Page 56 of Roping Her In

Hailey collected a few treats from Mitch, and Jake held one up in front of Magnolia so she’d know what he held. “You can come around the side like this,” he said. “And watch when she sees it, or start high and come down low. Try it in daylight and darkness, and watch to see if she can see better in one or the other. You might be able to notice that her range of vision is limited.”

Jake could see it a little bit on the right side especially, but it wasn’t bad. He said as much, and then added, “And toss her some treats.”

He backed up and arced a treat toward Magnolia, like she might be able to catch it in her mouth the way many other dogs did. She flinched, but made no effort to catch the treat, and it bounced harmlessly off her nose.

Jake smiled at the dog and scrubbed her ears as he gave her a treat. “I definitely think it might be a depth perception issue.”

He waited while Hailey finished conveying all of that information. Then Mitch gave a loud sigh, treated Magnolia again, and shook Jake’s hand.

“Thanks so much,” Hailey said.

“Yeah, of course, anytime. You can call or text me with anything you need.” He grinned at Mitch and waited while he loaded up his dog.

Then he and Hailey turned toward the stable, and Jake caught her hand in his and grinned at her. “Are you ready for longhorns?”

Hailey beamed back at him with so much excitement in her expression. “So ready.”

Jake chuckled and pressed a kiss to her forehead before he opened the huge door for her to enter the shed ahead of him. He’d been getting up and going to work every day, and he had friends, and he even laughed sometimes. But he realized as he followed his bright, beautiful girlfriend into the barn that he hadn’t had sunshine in his life since leaving Hondo—and it felt really, really nice to be basking in the warmth and light of such a thing again.

22

Hailey arrived at the white brick church that looked like it had been someone’s farmhouse in the past. It probably had been. The steeple looked newer than the rest of the building, but the front doors standing side-by-side had been thrown open wide.

Though the ice storm had only happened five days ago, the landscape in Three Rivers had transformed once again. It had been nothing but sunny and pleasant for days, and Hailey found herself at church today instead of Three Rivers Ranch, because Libby had told everyone on the veterinary team that they had to take the weekend off, Jake included.

So Hailey had worked her intern hours on Friday, and then at her job at Feline Friends. She’d spent Saturday cleaning her condo, getting her laundry done, and catching up on schoolwork.

When she’d asked Jake what he did in his downtime, he’d taken forever to respond. Then he’d finally texted: I guess I’d watch a movie.

She’d teased back and forth about his lack of hobbies and other things he liked until he’d finally said, Well, I guess I could go horseback riding, or if I had a dog, I’d go running with it, and I like to wander out and see Beau’s miniature donkeys.

He was cowboy through and through, and Hailey didn’t mind that one bit. She hadn’t been to this church since moving to her new condo, because she normally attended one on the south side of town with the other Glovers.

But as she saw Henry and Angel walk in with their two kids, something settled inside her. There would be friendly faces here too. Hailey believed the gospel of Jesus Christ was true, no matter which pastor she listened to.

So she found a parking spot and actually unzipped her jacket as she walked across the lot to the chapel. Uncle Bear had said that Mother Nature was acting bipolar this year, merrily shining down sunshine at some times, and then throwing her worst storms at them in others. He seemed about right.

The church actually had air conditioning blowing in it, when only a few days ago they’d lost power due to a storm, and she’d been huddled in front of a space heater to stay warm. Since she was new and didn’t want to take anyone’s habitual seat, she stepped into the chapel and then moved to the left to sit on one of the outside rows, only two from the back.

She moved all the way to the wall, though it felt caging to think that if someone else sat there, she wouldn’t be able to leave. She told herself she didn’t want to leave; that she was going to stay for the whole sermon, and she didn’t need to sneak out before it ended.

She’d asked Jake where he went to church, and he’d told her this chapel. While she’d hoped he would invite her to sit with him, Hailey knew the man only made it to church about half the time, as per his own admission. Just because Libby had forced them to take the weekend off from the birthing shed, didn’t mean that Jake didn’t have anything else to do.

She shrugged out of her jacket and settled her bag on the floor near her feet. Someone played the piano, filling the beautiful hall with music, and Hailey’s muscles relaxed and sank further into the warmth of being in the right place.

A little girl toddled to the end of the row, and Hailey’s whole face lit up. “Heya, Starr,” she whispered. “Are you going to come sit with me?” She reached for the girl, who smiled brightly, and then walked toward her.

Hailey picked up the two-year-old and settled her on her lap before looking out into the rest of the congregation and finding Angel. Angel’s eyebrows went up, and Hailey smiled and waved her hand as if to say, It’s fine. She can sit with me.

Some of her younger cousins had been born after Hailey had graduated high school, and she’d held more babies and toddlers in her life than anything else she’d done. Starr sank back into her body like a loose sack of flour, and Hailey pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

She had no idea how she’d entertain a two-year-old during a sermon, but she figured she could always send her back to her mother. Growing up, her parents and aunts and uncles had brought bags with treats, drinks, board books, flannel games, and coloring activities to keep the kids quiet. For now, Starr seemed content with simply being held in Hailey’s arms, and she smiled up to the pulpit as the pastor stood.

The music played for a few more bars, and someone behind her got up to close the doors.

“Good morning, brothers and sisters,” the pastor said, his voice bright and cheery to match the new weather that had arrived in the Panhandle.

In that moment, someone sat on the end of the bench, and Hailey looked over to them. Her heartbeat crashed against her ribs when she saw Jake, and she grinned at him.