her fears. “She’ll be riding with me.” With that he swung himself onto the horse and reached down to hoist Cricket into the saddle with him.
As if she’d been born to ride, Cricket sat in front of Chase on the huge animal without revealing the least bit of fear. “Look at me!” she shouted, grinning widely. “I’m riding a horsey! I’m riding a horsey!”
Even Chase was smiling at such unabashed enthusiasm. “I’ll take her around the yard a couple of times,” he told Letty before kicking gently at Firepower’s sides. The bay obediently trotted around in a circle.
“Can we go over there?” Cricket pointed to some indistinguishable location in the distance.
“Cricket,” Letty said, clamping the straw hat onto her head and squinting up. “Chase is a busy man. He hasn’t got time to run you all over the countryside.”
“Hold on,” Chase responded, taking the reins in both hands and heading in the direction Cricket had indicated.
“Chase!” Letty cried, running after him. “She’s just a little girl. Please be careful.”
He didn’t answer her, and not knowing what to expect, Letty trailed them to the end of the long drive. When she reached it, she was breathless and light-headed. It took her several minutes to walk back to the house. She was certain anyone watching her would assume she was drunk. Entering the kitchen, Letty grabbed her prescription bottle—hidden from Lonny in a cupboard—and swallowed a couple of capsules without water.
Not wanting to raise unnecessary alarm, she went back to the garden, but she had to sit on an old stump until her breathing returned to normal. Apparently her heart had gotten worse since she’d come home. Much worse.
“Mommy, look, no hands!” Cricket called out, her arms raised high in the air as Firepower trotted back into the yard.
Smiling, Letty stood and reached for the spading fork.
“Don’t try to pretend you were working,” Chase muttered, frowning at her. “We saw you sitting in the sun. What’s the matter, Letty? Did the easy life in California make you lazy?”
Once more Chase was baiting her. And once more Letty let the comment slide. “It must have,” she said and looked away.
Chapter 4
Chase awoke just before dawn. He lay on his back, listening to the birds chirping outside his half-opened window. Normally their singing would have cheered him, but not this morning. He’d slept poorly, his mind preoccupied with Letty. Everything Lonny had said the week before about her not being herself had bounced around in his brain for most of the night.
Something
was
different about Letty, but not in the way Chase would have assumed. He’d expected the years in California to transform her in a more obvious way, making her worldly and cynical. To his surprise, he’d discovered that in several instances she seemed very much like the naive young woman who’d left nine years earlier to follow a dream. But the changes were there, lots of them, complex and subtle, when he’d expected them to be simple and glaring. Perhaps what troubled Chase was his deep inner feeling that something was genuinely wrong with her. But try as he might, he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. That disturbed him the most.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Chase rubbed his hands over his face and glanced outside. The cloudless dawn sky was a luminous shade of gray. The air smelled crisp and clean as Wyoming offered another perfect spring morning.
Chase dressed in his jeans and a Western shirt. Downstairs, he didn’t bother to fix himself a cup of coffee; instead, he walked outside, climbed into his pickup and headed over to the Bar E.
Only it wasn’t Lonny who drew him there.
The lights were on in the kitchen when Chase pulled into the yard. He didn’t knock, but stepped directly into the large family kitchen. Letty was at the stove, the way he knew she would be. She turned when he walked in the door.
“Morning, Chase,” she said with a smile.
“Morning.”
As if she’d been born to ride, Cricket sat in front of Chase on the huge animal without revealing the least bit of fear. “Look at me!” she shouted, grinning widely. “I’m riding a horsey! I’m riding a horsey!”
Even Chase was smiling at such unabashed enthusiasm. “I’ll take her around the yard a couple of times,” he told Letty before kicking gently at Firepower’s sides. The bay obediently trotted around in a circle.
“Can we go over there?” Cricket pointed to some indistinguishable location in the distance.
“Cricket,” Letty said, clamping the straw hat onto her head and squinting up. “Chase is a busy man. He hasn’t got time to run you all over the countryside.”
“Hold on,” Chase responded, taking the reins in both hands and heading in the direction Cricket had indicated.
“Chase!” Letty cried, running after him. “She’s just a little girl. Please be careful.”
He didn’t answer her, and not knowing what to expect, Letty trailed them to the end of the long drive. When she reached it, she was breathless and light-headed. It took her several minutes to walk back to the house. She was certain anyone watching her would assume she was drunk. Entering the kitchen, Letty grabbed her prescription bottle—hidden from Lonny in a cupboard—and swallowed a couple of capsules without water.
Not wanting to raise unnecessary alarm, she went back to the garden, but she had to sit on an old stump until her breathing returned to normal. Apparently her heart had gotten worse since she’d come home. Much worse.
“Mommy, look, no hands!” Cricket called out, her arms raised high in the air as Firepower trotted back into the yard.
Smiling, Letty stood and reached for the spading fork.
“Don’t try to pretend you were working,” Chase muttered, frowning at her. “We saw you sitting in the sun. What’s the matter, Letty? Did the easy life in California make you lazy?”
Once more Chase was baiting her. And once more Letty let the comment slide. “It must have,” she said and looked away.
Chapter 4
Chase awoke just before dawn. He lay on his back, listening to the birds chirping outside his half-opened window. Normally their singing would have cheered him, but not this morning. He’d slept poorly, his mind preoccupied with Letty. Everything Lonny had said the week before about her not being herself had bounced around in his brain for most of the night.
Something
was
different about Letty, but not in the way Chase would have assumed. He’d expected the years in California to transform her in a more obvious way, making her worldly and cynical. To his surprise, he’d discovered that in several instances she seemed very much like the naive young woman who’d left nine years earlier to follow a dream. But the changes were there, lots of them, complex and subtle, when he’d expected them to be simple and glaring. Perhaps what troubled Chase was his deep inner feeling that something was genuinely wrong with her. But try as he might, he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. That disturbed him the most.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Chase rubbed his hands over his face and glanced outside. The cloudless dawn sky was a luminous shade of gray. The air smelled crisp and clean as Wyoming offered another perfect spring morning.
Chase dressed in his jeans and a Western shirt. Downstairs, he didn’t bother to fix himself a cup of coffee; instead, he walked outside, climbed into his pickup and headed over to the Bar E.
Only it wasn’t Lonny who drew him there.
The lights were on in the kitchen when Chase pulled into the yard. He didn’t knock, but stepped directly into the large family kitchen. Letty was at the stove, the way he knew she would be. She turned when he walked in the door.
“Morning, Chase,” she said with a smile.
“Morning.”
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