Chapter 23 #2
I loved the fact that Payton had chosen to call my mom Mimi and was getting used to calling Dad Papa. It was everything to the family that Mal and his son had fit in as well as they did.
“So, you had an idea?” Mal got us back on track after a moment of pleasant silence.
“I don’t know if Crew told you that I’m not big on the event normally, but I had this idea and I might need Jaina for it.”
“Oh?” Mal began to give the big mare scratches. It was clear how much the two of them loved each other.
I explained to him the basic gist of it. The paint and the skeleton stuff.
“I was thinking, if we coordinate with Fern and everyone else who’s organizing it, and figure out the best route, we could have Humphrey and Jaina run from one point to another in the dark at the end of the night. All spooky and stuff,” I concluded my thought process.
Mal grinned. “That sounds cool. If we figure out a safe location and can train them a few times, they’ll easily do it in the dark, too.”
“That’s what I was thinking. They’re well-trained and trust us. If we can find a route for them where people can watch them run, and have them kind of vanish out of view, maybe behind one of the buildings or something, then…,” I trailed off, imagining it in my head.
“Yeah, exactly. Okay, we should start on this as soon as possible.”
“Right. Let me just….” I took my radio off my belt. “HH to Base, Dad, Russ, CH, FH, and whomever else is responsible for the Halloween party. Can we have a coffee meeting at the house in an hour? Mal and I have an idea. Over.”
One by one, they confirmed that they could get away from their various tasks.
When I put the two-way back, Mal rolled his eyes at me.
“What?”
“ You had an idea.”
“Originally, sure, but you filled in details and are going to help me.”
Jaina nudged me next, and I gave her some love. “You’re a clever girl, and you and Humphrey will bring so much joy to everyone, huh?”
She lipped at my hand ever so gently until I found a treat for her. Then she deemed the petting done and went back to the weanlings.
Mal snorted. “We’ve been dismissed.”
“See you in an hour?”
“Yup!”
We went our separate ways to do whatever we could in an hour. Luckily there was always something to do in a business like ours.
“Here, grab a baby,” Demi said as she plopped Phinneas on my lap.
I adjusted my grip and smiled at my nephew. He looked at me with wide, innocent eyes, and for a moment I thought babies weren’t that bad. Then I felt the massive fart against my palm that was supporting his butt, and I grimaced.
“Still not a baby person?” Russ asked knowingly from the chair next to mine.
I made a face. “Wanna hold him?”
He grinned. “Nah, I’m good.”
Everyone gathered, and Phinneas fell asleep, so I used my free hand to drink my coffee.
“That’s an excellent idea!” Fern looked excited as hell. “Why hadn’t I thought of that before?”
“Because not even you can think of everything, sweetheart,” Dad replied dryly, a smile playing on his lips.
“It’s because you don’t work with the horses,” I told her. “And hadn’t seen that video.”
“Fair.”
“So, we need a route,” Mal stated from the coffee maker.
The planning got started then, and everyone was very enthusiastically on board and coming up with solutions.
“Are you going to tell Payton?” Mom asked Mal and Crew.
“I would like to keep it a secret. He’ll get a kick out of one of the ghost horses being Jaina for sure.” Mal smiled, then frowned. “But if I have to be leading her—”
“No, I think you can be with Payton that night. Jaina will listen to me if we train her. It shouldn’t be hard.”
“I’m volunteering for anything you need with this,” Wyanne said, sipping her coffee. I’d completely forgotten that she was part of the Halloween party planning each year.
“Same. Diana’s coming with Alanah, but they know I might need to work anyway,” Lovett added.
“Okay, so we’ll have enough hands,” I deduced.
We talked about the whole thing and what Fern and Mom had planned for this year. They were the official brains behind the thing; it was the one yearly thing Mom took active part of outside of running the ranch HQ and the kitchen.
Within an hour, we had a solid plan, and everyone vowed not to spoil the surprise for Payton the best we could.
Mal was clearly a bit moved when he and Crew were leaving. Crew shot me a look over his shoulder that was kind of… grateful, maybe? I just nodded at him, and then handed Phinneas back to Demi who had been assigned as one of the people painting the horses as anatomically correct as possible.
By the time I left the house to get back to work, Mom had ordered the paint and Demi was looking at horse anatomy images online while she was nursing Emerson.
As I sat in Carter’s kitchen that evening, having dinner with him, I tried to put into words what I’d been thinking since the afternoon.
“Is it weird that I feel more like part of the family after today? Like… after planning the thing?”
He hummed thoughtfully as he ate a bit more. The fact that he gave it thought was everything to me. He could’ve placated me or given me an off-handed answer, but not this man.
“I think maybe you’ve felt like an outsider in your family sometimes.” When I nodded at his raised brow, he continued, “And you’ve not been part of the Halloween thing even though Blue Creek Ranch has organized it for what, a decade?”
I did some mental math. “I think since I was about… ten, so fourteen years or so.”
“Did you take part then?”
Shaking my head, I grabbed my drink. “Not really. It was too people-y.”
Carter smiled fondly. “I can imagine that. So this has been something that’s a big deal for the ranch, and you have been hiding somewhere while they plan and execute it each year.”
“Pretty much.”
“Halloween isn’t insignificant, right?” He took my hand and squeezed it over the table. “So no, it’s not weird at all.”
I nodded and let that answer percolate.
I loved my family more than life, but they were a lot. There were a lot of them. Add to that a crowd of people from the town? Yeah. Not my favorite.
But this way I’d be taking part in the Halloween celebration in my own way, and I had a feeling it was something that people would be talking about for a while.
Hell, maybe it would even bring more attention to Fern’s business. I just hoped that it would be a positive thing and didn’t bring more weirdos without boundaries onto the property.
After dinner, we watched a couple of episodes of Criminal Minds , before turning off the TV.
Lying there together on the comfy couch, just soaking in the closeness was really nice. It wasn’t something I’d thought I’d ever really have, or at least I’d never craved it like a lot of people did.
I’d showered after I got home, so when I turned my head to kiss Carter’s jaw, he chuckled and cupped my ass through my threadbare sweats.
“You starting something, baby?” he rumbled.
I grinned and nipped at his chin. “I dunno. Am I?”
With a happy growl, he flipped us until he was hovering over me. “If you don’t want to be fucked on this couch, you better move, now.”
I sucked my bottom lip into my mouth and tried to look as if I was considering my options. Then I reached my hand between us and cupped him through his sweatpants.
“I think here’s fine.”