze. “Before you launch into another cliché, why don’t I put us both out of our misery and go, okay?” He opened his door.
She scooted out of his way. She’d hoped this would go better. But nobody enjoyed getting dumped. Even when it wasn’t his fault. “Kyle.”
He settled into the driver’s seat and glanced back at her. His shoulders sank as he released a breath. “Listen, we never made each other any promises. We weren’t even exclusive. You don’t owe me anything, Charlotte.”
“I know, but—”
“And the last thing I want right now is the pity I see all over your face, okay? A man has his pride. I’ll get over it.”
