𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫 || 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐊𝐰𝐚𝐧

Chapter 25

Vernon watched Seungkwan call Joshua from the kitchen table first thing the next morning.

“I’ve made up my mind,” Seungkwan told him. “I want to pursue both cases. The civil and the criminal.”

They talked for a few more minutes while Vernon busied himself brewing coffee.

“Feel better?” he asked when Seungkwan finally set the phone down.

“Yeah,” the omega agreed. “Now all I need to do is get this ankle fixed, so I can start pulling my weight around here again.”

Vernon waved that off. “There’ll be plenty of time for that. I had another plan for this morning, actually.”

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“I thought you might like to go riding.”

Seungkwan looked surprised. “You mean on a horse?”

“No,” Vernon joked, bemused. “On a camel. What do you say?”

“I’ve always wanted to ride a camel,” Seungkwan said. “But all those humps make it look awkward. Maybe we should stick to horses for now.”

“Exactly what I was thinking. Thunder is the best one to start on.”

“Not Ginny?” Seungkwan teased.

“Sure, if you want a lesson in being thrown off.”

Seungkwan made a face at that. “Are you sure I’m ready? Being thrown off doesn’t sound like much fun.”

“It won’t happen, I promise. Not riding Thunder, at any rate. I’ll be right there with you the whole time.”

“Okay,” Seungkwan agreed, breaking into a smile. “I can’t wait.”

Vernon cleared their breakfast plates, then helped Seungkwan out to the stables.

“I’ll get him saddled today; you just watch. Grab some carrot sticks. He likes his rider to sweeten the deal.”

While Seungkwan did that, Vernon let Thunder out of his stall and got the saddle on him, accompanying it with plenty of pats and soft words of reassurance.

He knew there wouldn’t be a problem. Thunder was an older horse and one of the most sedate in his stables. Both he and Seungkwan would enjoy the ride.

“Ready?” Vernon asked Seungkwan as he attached a leading rein.

Seungkwan hobbled over, looking a mixture of excited and anxious. Vernon knew he’d be fine once he and Thunder got the measure of each other.

“Come say hi,” Vernon said, “and offer him some carrot.”

Seungkwan moved to his side.

“Morning, Thunder,” he murmured. “Brought you a treat.”

He held out the carrots sticks, and the horse stuck his nose out, sniffing curiously before swiping a stick with his tongue and munching on it. In less than a minute they were gone, and Thunder was nosing at Seungkwan expectantly.

“He thinks you’re hiding more,” Vernon said with a laugh. “Come on, let’s get you up.”

Vernon kept a reassuring hand on Thunder as Seungkwan moved to the horse’s side.

“Whenever you’re ready,” he said, holding out a hand.

In one smooth move, they had Seungkwan up and astride the saddle, Thunder barely reacting to the change.