Page 144 of Shadow

Sierra held open the door. “Come on in. Rowan’s out back with the grill. Huck’s in the barn with the horses. We’ve got about thirty minutes before dinner’s ready, if you want to see the horses first.”

“No, I’m…are you sure this is a good idea?” Daphne paused. “I don’t want to intrude.”

“I invited you, remember?” Sierra looped her arm through Daphne’s and drew her off the porch. “Besides, I heard you saved Asher’s life today.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, well, Renegade might look like a big city, but there’s not a lot of secrets when your husband is friends with half the police force, a.k.a. Detective Martinelli and his girlfriend Dani.”

Right.

They walked to the barn. Large. Clean. The smell of hay and horses and leather. Peaceful. Late-afternoon sunlight slanted through the windows. Dust motes drifted in the golden light.

A boy appeared from one of the stalls. Ten years old. Sandy-brown hair. Green eyes.

Huck.

“Huck, this is my friend Daph. She used to live in Renegade.”

“Cool,” he said. “Wanna see my horse?”

“Is this your horse?” Daphne asked.

“His name is Thunder.” Huck led her to a stall. A beautiful quarter horse. Buckskin. Well cared for. Huck launched into a dissertation about some rodeo he’d just competed in.

“He has a lot of energy,” Sierra said.

“Yeah. Like his dad.”

Sierra laughed. “You remember Rowan.”

“I do. He was…well, I always knew you two would end up together.”

“It took a while,” Sierra said as they walked back to the house. She glanced at Daphne. “I got pregnant the summer after our senior year. Rowan was just about to leave for the military. I didn’t know until after he left and…well, it got complicated. He didn’t know he had a son until he returned, about a year ago.”

Daphne stilled. “Really?”

Sierra lifted a shoulder. “Yep. I should have told him—I tried, actually, but anyway, we thought he’d died, and then one day…he was back.”

“Holy cannoli.”

“Yeah. And there was some ’splainin’ to do.” She winked.

“I’ll bet. But Huck seems so well adjusted. Happy.”

Huck had run out of the barn and caught up to them.

“Thunder is beautiful,” Daphne said. “You’ve done great work with him.”

“Thanks! Dad helps me train him. He’s teaching me about patience and trust. Says horses are like people—they need to know you won’t hurt them before they’ll let you lead them.”

Huh. “Your dad sounds smart.”

“He is. And he’s brave. He saved my mom. And me. And our whole ranch. He’s a hero.”

Hero. She glanced at Sierra, who lifted a shoulder. “He is.”

You just always have to be a hero, don’t you?