Read Online A Stallion's Touch by Deborah Fletcher Mello - Free Book Online Page A

deep breath. Nathaniel didn’t need to know about his conversation with Tarah or the half dozen talks they’d had since. He wasn’t interested in sharing the details he knew his brother would want to hear. The little white lie was a necessary evil, he reasoned.
    Nathaniel shook his head. “Maybe it’s for the best. Had anything happened between you two and then you did something to mess it up, it would make family gatherings awkward.”
    â€œWhy would you think I’d be the one to mess things up?”
    â€œYou don’t have a stellar reputation with women. I know your entire history with the opposite sex, remember?”
    â€œYou’re one to talk,” Nicholas said with a chuckle. “You mastered the art of one-night stands. Everything I know I learned from you.”
    Nathaniel shrugged, a wry grin filling his face. “I may love ’em and leave ’em, but I leave ’em immensely satisfied!”
    The two men laughed heartily. As the masseuse exited the room, Nicholas observed her slip Nathaniel her telephone number and him the bill for services rendered.

Chapter 5
    â€œA bass pro? Really?” Tarah questioned. She shifted the camera screen on her computer, more of her face and less of her body showing on the video call.
    Nicholas nodded his head, smiling brightly into the camera on his end. “Yep! I wanted a career in bass fishing. Noah used to take us fishing when we were little. One summer he entered all of us in a local fishing competition and I won. I thought, what a wonderful way to make money. So why not earn a living doing what I love most?”
    Tarah laughed. “So how did you go from bass fishing to football?”
    â€œI was really good at football. It paid for college, and then the pros came calling.”
    â€œSo you gave up on your dream of bait and fried fillets?”
    Nicholas laughed. “Not at all. I plan on pro fishing being my retirement career.”
    â€œWell, I’ve never wanted to be anything but a doctor. When I retire, I plan to open a clinic in a third world country, providing free medical care to the poor and disenfranchised.”
    â€œYou sound like a world summit pamphlet!”
    Tarah giggled. “I sound like my father.”
    Nicholas couldn’t help but smile brightly as he watched her grinning back at him. She was a daddy’s girl, and it was written all over her expression. “I like your father. He’s very cool for an old guy!”
    She nodded her head in agreement. “Don’t ever say that to his face,” she responded. “He hates when we refer to him as old, and it would really piss him off if he knew we all thought he was cool. His favorite saying has always been that he’s our parent first and he isn’t supposed to be our friend.”
    â€œI’ll keep that in mind,” Nicholas said.
    â€œWhat about your father?” Tarah asked.
    â€œWhat about him?”
    â€œI imagine he’s very proud of you. Don’t all men secretly want their sons to be superstar athletes?
    Nicholas shrugged his broad shoulders, the gesture moving him out of the camera angle for a brief second. “I wouldn’t know. I don’t know anything about the man.”
    â€œNothing?”
    â€œI know his name and that’s about it.”
    â€œI’m sorry.”
    â€œDon’t be sorry. It’s not your fault the guy was no more than a sperm donor.”
    Tarah blew a soft sigh, noting the sudden mist in Nicholas’s eyes. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the subject of his father was a sore spot for him. His entire demeanor had changed, his shoulders rolling forward, his brow line furrowing. Even his tone seemed heavy. The laughter that had just shaded his voice was gone in an instant.
    She changed the subject. “Did you and your twin dress alike when you were younger?”
    â€œNathaniel and I still dress alike!