Lord, last night.
I tried to convince myself this was all for the best, that having her mad at me and thinking I didn’t want her would be the easiest thing for everybody. By the time I’d fallen asleep in my recliner set up, I’d half-believed I could go on like we hadn’t shared a staggering kiss that made me forget every other woman I had ever known. I couldn’t even blame such idiot thoughts on the pain pills, since I’d quit taking them.
“Working,” she said, the little line already set between her eyebrows—I’d managed to tick her off in five seconds flat. She strode past me, shoved her feet into a pair of rubber boots, and tugged her gloves on like she was about to commit murder. “The real question is, what are you doing here? You’re not supposed to be doing anything.”
I looked her square in the eye, and that was all it took. Her scowl disappeared; her eyes softened. Stress must have been stamped all over my face for her to recognize it so quickly.
“What do we need to do?”
How did she alwaysknow? I didn’t have time to question her uncanny intuition or my underlying feelings about her reappearance. “Storm’s blowing in. I have to stable the horses.”
She looked out at the dark clouds looming over the pastures, her worry hardening to determination. “I’ll help you.”
I stopped looping the lead rope over my arm and stared her down. Normally, rounding up the horses alone was easy enough, but just now, nothing came easily. Even with June’s help, the storm might hit before we could get all the horses in. As if my thoughts weren’t bad enough, my phone pinged again. Hail reported five miles away.
“You can’t do it all yourself,” she said, reaching for the halter. “Just tell me what to do.”
I wanted to tell her she couldn’t do it, that sheshouldn’tdo it, but I had no choice. And honestly, she had already proven a dozen times over that she could handle whatever I dished out at her. Why not this, too?
“Come on.” I strode out to the back pastures, June at my side, loose strands from her bun whipping in the wind. The temperature had dropped since my walk to the barn, but it hadn’t started raining yet. We could do this.
“Have you ever haltered a horse?” I asked.
“I think we did in Girl Scouts.”
Great. Girl Scouts. Hopefully, some of the lesson had stuck.
“Horse’s muzzle goes through here,” I said, pulling the halter over one of my forearms. “Then you bring up the sides, and knot it here on the neck. Got it?”
She glanced over my quick and dirty demonstration. “I think so.”
I caught the hesitation she tried to hide. This could go all kinds of wrong, for everybody involved, but doing nothing would be the greater risk. I’d left two messages for Aaron, but when things were busy out at Belton Grove, he wasn’t likely to answer, and wouldn’t be able to leave anyway. A larger outfit with more horses to tend, that ranch sat directly in the storm’s projected path. Aaron might already be up to his neck in hailstones and spooked horses.
“We’re going to call in the calmest horses first, and with any luck, a few of the others will come to the gate to wait their turn.”
“Okay.” She threw her shoulders back and shook out her hands. “I’m ready.”
I really hoped like hell she was.
Unlatching the pasture gate, I let her through then whistled, long and high. The most seasoned horses looked our way.
“Go a few yards in and call Miss Kitty to you.”
June did. Her shout didn’t do much in the worsening wind, but the old mare’s ears pricked. She took a few hesitant steps toward June, like she wasn’t sure about this stranger or what she wanted.
“Don’t approach her head-on. Move to her side so she can see you.”
As the horse trundled across the pasture, June walked toward her at an angle. Miss Kitty wasn’t used to coming in at this time of day, and probably didn’t give a damn about the storm, but she had belonged to my Gram, and she did as she was told. When the mare was only a few feet away from her, June held out one hand, offering to stroke her muzzle.
“That’s the way,” I said as she petted the horse.
Looking like she thought the horse might kick the way Bullet had, June looped the halter over her muzzle and tossed the end over her neck. Miss Kitty had been around long enough, she didn’t even notice when June knotted it on the side.
“You got her.” I clapped my hands together, immediately regretting the gesture. Until these broken ribs, I’d never realized I could miss a thing like breathing normally or raising my voice. I missed doing a whole lot of things lately, most of them unspeakable around June. Hell, most of them would directly involve June if I had my way.
As always, this wasn’t the time.
June walked Miss Kitty toward the gate, and just like I’d hoped, a few of the older horses followed. They jostled each other for position, trying to sneak out with Miss Kitty, but at least we wouldn’t have to chase them down across the pasture. I ground my teeth together thinking about what kind of a fuss the colts might dust up for her, but we would have to take one thing at a time.
