Horse Play (Horse Play #1) (17 page)

“H—have you been here long?” My heart started thumping hard in my chest and I was afraid his super-dad ears would hear it.

“A little while.”

What the hell does that mean?

I heard Jensen hum as he approached the kitchen. “Madi, that smells amazing. Almost as good as y—” Yup, he rounded that corner to see Dad sitting there. My head snapped toward Jensen as he entered the room, and when his eyes found our unexpected company, they almost popped out of his head. “Wayne, hey.” Frantically, he looked to me and then back at my very stern-looking father.

“Go on. I’m curious to know what smells better.” Dad inquired, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms.

I had the sudden urge to use the bathroom, but I was also curious to see how he’d get himself out of this.

“I was going to say it smells almost as good as your waffles,” Jensen said, directing his attention back to me, his voice steady and smooth. Not bad.

Feeling confident that our asses were saved for the moment, I turned to take the casserole out of the oven before going to the fridge to grab the strawberries and whipped cream. “Big day today, Dad?”

“Not really. I actually wanted to let Jensen know that if he wanted to take the morning off, that would be fine. Tom and I won’t be too busy. Tom just said he’d need someone to ride Ransom this afternoon,” Dad explained.

Jensen grabbed a few coffee mugs and set them on the counter, filling two before turning to Dad. “Coffee, sir?” Dad nodded his reply as I turned back to grab the casserole.

“How are your ribs feeling, Madi?” my dad asked as I placed the casserole on the table. “You look like you’re doing better.”

I pulled my chair out and took a seat as Jensen carried our coffees over and set them in front of us before going back for his own. “I feel good. The bruises are fading. My ribs still hurt, but I think I’ll be okay sooner rather than later.”

The look Dad gave me as I sipped my coffee wasn’t missed. “What?” I inquired curiously.

“No cream and sugar?” he asked.

I looked down and noticed that my coffee looked fine, light as ever, making Dad’s question strange. “No, it’s in there.”

“He knows how you take your coffee?” I arched an eyebrow at my dad as he smirked and took a sip of his own black coffee. “Sorry, it’s just … I don’t think Dane even knew that about you.”

“Shocking,” I replied, rolling my eyes.

Jensen joined us at the table just then with another quick save—I’d have to remember to ask him how he did that
.
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Wayne,” he began. “But Madi’s pretty insufferable if she hasn’t had her morning coffee. I learned pretty damn quick how she takes it.”

Any way you’ll give it to me,
I thought, staring a little too dreamily at him. Suddenly aware that my brain-to-mouth wiring wasn’t always super sharp, I looked between Dad and Jensen to make sure that my dirty little thought was in fact just that: a thought.

They were both staring at me funny, which scared the shit out of me, and I had just opened my mouth to explain my freaky little outburst when Jensen held out his hand.

“Do you want me to take the serving spoon before you snap it in half with your death grip?” The tone in his voice indicated that he wanted to wink, but my father was within castration distance. And he knew where I kept the good knives.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry. My meds make me feel a little hazy.” I handed the spoon to Jensen and watched as he scooped some of the breakfast onto his own plate before offering it to Dad, who then returned it to me.

Tension hung in the room—of course, it could have just been mine, because both Jensen and Dad were eating, laughing and talking as if they were long-time pals.
Bet he wouldn’t be so chummy with Jensen if he knew what was going on between us.

“What’s going on?” Dad asked, causing me to gasp sharply and gaining me a very concerned look from both men.

“W—what?” I asked, my entire body feeling as though it was on fire. “Nothing’s going on. Why would you think something’s going on?” Jensen shook his head—or at least I thought he did. It all happened very fast.

Dad set his fork down before leaning forward to look at me a little more closely. “Madi, honey? You okay?”

“Uhhhh …”

Say something, idiot!

“Uhhhh …”

No! Not that!

“Well, I was going to go help out in the barn, but since you gave me the morning off, I don’t have anything planned. I don’t know what Madi wanted to do.” Jensen looked at me as he slipped his fork into his mouth, nudging my foot below the table to bring me out of my panicked state.

“Willow.” Jensen sputtered and choked on the bite he was working on, getting up from the table to grab a glass of water to clear his throat. “Um, I was going to call Willow and see if she wanted to come and hang out this afternoon. It’s been a while, and I miss her. She’s always looking for an excuse to come stay here.”

Dad smiled wide. “Good! Make sure she comes out to say hi before you keep her cooped up in here. I haven’t seen her in ages.”

“Actually, I was hoping to come out to the barn today—”

“Absolutely not!” both Dad and Jensen cried out in unison from opposite sides of the kitchen; it was like High-Def, Dolby Digital surround sound.

Being treated like a child was starting to piss me off. “Look, I walk around the house all damn day; I can walk the grounds without falling down.”

“Ha!” Jensen snorted as he took his seat beside me. “I’ve seen you ‘walk the grounds’, b—er, Madi.” My eyes widened as he almost called me one of the nicknames we had yet to discuss.”

“Don’t make me cuss you out in front of my father, Davis,” I warned low and menacingly.

“You’ll do nothing of the sort, Madison. He’s right,” Dad said, taking Jensen’s side. He took a bite of his breakfast as I continued to glare daggers at him. Sharp, pointy, little daggers.

I huffed in annoyance and slammed my fork on the table before crossing my arms childishly across my body. Of course, I was a little too rough and I felt the repercussions of my tantrum in my ribs. I didn’t vocalize my pain, but you better believe Jensen saw my face contort in discomfort.

“Madi?”

“I’m fine,” I said through clenched teeth. “I’m also twenty-five years old, dammit. And if I want to walk the grounds, you better believe I’ll do just that.”

“You’re so stubborn,” my father told me, looking up at me as he took the last bite off his plate. “Fine. But you don’t go alone. Wait for Willow to get here.”

“Deal,” I said quickly, my lips forming a smile before I looked at Jensen smugly. He didn’t seem too impressed that Dad had given in so easily.

“Okay. Jensen, enjoy your morning off. I’ll see you around this afternoon.” Dad got up, putting his plate in the sink before leaving us alone.

The room was silent for a while as both Jensen and I focused on our breakfast—or ignored his annoyance—could have been either one, really. Unable to take the awkwardness anymore, I finally spoke. “I think he knows there’s something going on.”

That got Jensen smiling … kind of. It wasn’t the smile I was used to, but it was better than the scowl he wore on his face. “He’d be blind not to.” He didn’t say anything else.

“A-are you mad?”

With a sigh, Jensen set his fork down on his plate. “I just don’t understand why you can’t stay put until you’re feeling better.”

“But I
am
,” I assured him, setting my own fork down again. “I can’t stay cooped up inside. I’m going crazy. And it’s only been four days. It’s a walk.” No response. “You said yourself I was doing better. Please, I need you to be okay with this.”

His next words came out snarky. “Why? Your father’s already given his consent.”
Wow, I’ve really pissed him off.

“Don’t be like that.” I turned to him and took his hand in mine. That seemed to relax him, thankfully.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” He offered me a genuine smile and it immediately made me feel better. “So, what do you want to do this morn—” he started to say before being interrupted by the shrill ring of our telephone.

“Sorry. Hold that thought,” I said as I got up to grab the phone. The minute the handheld was in my hand, I laughed as I put it to my ear. “Willow! How on Earth do you do that?”

“Do what?” she replied, her voice full of energy.

“Know when I’m about to call you, therefore beating me to it time and time again?”

“It must be a gift,” she trilled with a laugh. “What are you doing today? And before you answer that, know that the correct answer is ‘hanging out with you all damn day because we haven’t seen each other in over a month.’ Okay. Go.”

I laughed hard, causing a dull ache in my left side and Jensen’s eyes to widen in concern. I shook my head dismissively at him, mouthing the words “I’m fine” before returning to my phone call. “I’m hanging out with you all damn day because we haven’t seen each other in over a month,” I told her, repeating her word-for-word. “Are you only in town for the day?”

“Well that depends on how long you’ll have me. Brandon is in Colorado for a few days, so I could stay a while.”

“Of course you can stay for a few days … though, your old room has been claimed.”

“You let someone take my room?” she asked, feigning hurt. “Male or female?”

“The first.” I had to be cryptic so as not to alert Jensen to our conversation.

“Be nice, Landry,” he teased, somehow knowing we were talking about him. I guessed it was when I brought up Willow’s room being occupied.

“Oooh!” Willow said into the phone excitedly. “Was that him? He sounds sexy. Is he sexy? I bet he’s sexy.”

As I listened to her, Jensen turned in his seat and arched an eyebrow at me as if he could hear her and was curious to know the answer too. It was ridiculous … Right? “Yes,” I told Willow. “Definitely yes. So, when are you going to be here?”

Before she could answer, there was a knock on the door, causing both Jensen and me to glance toward it. “No way,” I said under my breath as I made my way for it. It shouldn’t have surprised me when I yanked the door open to find one Willow Martin standing on my front step.

Standing at just over five feet tall, she was dressed to the nines in designer jeans and a T-shirt that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. Yes, a T-shirt. She had a sickness when it came to buying expensive clothes, but I loved her. Her long black hair was styled sleekly, hanging down to her waist, and the light blue color of her eyes really popped in contrast with it.

I hung up the phone, tossing it on the bench next to the door and pulled Willow to me, instantly regretting it as my side exploded in pain. “Oh, shit!”

Willow stepped back, completely horrified as I held my left arm to my side and folded in on myself. Tears sprung to my eyes as I tried to focus on something other than the blinding pain. “I didn’t even hug you that hard. I’m sorry.”

“No, no,” I assured her. “It wasn’t you. I fell off Glory and cracked a couple of ribs.”

Chair legs scraped across the kitchen’s tile floor before hurried footsteps were heard approaching. “Madison?” Jensen called, his voice loud as he came rushing into the room to see me now gripping my ribs with my right hand.

“I’m okay. Just a little forgetful in all the excitement.” I looked at him to see he wasn’t entirely convinced on the
okay
part of my explanation. “Jensen Davis, this is Willow Martin. My best friend since we were kids.”

Willow gave Jensen the once over before looking back at me and smiling; she was giving me her approval. “Nice to meet you, Jensen. So, how long have you two been shacking up?”

“Wow! Getting right down to it, are we, Willow? How about I show you to your room,” I said, taking her by the hand and pulling her away from Jensen before she said something that would embarrass me completely.

“Don’t be silly, Madi. I know my way around the house. I’m interested in how the two of you are getting along. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say, pretty well?” Willow sure knew how to read a situation.

“Well, it was hard at first,” I started to say before Willow’s eyes went wide and Jensen’s lips curled up into a smirk. I was ashamed to admit that it took me a few seconds to catch up. “Oh … OH! You two are horrible! You know what? You two go ahead and talk it out. I’m going to go and drug myself into a coma.”

“Madi!” Willow called after me with a laugh as I stalked back to the kitchen. “I was only teasing! You’re too sensitive!” I pretended to ignore her as I cleared the table and loaded the dishes into the dishwasher. “Come on. Don’t be mad. I came all this way,” she pouted.

Sighing, I turned to her. “Fine. I forgive you.”

Willow clapped excitedly, her smile so wide it made her eyes sparkle. “Sweet!” She hopped up onto the counter effortlessly and looked me over as I loaded the last dish into the top rack and closed it. “By the way, what the hell are you wearing?” she asked, wrinkling her nose.

I looked down at my yoga pants and Jensen’s shirt that I had washed the day before only to wear again that night. Oh yeah, he wasn’t pleased. The only thing that kept him from tearing it from my back was my injuries.
Stupid injuries.

“Um, my shirt and pants?”

Jensen cleared his throat loudly, forcing me to jump and offer him a sheepish smile.

Willow’s giggling drew my attention right back to her. “Mmm hmm. That’s what I thought.”

“You zip it,” I threatened, pointing my finger at her.

“Fine. But please tell me we’re going to do something today. I don’t know that I can stay cooped up in here. I want to ride,” Willow told me.

I looked at Jensen, and I knew from his expression that he thought I was going to try and sneak in a ride. “Um, I can’t ride, actually. Because of my ribs. But you should totally go. I’m sure Tom would love your help, too. Plus, Halley hasn’t been ridden since earlier this week.”

“She’s better? Why don’t you call and tell me these things?” Willow demanded. “I will absolutely ride her.”

I was suddenly jealous. It had been ages since Willow and I rode together, and I wasn’t going to be able to while she was here. It sucked. Hard. “Cool,” I said, my tone clearly indicating how sad I was by it.