Chapter 2

She whipped her head around, ignoring the tip of her braid scoring her cheek as the horse galloped, full force, across the terrain. Her would-be pursuer had vanished from sight. Not quite ready to revel in victory, Regina, urging the young stallion to harder strides, smiled devilishly, a mock evil gleam in her eye. Then, without any warning, another rider came at her from the trees to her left and vaulted from his own horse, landing precisely behind her on her horse's bare back. He reached around and grabbed the reigns, pulling tight enough on the bit to cause the spirited stallion to rear up in surprise. Both riders clutched his sides with practiced legs that were strong enough to hold their mount as they leaned into the horse's neck. When the animal was again on all fours, he pranced excitedly, his eyes rolling with barely contained sanity as he fought to control his desire to take off again at full gallop.

Regina felt the threatening press of her captor against her back, his hot breath heavy in her ear, his arms still securely wrapped around her to prevent her escape. "Caught. Your Majesty." His words were a mere whisper, but they sent shivers down her spine.

Regina steeled her back, straightening against him. "You've won, Your Highness," her words were ground out through clenched teeth.

His arms dropped to her waist, tossing her effortlessly in the air, with a little twist, so when she came back down she was facing him, her leather bound legs straddled over his. He reached his arms around her to secure her mount on both him and the horse as the beast sidestepped from the sudden shift in weight. "That's Your Majesty."

Eyes narrowing, she pressed her hands to his chest before snaking them around his neck and whispering against his mouth, "Only because you married into that title."

He smiled as he grabbed her backside and pulled her closer, "That I did." Giving her a sterner look, he added, "What were you thinking? Carinaster will never be another Rocinante." He heeled the horse's side just a bit to get him walking gently.

Regina matched the rock of the horse with the rock of her hips on the man beneath her. A deep growl issued from low in her throat, "No, he won't, but Carinaster still needs to know that I trust him, and in turn, that he can trust me. You, on the other hand, should stop him from walking before I am past the point of trusting myself to remain clothed."

"You think it's too soon for Carinaster to learn what we taught his predecessor so long ago? Making love on the back of a horse certainly has its perks." Regina's companion raked rough hands up her back and locked them in her hair before pulling her face down to his.

"Mom! Dad!" Three teenage voices called out across the open meadow, one distinctly deeper than the other two.

"Three of those perks are coming our way right now. Don't you think you should let me go?" Regina lifted one eyebrow in silent challenge, even as she fought to maintain her own control.

This time the smile that was returned reached all the way to his eyes, crinkling his nose in the process. "Not on your life. I'm not ashamed to show our children how much in love with their mother I still am, after all these years."

Regina placed another kiss on his lips as Carinaster turned toward the oncoming group by way of direction from his rider's legs. "You sure have trained him well," he spoke to Regina, "as always."

The twins reached their parents first, long flowing blonde curls tumbling to their waists. The girls began speaking at once, each finishing the other's thought as was their regular custom since they learned to talk.

"You almost…" this from Tressalyn.

"Had him, Mom." Glindella finished.

Their son arrived then, his rich black hair such a striking contrast to his sisters'. But his eyes were as blue as the morning sky, reflecting his father's image in them as well as his personality. He was also their eldest, but even at 18 still refused to be called anything but Davy. His horse sported saddlebags full of picnic foods, one bottle of wine, and one bottle of sparkling cider. Ever the gentleman, always thinking of others first, he also had his father's horse by the reigns, leading him to the pack.

Upon Davy's arrival, said father tipped his head toward his son. "Might I remind you that your son is the prince, and therefore wears the title of Your Highness."

Regina tossed her head toward the sky and laughed before coming back to stare in her husband's eyes. With a sigh that sounded more like a huff, Regina rolled her eyes and spoke, "Well, King Charming just doesn't have quite the right ring to it."

"She has you there, Dad." Then Davy turned to his mother. "I thought you might be interested in something to eat after your little escapades."

David leaned into Regina's ear, "Didn't quite make it to all the escapading."

To which Regina responded, sifting her fingers through his close cropped hair, "Maybe later."

They all dismounted, the three teens from their saddles and their parents from Carinaster's bare back. Davy spread out a blanket, and the twins set out the food while David and Regina led all the horses a short distance away. The horses were interested in grazing, but none of the humans were interested in what tended to come out the opposite end as they did so. Didn't make for a very pleasant meal. David and Regina returned, hand in hand, stealing glances at each other and sharing nuzzles as they walked. The five of them sat down and enjoyed the picnic Davy had packed for them.

Once his parents were halfway through their bottle of wine, Davy spoke up, "So, I wanted to ask you both something."

"I do believe your son is trying to loosen us up." Regina tipped her glass to David indicating she didn't miss the not-so-subtle way Davy had kept pouring her drinks.

"Indicative of a true Charming, my dear." David clinked his glass with hers and his opposite hand caressed her thigh. Addressing their son, he spoke, "Ask away."

"I was hoping you might let me buy another stud to breed Mischca with. I've been doing some research and I believe, for the right price, we could acquire Silver Dollar."

David whistled, "At what price? Your sisters?"

"Dad!" They both cried, and Regina connected her bare toe with his backside. She'd removed her boots before taking her place on the blanket, as they all had.

"That's a pretty ambitious proposal, Davy." Regina took another sip of her wine, eyeing her son over the rim of the glass. Silver Dollar had won the last Triple Crown, but had taken an injury during a training exercise just two weeks later. Though the lameness had subsided and the injury was healed, his owner chose to retire him. Rumor had it he was much sought after, now that he'd been put to pasture. Regina and David had made quite a name for themselves in the thoroughbred industry over the years, since putting Rocinante's stock on ice and utilizing it for artificial insemination on their prize winning mares. More than one of their horses had competed in race for the Triple Crown, but none had succeeded, thus far. They weren't beyond having their own horses sought after and knew Silver Dollar's owner would be looking for top price.

At this point Tressalyn and Glindella averted their eyes from the group and started thumb wrestling with each other, which was something they always did when a difficult subject was about to be broached. Clearly, the three offspring had shared knowledge their parents were just hearing about. This didn't go unnoticed by either Regina or David. Regina decided to make it easy on Davy and practically ordered him to speak. "Okay, out with it," she said as she put her glass down.

Davy cornered his eyes to his father, who offered no help whatsoever, other than a raising of his eyebrows and a shrug of his shoulders. This was obviously something that was going to hit Regina the hardest if his son was looking to him for support. Davy closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and spit it out, "We could have Silver Dollar on an even trade if we gave his owner the rest of Rocinante's sperm."

Collectively, the four of them held their breath and together turned curious, if not slightly fearful, eyes on Regina. Regina's gaze never wavered from Davy's, though she could see the anxious expressions of her other three family members in her peripheral vision. She knew what it was costing Davy to suggest such a thing. Rocinante had been hers since he was foaled. She'd loved him, cared for him, raised him, trained him, conceived all of their children on him, and even went into labor both times while they were out galloping across the fields together. She'd bred him with their mares, then bought new mares when the gene pool became too shallow. She'd carefully collected and stored as much sperm as possible to be certain they had his genetic material on hand for the unforeseeable future. Then she'd buried him under the oak tree, taking two days to dig the hole all by herself, when it finally came time to say goodbye. Yes, they all knew how much she loved Rocinante and to ask her to give up any part of him was like asking her to give up one of them. However, Regina also understood the need to keep the Charmills Farm running for as many years as her offspring, and their offspring, etc. wished. She was proud of her son for asking the hardest question of his life, thus far, and prouder still at his vision. She knew, deep down, it was the wise thing to do, the right thing to do. Later, after they were alone in their room, she would cry on her husband's shoulder and mourn what she must let go in order that her family might continue to thrive. No, Carinaster would never be another Rocinante, but he would be the last of his lineage she would ever foal again.

After what seemed like an eternity, Regina took a deep breath and smiled, "I think we need to see a man about a horse."

The others let out their breaths all at once, their shoulders relaxing, eyes closing in relief. Tears in his eyes, Davy knew what this was costing his mother, but he couldn't be more proud of her pioneering mindset. He leaned across the blanket and wrapped his arms around Regina in a tight embrace. "Thank you," he whispered.

Regina squeezed him back, one hand falling into David's offered one in the process. She smiled a watery smile at him as he gave her an empathetic one in return. With as good and as right as everything felt, her astounding family, her wonderful life, she just couldn't shake the nagging thought that something was oddly missing.