“Talk about good timing.”
Mari’s voice pulled her back from that life-changing moment five years ago. “No kidding.” She left the stall and latched the door behind her. “When do you have to leave for work?”
“Not for another hour. If she foals soon….”
“She wants to.” Tex shifted his weight and Mari adjusted her hold on him.
“Sure looks like she does.” Uncle Graham kept his gaze on the Appaloosa. “I don’t have a lot of personal experience, but I’ve heard Monty talk about it. Between that and what we found online, I’d say she’s close.”
“Yup.” He mimicked his great-uncle’s expression as he nudged back his hat.
“Exciting, huh?” Mari moved him to her other hip. “Soon we’ll know if we have another Appy in the family.”
“We will, Auntie Mari.”
“Remember, no guarantees.”
“I asked Speckles. She nodded her head.”
“Works for me.” Mari looked outside. “Shouldn’t he be back by now? What if he got an emergency call? Do we know if he can even stay?”
“He’ll stay.”
Zinnia picked up on the warmth in her uncle’s voice. “How do you know?”
“The gleam in his eyes. That’s how he gets when he’s committed to seeing something through. That’s why I call him Supervet.”
“Good thing you know him so well.” She ducked her head to hide a smile. He was still intent on promoting the guy. Doing a decent job of it, too. Who wouldn’t be attracted to someone with that kind of dedication?
“I’ve been keeping an eye on Monty for years. He’s turned into a good man.“
“Takes one to know one. Hey, Mar, let me hold Tex for a while.”
“Nah, it’s my turn.” Uncle Graham held out his arms. “Come on over, buddy.”
Tex wrapped his arms around his great-uncle’s neck. “I wish she’d have that baby rrright now.”
“We all want that,” Zinnia said. “But you know what? You still haven’t decided on his name.”
“It gots to be a cowboy name.”
“I know.” Her son was adamant on that point. He disapproved of naming horses after two fancy dancers.
Speaking of Ginger and Fred, maybe they should be brought in and fed early, too. She was about to suggest that when her uncle beat her to the punch.
“Hey, Tex, since it doesn’t look like Speckles is going to have that foal in the next twenty minutes, that gives us time to round up the herd. We should do that now, don’t you think?”
Her son readily agreed. He might not like the names his great uncle had chosen but he adored those horses. He’d dubbed Speckles, Ginger and Fred the herd and pretended they had to be rounded up every night.
As her uncle fetched the lead ropes and left with Tex striding along by his side, Mari turned to her. “Think I should put the meatloaf and baked potatoes in now or wait?”
“Let’s start it now. If you put everything in and set the timer, dinner will be done a little early, but at least we won’t forget and end up eating peanut butter sandwiches.“
“Then I’ll go do that.”
“You’re a sweetie for fixing dinner. It doesn’t seem fair that you won’t be here to eat it.”
“Don’t feel sorry for me. Clem’s generous with the food for his employees. Listen, if I have to leave before the big event, take pictures and text them to me, okay?”
