Ty stroked her neck. “Hey, girl. Been good today?”
Patches, not to be outdone, edged in beside Penny and whinnied.
Tyson spread his affection between the two. “There’s room for both of you.”
The mares got along great, but Patches wanted whatever Penny had, be it an apple, a carrot, or a little affection. They were like a couple of preschool sisters sometimes.
Shortly after his parents opened the bed-and-breakfast, they’d bought the pair at the pony auction. Because the land lease for the Chincoteague ponies only allowed for 150 ponies, each year most of the foals had to be auctioned off. The proceeds from the auction completely sustained the island’s fire company plus allowed for a few extras like student scholarships. People came from around the country to see the festivities leading up to the pony auction: the pony penning, beach walk, Pony Swim, and carnival.
Tourists visited the island year-round just to see the ponies on the refuge, so having two from the wild herd right at the B and B was a boon. They were tame and saddle broke now and enjoyed givingrides to the kids. Basically living their best life in this large, grassy pasture.
Ty pulled a twig from Penny’s black mane as his thoughts returned to Jenna. She seemed to think Mama Dee and Gordon’s relationship would self-implode quickly. And she might be right. But Jenna’s mother, as sweet and smart as she was, seemed to lack awareness when it came to men—with the exception of her late husband, Allen.
A few years ago Tyson had discovered the man Dee was dating was a known womanizer. Breaking that news hadn’t been fun. He’d had to pull Jenna in on that one. Then there was The Sand and Saddle guest who, Dad discovered, had a wife and three kids back home. Jerry and Dee had already been out on several dates. Then there was Douglas... and now there was Gordon.
If Jenna didn’t want to leave them alone, she might be here for longer than she anticipated. A pleasant thought. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed her until he got his arms around her tonight. She’d lived away so long, he sometimes forgot she was all grown up.
She’d grown into her wide smile and doe-brown eyes that danced when she laughed. Was it strange to admit his tomboy neighbor had turned into a gorgeous creature?
Gorgeous?Whoa.
Maybe true, but definitely weird to think about. Although he was human. He had eyes. How could he not see how attractive she’d become? Especially because his recent dating habits had apparently instilled a routine of noticing women.
But that shouldn’t include your best friend, pal.
He gave his head a shake. “I’m losing it.”
Penny blew air through her nostrils, a sign of affection, and Patches followed suit.
“Aw, love you too, ladies.”
A few minutes later Tyson entered the B and B’s back door, keeping the noise down. It was almost ten and his parents had a full house. He found his dad in the kitchen, loading the dishwasher.
Rick Parker had married his mom when Ty was four, so he didn’t remember not having him in his life. Rick was a lifelong member of the volunteer fire company and had been chief for eight years before retiring to run the bed-and-breakfast with Mom. His steady influence and passion for the job had obviously rubbed off on Ty.
At fifty-five Dad was still lean and strong with a thick head of black hair, though the color had faded a bit over time. He had blue eyes and a kind smile, both of which could flatten in a way that made a teenage boy’s heart crumble with regret when he was in trouble. But once Dad had made his point and delivered an appropriate consequence, he was quick to forgive and forget.
“Hey, Dad. Sorry that took so long.”
Dad closed and started the dishwasher. “No worries. Mom and I had things covered around here. Get the ponies back on the sanctuary?”
“Yeah, and the fence mended. Riptide was pretty agitated.”
“He’ll settle down now that he’s back where he belongs.” His attention dropped to Ty’s chin. “Forget to shave this morning?”
“Funny. Jenna’s back home.”
He hiked his eyebrows. “For good?”
“No, just for a while. Her mom returned from the cruise with a man in tow.” Ty expounded on the situation, ending with Jenna’s decision to stick around as long as necessary.
“I understand she’s worried about her mom, but Dee’s a grown woman and a pretty independent one at that.”
“It won’t hurt Jenna to hang around. She’s between jobs anyway.”
“That’s right. We should have them over for supper one night.”
“That would be good.”
