Clouds and Rain

ignore it. Yes, they were in public, 221

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    but he knew the people here and he figured most of them knew about him and about the relationship he shared with Flynn. After all, Grant and Hunter didn‟t seem very shy around each other either.
    “Relax,” Flynn whispered.
    Gable nodded as they started walking toward the tent that was leaning against the wood shed. There were kids and dogs darting around.
    “Should have brought Bridget,” Flynn remarked.
    “Naah, leave the old girl at home. The kids would drive her crazy.”
    Flynn poured Gable some coffee and handed him the cup. “She might have to get used to kids around the house from time to time.” Gable saw the hope in Flynn‟s eyes and didn‟t have the heart to squash it. They had to face reality, though. “They‟re Bill and Calley‟s babies, Flynn.”
    “I know,” Flynn said softly. “But you heard what Calley said. She knows we want to be a part of their lives and she says Bill seems okay with that.”
    Gable nodded, but didn‟t say anything. The day had started out happy and he didn‟t want to put a damper on things. They‟d had this conversation a number of times, but he didn‟t see the two of them raising a child, let alone children they‟d fathered themselves, and with Calley‟s children they‟d be lucky if they got to babysit. Flynn was just going to have to be a father to all the foals he was going to breed.
    “Let‟s get to work, okay?” Gable said instead. Flynn nodded, reluctantly.
    Although it was still fairly cold for early spring, by noon they‟d worked themselves into a sweat. Gable always enjoyed a good hard day‟s work, and by the time they‟d had a quick wash from the rain barrel and were sitting down for lunch, he noticed his leg hadn‟t bothered him all morning. They‟d lugged around quite a bit of lumber and had started digging a foundation, which made his back ache, but his leg felt better than it had in the past year.

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    While they were eating sandwiches and drinking coffee, Izzie came from the house with her new baby, and within no time, Flynn had the newborn on his arm.
    “Come on, Izzie, don‟t give him the baby. He‟ll never give it back,” Gable said, only half joking. Flynn threw him a disgruntled stare, but the smile returned to his face as soon as the baby girl started cooing.
    Izzie sat down next to Flynn and kissed his hair. “That‟s okay. I know he‟ll take good care of her.” She then turned to Gable. “Calley‟s coming this afternoon with more food. That is, if she makes it. She looks like she‟s about ready to burst. Doc says she won‟t make it to full-term.”
    Gable nodded, feeling worry creep up on him. “She‟s okay, though?”
    “Oh yes,” Izzie nodded. “She has help at the store now and it‟s only open in the mornings anyway. There‟s a woman who comes in to help out and she brings her son with her to lug some of the crates, so most of the heavy lifting is done by the time school starts and he needs to leave again. She‟ll probably keep the store open when Calley‟s recuperating from the delivery too.”
    “Good,” Gable replied, still not feeling entirely comfortable. He knew he‟d feel better once he saw Calley.
    Hugh joined them, smacking Gable on the back. “Enough lazing around. Let‟s get this show back on the road, guys.” Gable turned to Hunter. “Who does he think he is around here?
    The foreman?” Both of them laughed as they got up and walked back to where they were digging the foundation. Most of the heavy digging was done with a machine, but there were always edges to settle and extra soil to be carted off to the side.
    Just as they all took a break to have a drink of water, Gable spotted Calley‟s truck in the driveway, so he walked over to where she‟d parked.
    “You look like you could use some help there, mama,” Gable said, holding out his hand as soon as she‟d opened the door. She took it 223

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    with grace and gratefulness and managed to get up out of the truck. It was only then that Gable noticed she wasn‟t alone.
    “Ryan? Can you put the food under the tarp there, please?” A boy who looked about ten years old got out of the passenger seat and walked to the back of the truck. Gable was torn between helping the kid and making sure Calley made it to a chair in one piece.
    He decided to stay with Calley.
    “Flynn, can you lend a hand?”
    Flynn ran up to them. “What? She can‟t walk