Redemption Ranch. Leann Harris

She chuckled and turned around and ran smack-dab into a wide chest. She bounced off it, knocking her hat off. Instantly, the man’s hands shot out to steady her. She looked up into Tyler Lynch’s deep brown eyes.

       “I need to put a bell on you, you know that?” The words popped out of her mouth before she thought.

       Tyler’s eyes widened, then a deep-throated chuckle rumbled through his chest. The sound filled the dim interior of the stables.

       Feeling the electricity to her toes, she smiled back. “I do seem to be in the wrong spot for you, don’t I?”

       “I’d say so.”

       He continued to hold her arms, and she wondered if he realized what he was doing. Sadly, his hands fell away and he stepped back.

       “Sophie said you brought the young man who is sitting outside. What’s his name?”

       The humor drained out of his face to be replaced with pain and sadness. “Riley Carter.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “His brother was in my unit in Iraq. He was killed disarming a bomb.” The words sucked the lightness from the air.

       No wonder the kid had an attitude. “I’m so sorry, Tyler.”

       “Riley took his brother’s death real hard. His mother is worried about him and troubled by the chip on his shoulder. Paul told me he was real close to Riley after their father’s death. I thought this place might help. I know I’ve seen some pretty amazing things over the weeks I’ve been here.” He shrugged. “It’s worth a shot.”

       Admiration welled in Beth’s heart. His concern for his friend’s younger brother spoke well of Tyler. “I think you’ve got a bit of work ahead of you from the looks of things.”

       Tyler looked out the open door, again, his expression turning grim. “Yeah, I know.”

       “Take heart. This ranch is a miraculous place. If it could reach my brother with as bad an attitude as he had when I brought him here, it can work with anyone—” she looked over her shoulder out the open doors “—that young man included.”

       “You brought Zach here?” Surprise rang in his voice.

       Her brows wiggled. “I did. And a pricklier male you’ve never seen, but he promised me he would try once. I knew Sophie from college and knew she was helping to establish a program for veterans, and I kind of volunteered Zach.”

       Tyler’s brow arched. “How’d he feel about that?”

       Beth grinned. “Annoyed. But once he stepped through the breezeway and saw horses, he was hooked. And he got a wife in the bargain.”

       “I hope it’s that easy with Riley—with the exception of the wife thing.”

       “Ah, there were a few bumps. You might not realize it, but Riley’s bad attitude is encouraging. I think he’s fighting a battle within himself. He’s curious, but that male pride thingie is standing in his way. We’ve got to figure out a way he can save face and start exploring things here.”

       “What do you mean, that ‘male pride thingie’?”

       Beth laughed at his indignant tone and reached down, picking up her hat. “I rest my case.” With those words, she put on her hat and walked to the tack room to get Charming’s bridle. She’d let Mr. Macho wrestle with the ideas she just floated. Riley wasn’t the only prickly male around the stables.

      * * *

       Beth finished with her last rider of the day, Chelsea. The little girl had the heart of a lion, enduring surgery after surgery to correct the damage done in the car accident. Her legs, broken in multiple places, had healed, but her gait was still awkward. Since she’d started riding, her attitude had changed and her coordination had improved.

       Beth helped Chelsea off the horse. The eight-year-old grinned from ear to ear.

       “I love Brownie.” She patted the horse’s side.

       “Why don’t you go get a carrot for her?” Beth asked.

       The little girl hurried to the carrot barrel and grabbed a short one. She fed it to Brownie. Chelsea’s mother smiled at her daughter.

       “It’s a miracle,” she said to Beth, her eyes glistening with emotion. “She can run, even if it is slowly.”

       Beth knew the feeling. “It is.” She tied Brownie to the iron ring in the wall by the mounting stairs and walked out with mom and daughter. Turning, she expected to see a pouty Riley, but the bench stood empty. She’d tried several times this afternoon to involve Riley in some small way with the horses and riders. She suggested giving a carrot to one of the horses or getting bridles from the tack room, but the kid steadfastly refused to be interested in anything. She’d gotten only grunts and one-word answers.

       Looking around the ring, Beth tried to spot Riley, thinking he might have broken down and gotten interested in something. He’d been a fixture on the bend for the past three hours, glaring at all the people who came close to him. She fought down the panic and rushed down the breezeway on the far side of the office that led to the parking lot. Scanning the cars, she saw no sign of the boy. Turning back to the yard, she realized she didn’t see Dogger, either.

       Running back to the office, she opened the door. “Sophie, have you seen the kid that Tyler brought?”

       Sophie stood and glanced out the office window. “No. Why?”

       “Because he’s not over there, and I can’t find him anywhere.”

       Sophie hurried out from behind the desk. “Okay, I’ll get Ollie and Zach and see if we can find him.”

       “Great, I’ll check with Tyler. Maybe he took the kid home.”

       The women headed in different directions. Sophie walked out into the ring where Zach worked with a rider, while Beth headed back into the stables. She found Tyler behind the stables moving sacks of feed into the storage room.

       “I can’t find Riley. Is he with you?”

       He stopped. “No.”

       “He’s not sitting on the bench, and I’ve looked around and can’t find him. Dogger’s also missing.”

       Tyler took off his leather gloves. “Are you sure?”

       “Yes. I tried to get Riley to help this afternoon with some of the clients, but he refused. He was there when I started working with my last rider.”

       Tyler shoved his gloves into his back pocket. The pulse in his neck throbbed, but his voice didn’t reflect any panic. “I’ll check the corral behind the stables. Have you looked through each stall in the stable?”

       “No. I’ll check them.” She raced back to the stables, praying they’d find the boy.

      * * *

       Tyler fought back the alarm gripping his heart. Fear never led to good results, as the Army had taught him. He needed a clear head. His military training came flooding back. He surveyed the corral behind the stables sprawling out before him. He found himself whispering a prayer under his breath. He figured that God wouldn’t be offended if he prayed for the boy.

       There were two horses out in the corral, but no sign of Riley or Dogger. Thinking of his dog, some of his alarm eased. Dogger would take care of the kid. The dog’s instincts had saved Tyler in the field more than once.

       He walked down the path to the river beyond the riding corrals, making his way along the path. There was no sign of the boy.

       He spotted Zach and Sophie through the trees. “You see anything?”

       “Nothing,” Zach called back. “You know how long he’s been missing?”

       “I saw him sitting on that bench less than twenty minutes ago.”

       “He can’t have gone far.” Zach stepped on