“Could be a coincidence. Hell, maybe she just took off with some dude and the two of them are shacked up somewhere.”
He relaxed a little. As Ham said, it could be nothing. Even if it turned out to be something, didn’t mean it had anything to do with Tory. Lots of crime in Phoenix. “You’re right. We need more information. Stay on it, will you?”
“I’ve got friends in the Phoenix PD. They promised to give me a heads-up if anything breaks.”
“Really appreciate it. Thanks, Ham.”
“I heard about Pete. Life really sucks sometimes.”
“Yeah, it does.” Josh ended the call and stuck the phone back in the pocket of his jeans. He had work to do, way too much to be worrying about a so-far nonexistent threat.
He wasn’t about to say anything to Tory.
He hoped he’d never have to.
Josh pushed the phone call out of his mind and went back to work. All week, Cole and Noah had been working with a mason, laying the cement-block foundation for the barn he intended to build. A local architect had drawn the plans. The main barn would be serviceable but not overly large, configured so he could add on as his horse-breeding operation developed over the years.
Tory had been amazing, doing all of the organization, making the work look easy while he found the job frustrating and confusing.
Things were moving in the right direction, but there was still the problem of the charges against him in Phoenix, leaving a cloud of worry hanging over his head.
* * *
Thursday afternoon was humid, the damp air hot and sticky as Tory walked next to Josh to the cow barn. She adjusted the white straw cowboy hat he had bought her to protect her fair skin from the sun. The boots she was wearing she had purchased for herself.
They were riding in the pasture now instead of the ring. She had come to love it and she was getting better every day—or at least thought she was. It was pretty much a daily routine, though a couple of times they had gotten distracted and ended up making love in the tack room.
The riding lesson went perfectly. Afterward, they headed for the grassy pasture where Star placidly grazed. In order for the stallion to earn his keep, he needed to be tame enough to work with the people who handled him and not hurt the mares he would be breeding.
If the horse would accept Josh, then maybe he could learn to accept other people, too. Maybe at last Star could fulfill his tremendous potential.
Tory cupped her hand around her mouth to call out to him, but the stallion caught her scent, his head shot up, and his ears flashed forward. With a soft whinny, he galloped toward the fence, slowed to a trot, and walked right up to her. With his gleaming black coat and perfect conformation, he was so beautiful a soft pang throbbed in her heart.
The horse eyed Josh a moment, apparently decided he wasn’t a threat, very carefully picked up the apple Tory had placed in the flat of her hand, and crunched it down.
Josh moved forward, joining Tory at the fence. “Hey, buddy. You like that, don’t you?” His voice was soft and deep, but also firm. She knew from personal experience how hard that voice was to resist.
Josh fed the stallion the other half of the apple and continued rubbing and stroking.
“I’d say we’re making real progress,” he commented as they headed back to the house. “Tomorrow I’m going to try to halter him while you keep him occupied.”
“I think he’s beginning to trust you.”
“Yeah. It’s a good feeling.”
Preparations for the barn raising were coming together the way they’d planned. Better yet, the following morning Nate Temple called—the charges against Josh had been dropped.
Aaron Guinness’s threat to file countercharges, along with Damon’s prior arrest for assault against Tory and the restraining order once granted against him, had apparently been enough for his attorney to convince him. He had a reputation as a businessman to consider, as well as the reputation of his father’s company.
Damon—probably at his father’s insistence—had grudgingly agreed to a dismissal.
According to Guinness, there was a good chance Damon had never intended for the arrest to go any further. He’d just wanted to see Josh handcuffed in front of Tory and hauled off to jail.
Saturday finally arrived and it seemed as if half the town showed up to help build Josh a new barn. To the accompaniment of pounding hammers and buzzing saws, the men scrambled up and down ladders and carried lumber, all of them working together like a perfectly choreographed dance.
By midafternoon, the sides of the barn were in place and half a dozen men slid metal panels into position on the roof, securing them with metal screws.
Tory had everything well-organized, from where to stack the building supplies for easy access, to which crews would work where. She had even assigned young Ty Murphy to handle parking cars in the field in front of the barn.
