Page 53 of A Taste of Whiskey
She narrowed her eyes. “Do you still have that Truly?”
“Yes, and popcornandpeanut M&M’s.”
“Then you’ve got yourself a movie date.”
Chapter Fourteen
LATE TUESDAY AFTERNOON, Sasha was coming out of the barn when her phone rang, and her father’s name flashed on the screen. Anxiety prickled her nerves. Ezra had come to see her at the barn this morning when he was between clients, and her father had been there talking to her about one of the horses. Poor Ezra had looked guilty as sin, but he’d thought fast and said he was on his way to pick something up at his cabin and wanted to come by and tell her that he didn’t need her to watch Gus after all during church tonight, because Tina was going to take him. Sasha had worried her father hadn’t bought it, especially since she felt like she was walking around with a neon sign on her forehead that read CURRENTLYHOOKINGUPWITHEZRAMOORE.
She thought about when they’d watched the movie together Sunday night and had been unable to keep their hands to themselves. They’d ended up tangled together in his bedroom. When he’d kissed her goodbye, he’d pulled her back for more about a dozen times. She’d felt like a giddy girl when she’d left at two in the morning, and he’d insisted on talking to her on the phone the whole way back to her cabin to make sure she got there okay since he couldn’t leave Gus. She loved that protective side of him. She also loved that he’d sought her out between clients yesterday, smooching her in the tack room again. But now she wondered, what if someone saw them go in there? Or what if her father could tell there was something going on? Keeping her emotions hidden felt impossible, and she swore that neon sign was flashing at mealtimes when they sat so close and fought the urge to touch.
Her phone rang again, startling her from her thoughts. She took a deep breath and answered it, trying not to sound anxious. “Hi, Dad.”
“Hi, darlin’. Can you meet me in your mother’s office in ten minutes? We’d like to speak with you.”
Shitshitshit.“Sure. What’s up?”
“We’ll talk when you get here.”
The line went dead. Her father was a man of few words, and he wasn’t one to linger on the phone, but as she looked up at the darkening clouds, she wondered if she was walking into a storm of a different kind.
“Looks like the rain is coming sooner rather than later,” Sully said as she came out of the barn. “Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Hm? Yeah, I’m fine. I need to run up to the big house to talk to my parents. Do you have time to bring the last three horses in?”
“Sure.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you later.”
On her way to the big house, Sasha thought about texting Ezra to see if her father had said anything to him, but if he hadn’t, she didn’t want to worry him. She tried to calm herself down on the way up the hill, but by the time she got to the main house to meet with her parents, she was even more nervous.
She headed down the hall toward her mother’s office and nearly ran into Maya Martinez, a curvy brunette with a sassy attitude, as she was coming out of the break room. “Oops.Sorry, Maya.”
“No worries. Where are you going in such a hurry?”
“My mom’s office. Dad called and said they wanted to talk to me. Do you know what it’s about?”
“No.” She leaned closer, speaking conspiratorially, dark eyes lit with mischief. “Why? What did you do?”
“Nothing,” Sasha said with what she hoped was a casual laugh.
“Darn it. I was hoping for some juicy gossip. You know what? Your dad might want to talk to you about the horse that’s coming in tonight. She’s blind.”
“A rescue?” Sasha had learned to work with visually impaired horses when she’d interned at a rescue in Montana that specialized in disabled horses. She’d worked with visually impaired horses at the ranch, but she hadn’t worked with horses that were completely blind since the internship.
“Yes. Her owner can’t afford to take care of her anymore. I was just getting ready to send you all of the paperwork she filled out. The poor horse has not had an easy life, but her owner said she’s healthy. She’s bringing her tonight between seven and eight, while the guys are at church.”
“That’s okay. I can handle the intake,” she said, hoping that was what her father wanted to speak with her about. But that wouldn’t explain whybothher parents wanted to speak with her. “I’ll review the paperwork after our meeting.”
Ezra’s office door opened, and he and Mike walked out. “I’ll see you Thursday, and we can discuss a family session.”
“Great. Thanks again.” Mike nodded at Maya and Sasha. “Have a good afternoon, ladies.”
“You too,” Sasha said at the same time Maya said, “Thanks,” and Mike headed down the hall to leave.
Ezra’s gaze found Sasha, and her pulse quickened. She tried to suppress the smile tugging at her lips, for fear of that neon sign blinking again.
“Why do you two look like you’re up to no good?” Ezra asked.
