Page 61 of Midnight Whispers

“I’d give you whatever money you need to get the place up and running, and every month you pay me a little back.”

Her eyebrows raise to her hairline. “With interest.”

I sigh. “Sure, with interest.” Technically, if I charge her 0.25 percent, that would meet the terms of our agreement. “What do you say?”

She mulls it over. I see she still doesn’t love the idea. I get she wants to do it on her own, but I want her to have her dream come true as fast as she does. Her happiness is my happiness.

“Okay, it’s a deal.”

“Great. And if you need any help on the business end, you can ask me.” I pull her in for a kiss. “Now you can quit T&T’s, and I won’t have to worry about that loose cannon showing up and hurting you.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that anyway. Lisa said Freddie hasn’t even tried to reach out to her since that night.”

“Nonetheless, I’ll feel better about it.”

We walk again, and the horse stables come into view in the distance.

“What’s that?” she asks.

“That’s where we keep the horses.”

Her eyes widen in excitement. “You have horses?”

“Would you like to meet them?”

“Absolutely!” Her pace increases.

If I’d known she was this into horses, I would’ve brought her out here a long time ago. I probably would have bought her a horse of her own.

We reach the stables.

“Wow, this is way nicer than the barn on my family property.”

In truth, the horses here are probably living better than half the people in the country.

“You grew up with horses?” I place my hand on her lower back, guiding her to the first horse.

“We had two. They weren’t anything fancy, but I used to love visiting them in the stables. Riding them, not so much. I never got very good at it. Do you ride?”

Nodding, I pet the horse. “I do. Though I haven’t taken any of them out in a while.”

“Who’s this?” Cinder asks when she pets the caramel-colored horse.

“This is Umbra.”

“Hi, Umbra.” Cinder pets her, and it’s easy to see that she’s a natural. When her expression grows contemplative, I ask what she’s thinking about. She sighs. “There’s one thing I’m worried about, besides how much it’s going to cost to do the renovations.”

“What?” I rub a hand down her upper arm.

“Do you think that if people found out I used to be a stripper, they’d still bring their kids to be taught by me?”

I frown. “If they won’t, then it’s their loss. I’ve seen you dance, and I’ve seen you with Lisa’s kids, and you’re a natural at both. Don’t let what other people think hold you back. People will come.”

She twists her mouth. “I hope so.” Then she drops her hand from Umbra and turns around to look at the other horses. Her eyes widen. “Oh my, who is this?”

Cinder beelines it to the other side of the aisle.

“That’s Asher’s horse, Poe. Be careful though, he’s pretty temperamental. Just like his owner.”

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