Ken groaned. “I’m so sorry, man. I didn’t realize.”
Seamus nodded but kept himself between the kids and the door as he faced his daughter. “You need to stay calm, sweetheart. You and Wes both. These aren’t kittens or puppies, they’re horses. If you make them nervous they could…” He didn’t want to scare them. What could he say that wouldn’t give them nightmares about hooves, head injuries and stampedes?
Jake knelt beside Penny and took her hand. “It’s like the bird outside my window, Pen. The pretty red one you love. When you shouted at it or reached for it, what did it do?”
“Flew away,” she whispered intensely, her eyes bright and cheeks feverish. “But when I was so, so quiet, it came closer and stared at me.”
“Exactly,” Jake said approvingly. “You have to be the same way with the ponies. Breathe the way I told you to, and then Dad will let you ride one.”
She nodded, breathing deeply as she tried to calm herself down. Wes, in a show of brotherly support, came up and took her other hand. “I’ll help you,” he assured her, almost as excited as she was. “Just stay by me.”
Seamus wanted to grab his sons and hug them both tight, but he didn’t dare ruin the moment. “Okay. Let’s all stay relaxed and go out together to see the ponies. Slowly.”
It took a while to introduce them to the animals, and even longer to get them both safely in their saddles. Seamus gave Sean to Brady while he and Jake stood by Wes and Penny, on the other side of the trainers.
“Dad?” Wes said calmly. Seamus noticed how tightly he was gripping the reins.
“How you doing, buddy?”
“Is Penny scared?”
Seamus glanced over at his little girl, who was beaming at Jake and looking like she’d been born in the saddle. Like she’d be barrel racing in the next five minutes. But that wasn’t what Wes needed to hear. “I think she is a little. But this is the first time either of you have ever been on a horse, right? It’s okay to be nervous about it.”
“Yeah,” Wes breathed out, relieved. “Like the first day of school.”
“That was rough,” Seamus agreed. “But after that first day, it was easier. Do you think you can let Cowboy Joe here walk you and your pony around the yard?”
Wes nodded rapidly, then frowned. “You’ll stay with me?”
“I’m not going anywhere, Wes. I’m right beside you.”
Seamus had something in his eye. As he walked by his mother, who was taking picture after picture on her cell phone, he told Wes and Penny to smile.
And that’s when he saw the car idling on the corner. Tinted windows and a driver who looked vaguely familiar.
Knots instantly formed in the pit of his stomach and he caught his breath.
Bellamy.
“Seamus? What is it? What’s wrong?” His mother looked away from her phone and narrowed her eyes.
“Nothing,” he assured her.
It couldn’t be him. That would be insane.
Insane or not, he’s here. And Tanaka didn’t get these ponies.
Bellamy wasn’t just sticking his nose into his life; he was in town for a front-row seat after five months of nothing. What the fuck?
“Cowboy Joe? I need to ask you a question.”
***
Cowboy Joe—whose real name was Isaac—couldn’t get any information out of his agent. Whoever had hired him to give pony rides to the Finn children was determined to remain anonymous.
Seamus knew who it was. What he still didn’t know was why.
“Seamus? You okay?” Fiona, his bartender, put her hand on his arm to get his attention.
“What? Sure.” No. No he wasn’t.
“If we weren’t so swamped I’d find a couch to analyze you on, but we are and you’re just standing here scaring people and slowing down sales. Why don’t you go join Ken at his table? Away from my bar.”
Seamus looked down at her ruefully. “Sorry. I wouldn’t want to scare away the customers.”
“Neither would I, boss. I love this job. And the tips I get when your scowl isn’t distracting our regulars from noticing my indefinable appeal.” She pointed to her cleavage with a wink. “Now go.”
He obeyed with a small smile, glad his new hires were exceeding expectations. Fiona was an outgoing, curvaceous young woman with several piercings and tattoos covering her arms and back, most of them lines of poetry in feminine script. Her hair was a fascinating mixture of blue and gray that faded into purple and made her look like one of Jeremy’s comic book characters.
He worried she wouldn’t stay long—a woman with a master’s degree in psychology could make more than he could ever pay her—but she’d assured him the experience and human interaction would be worth more. His regulars were already in love with her, and she’d even started emailing Gill, who’d made Seamus promise to never let her go.
And then there was his brewing assistant. Thoreau was the brother of Hugo Wayne, a friend of Solomon and James who’d been a rising star on the police force until an incident on the job had caused him to resign. Solomon was still trying to convince him to come back to the force after nearly six months, and part of that convincing apparently came in the form of nepotistic bribery. When he’d suggested Seamus hire Hugo’s brother as his assistant brewmaster, it was as close to begging as he’d ever seen him come. Seamus couldn’t say no to that, and besides, he’d needed the help.