Kendra had prepared herself for the news that Quinn had found a new tank and would be installing it tomorrow. Instead he’d be on the hunt again tomorrow and would be around for sure on Saturday night. It was like the adult version of landing a very cool date for the prom.

Chances were good he’d be here on Sunday night, too. His presence at the family gathering could be interesting, but hey, bring it on. Now that their relationship was out in the open, she welcomed the chance to see how he functioned in that setting. It wouldn’t intimidate him. When it came to socializing, the man had skills.

She walked back to the barn with Katherine and talked with the girl while she groomed her horse and put away the mare’s tack. Katherine agreed they’d made progress today with Quinn’s help. Then her mom arrived to drive her home. Katherine’s dad didn’t come anymore and her mom didn’t stay for the lessons very often. She’d clearly lost patience with Licorice.

Kendra understood. Maybe her brainstorm of having Quinn walk the corral with them would desensitize the mare over time. She’d ask Jim or one of her boys to help with the next lesson, although they’d also lost patience after months of effort. Katherine and Kendra were the only two members of Team Licorice.

Too bad Quinn wouldn’t be available to help. His energy had been exactly right, possibly because he hadn’t built up any frustration or resentment toward the mare. Licorice might have sensed that.

But Quinn would be in Spokane for the next lesson. No point in dwelling on that, though. He was here, now, and they had a little time before the horses had to be fed. She wanted to find out about his lunch with Roxanne and the promising fuel tank lead. Mostly she wanted to kiss him.

He wasn’t in the living room when she walked in the front door. She took off her Raptor’s Rise logo cap and left it on the coat tree. “Quinn, where are you?”

“Back here.”

Tropical music featuring marimbas, steel guitars and bongos filled the air. She laughed as she started down the hall. “You’d better not be lying in there naked.”

“Would that be so terrible?”

“Only because I can’t make love to your gorgeous self now. We have horses to feed.” The beat inspired her and she danced the last few feet down the hall and into the bedroom. “I like the music, though. What are you—” She stopped and stared at the scene he’d created.

Two inflatable, seven-foot palm trees stood at the foot of the bed. He’d draped several leis over the headboard and laid out two beach towels side-by-side on the quilt. In between sat a bamboo bed tray containing two empty stemmed cocktail glasses with little paper umbrellas propped inside.

Behind the tray he’d placed his sketchpad with a Welcome to Tahiti message lettered above a beach scene of sand, surf and palms. The music poured from his phone lying on the nightstand.

He stood to one side, grinning. Then he swept an arm toward the bed. “Welcome to my Tahitian getaway.”

“I love it.” She smiled back, and it was a little wobbly. Going straight into his arms, she gazed up into those warm gray eyes. “I love, love, love it.”

“Knew you would. We can make the drinks after we feed the horses. I have stuff in the kitchen for pina coladas and I got a pineapple and some munchies that—”

She pressed her mouth to his, halting the flow of information. She got the message. He cared enough to do something sweet and funny, an inside joke the two of them could share, a fantasy they could create together.

His arms tightened as he deepened the kiss. As the rhythmic tune played in the background, he began to move subtly to the beat. She moved with him, winding her arms around his neck and molding her body to his.

Splaying his hands over her bottom, he held her close as he rotated his hips in time to the exotic music. Desire danced through her veins as her heart sang along…yes, yes, yes, yes. You, you, you, you.

The music ended and he slowly lifted his mouth from hers. His voice rumbled softly in the silence. “Later.” He let her go and stepped back. “We have horses to feed.”

She gazed into eyes filled with the same yearnings she was struggling to put aside. “I don’t wanna.”

He gave her a crooked smile. “Me, either, but the next generation is counting on us to behave like responsible adults.”

“I was afraid you’d say something like that.”

“Come on.” He took her hand. “We can fake it for a little while. Then we’ll come back here, drink pina coladas, and go back to acting like hormonal kids who just discovered sex.” He grabbed his phone from the nightstand and led her out of the bedroom.

He continued to hold her hand on the way to the barn. Nice. He told her a little more about his lunch with Roxanne, who’d suggested he didn’t have to broadcast their relationship to his sons. Roxanne’s reasoning made sense, especially since Kendra wouldn’t be going up to Spokane. Or meeting Gage and Pete.

Maybe she never would. That seemed a little strange since Quinn was getting to know her family. Oh, well. The situation wasn’t perfect.

When she and Quinn walked into the barn, no one else had arrived to feed. She glanced at him. “What do you know? We beat the kids.”

“I heard that,” Cody called out as he and Faith came through the door. “You didn’t beat us by much. We saw you walk in.”

Holding hands. She glanced at her son. His smiling blue eyes bestowed a silent blessing. How sweet was that?

He pulled out his phone. “Faith and I got distracted looking at baby stuff and lost track of time. I found a mobile to hang over the crib. It’s got little boots and hats hanging from it. So cute.” He turned the phone so she could see.

She peered at the image. “Very cute. You’d better start a list of things you’d like to have. Eventually we’ll throw you and Faith a baby shower and you’ll need gift suggestions for people.” Until a moment ago, she’d been grooving on tropical music and sexy kisses. Time to transition to baby showers and nursery decorations.

“I already ordered this.”

“Cody, you might want to wait on buying—”

“I stopped him before he went hog wild,” Faith said. “But he also found a bear wearing a Stetson, a fringed vest and boots. I couldn’t talk him out of that, either.”

“Yeah, Mom, you have to see this bear.” He tapped the screen and held it up for her. “How could I resist?”

She laughed. “I can’t imagine. You were a sucker for bears when you were little, too. I think your favorite one is up in the attic somewhere.”

“I wondered about that. Maybe after we finish with the horses, I’ll go up and poke around. I’ll bet there are some other things I’ve forgotten about that I can clean up and give to the baby.”

Yikes. Her fault for opening her mouth. “I’m sure there are, but it could turn out to be a big, dusty project. And once it gets dark, you just have that one lightbulb. You might want to wait until tomorrow.”

Faith jumped into the discussion. “Yeah, let’s wait until tomorrow. I want to go with you, and I don’t feel like diving into some major deal tonight. I’d rather relax and put my feet up.”

Thank you, Faith. Kendra gave her a quick glance and she managed a sly wink in Kendra’s direction. Smart cookie.

“Okay, we can do it tomorrow. I’m just so excited about this baby. Zane keeps saying I hope you know what you’ve gotten yourself into. They’re a lot of work. But I can’t wait.”

“Speaking of Zane,” Faith said, “he called us a bit ago. He has a raptor rescue in progress so he won’t be here to feed. But he said to tell you the problem should be under control by morning so he’ll be on hand for the trail ride.”

“Who’s backup if he can’t make it?” From babies to trail riding strategy. Goodbye, Tahitian fantasy, at least for now.

“I am,” Cody said. “No worries. If Zane’s tied up, I’ll switch with him and let him take Sunday.”

“Okay, good.” She glanced at Faith. “I didn’t even think to ask this on Thursday, but what did Doc Pulaski recommend when it comes to riding during your pregnancy?”

“She left it up to me, although I might have to take a break until the morning sickness is over. She also warned me about bladder issues on the long trail rides, but I personally think—”

“I can vouch that it’s no fun going on a trail ride once that baby starts pressing on your bladder. I’ve had that start as early as three months. Let’s plan on light duty during this first pregnancy, okay?”

“Thanks, Mom.” Cody looked relieved. “I tried to convince Faith we can manage the trail rides without her for now. We have you, me, Zane and Jim. But she—”

“I just know summer is the busiest time around here,” Faith said. “I don’t want to let everyone down.”

“Don’t give it another thought. If necessary, we’ll hire someone temporarily.” Kendra turned to Cody. “Let’s start looking for a good candidate in case we decide to do that.”

“I’m all for it. And maybe for next summer, too. Faith says one of us can take the baby on the trail in some sort of cradleboard thingy, but I’m not so sure about that, either.”

Faith lifted her chin. “That’s what my dad did with me when I was little.”

He glanced at her. “I know, but—”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Kendra said. “In the meantime, we have some hungry horses. Do you two want to take the new barn again?”

Cody nodded. “Sure.” He looked at Quinn. “Forgot to ask. What’s up with the bike? Faith said you’re still minus a workable fuel tank.”

“I’m checking out a good prospect tomorrow. The guy sent me pictures and it appears to be perfect.”

“Where is he located?”

“Dillon. Easy trip. If I go first thing in the morning and the fuel tank is as represented, I might have the bike running by tomorrow night.”

“Let me know when you’re back,” Faith said, “so I can watch.”

Quinn smiled. “If you’re available, I’ll let you help with the work.”

“Hell, yeah, I’ll be available.” Then she looked at Cody. “Whoops.”

“That’s okay. We’ve got almost seven months. We’ll get there.”

Kendra was mystified. “Get where?”

“Faith and I promised each other we’d clean up our language before the baby’s born.”

“Hm. Good idea. Guess I should do the same.” But she’d delay that program until after Quinn left because she was prone to swearing during…oh, but he’d be coming back, so what then? Maybe she could learn to limit her salty language to times she was in bed with him…

“Mom?”

She blinked. “I’m sorry. Did you ask me something?”

“I asked what you want to be called.”

“Called for what?”

“You know—grandma, granny, nana, mimsy—”

“Mimsy?”

He shrugged. “It was one of the suggestions online.”

“I haven’t heard that one. You know what, son? That little chickie-poo isn’t even born yet, much less talking. We can let the name thing happen organically.” Or she’d invent something. Cute but not too cute.

“Okay, but the article warned against leaving it to chance. Kids come up with strange ones. One poor lady was saddled with Boobsie.”

“Oh, dear.” She ignored Quinn’s muffled snort of laughter.

“But if we start calling you something you like,” Cody said, “then the baby will pick it up, too.”

“Kendra’s right, though.” Faith looped her arm through Cody’s. “We can worry about that later. Let’s go feed the horses.”

“I just thought—”

“Come on, Daddy-o.” She tugged on his arm.

He laughed. “Now that name I like.” He glanced at Kendra and Quinn. “See you both tomorrow.”

“See you then.” Kendra gave them a big smile. After they left, she walked to the door and leaned out to make sure they were well on their way to the new barn. Faith would likely see to it, though.

“What’re you up to, lady?” Quinn’s arm circled her waist.

Turning, she grabbed him by the front of his shirt. “Kiss me.”

“Now? Aren’t we supposed to—”

“Uh-huh. Right after you rocket me out of the grandma zone.”