“Shoot,” she muttered to herself. “The Parsons are more work than they’re worth.”
Brenne trudged across the road that divided their property from her family’s ranch. There she found another fence, this one a wooden length of crisscrossed beams with no wire. She was relieved not to have to pull her coat off. Making quick work of the fence, she again quickened her step. “I’ll stop at the cabin and warm up before going on,” she told herself, rubbing her hands and blowing into them.
The tip of her nose felt frozen, her feet also feeling the effect of the low temperature. She was relieved when she made it to the cabin near the lake. It wasn’t too much farther to the big house, but her fingers felt like icicles. As she circled around to the front door, Brenne was surprised to find that it wasn’t empty, as lights were visible in the windows and some kind of noise was blasting inside.
Brenne burst in the door to find her brother, Jack, furiously painting a canvas. His vigorous brushstrokes were blending bright colors on the wide canvas. “Do you call this music?” she yelled, putting her hand over her ears.
Jack let out a curse, dropping his brush and jumping, then scowling at her. He picked up the remote to the sound system and hit a button, ending the cacophony of noise that sounded more like a riot in a factory than anything else. “Dammit, Brenne, you scared the Shinola out of me! What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” she said, laughing.
“I think it’s pretty obvious what I was doing,” he said. “I’ve been using the cabin as a makeshift studio when it gets cold. Now you.”
“I’m walking home from the clinic and I got cold.” She moved to stand in front of the fire that was blazing in the fireplace.
“Walking home from the clinic? Wouldn’t Alex bring you?” Jack retrieved his brush and put it in water. Then he sat on the arm of the sofa and crossed his arms, staring at her.
“He had house calls. I was there with a rescue horse and didn’t want to wait for him to come back. It’s not a bad walk, just a little windy.”
Jack shook his head, giving her a look she dreaded to see. He was curious about something, which meant he wasn’t going to leave it alone. “You haven’t walked anywhere since you got your own saddle. Now you’re just traipsing across the fields, making an almost three-mile trek through the cold?”
“I could use the exercise.” She sniffed.
“I don’t buy it. Why did you walk home? Why not get a ride from someone?” Her brother’s voice held concern, and it broke her.
“Fine. It was a tough day. I needed to clear my head.” Brenne might have to share, but she didn’t have to share everything. “I went to the horse rescue that Ryker Strong runs, and we examined an abused horse. This poor thing is so emaciated and so afraid of people. I can’t believe someone could treat it so callously. To make matters worse, it might have strangles.”
“Damn,” Jack breathed. “Tough way to go.”
“Exactly. And it’s highly contagious, so Alex had the horse brought to his clinic, and I’m taking over its rehabilitation. It’s really the best thing I’m suited for. I don’t know how Alex was convinced I’d be good for anything else. You should have seen the mess I made of his filing cabinets.”
“Sounds like you found a place for yourself. But do me a favor,” Jack said, coming over and putting an arm around her. “Next time you need to clear you head, maybe give someone a heads-up so we aren’t out looking for you when you fall in a well or get hung up on some razor wire.”
Brenne pulled away, laughing. Her brother and his smart mouth always had a way of making her feel better even though they shouldn’t. “I was raised on this ranch, same as you. I can find my own way home.”
“Or at least to this cabin.” He moved to the kitchen and opened a drawer, then returned with two candy bars. He handed her one. “We’ll need it for fuel to finish our trek home. But don’t tell Mama I gave you one. Or ate one myself. She’ll accuse me of trying to ruin our dinners.”
She took the candy bar, feeling a little more able to manage. “I won’t tell. Unless she asks me. I won’t lie for anyone, even you, Jack.”
“You lied about feeding the pigs just last week,” he said, his voice going up in pitch.
“Well ‘anyone’ doesn’t include myself, of course.”
“Sis, anyone ever tell you that you would make a heck of a lawyer?”
“Isn’t there a lot of paperwork in that?” she said, shaking her head. “I might like to argue, but I hate pushing paper. I think I’ll stick to horses. They don’t give papercuts.”
Jack bent to bank the fire. “We better get going. If we’re late for dinner, Mama will start sniffing our breaths.”
Brenne laughed at her brother’s mischaracterization of their mother. “You’re going to give it up yourself if you keep talking about it. Your guilty conscience will out you, wait and see.”
“Then I’ll blame it on you,” he replied with a wink.
Brenne smiled. It felt good to smile. Maybe I can do this. Maybe I can see Alex and not feel hurt. Or desire. Or regret.
Maybe it won’t be so bad.
CHAPTER 11
ALEX
This is bad.
Alex couldn’t keep his eyes off Brenne as she walked the horse she’d named Ghost around the small paddock beside the clinic. It had been a week, and the animal had shown improvement. It was putting on weight, and its skin condition was clearing up nicely. Its attitude had shifted as well, at least with the woman it was following around on the lead, its eyes never leaving her.
You and me both pal.
The stallion was falling for Brenne and falling hard. Alex couldn’t blame the beast. If the cowgirl had been paying him this much attention, he’d be in a world of trouble too. Shit, she’s ignoring me and I’m still drooling over her.
Alex turned away from the window and went back to organizing his desk. It wasn’t work he relished, and he found his gaze wandering to the window over and over again. After another five minutes of watching her patiently walk the horse, he dragged his attention back to the paperwork crowding his desk.
He paused when his fingers hit Ghost’s lab report. Guilt pricked him as he re-read the findings of the sample he’d sent into Lubbock. Alex had known the likelihood of the creature having equine distemper, commonly known as the strangles, was slim to none, but the threat of it had done what he needed it to. The horse was here, which meant Brenne wasn’t spending every day at Ryker’s rescue.
Alex respected Ryker. He wasn’t a bad man. On the contrary, Ryker Strong was well liked in Whiskey River. A rugged cowboy with a heart. The sort that would throw his coat over a puddle so a lady’s shoes wouldn’t get wet but who could still throw punches with the best of them. Which was exactly why he hadn’t wanted the two of them around each other. It wasn’t hard to see them together, and the very thought made his chest tighten.
I don’t see why. I shouldn’t care if Brenne ends up with Ryker or any other man in the county. It shouldn’t matter.