Chapter 23 Julia
TWENTY-THREE
JULIA
Ipulled the printouts of the boilerplate stud fee contracts I’d downloaded earlier in the day from my bag.
My meeting regarding Twister with Jake was being held at his kitchen table.
I had always liked the Thornes’ sprawling ranch house.
I noticed the kitchen had been updated in the past few years, but other than that, not much had changed.
“What do you have there?” Jake asked, glancing at the contracts. He had a legal pad and a laptop with him.
“I thought we’d start by looking through the terms on these to give us some ideas on what we want included in the stud fee contract.
We can include things we like and change or eliminate others.
” I was trying very hard to view this as a straightforward business transaction.
My tears in the kitchen that morning might have led Jake to think I wasn’t equipped for a negotiation, but I was.
Twister’s stud fees were necessary for my own business to survive and flourish.
“All right. What’s first?” he said.
“Will your fee cover breeding for the season regardless of whether or not your mares get pregnant, or is pregnancy necessary for the full fee to be paid?” The answer to that question had a significant impact on the fee I planned to ask for.
He picked up the contracts I’d brought and read through the language in that area. “I don’t know if we want to decide that today. Let’s talk about it later.”
“That’s the starting point, because the fee will be based on the number of breeding opportunities. It makes a big difference,” I said. He was too knowledgeable not to realize the importance of this decision, and I was trying hard not to let my frustration show.
“One option is that I make Twister available to you for a specific length of time, with that being the important deciding element and not pregnancy. Or we can specify that three out of five of your mares become pregnant—or whatever number seems most appropriate.”
He tapped his pen on the legal pad. “I’m not ready to make that decision today. Let’s table it for our next meeting.”
“I think we should discuss it.” I’d crunched numbers today, knew what Twister was worth, and was ready to deal, but I needed Jake to cooperate and treat this meeting like what it was—a negotiation.
He nodded, but then smiled at me. “Let’s talk about some other points and come back to this one.”
“Fine. Point number two. Exclusive rights. Do you want exclusivity with Twister or am I free to make him available to other breeders during the same breeding season?”
“Exclusive rights. I don’t like to share.” My grin turned mischievous.
“Okay. For one season,” I said, ignoring his flirtation. “That’ll make a difference in the fee.”
“I get that.” He leaned back in his chair. “Like I said, we’ll come back to money.”
Next, we disagreed about artificial insemination versus traditional live cover. I was in favor of the first. There were a lot of reasons for it. Jake wasn’t and didn’t want to discuss it, which was frustrating. I was about to express that when his mother came into the room.
“I’m just making a cup of tea for the road. Junior Fair board meeting in town tonight.” Laura busied herself in the kitchen.
“Those things sure do keep you busy,” Jake said to his mother.
“I like being in the know and helping out worthy causes.” She came around the counter while waiting for the water to heat and tapped Jake on the head. “I remember when you and Brian did your homework sitting right here, and now you’re conducting business.”
“Mom, I’ve been conducting business for years now,” Jake said with an eye roll. “It’s just usually in the barn.”
I had been in his office in the largest of the barns several times to discuss treatment for one of his animals or to pick up a check for my veterinary fee, and I’d expected to meet there tonight. He’d been the one to insist on the house.
“The barn would have worked for me,” I said and caught his eye.
“You spend enough time in barns,” he said. “You should be where it’s more comfortable.”
Laura was looking between the two of us speculatively. I was sure that Jake hadn’t shared my pregnancy with his family, but his mother might wonder about that comment. The tea kettle whistled then, and Laura went around the island to make her tea.
“I’m no shrinking violet,” I reminded him in a low voice, “but I would like to get something on paper tonight.”
“We’ll get there,” he said.
When? I wanted to demand. He was intentionally dragging his feet. I knew it. He knew it. But I didn’t know why.
“There are cookies in the jar and sweet tea in the fridge,” Laura said. “Jake, did you offer your guest something to drink?”
“I—”
“I’m fine. Thanks, Laura,” I said, cutting Jake off.
“You know to help yourself, even if this one forgets to say it.” Laura kissed her son’s cheek and headed for the door. “I’ll be late. Our agenda for the evening is long. Good night.” A minute later, the back door closed.
“How about some tea and cookies?” Jake offered.
“I’m good,” I said, though it wasn’t the brush-off it might have been a minute earlier.
Some of my annoyance had faded as I gave in to feeling sentimental for a moment.
“I’ve always liked your mom. She’s generous and kind.
My mom said that about her often enough.
” I glanced around the big kitchen. “When I was a child, I wondered what it was like growing up here. It seemed like you had everything. The house, the ranch, a big family.”
“It was pretty idyllic.” He put his hand over mine. “I’m looking forward to raising the next generation here. This house has been way too quiet since Amy and Henry moved out. I miss having a kid around.”
Jake could be so endearing and so irritating at the same time.
“I wasn’t suggesting that I move in here,” I said. “That’s not in my plans, and however good last night was doesn’t change that.”
While last night had started out about all the orgasms he could manage to coax out of me, it’d also been more emotional, more intimate.
But as good as it had been, as much as I hoped it was the start of something new and special between us, I was still taking this one step at a time.
I wasn’t going to hand my life over to him.
I’d already learned that lesson with Rodney, and I had no intention of repeating it.
“I know that, and I didn’t mean now. But if it goes well between us… You just said that you like the house, right?”
“Of course I do.” That wasn’t the issue.
It was his assumption that concerned me.
Logically, I saw his point. This house was much larger than mine and as the primary heir to the Thorne empire, I knew that he wouldn’t move off the property.
It made sense that if we were going to live together, it would be here.
But it bothered me that uprooting my life and living on his ranch was his version of a happy ever after for us.
Had he even considered that I might want to live on my family’s ranch where my business was located?
“Julia?” he asked tentatively. He must have picked up on my concern.
“Liking the house isn’t the point,” I said finally. “It’s something we have to discuss when the time’s right.”
“I’m not opposed to that. In the meantime...” He tugged at my hand, succeeding in pulling me onto his lap. “I’ll just have to seduce you into never wanting to leave.” He kissed the side of my neck, something he’d already learned I couldn’t resist.
A part of me worried that he was avoiding a serious question by distracting me with kisses. As a matter of fact, he’d refused to do anything serious all evening. We’d decided on nothing regarding Twister. I was about to hop off his lap when he caught the lobe of my ear between his teeth.
“No fair,” I breathed, losing all willingness to pick a fight with him. I turned my head to kiss him, deciding that another time would be better for our discussions.
“I want to show you my quarters,” he said, standing up with me in his arms. He crossed the living room and made his way to a suite of rooms, kicking the door shut that connected it to the rest of the house.
“This half of the house is all mine. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms.” He lowered me to his bed.
“Is this a real estate tour?” I teased when he pulled my shoes off and tossed them aside.
“I’m just saying. Plenty of space here for us.” He yanked his shirt over his head.
I laughed. “You are relentless, aren’t you? But I can’t deal with thinking about that now, so I’m going to use your phrase and say that we’ll talk about it later.”
“Works for me. Enough talk.” He lay down next to me, beginning a kiss that cut off my worry about everything but him and that moment.
Later that night, I insisted on going home, and he insisted on driving me.
We finally agreed on a compromise. I drove myself the few miles to my ranch, and he followed in his truck to make sure I got there safely.
He’d cited something about the number of accidents that occurred close to home.
I’d reminded him that the roads were clear and that I did have working headlights on my truck.
But he was persistent and I was feeling too sated from all the orgasms to put up much of a fight.
Jake was a considerate lover and always made sure I was very satisfied before he worried about his own pleasure. I’d never had that with another partner, and I had to admit, that care and attentiveness were addicting. He was addicting.
“Good night, Jake,” I said after I’d parked, leaning in the window of his truck. “I’ll see you tomorrow at the doctor’s appointment.” It was my first prenatal appointment and we were both excited to attend.
“You sure you don’t want me to stay?” He looked so hopeful, but I also knew we wouldn’t get any sleep if he came in.
I shook my head. “We’ve both got early mornings.” After another lingering kiss, he left, but by then I’d wanted him to stay.
And he knew it, which was…frustrating. That seemed to be the norm with Jake. One moment he was high-handed, the next calming. And the kisses. I wasn’t sure I could live without those. I laughed at myself as I went into the house.