“Can you make sure to hand her over to Tillie after you’re done?” I request.
“Yes,” she breathes.
Her braid slips forward, catching the sunlight, and I have to look away as grief crawls under my ribs and sits there. I’ve been an asshole to her, and she’s got no problem babysitting my daughter. It rattles me worse than any stampede.
Before I say something stupid, I turn and am about to walk to the stables with Dodge when I hear the sound of tires on caliche.
A black SUV rolls slowly up the drive, shiny as a damn mirror.
My heart kicks hard against bone.
The dust hasn’t even settled before Landon steps out, polished boots, pressed sport coat, and a smile cut sharp as glass.
“Hey, Tillie mentioned you were out here so….” He trails off when he sees Sarah.
Sarah goes pale as chalk. For all her steel, she looks like she’s just been kicked in the solar plexus. Landon sees her, too. For a heartbeat, that slick politician mask cracks. His eyes flare wide and dark before he schools them back into a charming expression.
But I catch it. The way he froze. The way she froze.
My stomach knots. I go cold.
I know.
I know.
I know.
Sarah holds Evie’s hand tight, who is unaware of the drama that's playing out.
My kid grins at Landon and wrenches free of Sarah’s grip to run up to my brother. “Uncle Landon.”
I’ve got to give him credit; he recovers from the shock of seeing Sarah faster than she does. Faster than I do
“Hey, Evie girl. How are you?”
Before Evie can get close to my brother, Sarah pulls her away, like Landon has the plague. “Come on, Evie, we have to…we have to….”
“But, Dr K,” Evie protests.
Bandit is barking like crazy. He can read the tension, and he’s snarling at Landon.
Sarah all but hustles my kid away into the stables, where the horses are, speaking loudly to Evie about one of the horses she just has to check up on.
“What the fuck is she doing here?” Landon snarls.
I turn to Dodge and jerk my chin. He nods. He’s going to make sure Sarah and Evie are okay.
Something is wrong. Very wrong. I know it in my bones.
“She’s saving my Angus.”
“What?”
“Bodie broke his leg and?—”
“Get another vet.” He steps closer, and there’s menace in his eyes, in his tone. “Not her.”
I tilt my head to look at him. “Why do you care who I use? You ain’t here that much, Landon, though you have been comin’ around more often.”
