Her Cowboy Reunion

“I’ll leave you to it. Call my cell if you need anything. I’ll be in the newer lambing barn up front, but I can get back here quickly.” And just when she thought he was extending an olive branch, his face tightened. “Whether I like it or not, what happens in this barn can make or break thirty years of hard work and investment. And that’s nothing I take lightly.”

She met his gaze and kept her face flat on purpose.

She didn’t punch him.

She gave herself extra points on that, because she really wanted to.

“Nor should you. Thanks for stopping by.” She sat down, dropped her eyes and reached for the phone, effectively dismissing him.

He hesitated.

She didn’t look up.

And then he left, heading toward the house.

She tried not to notice how good he looked as he strode away. She tried to ignore the breadth of his shoulders in that long-sleeved blue T-shirt and how easily he moved in the faded denim jeans. He wasn’t wearing fancy Western boots. He walked off in well-made, waterproof farm boots, perfect for working stock animals.

As the Rising Star Farm phone began ringing, she saw Zeke rush out of the house to meet his dad. Heath scooped him up, noogied his head, then hugged him close.

An old ache nudged her heart with a feeling of loss, but then someone at Rising Star answered the phone. She brought her attention back to the present. She hauled in a breath and introduced herself to the person on the other end, and by the time she was through her day, she’d cut a deal on an impressive stallion and set up an appointment with Carrington’s ranch manager to see two mares the next day.

They might not be what she was looking for. Until she got here and met Sean’s herd, she didn’t know what she’d be looking for.

Now she’d had a firsthand look, and if Sean was willing to put his trust in a woman he didn’t know, Heath better be all right with doing the same.

He’d said that Sean played to win. She did, too. And the only time she lost was when the outcome was taken totally out of her hands. But life went that way sometimes, and that meant you needed to straighten up, keep your chin up and pray your way through it. She’d had to do that more than once in her life, and when needed...she’d do it again.

* * *

Heath transferred farm equity funds into the equine account, and by the time he got showered and dressed for supper, the funds were out of the account. “You cut the deal with Rising Star that quickly?” he asked when Lizzie crossed the green square separating the stables a quarter hour later.

“Yes.” She tipped a smile over his shoulder when Zeke spotted her and came racing their way. “I read Uncle Sean’s notes on possible stallions, and he was over the moon about this one. No pun intended,” she added. “If he felt that strongly about Red Moon Rising, I didn’t want to take a chance they might renege on the deal. Hey, bud.” She laughed when Zeke skidded to a stop and grabbed her hand. He looked up at her, she looked down at him and when they shared a smile, an old flicker of something warm and good ignited within Heath.

“They’ll deliver him Thursday with all the appropriate testing and paperwork attached. He’s already in the money with his foal lines, so unless something unexpected happens to him, we’ve got a perfect match for those next broodmares.”

Zeke tugged her arm. “What is that?” he asked when she looked back down.

She made a face of question. “What is what, sweet thing?”

His smile deepened again as he tightened the grip on Lizzie’s hand. “A brood thing.”

“Ah.” She squatted to his level, and Zeke’s eyes lit up. “It’s a horse who’s going to have a baby. A foal. Some of the horses are pregnant and that’s what we call them. Broodmares.”

He clapped his other hand to his forehead, astonished. “We’re going to have baby horses?”

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