Fresh-Start Ranch. Leann Harris

      The tension holding her upright eased, and she took a deep breath. The shock of Kevin’s words still reverberated through her. Mary and Ethan had been engaged?

      “You okay?” Ethan asked, coming to her side.

      She gave a shaky laugh. “Yeah, but William’s determination to get Hope just seems—oh, I don’t know—so intense...desperate.” She thought about the things that Kevin threw at Ethan. What was going on? It was none of her business, she reminded herself. She had to stay focused on the horse.

      “That bothers me, too.” Ethan rubbed the back of his neck. “There’s something there that doesn’t seem right. It’s like when my sister decided to wear one of my belts and put it back in the closet in my room, but she put it in the wrong place. It took me a day to understand what was bothering me.”

      Tessa’s eyes went wide with surprise. “Are you kidding me?”

      “No, I think William’s up to something.”

      “I wasn’t talking about that. You knew when your sister borrowed your belt?” Kevin had thrown some pretty heavy accusations at Ethan and he was talking about his sister wearing his belt?

      His eyes cut to hers, and his mouth twitched, disarming the tension. “She was bad about borrowing things. I’d walk into the kitchen and find her wearing one of my shirts or sweatshirts or belts. Or my brother’s stuff.” The way his brows knitted into a frown made her want to laugh.

      “Wow.” Talk about ignoring the issue. She thought about calling him on it but she didn’t feel it was right to push.

      “My example was to point out when something feels wrong.”

      “I see.” She agreed with that, as far as it went.

      He shrugged. “The foal seems to be walking without a limp,” he commented, changing the subject.

      Her mind snapped back to the present. “That’s what I hoped would happen. She’s also nursing well.” Tessa ran her hands down the mare’s side. “Momma’s also doing well. The IV fluids helped.

      “This lady has a will to live. Babies will do that to a mother.” When she looked up, meeting Ethan’s gaze, her last sentence took on a new meaning. They both understood Tessa wasn’t only referring to fillies.

      He looked away and there was an odd tension between them. Uncomfortable, she asked, “So, what brings you here to the hospital? Did God whisper in your ear I was going to need backup?”

      Ethan shifted uneasily as if guilty. “No. Mary had some papers that needed to be signed by me on society business. And since the clinic is on the way, I wanted to check on Hope and Lady, just in case the judge asks me about them. This judge sometimes likes to question different people about the animals’ conditions.”

      That was a valid reason. “I just printed off the report, if you’d like to look at it.”

      “I would. Mary wanted me to remind you she wants you there in person at the hearing, in case the judge has any questions.”

      That wasn’t an unusual request. “I can do that, but you’ll have to tell me where the courthouse is located.”

      “It’s in Los Rios. The hearing is ten-thirty.”

      “Okay, I’ll be there, but I’ll need directions.” And she didn’t want to repeat her mistake of getting lost on the rural roads. She only had to fall in a hole once to learn to be wary. Kind of like falling in love. She didn’t need to repeat the mistake twice.

      * * *

      Ethan followed Tessa into the office. Doc Adams had brought in a battered metal desk and put it on the other side of the office from his messy rolltop desk. The computer monitor with hard drive underneath looked out of place in this room, which could’ve come straight out of a picture from a 1930s veterinary office. On the opposite wall, sitting on the metal desk, was a slick laptop. Tessa’s diploma rested on the floor, waiting to be hung. Obviously, she hadn’t had time to finish settling in. Between the two desks was a long table pushed against the back wall, with the printer on it. Underneath were several boxes.

      “I haven’t had time to unpack yet,” Tessa explained, walking to the metal desk. “I’ll need your email address so I can send you future reports.”

      “Agreed. I’ll put you on the email loop for the Society. Now most of our ranchers have email, but I’ll send you their phone numbers in addition to their email address.”

      “Thanks.” She walked to the printer and picked up the report. Meanwhile, Ethan mentally ran over the information he expected the report to contain.

      For the last day and a half when Ethan had been working at the ranch, he’d recalled Hope’s birth. What an incredible moment. They’d snatched victory from the mouth of tragedy. When his parents asked about what had occurred at the seizure, the words came tumbling out full of enthusiasm and praise for the new vet, surprising his folks as well as him.

      After he finished, his mother simply smiled her I-understand-what’s-really-happening smile, while his dad shook his head. Their reactions puzzled Ethan but he’d been too distracted by thoughts of Tessa to dwell on them for long.

      He felt as though he’d known Tessa forever. That didn’t make sense. He wasn’t ready to feel such a strong sense of connection to a woman. He’d talked to God while riding out to check fences, but he hadn’t come to any understanding of his feelings, even when he discussed his reaction with Ranger. He was glad his horse couldn’t talk and comment on his odd behavior.

      Adding to his turmoil, this morning Mary called, needing him to drive to Albuquerque to sign papers. He’d gone, but the tension in Mary’s office was so thick, he knew that it was going to be a rough year while he was head of the rescue group. He couldn’t fault Mary’s legal expertise, but they’d never discussed what had happened the morning of their aborted wedding. Driving home from that tense meeting, he thought seeing Hope and Lady would be a good way to unwind. His anticipation had turned to alarm when he walked into Doc’s medical barn and clapped eyes on Kevin Raney.

      Ethan had had the unfortunate experience to meet Kevin years ago. Kevin had been traveling the rodeo circuit. He didn’t rope or ride or participate in any of the events. What he did was provide drugs, drink, betting on rodeo events and poker games for the young men and the cowboys who worked the circuit. After a particularly ugly fight that had broken out among several cowboys, sending them to the hospital, Kevin had been barred from coming on the fairground or rodeo property. Later, Ethan had heard Kevin had spent time in the New Mexico state prison system.

      So, what was Kevin doing with William?

      “Here’s the report,” Tessa said, breaking into his thoughts.

      His hand brushed hers when he took the pages. As if grabbing a live wire, a jolt raced through him. His gaze flew to hers. Her eyes widened and a startled “oh” escaped her perfect mouth. The surprise in her eyes told him he wasn’t alone in the reaction.

      The moment ended with the outside door slamming. Doc Adams appeared in the doorway.

      “Hey, Ethan, what are you doing here?” He looked from Ethan to Tessa.

      Ethan took a step away from Tessa and turned. “I was driving back from the city and wanted to see how Hope and Lady were doing.”

      Doc gave him a funny look.

      “After meeting with our lawyer,” Ethan further explained, “I needed to spend some time with horses.”

      Doc’s brow arched. “I see.”

      Doc’s cryptic answer made the thirty-five-year-old Ethan squirm like he did the summer Doc had confronted him when he was sixteen and in a whole lot of trouble.

      “It was fortunate he came,” Tessa interjected. “There was a little difficulty with William and Kevin Raney.”

      “Oh?”