Page 38 of Kevin's Destiny

“Exactly.”

“Okay, I understand that now, but I have another question.”

“What’s that?”

“What if an owner has several mares, and he’s used Erin’s Way specimens before. Say he liked how one mare was able to carry the foal, deliver it, and the results. What if he wants to use them again, is there another background check given?”

“Yes, but not as deep as the first one. The second one is also done on the mare’s owner, and the vet. It’s basically a surface check to see if anything hasn’t happened to warrant trouble down the road.”

Yvonne nodded, understanding dawning on her face. “I totally understand now. How often do owners use Riceman Stallions?”

“I can’t give you those numbers. I do know that Duane gave me some files to go over because he became swamped. From my understanding, it comes in waves. Again, I don’t know anything about a horse’s cycle, but when it’s time to breed mares, there’s a huge influx of requests.”

“Okay, I can understand that. Next question, what happens after the background checks are done on the owners and their vets?”

“It’s my understanding that the papers are then turned over to Tom Stolls, one of the vets on Erin’s payroll, and he goes to the special room he had instructed Erin to install. I saw the way they collected the semen, but I wasn’t allowed in that room. It’s like a medical lab, and the specimens are kept on ice.”

“Like they do for human IVF.”

“Correct, Erin’s not even allowed in that room. It’s just Tom and Lorissa. She’s the farrier, and also a vet.”

“Got it.” Yvonne nodded as she turned back to look at the website again, shaking her head. “I think I want to be Erin when I grow up.” She looked at Kevin with a grin when he sputtered on his sip of coffee. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I’m about twenty years older than she is, but still, that woman has a business mind out of this world.”

“Yeah, I totally understand. I do have a couple of files for you to read if you want something to do.”

“What are they about?”

“Months ago, Cole and Lois went to a rodeo and were able to talk to two young men, twins. They were supposed to be here by now, but according to Erin, something happened back home and they stayed to help. They’ll be here soon. They will be working here at New Double to know about horses while RRR is being built.”

“I’m confused.”

“With?”

“If Cole and Lois found them at a rodeo, don’t they already know about horses?”

“Yes and no, more no than yes.” He smiled at her confused look. “Again, I’m retelling what I was told. Kade and Lane Montgomery grew up on a dairy farm in Kansas. They hatecows, and always wanted to work with horses. I don’t know the particulars, but they were allowed to follow their dream with the rodeo. When Lois met Kade he had a broken leg, and an arm in a cast with a dislocated shoulder.”

“From riding a horse or bull?”

“Yes, long story short, Cole talked to them, offered them a job here at New Double before they transfer over to RRR. They accepted, Duane and Jake from Brotherhood Protectors did the checks on them. They passed and are just making sure everything at home is okay before they come. I have their files in my office if you would like to read them.”

“Please,” she said with a nod, then stood with her coffee cup in her hand and while she went to the kitchen for a refill, Kevin went across the hall to his office. They met back in her office, and he had set two files on the center of her desk. As she settled behind it to read the reports, Kevin laid his hand gently on hers and didn’t let go until she looked up.

“I’m going to take the golf cart and ride around to check on things. Not that there will be anything wrong, but I want to just get out and about.”

“Okay.” She nodded and picked up her cup to salute him. As soon as he left her office, she picked up the first folder, flipped it open, and began to read what was discovered about the Montgomery brothers. As she read, she used her own computer to do some of her own research, and though she didn’t find anything bad or different from what was already there, what she did find, she printed a copy and added it to the file. In her mind, you could never be too careful.

That was how the rest of her first week went, if she wasn’t in the office helping Kevin and Duane look up information for people coming to Erin’s Way, or needing the services of Riceman Stallions, then she was out patrolling the area. By the end of her first week, she had settled into a routine, one that was laid back,and she finally felt herself relax after working behind a desk in an office for a couple of decades. She even liked the fact that she had started getting a tan on her arms, something working fourteen hours a day, locked inside a building hadn’t been good for the tan. Let alone sucking up the natural vitamin D from the sun.

On Friday, before they left for the evening, Kevin stood in her doorway and waited until she looked up to acknowledge him.

“Yes?”

“Not to be too forward or anything, but how would you like to have dinner together tonight?”

She stared at him, and it took less than five seconds for her to nod and agree.

“Your place or mine?” she asked with a chuckle, and relaxed when his smile lit up his entire face. “Better yet, what do you plan on cooking?”