Chapter 11
KYRA
One day, after much begging and pleading, Adam finally let Kyra patch up a section of fence.
She had to promise not to lift anything too heavy and to rest often, but at least she felt less useless than she had lately.
She had just gotten a wooden board in place.
The nail was driven partway in, and she had the hammer poised to strike when she heard the familiar sound of the four-wheeler coming from over the nearest hill. Then she heard Adam calling her name.
He sounded excited, almost frantic. “Kyra!” He pulled up and waved. “Ellie had her colt!”
Kyra dropped the hammer she’d been holding. “For real?”
“I didn’t even know she’d gone into labor. I think she had it last night.” Kyra had never seen him so excited. He seemed like a completely different person to her. “It’s a black colt. Do you want to see it?” he asked with a grin.
“Well, duh!” she answered, and she hopped onto the four-wheeler behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist to steady herself.
When they got to the barn, Adam parked and helped Kyra to dismount the four-wheeler.
She didn’t really need help, but he offered it anyway.
One more item to add to her list of nice things he was doing for her these days.
And he’d thought to go and get her. He knew she’d be excited to see a new baby, and he’d run to get her. That had to mean something, didn’t it?
Inside the barn was quieter than Kyra had expected it to be, and she and Adam nearly tiptoed as a result, not wanting to disturb the peace. They came to Ellie’s stall and found she was lying down beside her brand new little one, who was curled up beside her.
Adam whispered, “They’ve had a busy night, the two of them.”
“He’s so cute,” Kyra whispered back.
Adam nodded in agreement. “He is. Would you like to name him?”
She shot him a questioning look. “I thought this wasn’t your horse.”
“The mother isn’t mine, but her owner has offered me the colt as a gift. The pregnancy wasn’t intentional, as I understand it. Anyway, I thought you might like to name it.”
“Oh, it’s going to have to be the perfect name then,” she said, turning back to the curled-up colt. Its little ear twitched as though it could hear her in its dreams. “I’ll think of one.”
Suddenly, Adam’s hand was on her shoulder, and Kyra froze in place, afraid he might change his mind about the gesture if she reacted too much.
“I thought you might also like to spend some time with it,” he said.
“Get it used to human interaction and all that. What do you say? It’s a very important job, you know. ”
She glared at him playfully. “If you wanted to keep me away from the more physically strenuous jobs, then you’ve picked the right carrot to dangle in front of me, boss.”
He chuckled. “It isn’t just that, you know. Someone really does have to do the job. But it’s a win-win, don’t you think?”
Ellie opened one eye and saw the two of them standing just outside her stall. She lifted her head but didn’t get up, which Kyra took as a sign of trust. “Don’t worry, mama,” she said in a soft voice. “We’re going to take good care of you and spoil your baby rotten.”
Outside the barn, when they were able to talk in normal voices, Kyra thanked Adam with all her heart.
What she didn’t tell him was that it meant far more than he realized, that he had seen the colt and immediately thought of her.
That hope her mother had warned her to temper swelled in her heart once more.
“Can I make dinner tonight?” she asked him.
“Please. I really want to cook for you.” She was desperate to do something nice for him after everything he’d been doing for her lately.
He shrugged like it was no big deal and agreed. “Just this once.”
She made chicken and pasta. It was an invented dish, using whatever Adam had in the kitchen for its ingredients.
She hadn’t planned on cooking that night, but if Kyra was good at anything, it was improvising.
When dinner was nearly ready, she went to collect him for the meal.
She looked in every room in the house, but he was apparently outside.
From his office, she texted him to let him know he could come and eat.
After putting her phone back in her pocket, she glanced down to see a book lying upside down on his desk.
The fact that she even noticed it was a stroke of luck because his desk was piled high with papers and notebooks.
This one book was hiding amongst them, but it caught her attention the moment she saw it.
She bent over the desk to look at it. It appeared to be a parenting book.
Kyra doubted her own eyes and picked it up to examine it more closely.
No doubt about it. Adam Sage was actually reading a parenting book.
Now, why would he be doing that if he had no intention of becoming any kind of father? Maybe he was changing his mind.
If the book had been on a shelf or something, she would have assumed it was an old one he had lying around for some reason.
But it was open on his desk, upside down like he was holding his place.
No chance he wasn’t reading it. She grinned to herself, that same hope swelling in her chest again. Then she heard the front door open.
She quickly put the book back in exactly the same position and hurried out of the office, closing the door behind her.
She passed Adam on the way to the kitchen.
“Oh, there you are,” she said. “I was looking for you.” She tried to force her smile down to a less conspicuous level, but she couldn’t seem to manage it.
“What are you so happy about?” he asked, eyeing her with suspicion.
“Oh, I’m just so happy I finally got to make dinner.” That was barely believable, and she could tell it wasn’t quite flying with Adam. Oh well. It was good enough for now, anyway. As long as he couldn’t guess what she was really thinking, it was all good.
She set the table and served the dinner.
He dished large portions onto his plate, and even that made her smile.
Kyra’s mother had instilled in her a great love of feeding people.
When she was able to make something that would not only nourish someone she cared about but also bring them a certain amount of pleasure, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride.
It was a way to say you loved a person without scaring them, she figured, and not only in a romantic way.
Although a romantic way was how she meant it this time.
They sat together like a family, and Adam asked, “So, did you come up with a name for the colt? I’ve been dying to find out what you came up with.”
She had been thinking about it, actually. “I thought Stormy was a nice name for him. What do you think? Considering the weather while his mom was pregnant with him. Stormy is nicer than Tornado anyway, don’t you think?”
Adam laughed and nodded. “Shorter too. What would you call Tornado for short?”
“Nado? I don’t know. Torn?” It all sounded ridiculous. “Let’s go with Stormy then.”
“He is a little black raincloud after all,” Adam said, twirling another forkful of pasta. “Maybe he’ll have my temperament.”
“Oh, no!” Kyra’s eyes went wide. “Let’s hope not. He’ll be impossible to work with if that’s the case.”
She loved teasing him, but this time, he didn’t act at all offended. He said, “If he has my temperament and you’re the one working with him, everything will turn out fine. It’ll just have to be you and no one else.”
Kyra couldn’t stop herself from blushing when she heard that.
It sounded so much like flirting, like a declaration of something real.
She tried to remember her mom’s words about keeping her expectations reasonable, but Adam was so good at getting her hopes up.
She quickly stuffed a bite of food in her mouth to cover up her awkwardness.
The following morning, Kyra went to the barn to feed the horses and spend time with the new colt.
The sunrise was beautiful, turning everything around her golden.
She crept into the barn, but all the horses were already awake and eager to eat, including Ellie and her colt.
The little horse was still wobbly on its legs, and its head looked about three sizes too big for its body.
Kyra had always thought newborn horses were the cutest creatures alive, and now she actually got to spend time with one.
“I can’t believe I’m getting paid to hang out with you,” she said to little Stormy as she made her way into the stall with Ellie, who she now trusted implicitly.
Ellie seemed almost eager to show her baby off, and Kyra was happy to oblige.
She scratched Ellie on the nose and took a moment to pet Stormy, who was not even a little afraid of her.
She had expected it to be shy, but the little colt took to her right away.
“What a beautiful baby you have there, mama,” she said to Ellie. “Do you mind if I call him Stormy?”
“She approves,” Adam said.
Kyra whirled around to see him standing behind her. She hadn’t known he was there. “How can you tell?”
“I just know.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Elie was my first boarder, so we know each other pretty well.”
Adam made his way into the stall and crouched down beside the colt. He was so gentle and reassuring with the animal. Kyra couldn’t help thinking that he would make a fantastic father, despite what he told himself. But she didn’t dare say that to him.
When he was finished petting the colt, Adam stood. “I wanted to show you something,” he said. “Are you finished here?”
“Just about.” Kyra got up and finished feeding the rest of the horses. She’d gotten distracted by the baby. “Do we really get to keep him?” she said, giving the last horse in the row its bucket of feed.
“Of course,” he assured her. “I wouldn’t lie to you about that. The owner is on a tight budget. They can’t afford to board another horse here. So they asked if I wanted to keep the colt. I doubt they’ll take it back now that he’s born.”
Kyra brushed her jeans off and joined him outside the stalls. “That’s good because I’d hate to get attached and then have to say goodbye.”
“Even if they did choose to keep the colt as theirs, they’d likely board it with me. So, no need to worry either way.” He walked with her out of the barn and started toward the main house. “They’re not fickle people, though,” he said. “The chance they’ll change their mind on this is slim.”
They chatted casually on their way back to the main house.
Adam seemed a little more nervous than usual.
Kyra could tell because he was talking more.
His natural state was quiet, so when he started getting chattier, she knew there was something on his mind.
“So, what are you going to show me?” she asked, assuming the answer was related to his sudden talkativeness.
“It’s nothing, really.” He shrugged. “Something I’ve been working on that I thought you might like.”
When they got to the main house, instead of heading inside, Adam took Kyra by the arm and led her to his detached garage. He flipped a switch and the fluorescent lights flickered to life, illuminating the tool-lined walls and what looked like a makeshift woodshop.
“It’s over here,” he said, pulling her around one of his vehicles to see what was sitting in front of it.
Kyra could hardly believe her eyes. Sitting in front of the truck was an unfinished project.
That wasn’t the shocking part, though. The shocking part was what the project appeared to be.
“Is that a…” She couldn’t finish despite the answer being essentially undeniable.
She was worried her heart was daring to hope again and that she’d humiliate herself by letting that hope show. What if she was wrong, after all?
But Adam cemented her suspicions with six little words. “It’s a crib. For the baby.”
She took a step toward the project, barely able to believe it. “You’re… making this?”
“Well, yeah. I thought it might be a nice thing to have when the baby’s born.” He glanced over at her and seemed concerned by her reaction. “Do you not like it?”
She could barely contain her tears of joy. “I love it! Are you kidding? This is the best gift ever.” Cautiously, she approached the crib, running her fingers along the smoothly carved, though unfinished, wooden rails. “It’s beautiful.”
His worried expression vanished and was replaced by a wide smile. “I thought you might like it. I plan to paint a horse on the headboard and add some details in relief, but I wanted to ask if you have any color preferences.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said, still running her hands along the handmade crib.
It really was beautiful, like something you would find in an antique shop.
There would be no cheap plastic cribs for her baby.
Their father would see to that. She was elated but afraid to show too much of it.
She didn’t want him to have to bring her back down to earth.
“Something gender neutral would be good since we don’t know if it’s going to be a boy or a girl. ”
“How about daffodil yellow?” he asked. “Like your apartment. With a little green trim that matches the barn. I assume you chose those colors because you like them.”
“I love that idea,” she said, and she meant it.
She had to restrain herself from throwing her arms around his neck and giving him the tightest hug she’d ever given anyone.
“This makes me so happy.” Suddenly, she knew exactly what to say to him — something that wouldn’t assume his involvement but that let him know how much it meant to her that he was willing to offer anything at all.
“I can imagine telling my baby that their father made this crib for them. No matter what happens between us, they’ll know they were loved by both parents. ”
Adam’s face lit up at that, and she knew for sure she had found the right words to thank him. The look on his face was more than pleased. It was proud, too, and that was something Kyra thought he deserved to feel. No matter how much he may have feared it, he was teaching himself how to be a father.