Sweet Stallion
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Deborah Fletcher Mello
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Harlequin🌸 Clean & Wholesome
HarlequinChapter 1
Naomi Stallion was standing in her big brother’s kitchen when he and his wife came through the front door of their Arlington Drive home. The couple was giggling, their voices low. Naomi winced, suspecting that she was about to intrude on an intimate moment. She called out to them, rattling a frying pan against the stove top as she did.
“Hello! It’s me! I’m here in your kitchen. Please don’t take your clothes off!” she shouted, remembering the last time the two had come running through the house not knowing she was there.
There was a brief moment of silence, and then laughter led Noah Stallion and Catherine “Cat” Moore-Stallion from their living room into the dining area.
“Hi, Naomi!” Cat chimed as she toyed with the buttons on her blouse and adjusted her skirt.
Naomi smiled. “Sorry about that.”
“Hey!” Noah said. He tossed up a casual hand as his eyes widened curiously. “What are you doing here?”
Naomi gave her brother a look. Before she could respond, Cat interrupted, exclaiming excitedly, “You cooked!”
“I did. I figured it was the least I could do after showing up unannounced,” Naomi responded. “To stay for a few days,” she added, the words coming rapidly. “Maybe even a week. Or two.”
The couple laughed, the two exchanging a look between them.
“So, to what do we owe the honor?” Noah asked as he moved toward the counter and settled down on a wooden stool. He reached for a stalk of celery that rested on a vegetable tray Naomi had pushed in his direction. “We weren’t expecting to see you until next month.”
“I wasn’t expecting to be here. But what about you? I’m actually surprised that you two aren’t in New York. Isn’t that where one of you was supposed to be?”
Noah nodded. “My plans changed. I needed to be at the corporate office here, and Cat flew in to see me before she heads to Dallas tomorrow.”
Naomi gave them both a smile. “My plans changed, too. The property adjacent to my farm is going up for auction next week. I want that land. If I can get it, I want to expand my business model here and get a second food co-op up and running.”
The farm Naomi referred to was the fifteen acres of land she owned in the Pleasant Grove area just outside downtown Salt Lake City. It had been a foreclosure investment that she’d acquired years ago, initially planning to wait for the real estate market to improve, and then sell it. Her decision to actually grow produce on the property and work it had come as a surprise to them all.
“How much land is it?” Cat asked, joining her husband at the counter. She reached for her own celery stick and dipped it into the cucumber dressing that filled a small bowl.
“It’s a good fifty acres. There’s an open house tomorrow and I plan to go walk it in the morning and talk to the Realtor handling the sale.”
Noah cut a quick glance at his wife, who was licking the dressing from her fingers. Naomi noted his expression, the color heating his cheeks as he bit down on his bottom lip. Cat laughed and Naomi rolled her eyes.
“I guess I should have called first,” Naomi said, a wry smile pulling across her face. “But I’m so used to just letting myself in I didn’t think about it. Now that you’re married, I should probably give your key back, big brother.”
Noah shook his head. “You’re here more than we are.”
“And you are always welcome here,” Cat added. “Don’t you even think about giving him that key back. This is your home, too.”
Naomi rounded the marble counter to give her sister-in-law a hug. “I really appreciate that.” She winked at her brother. “I still like this one. I’m glad you’re keeping her.”
Noah laughed. “So, what did you cook? Since I can’t get any dessert just yet, I might as well enjoy some dinner.”
“Noah! Really?” Cat laughed. “I can’t believe you just said that!”
He shrugged, his bright smile filling his face. “It’s the truth!”
Naomi shook her head. “Set the table and we can eat. I cooked your favorite—vegetable lasagna.”
“That’s not my favorite. I was hoping for something battered and fried with lots of cheese and gravy. Not vegetable lasagna. And I bet you put tofu in it, too.”
“Tofu is good for you.”
“I hate tofu.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do!”
“Really, you don’t,” Naomi said, eyeing him with a raised brow.
Cat laughed. “Well, I didn’t have to cook it so I love whatever it is.”
“She doesn’t cook for me. Do you still think I should keep her?” Noah asked teasingly.
“I do great takeout and I’m a master at other things you like,” Cat responded as she leaned against her husband, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
“I will have me some dessert tonight,” he muttered against her ear.
“I made yogurt parfaits with fresh fruit,” Naomi interjected, grinning at the two of them.
“I’ll enjoy that, too,” her brother said smugly.
Naomi waved a dismissive hand in Noah’s direction as she returned to the oven.
Minutes later the trio sat at the dining table, laughing heartily as they caught up on the family news. Naomi was the second oldest sibling and the eldest girl in their close-knit family. The twins, Nicholas and Nathaniel, were only a year behind her in age and their sister Natalie was the baby in the family. It had been a few years since she and her siblings had lost their mother, Norris Jean Stallion, after a brief illness. But other than his name, they knew very little about their father. Noah had always acted as their surrogate parent, supporting them when they needed it most.
Watching Noah as he and his wife flirted shamelessly with each other made Naomi smile. Her brother was happier than she could ever remember him. He and Cat had been each other’s grade school crush and had reconnected at their high school reunion. They’d been inseparable ever since. Of all her siblings, Naomi was closest to Noah, both overly protective of the others, and he was one of her best friends. She trusted him with everything.
Her brother had been her biggest cheerleader when she’d purchased her first property, intending to make it the organic mecca of Utah. Despite her best efforts, the timing hadn’t worked for her. Then their mother’s health had started to decline and the older woman’s demanding nature had made it nearly impossible for Naomi to do all that she needed to do for herself. Shortly after, a beloved friend had afforded her the opportunity of a lifetime, bequeathing her an established farm in Phoenix, Arizona. Making the decision to leave Salt Lake City had been one of the hardest she’d ever had to make, but Noah had insisted, gently shoving her in the direction of her future.
Within a few short months of her getting settled and comfortable, the farm and her organic foods business, Vitally Vegan, had taken off and thrived. It had become everything Naomi had imagined and more. Now, she saw the opportunity to expand her business to her hometown as a large blessing in disguise.
Cat interrupted her thoughts. “This was good, Naomi. Thank you,” she said, as she swiped a paper napkin across her mouth.
“It was really good!” Noah echoed, sliding his index finger around his parfait cup to lick away the last of the strawberry and yogurt.
“Thank you. I’m glad you both enjoyed it.”
“Are you cooking tomorrow, too?” Noah asked, his tone teasing.
Naomi grinned. “Are you going to be here?”
Her brother nodded. “I am, and if you want me to, I can go with you in the morning before I head into the office. It’s been a while since I was last at your farm and I’d like to see the land you’re interested in.”
“I’d really like that. I could use a second opinion.”
Noah laughed. “I know you wanted to ask.”
Naomi grinned. “I did, but I didn’t want to interrupt anything else you might have going on.”
“Oh, you’re not interrupting anything,” he said as he rose from his seat. He leaned over, kissing the top of her head. “Not a thing,” he added as he winked at her. He reached for his wife’s hand. “We will see you in the morning.”
Catherine giggled as she allowed her husband to pull her to her feet and down the hall toward the master bedroom. She called out over her shoulder, “Good night, Naomi!”
Naomi laughed heartily. “Good night!” she said, and then she heard the bedroom door close and lock behind them.
* * *
With the dishes washed and put away and the kitchen returned to its usual immaculate condition, Naomi retired to the spare bedroom at the other end of the ranch-style home. Thinking about her brother and his wife made her smile. It also made her a bit misty-eyed. Would there ever be a day when she might know a love like theirs? It was only when she was in Utah, visiting with the duo, or talking to her sister, Natalie, and her husband, Tinjin, who lived in Paris, that she even thought about romance and love and a man who could be more than a friend in her life. Any other time she was too busy to give that kind of nonsense any consideration. She blew a soft sigh past her lips as she changed into her nightclothes, donning an old T-shirt and a pair of track shorts. She twisted the length of her hair into a high pineapple atop her head and wrapped the thick tresses with a silk scarf.
Naomi pushed the thoughts away, and the emotion they brought, as she crawled into bed with a file folder of documents about the property that had her interest. She reviewed the plat, making note of the property lines, and then examined the tax records. It would be a challenge, but if she could expand her crop, she would turn a quick profit in no time. She jotted her ideas down on a lined composition pad, doodling where she imagined Swiss chard and an assortment of beans being planted.
The existing farm already sourced sweet Spanish onions, celery, tomatoes and peppers to local restaurants. Along with the added land and produce, she would be able to promote a sustainable food system to consumers through a co-op, making natural, organic produce more affordable to the community. Just envisioning how she hoped to see her dream grow excited her. Figuring out the work that it would take wiped all thoughts of not having a man from her mind.
An hour later Naomi gathered the papers together and returned them neatly to the manila folder. After setting them on the nightstand beside the bed, she checked her cell phone one last time for any missed messages. Finding none, she plugged it into the charger, then dropped to her knees on the carpeted floor.
Her prayers were swift as she whispered the childhood chant their mother had made them recite nightly, and her own appeals for mercy, strength and guidance. With the litany billowing skyward, she crawled back into the queen-size bed and pulled the covers up around her lean frame. Minutes later, she was sound asleep.
