Beth and Matt spent the morning going back and forth between the two stalls, interacting with the foals as much as possible but still giving them plenty of time to bond with their mothers. The filly immediately decided that people were the best thing ever. She didn’t mind being petted all over or having her ears touched, and putting on the tiny halter for the first time was only difficult because she kept trying to eat it. When Matt ran his hand down her legs to get her used to the idea, she was more interested in chewing on his baseball cap than worrying about him touching her.
The colt was a bit more wary. Not afraid, per se, but he was definitely watching what they were doing, and he gave Whiskey more than a few “Uh, is this okay?” looks, especially when Beth touched his feet. Whiskey’d glanced over, and then gone back to eating her breakfast. If it was possible for a horse to shrug indifferently, she would’ve.
After the vet had come and gone, giving both moms and babies clean bills of health, Matt and Beth went up to the house for breakfast. Mom and Dad had moved into a smaller, lower-maintenance place up the road, so Beth had been renting the house they’d all grown up in.
By now, his head was pounding, but it wasn’t a migraine—it was the fact that it was almost noon and he needed coffee. So did his sister, apparently. As soon as they were in her kitchen, she’d gone straight for the pot.
“Oh, sweet, sweet coffee.” She stroked the handle. “Let’s never spend this much time apart again.”
Matt laughed. “Junkie.”
“Oh please. You’re one to talk. You wouldn’t turn down a permanent espresso IV.”
“Whatever.”
“Black?”
“Always.”
She poured a cup for each of them.
As they leaned against the counter and carefully sipped, Matt asked, “You want me to cook something?”
Beth took another sip. “You don’t have to. All I need is a cup of coffee and a bagel, and I’ll be fine.”
Matt scowled. “Sit. You need to eat something.”
“I’ll be—”
“You’ve been working like I used to work, and you’re going to keep doing that over my dead body.” He pointed at the kitchen table. “Sit.”
Her eyebrow rose. Make me.
He sighed. “Pancakes?”
“Oh. Well. Why didn’t you say so?” She shrugged off her dusty jacket and flopped down in a chair.
He knew his way around this kitchen, so he dug out a mixing bowl, frying pan and pancake mix. As much as he was starting to turn his nose up at using mixes when he could do it from scratch, he was too tired to hassle with that this morning.
While he whisked the powder and water, Beth wrapped her hands around her coffee cup on the table. “So, do you think we should call Mom and tell her she has two new grandbabies?”
Matt normally would have laughed. Today, he…couldn’t. “I guess. She’d probably like to see them.”
Beth didn’t speak, and when he glanced at her, she was watching him, forehead creased. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” He concentrated harder on mixing the batter. “I’m good.”
“Matt. Look at me.”
His hand stopped, and he looked at her.
She pointed at her face. “Do I look stupid?”
He couldn’t even muster up a playful Well, now that you mention it…
She got up and crossed the small kitchen, and when she stopped beside the stove, staring him down, she folded her arms across her chest. “You’ve been a million miles away all morning, even when you were playing with the babies.”
Matt winced. He started stirring again, but she stopped him with a firm hand on his arm.
“What’s going on?”
There was no point in trying to get anything past his sister, and if there was anyone left in this town who’d be sane and supportive, it was her. Sighing, he pushed the bowl of pancake batter away. “There’s um…” He reached for his cup. “Listen, this needs to stay between us.”
“Cross my heart.” She drew an invisible X over her chest.
Matt took a long swallow of cooling coffee. He trusted his sister like no one else, but forming the words still wasn’t easy. “Do you remember when Dara got sick while we were in college?”
Beth took in a sharp breath. “Oh no. Please tell me the cancer hasn’t come back.”
“No, no. It’s nothing like that. She’s fine.”
His sister exhaled. “Oh thank God.”
“No kidding.” Matt shifted his weight. “Well, before she started treatment, her doctors told her it would probably leave her sterile. So if she ever wanted to have kids, she needed to freeze some eggs or embryos. And she decided to go with embryos.”