Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 51792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
“You need to calm down,” Sunshine warned.
“Calm down? You could have been killed. And how your death would affect the rest of us didn’t matter to you?”
She paused a second, but tried to reassure me. “I didn’t die.”
“You didn’t die this time. That horse isn’t yours. Likely belongs to someone else,” I shouted.
The mustang whinnied, and Sunshine shook her head. “She’s free.”
“Gotten free,” I snapped. “No horse acts like that unless they are trained.”
Though I’d seen the set of her eyes. She was a wild horse by DNA. But wild horses could be tamed, too.
“She needs me,” Sunshine said.
I tossed up my hands. “We need you,” I admitted.
That stopped her. “She won’t hurt me,” Sunshine finally said.
“You don’t know that. She might not even mean to,” I pleaded.
I’d bought the horse hay and encouraged this. But I hadn’t expected Sunshine to be reckless.
She placed her hand on my forearm. “Trust me.”
Her touch soothed the worry in my heart. “Fine. If you ride her again, at least use a bridle.” Though I wasn’t sure that horse would take to it without weeks of training because whether or not the mustang was broken, she wanted to be free.
“I don’t want to break her,” Sunshine said.
“Okay, a neck rein then. Something for you to hold on to for balance. There might be some in the barn.”
I led her in that direction. The mustang had gone back to the hay pile and was eating her fill. In the back, the gear we’d used when this was a fully working ranch was left to collect dust. Hooks held bridles and reins. A rack held saddles. It had only been a few years since the last hand and animal was gone, so most of the stuff was in decent shape. I found a brand-new neck rope in its package.
“Here,” I said. “If she’ll let you. And if she won’t, you shouldn’t risk your life riding her.”
“I thought you said she was broken.”
“Broken or not, horses can be dangerous, even if they don’t mean to be.”
I left the stubborn woman before I did something stupid like kiss her. After I did, the horse walked inside as if she’d been waiting for my exit. I shook my head. That didn’t mean I’d just leave Sunshine. I went as far as the bunkhouse and leaned my back on it. If she needed me, I was within earshot to help.
As I stood there, I thought back to our earlier conversation. She’d brought up Ashley. I cursed when I remembered how everyone in the diner had watched Ashley and me after I’d helped her with her leak. No doubt rumors had swirled, and it had gotten back to Sunshine. Was that why she was giving me the cold shoulder?
My phone rang. I was expecting a call from my client’s team’s head of operations. They wanted to renegotiate his contract early. Usually, that wasn’t favorable for my client. It meant the team had likely hit their cap and wanted to make salary room to offer more money to someone else.
“Bowmen,” I answered.
“Mitch. I think we have something.”
It was the search-and-rescue company I’d hired to find Haley. I listened as Bigsby spoke. “How soon will you know?” I asked when he was finished.
His reply wasn’t soon enough in my estimation. I checked the time and put in a call to my brother. Practice should be over, and Avery was likely with him.
“Little brother,” Nate said.
“Reformed bastard,” I said in response. “Isn’t that what they’re calling you now?”
“I don’t look at the headlines. Isn’t that your job?”
“Okay. Cut the shit. I have news.” He put me on speaker, and I filled him in on everything I’d learned.
“How’s Zoe?” Avery asked.
“Excited for your visit.”
“Are you going to tell her?”
“Not yet. Not until we have confirmation.”
“How’s Dad?” Nate asked.
“As ornery as ever.”
“And Sunshine?” he asked. I didn’t know how to answer. “Tell me you didn’t.”
“Didn’t what?” I asked innocently.
“I’m going to tell you like Dad warned me. Don’t fuck things up. She’s amazing and when you go back to Chicago, Dad will want someone there.”
“He doesn’t need a caretaker.”
“Maybe not,” my brother agreed. “But he isn’t used to taking care of himself, regardless. And good help, someone trustworthy, is hard to find even in Mason Creek.”
“Dad has a girlfriend,” I blurted, hoping to shift the conversation away from Sunshine.
“What?” Nate snapped.
“He said he met someone at the senior living facility, and they are just friends.”
“You said girlfriend.”
“She’s a she, and they are close. She’s a widow too. Maybe Dad will want to move her in,” I joked.
“More reason why Sunshine should stay.”
“I hope she’s not in it for the money. Dad already signed the ranch over to us in a trust.”
“I don’t know. It’s weird. What would Mom think?” he asked.
That sobered me. Because Nate had renovated the house, it was easy to not see Mom in every nook and cranny. I didn’t think I could stay there otherwise. The past still haunted me.