Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 121083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
On top of all that, he’d only gotten two firm contracts to sell the hay. He’d had some verbal promises, but they were falling through. As it stood right now, if he didn’t get on the phone and start making some calls, he’d be stuck with about twenty thousand bales with nowhere to put them.
Kitt shook his head hard. Okay, so thinking about the farm caused as much tension and worry as thinking about Austin. So what else could divert his sleep deprived brain? Kitt rose, grabbing a stray wash rag as he strode from one barn to the next, making his way to Lady. She was the current pride of the farm, his best quarter horse.
Kitt caught it happening in her without doing the math, or any exam at all. He saw Lady’s belly tightening up and watched her moving a little stiffly. He’d brought her in the barn yesterday, keeping her close by. She was early. The vet planned to come out in the morning to do a full exam on her, see if Kitt was correct in his guess. He couldn’t wait though for her to give birth, and for the first time in two days his heart lightened. He felt it in his bones, her new little colt was going to be something special. The first of four something very special’s coming to the farm; two colts and two fillies if the sonograms held true. They were all sired by the year’s Triple Crown racing champion. Surely to God, they would sell in the tens of thousands on the open market.
Their sire came in at twenty-to-one odds and blew his competition away at all three derbies. Kitt had gotten his sperm a couple of years ago; way before anyone even knew the horse’s name. In college, he’d tutored the owner’s son through Organic Chemistry before they had any idea what the pony had in him. With the Triple Crown title on their heels, these yearlings should sell easily come spring, maybe even before then. Besides these four, Kitt saved four of the eight vials he got as payment. If he could do this same thing again, he might be turning a solid profit this time next year. Wouldn’t it be something to actually have money in the bank instead of all this debt hanging over his head?
Kitt perched a leg and both arms on the gate to Lady’s stall. Their eyes met and she turned away. It caused him to chuckle. She only did things on her terms, making Kitt lucky she seemed to like him. This mare was his favorite, she had a way of seeing inside him. They connected for a minute as she turned back to him before walking over. He wiped his oil stained hands on his jeans, knowing she was expecting a good rub. He opened the gate, went inside and gave her one. Before he turned away, she did her signature move and knocked his ball cap off his head.
“You think you’re pretty smart, don’t you? Well, I guess you are,” he said, grinning as he picked up his ball cap and put it back on his head. He hadn’t stepped far enough back because she was right back on him again, knocking it off his head.
“Good night, girl,” Kitt laughed, picking the cap up again. The grin stayed with him as he cut off the lights and made his way back to his truck. Another deep yawn started and lasted as he got inside his truck and started it up. It was completely dark outside and seemed like he was very much alone. He wondered if Austin’s people still watched him, or if they had they stopped since Austin wasn’t around?
Kitt drove the trail home with the windows rolled down. The cold night air hit his face, making sure he didn’t nod off. His phone sounded off at the same time his mind went fully back to Austin. He thought about ignoring the call, but it was almost morning. Rarely did anything good come from a call in the middle of the night. Kitt couldn’t help the confused smile tugging at his lips when he saw Austin’s name on his screen. Even with all the lecturing he’d just given himself, Kitt was too tired to resist, and answered on the third ring.
“Everything okay?” Kitt asked, bypassing the standard greeting.
“Are you awake?” Austin asked.
“I am now,” Kitt teased, the smile still on his face. Austin’s voice soothed his soul and calmed his nerves like nothing had before.
Silence.
“I’m kiddin’; I’m up. I couldn’t sleep. How are you?” Kitt pulled the truck to the front of his cabin. He turned it off, but sat in the cab waiting for Austin to answer.
“Why couldn’t you sleep?” Austin asked, his voice weirdly quiet.
“I don’t know. I guess I just have a lot on my mind right now,” Kitt said resting his arm out the window. He kept the phone to his ear and leaned his head back against the head rest. It was worse than Kitt had realized. He was so edgy because he missed Austin, and just his voice put everything back to right in his world.
“Am I part of what’s on your mind?”
It took a second, but Kitt finally answered somewhat honestly. “Maybe a little.”
“Hmm… I like that. You’re on my mind, too. I couldn’t sleep. One night tucked away in a sleeping bag with you, and now my body thinks your arms need to be around me in order to get some rest.” Austin chuckled as he said the words Kitt felt so deeply in his heart. There was another pause before he spoke.
“How’re things there?” Kitt asked.
"We had our little intervention, then a big clearing of the air between us all." Austin's voice was weary. "Cara's finally up and getting dressed, and we're going to be heading out soon. I think if everything goes like we planned, Cara and I are going to publically break up in the next couple of days. I’ve found out Cara and Seth developed a thing between them, and all this hiding’s messing it up for them, or her, or something like that. They told me they’ve hooked up a couple of times. They have lots of emotion about it all. That's what drove her to this round of...well, whatever it is she does when she gets like this."