“You’re a strong, virile stallion now. This is your time. I won’t have you bearing my burden when it’s time to cut loose, especially since it might be your last chance to run unencumbered.”
“Huh? No disrespect, Gram, but you aren’t making sense.”
She harrumphed, shooting him another deadly look. “I’m not making sense…since when has anyone around here but me seen things clearly enough to make sense…?”
Davis sat quietly, worrying. Could this be the first stages of Alzheimer’s? Maybe he needed to go get his dad or call a doctor.
The old woman folded her arms under her chest and looked him right in the eyes as she said, “You just make sure you wake up next to that pretty blonde filly tomorrow morning.”
Davis’s jaw dropped and he nearly jumped off the swing. “Gram!”
She shrugged. “I saw how you were swaggering around with her on your arm…you’ve already tasted the honey. Don’t mess up and let another busy bee capture the queen.”
Shaking his head from side-to-side, he gaped in disbelief. “Who are you?”
“I’m serious, boy. I’ve been stirring this pot way too long to let you miss your only opening. Right now, she’s reeling from a lying, cheating, no-good snake’s mistake. Don’t give another stallion a chance to get in there—or worse, let that snake slither his way back into her good graces.”
“Gram, you are scaring me. What exactly…?”
“Honestly, boy, how often do we rent out our property, especially to outsiders?” Gram rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation.
Davis had a sick feeling in his stomach. Had Scarlett played him? She seemed so sincere. Maybe he had been too drawn to her to notice. “You and Scarlett already knew each other?”
“No…well yes, but she doesn’t know that.” Gram looked away from him. “We were both members of the same Facebook group and became friends. The only pictures I have on my page is of shifted love ones. To anyone else, they would look like regular horses. Anyway, I had been thinking she was perfect for you for a while and it was obvious her boyfriend didn’t deserve her. When she confided that she wanted to hide out over the holidays, I jumped in and offered up the cabin…practically gift wrapped her and dropped her in your lap.”
Davis palmed his face. “You’re Cheyanne! Ugh! You made me the rebound?”
“I can tell how much you like her. You just need to be a little more aggressive and parlay that rebound into more.”
He rolled his eyes up toward the ceiling. This can’t be happening. Since when did Gram mess around in his love life? “Melly’s a pain but she’s right—Scarlett isn’t one of us.”
“Equine shifter birthrates have been declining for some time. Your father and I have contacted all other known herds. There simply isn’t an unattached female anywhere close to your age aside from your first cousin in there.”
Scrunching his nose, Davis twisted his lips in horror. “That’s disgusting. Plus she’s Melly’s age—practically a child.”
Gram patted his knee. “I know. Even if there were a filly your age, there is no guarantee you would get along. We could use some new blood and Scarlett likes you too. I can tell.”
“Gram…I don’t know about this. I didn’t expect…and then I couldn’t resist. I don’t want to hurt her and I would have to lie.”
“Who says?” Gram asked without a pinch of irony.
Dumbfounded, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. She and every other adult in his life had drilled the mantra—silence is essential to survival—into his head since he was old enough to talk.
“If she finds out, she will understand why you didn’t tell her and I’m certain she will accept you as you are. She’s not the type to shun others for being different. Plus it’s not like you’re going on Sixty Minutes. If she did freak out and tell, who is going to believe her?”
Davis chuckled, nodding. “True enough. I’ll give it some thought.”
Gram shot him another look he knew well. This one meant, don’t be a bonehead.
“Don’t think too long.”
* * * * *
“What the fuck?” Scarlett sat up in bed. Was a heard of elephants on the porch?
She left the lights off and creeped to the window facing Davis’s house. Moving the curtain and parting the blinds with her fingers, she looked outside, watching for the commotion. The bright starlight and the moon gave her just enough illumination to see. No elephants to be found but there was a horse. Had Davis’s quarter horse gotten loose? Whoa…there’s another…and another. The three had whipped around from the other side of the yard, prancing and rearing playfully at each other. Glued to that spot, she couldn’t take her eyes off them. Maybe she should tell…wait, there was one with a rider. Apparently, a piss-drunk cowboy had let out the team for a midnight run. She shook her head and was about to plop back into bed when the rider charged ahead, leading the others down the road. Right afterward, another small herd came charging around the house and racing behind them.
Where did they all come from? She hadn’t seen a barn big enough to hold them all. Her eyes widened as three more plowed around through the trodden path of snow and bolted past her window. She wasn’t sure what—but something amazing was happening. Rushing to the front door as fast as she could, she didn’t even bother to grab a coat to cover her tank top and flannel pajama pants. Flinging open the door, she stood, watching in awe as powerful legs propelled a parade of beautiful horses of many different colors and sizes right before her eyes. Their glossy coats shimmered in the moonlight and their manes and tails danced as they moved.
The cool air raised chill bumps on Scarlett’s bare arms and shoulders but she couldn’t tear
