but it felt much longer. Kate exhaled a breath. A nose appeared and time sped up. What took about thirty minutes felt like seconds as Daisy completely pushed the rest of the baby horse and her placenta out onto the straw.
AJ stood and wiped his arm on his shirt as he backed up. Kate scrambled to stand beside him as they both stared with wonder at the new life in front of them.
“Wow,” Kate whispered. The small creature made quiet sounds. Daisy rolled upright and nuzzled the infant’s head before licking it. She nickered and lay down again.
AJ’s arm slipped around Kate’s waist and pulled her to his side. She rested her head on his shoulder and smiled. “It’s amazing isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
“Where did you learn to do that?”
AJ moved his head, so it brushed against hers. “There’s a lot of things I learned while going on tour with the rodeo.”
Her brows pinched. “They don’t teach this kind of stuff to rodeo junkies.” She shifted, craning her head around to look at him.”
He chuckled. “No, they don’t. But I’ve always been curious. I have a tendency of making myself available to a lot of people. I’ve seen worse births than that. Usually mares don’t need any help. But if the foal’s soles come out upright or if the nose comes out without the feet… then there’s a complication that needs intervention. Daisy was lucky. The foal’s other hoof had just been caught on something.”
Kate’s eyes widened. “I’m glad you knew what to do.”
He smiled. “For all we know, she still would have given birth just fine but I’m glad I was here too.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s like my father says, even if there’s only one percent chance of something going wrong… the moment it does, it’s one hundred percent of a problem.”
His eyes didn’t leave her face as his expression sobered. They were so close—too close. It had felt so natural to be next to him, but now that she’d come to this realization, she wanted to both pull away and throw herself into his arms. Her heart thundered in her chest, he had to feel it reverberating through her body. He could kiss her right now and she wouldn’t have the strength to deny him.
She shouldn’t give in. But she wanted this so much her body ached.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Oh man, he shouldn’t have slipped his arm around her waist. It had felt normal, like they’d been together for years. He’d been celebrating as they enjoyed the sight of Daisy and her new baby.
AJ licked his lips. His eyes roved over her face, searching for any indication she’d hate him for what he was about to do. He wasn’t playing fair and he knew it. He’d made it halfway up the stairs before he’d decided he couldn’t take it anymore. John had to go. He wasn’t good enough for her. AJ wasn’t good enough for her either, but that was beside the point.
He’d figure out some way to change that. He dropped his arm and moved so he was facing her.
“AJ—”
Shaking his head, he held a finger to her lips. “Don’t say anything.”
“But—”
He grasped her upper arms in his hands and met her eyes under the glow of the moon. “I know I told you I could wait for you to consider my proposition, but I can’t. I’m sorry for that.”
Kate swallowed and her eyes darted away.
“I’m serious Kate, I’m not just saying this.” He lifted her chin with his finger. “I’ve been blind, and that isn’t a decent excuse. I know that, but it is what it is. All I know is I don’t want to waste another moment without you in my life.”
The world died away as he waited for some kind of response. Her brows furrowed. “I can’t deny that there’s something here.”
His pulse accelerated.
Kate sucked her lower lip in between her teeth and nibbled. She glanced away, her cheeks flushing. “I do enjoy kissing you.” Her whispered confession was just loud enough he didn’t know if he’d heard her correctly.
AJ grinned, bringing his hand to her face. “I like that too.”
Slowly she rose her eyes to meet his. “But relationships can’t be built on only that. There has to be substance. When you got here, we could barely stand each other. Even now, it’s hit or miss. I feel like we’re either kissing or fighting.”
His smile widened. “That sounds like a normal relationship to me.”
She frowned and shot him a pointed look. “AJ,