Was this what she wanted? Her practice was fulfilling, but she needed more. She needed Logan in her life—his warm support, his passion, his love. She needed to fall asleep in his arms and wake up to his kisses, to give him a family to replace the loved ones he’d lost.
Her mother, Sarah, had managed it all. Could she?
If only Sarah were here. What would she say?
Her musings were interrupted by a knock on the front door. Blast, she should have hung out the CLOSED sign before settling down to relax. Probably some emergency. But no rest for the wicked.
Pushing to her feet, she hurried to open the door.
Logan stood on the porch, drenched in rain. His face wore a happy grin. He held out his hand. “Miss Kristin, come on out,” he said. “I want to do something I’ve never done before, and I want to do it now.”
“Have you gone mad? It’s raining.”
“I know. And I want to kiss you in the rain, for the whole world to see. And then I want to dance with you, as best I can manage.” He tugged at her hand. “Come on. When will we get another time like this?”
Laughing, she ran with him, out into the rain.
EPILOGUE
Spring, nine months later
JOSEPH PERCHED ON THE LOG FENCE, WATCHING HIS UNCLE’S NEW two-year-old colts race around the pasture. Shipped from Texas by rail and driven in a herd from Miles City, they were wild and skittish. But as they galloped along the fence line, their manes and tails flying, they were so beautiful that they took Joseph’s breath away.
He was already picking out his favorites. “Look at that palomino!” he exclaimed, pointing. “And that little chestnut filly! And that big black one—he looks like the boss!”
Standing beside him, Uncle Logan chuckled. Getting these horses here, to raise and break, had been his dream. Now, with the first twenty animals, that dream was coming true.
“Don’t just look at their colors, Joseph,” he said. “Look at how they’re built—those powerful hindquarters for holding their weight against a roped steer. And their necks are strong and set forward, so they can work with their heads lowered. These horses are bred for working cattle. They’re smart and they’re fast.”
“How fast?” Joseph asked.
“They’re made for short, quick sprints. They can outrun any other kind of horse for a quarter of a mile. That’s why they’re called quarter horses.”
“Those are right fine horses, Logan,” Blake Dollarhide said. “But I’d say you’ve got your work cut out for you.”
“I’m planning on it taking all summer,” Logan said. “They’ll have to be green broke, then saddle broke, then trained with cows. I’m hoping they’ll be ready for fall roundup.”
“But who’s going to buy those fancy animals when our old horses do fine?” Blake asked.
“Word will get around. I’ve already promised Webb his pick. If he likes the first one, he’ll likely want more.”
“Well, the bastard can afford it.” Blake and Webb would probably never be friends. But at least, with plenty of water this spring, no one was fighting.
“Can I help you with the horses this summer, Uncle Logan?” Joseph asked. “I know they’re too wild to ride, but I could take care of them in other ways.”
“We’ll see. That will be up to your dad.”
Joseph watched the horses, imagining how it would be working around them, making friends with them, maybe even getting to ride them by summer’s end. Perhaps when he was older, he could learn to break and train them, like his grandfather. Joe Dollarhide had possessed a rare gift for working with horses. Maybe he’d passed that gift on to Joseph. It would be exciting to find out.
Last summer the fun times with his friends had turned dark and almost ended in tragedy. Joseph had drifted away from those friends since then—especially after Buck had ridden off and left him at the gunfight, and Cully had failed to warn them of his father’s betrayal. Joseph could forgive, but he couldn’t trust them anymore.
As for Chase, the close brush with death had changed him. His sunny nature had grown darker and wilder. He was no longer interested in the kind of boyish adventures he’d enjoyed with friends before. Joseph had barely seen him since that terrible night.
Mason was serving a five-year sentence in the state penitentiary. No one, as far as Joseph knew, had visited him or written to him. It was as if he no longer existed. But the Hollister Ranch was his home, and unless he sold the place after his mother’s passing, he would be coming back to Blue Moon. By then, Joseph would be nearly grown.
The sound of an approaching automobile caught his attention. That would be Aunt Kristin coming home from a day at her office in town. Before they’d married last fall, Logan had cleared and graveled a new, direct road from the ranch so she could drive in all but the worst weather. The addition of home phone service made it possible for patients to contact her at the ranch. She’d also cut back on her days in town. Even so, finding time to be with her husband was a challenge.
The new addition to their house, which would be finished this summer, would include space to set up an office and surgery so that some patients could see her at home. It would also include quarters for a cook and housekeeper and a nursery which, she’d hinted, would be in use before long. “My mother managed to do it all,” she was fond of saying. “So can I.”
Now she drove into the yard and parked next to the house. The dogs came bounding off the porch to meet her. Seeing what was in the pasture, she flew out of the car and raced across the yard. “They’re really here! I can’t believe it!”
Celebrating with her, Logan caught her in his arms and swung her off her feet. Watching them kiss, Joseph found himself smiling. So many things had turned out badly last summer. It felt good to see a happy ending—and what he hoped was an even happier beginning.
BOOK GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
• Why would Kristin choose to come home to Blue Moon when she could have worked at a big, modern hospital?
• Why do you think Spanish flu killed so many people? How would you compare it to the modern-day Covid pandemic?
• How does Logan’s idea of a good life compare to Webb’s and to Mason’s?
• How does Mason seem to feel toward Joseph?
• What changes Joseph’s attitude toward Mason and Blake?
• What do you think would have happened if Mason had married Gerda?
• Do you think Mason should have been punished for what happened to Gerda and to her father? Why or why not?
• What if you had to choose between a career and a family, as Kristin did? What would you do?
• Who is the strongest character in this story? The weakest?
• Do you think prison will change Mason’s character? Why or why not?
• Is Cully a good person? What is most important to him?
• If you were making a movie of this story, who would you cast in the major roles?
• Who is your favorite character in this story? Why?
Please read on for an excerpt from Quicksand by Janet Dailey!
Determined to keep their legacy bull-rearing operation strong, the Champion sisters go head-to-head—and heart to heart—with some of the toughest men on the rodeo circuit—and walk away victorious in love . . .