“I might have given him a few extra oats and told him I’d put an AC in his stall if he went easy on you.”
Ari slid off of Roy and let him graze. “You know we can’t keep him here, Jeff. He’s Gunner’s horse.”
With a shrug, I pulled her to me. “I already talked to Gunner about it. If you insist on riding, Big Roy is staying here. He had no problem with it. Besides, they live ten minutes from us.”
Shaking her head, Ari lifted her hand and traced my jaw with her finger. “I love that you worry about me, but I promise I’ll be careful.”
My chest ached with the memory of Ari losing our first baby. “I can’t help but worry.”
Sadness filled her eyes. “I know, babe. But we can’t stress out the entire time. We’ll get through this by the grace of God.”
My hand covered hers. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?”
Her eyes lit up. “I may have some idea, but you could show me.”
Wiggling my eyebrows, I picked her up while she let out a scream.
“What about Big Roy?” she called out.
“Damn it.”
Turning, I headed back and grabbed his reins. A car came down the driveway, causing me to let out a moan.
“Son-of-a-bitch. Why are they back so soon?”
Ari slapped my chest. “Put me down, Jeff. My father’s gonna know what we were doing.”
I slowly set her on the ground. “Like I care what your dad thinks.”
With a smirk, Ari gave me a really look. “Uh-huh. Sure you don’t care. The moment he gets out of the car I know what you’re going to do.”
“Tell him he interrupted my special attention time.”
Her head jerked back. “Your what?”
Mark pulled up and honked the horn, prompting me to turn and quickly take Big Roy into the barn.
“I knew it!” Ari shouted.
Turning to Big Roy, I gave him a pat. “We’re not stupid, are we boy?”
The moment I stepped into the house, I knew I had made a mistake.
“Arianna, are you sure going on a camping trip is such a great idea?”
Ari’s father was at it again. I swore he only did this because Ari told him it was my idea to go camping.
“Why would it be a bad idea, Dad?”
Mark glared at me. “You’re pregnant for one.”
I smiled weakly. “I’ll be sure she is spoiled and well taken care of, sir.”
“Damn right you will.”
Ari walked up to her father. “Dad, stop it. If I didn’t want to go, I wouldn’t. Besides, y’all are going to have Luke for the entire weekend.”
Mark sighed. “You don’t have to go out of town for us to keep our grandson.”