A Cold Creek Holiday. RaeAnne Thayne

she murmured and he whinnied and tossed his head as if in complete agreement.

      “That one was our mom’s horse.”

      She whirled around and found the girls from the night before watching her from the corner of the pasture. Claire and Tallie, she remembered.

      They wore jeans and parkas and mismatched gloves and Tallie’s hair was slipping out of her braid. Had her sister fixed it or had Nate? The idea of that dangerous-looking man trying to wrangle his niece’s hair tugged at her emotions.

      “Hi,” she greeted the girls.

      “That was our mom’s favorite horse,” Claire repeated.

      “He’s beautiful,” Emery answered.

      “His name is Cielo. It means cloud in Spanish,” the younger girl said. “You can ride him if you want.”

      “Oh, I don’t…”

      Tallie didn’t wait for her to answer. “Annabelle was our mom’s other favorite horse, but she’s having a baby after Christmas so you can’t ride her.”

      “Which one is Annabelle?”

      “The black with the white stockings,” Claire said, gesturing to a lovely mare currently drinking from the water trough.

      “So do you want to ride Cielo?”

      She did, suddenly, but she was wary about riding a horse that had been a favorite of their deceased mother.

      “If you’re sure it’s okay.”

      “Sure,” Tallie answered, then her gamine features lit up. “Hey, she could come with us! Then we could go now.”

      “Where are you going?” Emery asked warily.

      “Just a friend’s house,” Claire said.

      “By yourselves?”

      The girls exchanged glances. “We’re allowed to ride as long as we have someone with us,” Claire finally answered, an explanation Emery didn’t completely buy.

      “What were you planning to do before you ran into me here?”

      “Wait.” Tallie heaved a put-upon sigh. “We’ve been waiting all morning, and Uncle Nate is still busy with the man who came from Idaho Fall.”

      “The lawyer,” Claire said. “He’s talking about our mom and dad’s state.”

      It took Emery a moment to deduce their uncle and the attorney must be discussing their parents’ estate. Poor little things, to lose both their mother and their father.

      Let that be a lesson to her. Just when she was tempted to wallow in self-pity at the strange journey her life had taken over the past few years, she was completely gob-smacked by someone whose path was even tougher.

      “I’m sure they’ll be finished soon.”

      “But we have an important mission,” Tallie declared. “We can’t wait much longer. We really can’t.”

      Emery couldn’t help her smile. Had she been so dramatic at eight? “What could possibly be so urgent?”

      “Our friend Tanner has been home sick from school for three whole days.”

      Again, Emery had to swallow a smile at the gravity in the girl’s voice. “Oh my goodness. I hope it’s nothing serious.”

      “He had the flu and was throwing up and everything. He said it was really gross. But his stepmom said he’s feeling tons better.”

      “That’s a relief.” Emery was surprised to find herself enjoying her interaction with these cute girls.

      “Yeah, only I brought home all his homework papers yesterday and I just have to get them to his house so he has time to finish them before school on Monday or he’ll be in big trouble.”

      “I can see why you’re in such a hurry, then.”

      “So will you come with us?” Claire asked. “We can help you saddle Cielo.”

      She looked at the powerful horse and then back at the girls. She had been considering a ride. And by the looks of him, riding Cielo would indeed be like riding a cloud. What would be the harm in going along with the girls and saving Nate Cavazos a little work?

      “We’d better make sure it’s all right with your uncle.”

      “I’m sure he won’t mind,” Claire said. “This way he doesn’t have to find the time to take us.”

      “Why don’t you ask him anyway? I would feel better if he gave his okay. Tallie and I will saddle the horses and meet you at the house in a few minutes, all right?”

      Claire gave a reluctant sigh, but nodded. “Tallie, you get Junebug for me. And don’t cinch her too tight.”

      “I know. I’ve only done it a million times.”

      Claire returned to the barn a few moments later, just as they were saddling Tallie’s small paint pony, a pretty little mare she called Estrella.

      “Did he say it was okay?”

      “Yep,” Claire said, her attention turned to her own horse.

      “Good,” Emery answered, surprised at how much she was anticipating a good, hard ride. “Does it take long to reach Tanner’s house?”

      “It’s not far. Maybe a mile,” Tallie answered. Before Emery could ask if she needed a hand into the saddle, the girl clambered up like a little monkey and settled easily on the horse’s back.

      Both girls looked completely at home in the saddle and Emery, who had been riding since she was younger than either of them, though with an English saddle, felt like a veritable greenhorn in comparison.

      “Come on. Let’s go,” Tallie insisted, nudging the heels of her boots into the horse’s side.

      The younger girl led the way down the snowy driveway and both of the other horses followed Estrella with alacrity, tack jingling softly and their gaits smart, as if they were thrilled to be out in the cold, invigorating air.

      The mountains loomed over them, raw and jagged, their peaks a dramatic contrast of snow and pine.

      At the end of the long, curving drive, they followed the canyon road along the creek for perhaps a half mile. In that time, they encountered no vehicles.

      “Are we getting closer to Tanner’s house?” Emery asked after a few more moments.

      “Not very far. Look, there’s the sign for it.”

      She followed the direction of the girl’s outstretched hand and her heart clutched in her chest.

      A huge log arch spanned the driveway, much bigger than the sign for the Hope Springs Guest Ranch had been. This one declared Cold Creek Land & Cattle Company in black iron letters.

      Oh, dear heavens.

      She wasn’t ready. She still hadn’t decided if she would ever be ready. She needed more time to figure out if she wanted to face any of the Daltons yet.

      She wanted to whirl Cielo around and ride as fast and as hard as she could back to the relative safety of Hope Springs.

      “What’s the matter, Ms. Kendall?” Tallie’s mouth puckered into a concerned frown. “You look funny.”

      She didn’t feel funny. Far from it. She felt panicked and vaguely nauseous, the canned tomato soup suddenly turning to greasy sludge in her stomach.

      She drew in a breath. She could do this. The Daltons knew nothing about the revelations that had completely rocked her world four months ago. As far as they knew, she was only a guest staying at a neighboring ranch.

      “Nothing.” She forced a smile and eased her hands on the reins. “Nothing