To Protect His Own. Brenda Mott

Fox again. In all likelihood, Hallie had seen her lose her balance and fall so unceremoniously from the haystack.

      “I thought you were going to send Silver Fox to your parents’ ranch?”

      “Yeah, well, I changed my mind,” Caitlin said. “You want to help me feed him?”

      Immediately, the girl’s face brightened. “Sure.”

      But before Caitlin could move to cut the twine on the bale that had tumbled to the floor with her, Alex’s deep voice carried from across the way. “Hallie! Hallie, where are you?”

      “Over here, Dad!” Hallie shouted. “In the barn.”

      Caitlin’s stomach churned. What had she been thinking? That she could befriend the girl and avoid the kid’s dad? Self-consciously, she realized what a sight she must look. She’d tossed on a T-shirt with no bra and a faded pair of jeans. And she knew she had hay sticking in her hair, since she was still in the process of picking flecks of leaf and stem from it.

      Lovely.

      But what did it matter?

      You aren’t yourself and you never will be. The guy was here for his daughter, not for her. Caitlin faced him as Alex came through the barn door.

      “Hi,” he said, and then frowned at his daughter. “Hallie, you know better than to take off and not tell me where you’re going. I thought we talked about this yesterday.”

      “Da-ad.” Hallie squirmed with obvious embarrassment. Looking up at her father, she quirked her mouth. “I was helping Caitlin.”

      Caitlin made an effort not to mimic Hallie’s squirm as Alex’s gaze raked her from head to toe. She picked more hay from her hair. “She’s helping me feed.”

      “Really?” Amusement lit his chocolate-brown eyes and his lips curved, making her heart beat faster. “Looks more like you’re wearing that hay than feeding it to your horse.”

      She rolled her tongue against her cheek. “Yeah, well, I had a little problem pulling that bale off the stack. It more or less pulled me down instead.”

      Concern instantly replaced his bemused expression. “Are you all right?”

      “Yeah. It was nothing.”

      He glanced at her cane, and Caitlin wanted to melt into the floor.

      “You know, if you need help, all you have to do is ask. I can even give you our phone number in case—”

      “That won’t be necessary.” Caitlin cut him off, then realized she sounded rude. “But thanks.”

      “Oh, I forgot—you’re sending the horse away.”

      “Actually, I’m not.” She flashed him a forced smile. “But Hallie and I have things under control here. Right, kiddo?”

      “Right.” Hallie grinned at her, eyes full of hero worship.

      Caitlin was sure that wouldn’t last, as soon as the kid realized she was no longer the woman portrayed in the magazines. Ignoring her inner voice, she showed Hallie how to separate the hay into flakes and feed an armful of the large square sections to Fox. She stood patiently while Hallie cooed to the gelding and patted his neck. But her body throbbed, and all she really wanted was to go back inside the house and lie down. She didn’t even bother to protest when Alex moved three bales down from the top of the stack to the floor where she’d have easy access to them the next time she fed her horse.

      Leaving Silver Fox to his breakfast, Caitlin walked outside with Alex and Hallie, trying to find a graceful way to escape their company. But before she could say a word, Spike suddenly bolted in pursuit of a rabbit that scampered across the open land beyond the barn.

      “Spike! Come back here.” Caitlin knew it was futile.

      “I’ll get him,” Hallie said, sprinting off after the dog.

      “Hallie, don’t go far,” Alex called after her, his face pinched with worry.

      Why on earth did he treat his daughter as though she were five years old? “What grade is Hallie in?” Caitlin asked.

      “Seventh.” He turned, frowning at her. “What, you’re insinuating that I treat her like a baby?”

      “I didn’t say that.”

      “You didn’t have to.” He folded his arms. “You are way out of line, Caitlin. You have no idea where I’m coming from.”

      She shrugged. “You’re right. None of my business.” She set a pace she could manage, following Hallie and Spike.

      “Wait a minute.” Alex stopped her with his hand on her arm.

      To her annoyance, every nerve along her skin responded. She scowled at him. “What?”

      “I didn’t mean to snap at you.” He sighed. “I’m sure Hallie will be fine. Let her catch your dog. Lord knows she’s got five times the energy I do.”

      “Kids always have endless energy.” Abruptly, Caitlin felt light-headed and shaky.

      “Are you all right?” Alex reached out to steady her.

      “I’m fine.” Doing her best to maintain a casual air, Caitlin walked back toward the barn and sank onto a glider Dillon had installed near the walkway leading from the building.

      “You don’t look fine,” Alex said, sitting beside her.

      Sweat beaded her upper lip, and she knew it was a safe bet she’d either gone pale or flushed. “All right, maybe not fine, but I’m okay.” She laughed without humor. “Apparently even Spike is more than I can handle. Maybe I should send him and Silver Fox both back to the ranch.” She hoped her comment appeared offhanded.

      Alex’s eyes were serious. “I read about your accident,” he said. “Hallie’s horse magazines finally caught up with us through our forwarded mail, and I was thumbing through them last night. There was a story about you in Equus.”

      She didn’t want to talk about the crash. Hadn’t even wanted the magazine to do the article. But Gran had insisted that it was far better to get the facts straight than to leave everything open to public speculation and gossip. She’d wanted it made clear that while the driver of the SUV who struck Caitlin was suspected of—and later confessed to—being intoxicated, there had been no alcohol involved on Caitlin’s part.

      “Then you know exactly what happened,” Caitlin said.

      He was silent for a moment. “We had a terrible tragedy in our family about three months after you were run down by that drunk,” he said.

      Surprised, she looked directly at him. “Oh?”

      “Yeah. And since I can’t seem to keep Hallie away from your horse, I think it’s best you know about it.” He took a breath. “My daughter witnessed a drive-by shooting. But for the grace of God, it could’ve been her who was killed.”

      Shock gripped Caitlin. “What happened?”

      “She and her cousin were walking to a convenience store a few blocks from our house, when kids with a score to settle drove through the parking lot. They fired at some high school boys who were coming out of the store as Hallie and Melissa were going in. They missed the boys but hit Melissa.”

      “Oh, my God.” Caitlin stared at him, not knowing what else to say.

      “Melissa was thirteen,” Alex said. “She and Hallie were like sisters.” He fought to control his voice. “She died right there, while Hallie watched. Bled to death in the parking lot before help could arrive.”

      Suddenly, Caitlin’s own problems seemed petty. “I’m so sorry, Alex.” She touched his knee. “I can only imagine what Hallie has been through.”

      He nodded, glancing down at her hand, and she quickly removed it. “I