LITMIR.BIZ

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exactly did you think you were going?” Ace stopped, bent, braced his hands on his knees and studied the horse, his lungs on fire.

      Midnight pawed the ground, then turned back to face the trailer. A panel had been closed, separating the trailer into two compartments, the rear one empty. Ace could imagine the horse weighing his options.

      “Make this easy, pal. Go in the trailer.”

      Duke and Uncle Joshua came over, their faces split by amused grins Ace didn’t find the least bit funny. They’d exercised considerably more intelligence than him and remained on the opposite side of the fence railing, clear of harm’s way.

      “You should have seen yourself running after that horse.” Uncle Joshua broke into laughter and elbowed Duke in the ribs. “Where’s a video camera when you need one?”

      Duke, usually more somber, laughed along with his dad.

      “I just want to get this damn horse loaded,” Ace grumbled.

      Midnight snorted and pawed the ground again, his lead rope dangling in the mud.

      “Need help?” the livestock foreman asked. He strolled toward Ace, the buggy whip gripped at his side.

      “We’re okay.” In Ace’s opinion, that livestock foreman and his whip were the reason Midnight bolted in the first place.

      Raising his arms and waving them slowly, Ace clucked to Midnight. The two wranglers came up behind Ace, blocking any potential escape route.

      Duke started toward the slim opening between the fence and the rear corner of the trailer. “You want me to grab his lead rope?”

      “No, stay put,” Ace ordered. “The last thing we need is someone getting hurt.”

      Someone else getting hurt, he thought, and rolled his sore shoulder.

      Five minutes later, Midnight had yet to budge.

      “Aren’t you supposed to be a horse whisperer?” the livestock foreman asked, a slight jeer in his voice. “Can’t you just whisper him into the trailer?”

      If only it were that simple.

      Clouds gathered in the sky overhead, and the temperature had dropped by several degrees. It was going to rain again. Possibly snow. They really needed to be on the road soon to avoid any dangerous weather conditions.

      Midnight stared at the trailer holding his companions. He wanted to be with them. Horses were herd animals by nature and this was his herd. But he was also stubborn and unwilling to give an inch.

      “All of you, leave,” Ace said.

      “What?” Uncle Joshua scoffed. “You crazy?”

      “You heard me. Leave.” Ace turned to the wranglers and livestock foreman. “And no one comes round until that horse is loaded.”

      “I’m not leaving,” Uncle Joshua protested.

      “Come on, Dad.” Duke clapped his father’s shoulder. “Ace knows best.”

      The men shrugged and grumbled and complained, but they also did as requested. Ace was pretty sure he heard the livestock foreman refer to him by a rather colorful name.

      Walking casually down the aisle, Ace left Midnight alone. He waited at the pen, keeping an eye on the horse. Unless Midnight chose to jump the five-foot fence, an unlikely probability, his options were limited.

      “Let’s go, boy,” he muttered to himself. “Into the trailer. Nobody’s watching you.”

      Midnight lifted one front leg, held it poised in the air.

      Ace mentally willed the horse forward. “Come on, you can do it.”

      He noticed a few stragglers and the cleanup crew observing with obvious interest. His mother, too. He didn’t care, as long as they stayed away.

      A horse inside the trailer whinnied. Another one clanged a hoof against the sidewall.

      It was apparently the encouragement Midnight needed. Tentatively, he approached the rear of the trailer. Placing one front foot on the trailer floor, he waited. And waited. Finally he hoisted the front half of his body inside.

      “Halfway there, pal,” Ace murmured.

      With a mighty grunt, Midnight hopped into the trailer, settling himself in the empty compartment as if it were just another day, just another trailer ride.

      Ace held up a warning hand to his cousin and uncle when they would have climbed the fence. He let a full minute pass before he started down the aisle. When he reached the trailer, he swung the rear gate closed and latched it, the metallic clink making a very satisfying sound.

      “Hallelujah!” Uncle Joshua exclaimed. “Let’s get the heck out of here before the storm hits.”

      Ace checked Midnight one last time, chuckling to himself. He was going to like this horse.

      Chapter Three

      Ace and Duke climbed into the cab of the truck hauling Midnight and the mares. His mother and uncle got into the cab of the other truck. They formed a small caravan as they slowly navigated the road from the auction grounds to Highway 12.

      “You hungry?” Duke asked.

      “Starving.” Waiting out stubborn horses was hard work, as was an unplanned confrontation with an irate woman.

      “I’ll call Dad in a bit. Maybe we can eat at the truck stop we passed on the way here.”

      Ace removed his cowboy hat and set it on the seat between him and Duke. By prior agreement, they’d split the chore of driving. Ace had taken the first shift to the auction from Roundup, needing the distraction to combat his nervousness.

      He wished he was driving now, he could use another distraction. When he wasn’t contemplating Midnight’s puzzling behavior, he was imagining Flynn packing boxes and cartons in preparation for moving. She’d been a fixture in his life for much of it, except during the time she was married.

      He’d never liked her husband and was convinced the fool didn’t deserve Flynn.

      Ace didn’t deserve her, either.

      He recalled her face that morning three weeks ago and grimaced. Could he have treated her more cruelly? He’d told himself it was necessary, that to lead her on would be unfair. She’d form expectations, ones he couldn’t meet.

      The truth was he’d been running scared, that morning and every day since. Even before they’d gone to her house, before their first kiss outside the Number 1 Diner, something inside him had changed. He finally admitted to himself that Flynn was someone he could easily fall for, had, in all likelihood, fallen for years earlier and simply denied it.

      “Some news about Flynn going to school to be a nurse.” Duke glanced at the side mirrors before changing lanes.

      “Who told you?”

      “Your mom. She’s worried.”

      “About Flynn? Why?”

      “No, about you. She said you took it pretty hard.”

      “Why would I take it hard? I think it’s a great idea.” Ace shoved his fingers through his hair, wiping the sweat from his brow. “Want me to call your dad? The truck stop’s coming up soon.”

      “Not for half an hour.”

      Ace didn’t want to discuss Flynn. He hadn’t told anyone about the night they’d spent together and wouldn’t. Not even Duke. And they were more than cousins, they were good friends.

      In some ways, Ace had a better relationship with Duke than he did with his own brothers. Colt was frequently off to some rodeo and Tuf had enlisted in the Marines. On the other hand, Ace and Dinah were close. She was the little sister he ordered around, doted on, protected, and whose secrets he safeguarded.

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