The Heart of a Cowboy. Trish Milburn

the time he got to the stall holding Penelope, Chloe’s horse was about to lose her mind with fear. The fire was centered right above the bay mare’s head, so he could understand. But as he tried to calm her, she was having none of it. As he started to ease the stall door open, Penelope kicked, busting a couple of the slats with her powerful hooves.

      “Come on, girl, let’s get out of here.”

      But the horse still didn’t cooperate, and Garrett was afraid the next thing she kicked would be him. He took a side step just in time as she panicked and busted out of the stall. The horse screamed as she broke free and raced out of the barn. Garrett fell back into the dirt, rolling to avoid being trampled.

      The fire trucks coming up the driveway halted Penelope’s flight in that direction. She changed course, only to find herself cornered against the corral fence on one side, Garrett’s dad on another and finally Garrett as he stumbled out of the barn.

      Penelope spun, panic driving her movements, her need to flee. Garrett’s heart nearly stopped when he saw a large sliver of wood protruding from the horse’s side. They had to calm her down and get the vet out here, while making sure the barn didn’t burn down and the other horses didn’t break from where he and his dad had tied them several yards down the fence line.

      Out of the corner of his eye, Garrett saw the firefighters hopping out of the trucks and retrieving hoses and gear. But even if the barn burned down to a pile of ash, he had to keep his attention on Penelope. He hated to see an animal in pain, and he couldn’t let her injure herself further. He couldn’t stand the idea of his sister coming home from her belated honeymoon to find her horse severely injured or worse.

      “Easy, girl,” he said, trying to sound soothing even though his heart was doing its best to beat out of his chest. He slowly moved closer to Penelope, continuing to talk to the frightened animal.

      It took what felt like forever to get Penelope calmed down enough that Garrett figured she wouldn’t injure herself further. But if the thunder kept up or the fire grew any bigger, he wasn’t betting she wouldn’t break free again and run until she collapsed or bled to death.

      His dad didn’t have to be told to go call Dr. Franklin. He just headed for the house once he saw Garrett had Penelope under control.

      With another roll of thunder, the heavens finally turned on the spigot and rain started falling harder. It took less than a minute for Garrett’s clothes to be soaked through, but he didn’t move.

      His dad stalked back across the yard. “Doc Franklin is out of town, so I put a call in to Dr. Smith over in Fredericksburg. But his answering service said he’s out on another call. We’re next up.”

      The way Penelope was bleeding and breathing hard, they needed help sooner. He glanced back over his shoulder but didn’t see flames anymore. Thank God for that. He returned his attention to his dad.

      “Watch her. I’ve got an idea.”

      He raced into the house and grabbed the phone. Since he’d been at the Wildflower Inn earlier and didn’t think Natalie was staying there, he called the next best guess for where she was staying.

      “Country Vista Inn,” a female voice answered.

      “Natalie Todd’s room, please.”

      When the person on the other end of the line didn’t come back with a “There’s no one staying here by that name,” instead connecting him with a room, he almost breathed a sigh of relief. But when the phone rang several times with no answer, he started pacing and ran his fingers through his hair.

      “Come on, pick up.”

      As if she heard him, Natalie’s sleepy voice said, “Hello?”

      Despite all the potential catastrophes currently in play, for a moment he stood there imagining her in bed, that blond hair rumpled, her feminine curves clothed in something soft and barely there.

      Good grief, he needed to get laid.

      “Natalie, it’s Garrett Brody. Sorry to wake you, but I need your help.”

      She didn’t immediately respond, and for a moment he wondered if she’d fallen back asleep.

      “My help?”

      “You’re a vet, and I have a badly injured horse.”

      “Doesn’t Blue Falls have a vet?”

      “Dr. Franklin is out of town, and the backup from Fredericksburg is already on another call. And Chloe’s horse has a big piece of wood piercing her side.”

      He heard movement on the other end of the call and imagined her swinging her legs over the edge of the bed.

      “Please tell me you’re like Dr. Franklin and pack medical supplies with you wherever you go,” he said.

      “I do,” Natalie said through a yawn. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

      Thank goodness for small miracles. He headed back outside to tell his dad the news, determined not to imagine Natalie arriving in her skimpy sleepwear and bed-tousled hair. Damn if he didn’t get a raging hard-on at that image. This time, he was thankful to be doused by the cold rain.

       Chapter Four

      Natalie exchanged her pajamas for jeans and a T-shirt. The absolute last thing she wanted to do was go back out to the Brody ranch again and still not be able to tell them why she was in town. Well, she could tell Garrett and his dad, but it just didn’t feel right to not tell Chloe. After all, they’d once been very close. To give the information to the first Brody she could find then race back to Kansas before Chloe even returned from her honeymoon felt like the ultimate in cowardice. If she was going to do this, she was going to do it right, no matter how hard it proved to be.

      But now, she had to focus on the task at hand. She might not want to be around the Brodys until she could talk to all of them at once, but she couldn’t leave an animal in danger.

      The rain was still coming down as she raced out to her truck and drove as fast as she dared toward the Brodys’ ranch. Her stomach knotted, and she hoped the few fries she’d eaten stayed right where they were.

      The drive seemed to take three times as long as it had earlier, even counting the stop she’d had to make on the side of the road during the first trip. The rain didn’t slacken until she neared the turn into the ranch, and then only slightly. She hit the brakes, skidding a little, when she came over a small hill and saw two fire trucks pulling out of the Brodys’ drive.

      Her heart lurched. Fire trucks? She glanced across the darkened field and made out a lighted window through the slanting rain. At least something was still standing. And Garrett had said nothing about a fire when he’d called. She didn’t think something could have caught fire, the 911 call be made, fire trucks respond and the fire be extinguished in the half hour it had taken her to arrive.

      When the trucks passed her, she pulled into the drive and hurried to reach the house. Her headlights caught someone leading two horses toward the barn. The man looked over his shoulder toward her, and though she couldn’t tell for certain, she got the feeling it was Garrett’s dad.

      A huge lump formed in her throat and she had to blink back tears. Her father had cost Mr. Brody his wife, the mother of his children. How in the world was she going to face him and not have the horrible truth be obvious in her expression?

       Now is not the time. Now you focus on work, a hurt animal, nothing else.

      Not even the tall, sexy and currently drenched man she saw beyond the one leading the horses. Even soaking wet and with her vision impaired by the rain battling with her windshield wipers, she knew it was Garrett standing next to a big bay, his hand slowly rubbing down the horse’s neck.

      She shook her head as she parked then grabbed the emergency medical kit she kept with her at all times. She never knew when she might come