Page 38 of Verdict

His gaze lingered—long enough to make my pulse stutter. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “I’ve noticed.”

I pushed Ellie's stroller down the aisle of Walker's barn, both Tex and Ranger popping their heads out to see who was coming. I stopped in front of Tex’s stall and ran my hand up his face, "Hey there, big guy." Tex bobbed his head, nickering. I glanced at Cohen as he cautiously held his hand out for Ranger to sniff. "Not used to horses?" I asked.

Cohen shook his head. "I haven't been around very many."

Walker and Farrah strode in with Hadley hot on their heels. "Auntie Avs!" The blonde Tasmanian devil launched her little body into my arms. I stroked her curls away from her face. "Hey, Hady girl! How's pre-K treating you?" I set her back down. Hadley was now four and probably even more of a spitfire than she’d been at two… which was saying a lot.

She propped her little hands on her hips. "It's okay. Kinda boring. You wanna see my horseys?"

I chuckled. "That's why I'm here. Your cousin Ellie wants to meet your new pony." Once Farrah and Hadley had moved into Walker's house and they’d become a family, my brother had wasted no time buying Hadley a pony of her own.

Hadley glanced over at Ellie, uninterested, and grabbed my hand, leading me further down the aisle. Cohen stayed back with the stroller, chatting with Walker and Farrah.

She stopped in front of a stall, and a little dark bay head popped out. "This is Hershey. He's mine."

I stroked the little guy's neck. "He sure is cute."

Hadley gave a swift nod. "I know."

After Hadley told me all of Hershey's twenty favorite things, we rejoined the group.

"I’ll put the boys in the crossties so Ellie can see them up close. They love babies and kids." Walker opened Tex's stall and placed his halter over his head. Farrah did the same with Ranger.

I unbuckled Ellie and held her close to my chest as I approached the horses. Tex leaned down to gently sniff Ellie's back, and when he trailed his soft muzzle over the back of her head, Ellie let out a little giggle, only increasing Tex's interest.

I patted Tex with my free hand. "You’re such a gentle giant, buddy."

Walker handed Cohen a peppermint. "Go on, give him a treat."

"Are you sure? He is just… so…. big." Cohen hesitantly edged closer to Tex.

Walker deadpanned, "Don't be a pussy."

Cohen scoffed. "I'm not a pussy, just inexperienced."

Farrah snorted.

"This conversation is riddled with innuendos," I laughed.

"Bro, you don't need to be experienced to feed a horse a treat," Walker pushed.

Hadley tilted her head, confused. "Why is Uncle Coh scared of horseys?" Hadley had been calling him Uncle Coh since before he’d knocked me up.

Cohen finally walked up close enough, his hand flat, and slowly lifted it towards Tex. Tex happily swiped the treat from him. "Okay. That wasn't so bad," Cohen said quietly to himself.

Everyone in my life was such a horse person; sometimes, I forgot what it was like when someone was uncomfortable with them.

As I brought Ellie over for Ranger to investigate, footsteps came clicking down the aisle.

“Are those my two beautiful granddaughters?” my mom called, appearing out of nowhere. Hadley ran straight into her arms, excited. I swear that woman could sense when her grandchildren were nearby and just materialize wherever they were.

"Hey Mom, we decided to swing by after Ellie's doctor’s appointment so she could meet Walker's horses." After Hadley ran off to God knows where, I handed Ellie over to my mom.

Softly bouncing Ellie, my mom looked at me, then at Cohen. "Why don’t you two go on a trail ride? Take a break. I can watch Ellie and get some quality Grandma time in."

I glanced over at Cohen, whose eyes looked at me with slight panic.

"I'm sure Walker wants to take the boys out himself later," I tried to telepathically signal to my brother, hoping he'd agree and give Cohen a break.