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“Just Mom’s old recipe, with a sprinkling of love.”
Will snorted at that, and Sarah joined in his laughter. She poured Will a glass of milk and sat down with him at the table.
“I’m glad you could come,” she said. “I wanted to talk to you about our horse breeding program.”
“Mm?” Will arched a brow at her, his mouth full of cookie.
“We’ve had a great year,” she said. “Two stud-quality colts, great physiques, great temperaments. Little Nosy’s so sweet Beth wants him for her own. I’ve come in under budget, kept our vet bills down. Dr. Larkin says our stables are so clean and healthy, he’d sleep there himself.”
Will made a choking sound. “I’ll bet he would, if only for the quiet. Did you hear Millie’s pregnantagain?What’s that, their seventh?”
“Their eighth.” Sarah frowned. Dr. Larkin’s home life wasnoton her agenda. “So, the budget—”
“Sorry, ’scuse me.” Tad squeezed behind her, grabbed a level from his toolbox. Sarah pulled her chair in to let him by.
“So lively in here.” Will was peering at West, who’d spread out in the hall, humming along with the radio as he tackled his homework. “I could come back later, if that’d be better for you.”
“No! No, now’s good.” Sarah drew herself up. She’d rehearsed this all morning, got her pitch down just so. She had to get through it before she lost her edge. “Given our budget surplus, I was thinking—”
“Yeah, that’ll come in handy. I’m planning on upgrading the back roads, making ’em winter-safe. Your surplus’ll help with that, put me over the top.”
Sarah scowled. How had this conversation gotten away from her so fast? “Actually, I was thinking we’d funnel the surplus into next year’s breeding budget—expand it a little.” Will opened his mouth, and Sarah talked faster. “And I was thinking, it’s time for me to take charge. Time I took control of the program, don’t you think? I’m doing great. My results speak for themselves. And I could do even more, take us to the next level, but it’s hard when I’ve got to run every little decision past you.I’mthe one down there, in the thick with the horses. I know what they need, whatweneed, where we’re headed. You’ve got enough on your plate, so…So I thought I’d take over, and we’d go from there?”
Will finished his cookie and took a swig of milk. He wiped off his milk-moustache, eyes bright with mirth. “For someone whose results speak for themselves, you’re sure talking a lot.”
“I had to get it all out while it was quiet.”
As if on cue, Tad’s sander whirred to life. Will frowned into his milk.
“That’s a lot of responsibility,” he said. “And you only took over the program a year ago. You don’t have the experience, the—”
“I don’t have the experience?” Sarah heard herself go shrill and pulled back with an effort. “I’ve been helping out in the stables since I was three. Uncle Herb taught me everything he knows. He wouldn’t have retired if he didn’t think I could handle it.”
“Okay, you know horses, but do you know the business?” Will held up his hand. “You’ve had an easy year—no crises, no storms. You’ve never been tested, never had to stretch out your budget. Give it another few years, and maybe we’ll—”
“Another fewyears?” She felt like he’d punched her. “What if—what if I…”
“If you what?” Will was getting up, getting ready to go.
“If I—” Sarah’s head spun. What could she do? How could she prove she was ready and capable? “What if I won the Games?”
Will let out a guffaw. “I’m sorry,what?”
Sarah surged to her feet. “I’m not that athletic, or artistic, or musical. If I could win anyway, that would show I’m resourceful. That no matter what, I’ll get the job done. So, how about it? Do we have a deal?”
Will scooped up his cookies. “Fine, it’s a deal. But, Sarah, you’re—”
“Shake on it.” She stuck out her hand. Will gave it a shake.
“Good luck, Chickadee. You’ll need it.” Will tipped her a wink, but Sarah was looking past him. Out in the dooryard, Tad was bent over the sawhorse, neck glistening with sweat. He caught her looking and grinned, and Sarah shot him the thumbs-up. If she could gethimon her side, she might stand a chance. Shewouldwin the Games this year—and then everything else would fall into place.
2
“What happened, kid? Your school run out of trash cans?” Tad dug in West’s bag. The bus had dropped West off at the ranch since Tad was working there. The change in location didn’t mean Tad liked the after-school ritual any better. He pulled out a math sheet. It was graded already, so…not his homework. Just like the last one, and the dozen before that. West was great at a lot of things, but organization, not so much. His backpack was the place where homework came to die.
“I got an A,” said West. “See, nine out of ten.”
“That’s great,” said Tad. “But you’ll get an F on the next one, if we don’t find it quick.” He pulled out a sheaf of papers and flipped through them, scowling. “English, geography…what’s this?Dear parents?”
