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“Well, she isn’t married yet—or if she is, she hasn’t changed her name.”
Tessa turned back to Brigadier and scratched him fondly under the forelock. “It doesn’t matter if she’s married or not. Let’s just hope she can take care of our boy here.”
An hour later, Tessa realized that Cassie Aldridge had changed a lot in the past seven years. No longer a teenager with a wild crush on one of the McLean brothers, she was a full-grown woman with shiny black hair and intelligent gray eyes. Thin and athletic, she handled Brigadier expertly as she examined his hoof.
“Doesn’t look too bad,” she announced, once she’d closed the stall gate behind her. “The poultice should work. Just make sure he rests for a week and keep the hoof clean.”
Relieved, Tessa walked with Cassie out of the stallion barn. Outside, the sky was hazy. Low clouds hung over the ridge surrounding the valley floor. The air was still and hot.
“Brigadier’s a good-looking stallion,” Cassie said. She
opened the door of her beat-up truck but paused before climbing into the sunbaked cab.
“The best. But you should know that. I bought him from your father.”
“That’s right,” Cassie replied, her smooth forehead creasing a little. “Call me if Brigadier gets any worse—or better. I like to know the good news with the bad.”
“Will do,” Tessa promised.
Cassie hopped into the cab of her dusty old Dodge truck, ground the gears and took off.
The next day Tessa opened the door of the barn and was greeted with an excited whinny. Brigadier pawed the straw on the floor of his stall. His eyes were clear, his ears pricked and he barely favored the sore leg.
“A medical wonder, aren’t you?” Tessa teased, scratching his ears fondly before giving him a carrot, which he ground noisily between his teeth.
Relieved, she brushed his rust-colored coat until it gleamed like polished copper. While she ran the currycomb across his hide, her thoughts drifted, as always, to Denver. Ever since he left the day before, she’d replayed their argument over and over in her mind. The fight had been silly and pointless, as arguments usually were. Still she was angry with him.
“He looks better,” Mitchell said from somewhere behind her head.
Tessa nearly jumped out of her skin. “You scared me,” she said with a nervous laugh.
“Didn’t you hear me come in?”
She shook her head. “I . . . was thinking.”
Mitchell poured oats into the manger, then walked outside with his sister. “Let me guess, you were thinking about Denver McLean.” His green eyes were shadowed with worry, and deep grooves tightened the corners of his mouth. But he held his tongue and Tessa was grateful for that. She’d done enough soul-searching without having to be reprimanded by her brother. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and rinsed her hands in the cold water from a spigot near the barn. “I’m gonna run into town for some more wire for the fence bordering the Aldridge property. Want to come along?” he asked.
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve got things to do.”
“Like wait for Denver to show up?”
“Like work on the invoices.”
“Oh, come on. Lighten up a little. The bills aren’t going anywhere.”
“True, unfortunately.”
“I’ll buy you a hamburger.” He offered her a smile and a wink. “Or I’ll let you buy me one.”
“And why would I do that?”
“Because I’m such a great brother.”
She laughed. “Give me a break. Look, I can’t go now. Nate Edwards is supposed to show up this afternoon.”
