Page 38 of Tom's Chance
“Good. Then with that out of the way, I told the lawyer how you came into possession of Rose and Baby, and that you had voiced that you wanted to keep them until Mrs. Bickers was released from the hospital. Now that she’s passed, and left them with me, he asked if I see them. I told him yes. When he realized I was serious about dating you, he said it was fine, however, he stressed that if we ever broke up, then I had to have possession of Rose and Baby.”
Lorissa sat there and looked at him, but remained quiet. “What about the money?”
“What about it?”
“What if I kept them, like I am now, we date, what happens with the money.”
“The clinic receives it.”
“What if you don’t want them?”
He laughed and shook his head. “I get them anyway.”
“Ah, so if you don’t want them, you don’t get the money, if you want them, you get the donation, but it’s okay for them to stay with me as long as you can have access to them.”
“Correct. I can give you the lawyer’s card if you want to talk to him about it.”
“No, I trust you.” She nodded. “I would love to keep them with me, and yes, I would also agree to date you.”
“Thank you,” Tom said with a sigh. He couldn’t think of anything else to say, so he remained silent. It was several minutes later before he chuckled and shook his head at her.
“What?”
“What are you doing Thursday of next week?”
“Off the top of my head, I have no clue, why?”
“How would you like to have a ‘work date’?” He used his fingers to make air quotes on the last two words.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m scheduled to be over at Erin’s Way for my monthly Riceman Stallions business. I was wondering if you wanted to help me.”
“I’ve heard of it, but what exactly is Riceman Stallions? People try to explain it to me, but I just can’t grasp the concept of what it all entails.”
“It’s hard to explain.”
“Try.”
Tom scrubbed his face, and settled back in his chair. “Do you have a laptop?”
“Of course, would you like me to get it?”
“Please.” He waited for her to return, and after she sat back down, he moved his chair, so he sat next to her and not across from her. Once the computer was up and running, he told her where to go.
“In a nutshell, it’s a dating service for horses.” He grinned when she scowled at him. “Think ABS.”
“Ah, got it. What do you do?”
“I extract the sperm, test it, put it on dry ice, then when someone fills out the form here on the website, Erin passes the paperwork along to Duane and Jake.”
“Who is Jake?”
“Jake Cogburn from the Brotherhood Protectors. He usually does all the background checks for Erin, but he’s been extremely busy lately. He does them, but it takes a few days longer than usual. Duane does his checks, Jake does his, they compare notes, and when everyone passes muster, they pass the paperwork onto me.”
“What type of background check?”
“They check out both the rancher, horse owner, and the vet they listed.”
