Promises to a Stallion (Kimani Romance) Read Free

had erred on the side of caution, seeking out her grandmother’s advice and advice from the attorney who’d been hired to oversee the small fortune she and her brother had been blessed with. The security of real estate had proven to be exactly what she’d needed, despite Damien not wanting to support her decision.
    Sliding a manicured nail beneath the sealed flap, Tierra tore open the envelope, anxious to read what was inside. She smiled to herself, hoping the sweet words Damien had written to pave his way home would endear him to their friends and family.
    Pulling the neatly printed note from inside, she read it once, twice and then a third time. An hour later she was still reading it over and over again, the first of many tears streaming over the curve of her high-boned cheeks as she tried to make sense of the words that tore at her soul.

Chapter 3
     
    T he taxi driver, still trying to make small talk about the political issues currently in the headlines, pulled his taxi past the gated entrance of Briscoe Ranch, maneuvering the circular driveway to the front entrance of the large home. With a quick nod of gratitude, Travis pressed two twenty-dollar bills into the man’s hand and made a quick escape from the backseat of the vehicle.
    As Travis watched the car make its way back off the property, he turned around to take in his surroundings. Briscoe Ranch was well over eight hundred acres of working cattle ranch, an equestrian center and an entertainment complex that specialized in corporate and private client services. The ranch housed two 20,000 square-foot event barns and a country bed-and-breakfast. With the property being central to Austin, Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth, Briscoe Ranch had made quite a name for itself. Travis was duly impressed.
    Turning back toward the steps and the front door, he grinned widely when it suddenly swung open and his cousins Matthew, Mark, Luke and John Stallion all came barreling down to greet him.
    The noise and banter was reminiscent of when they’d all been under the age of ten racing from one end of their late grandparent’s home to the other. Each and every summer the cousins would come together and play until they were all exhausted. Those had been some of the best times in their young lives.
    Travis couldn’t help but note the deep family resemblance. The four brothers were the spitting image of his uncle, their father, David Stallion, and David’s brother Joseph, Travis’s father. All the men boasted imposing statures, black-coffee complexions, chiseled jaw lines and charismatic smiles. That striking family resemblance had skipped Travis, with him inheriting his mother’s café au lait complexion and her light hazel-green eyes. But even with their differences, side by side he and his kin looked like chocolate and vanilla reflections of each other.
    “Yo, soldier boy!” Mark Stallion bellowed, wrapping the large man in a big bear hug.
    Luke slapped his cousin’s palm. “Travis, my man!”
    “Isn’t he pretty in his uniform.” Matthew laughed, his tone teasing as he embraced his cousin.
    “Exceptionally!” John responded, he and Travis shaking hands as they bumped shoulders. “Welcome home, family!”
    “It’s good to be back.” Travis grinned. “And look at you guys! I see this good life has been treating you four very well,” he said as he patted Mark’s abdomen.
    John laughed. “That’s sympathy weight. Mark’s wife is expecting a baby, and for every pound she gains, Mark is gaining five.”
    Mark flipped a finger at his older brother. “Maybe two, but definitely not five.”
    “When did you get married?” Travis said, surprise showing on his face. “Weren’t you going to be a confirmed bachelor forever?”
    The large black man laughed, his head shaking. “I was, but then I met Mitch. I just couldn’t help myself. The woman just took my breath away,” Mark exclaimed, joy shimmering in his eyes.
    Travis nodded, the memory of his encounter with