LITMIR.BIZ

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the fading light, her shoulder-length blond hair had a metallic sheen to it. Not silver, not gold, but something in between. Her eyes gleamed the lavender-blue color of larkspurs, flowers that grew in the meadows on the Clayton ranch. For a moment, his breath caught at the heavenly sight.

      “Dr. Clayton.” The older man in the Stetson stepped forward and shook his hand. “I can’t thank you enough for coming. Wymon’s your brother, right?”

      “Yes.”

      “My son Sheldon and I met him at the rodeo last year.”

      “Wymon’s head of the ranch now.”

      “It’s a small world.” He shook his head. “Dr. Cruz, the veterinarian I’ve been using since our old one died, wasn’t available, so I took a chance on you.”

      “Thank you for calling me. I’m pleased to be of help, Mr. Hunter.”

      “I have Tracey here to thank for finding you. She just arrived for work today and happened to pass by your hospital on the way.”

      Her gaze flicked to Roce. “It surprised me. I didn’t remember seeing it when I was here in the spring,” she explained.

      “You wouldn’t have. I just set up my practice on the ranch last week, after moving from the hospital in Missoula.” He glanced at Mr. Hunter. “Why don’t you show me the horse so we can get him out of his pain?”

      “Chief is in the third stall.”

      As he followed the two of them inside the lighted barn, he found it impossible to keep his eyes off Tracey, and the way she moved wearing those cowboy boots.

      Mr. Hunter showed him to the stall that housed the dun-colored animal. Roce lowered his bag and approached it. “Chief is a fine-looking quarter horse. They make ideal family horses, don’t they?”

      “You’re right about that.”

      Roce ran his hand gently over his back and down his right leg. “It’s all right, Chief.” He moved around in front of him. “Let’s take a look at that sore hoof.”

      When he lifted it, the horse grunted, just as Tracey had said. By the way he held his body, Roce could tell he was in a serious amount of pain. His lower lip had gone tense and he didn’t blink. He was too uncomfortable.

      With a little probing, Roce found the offending object. “This horse has a hot nail embedded in the wall. I have to get it out. If I could fill a bucket with warm water...and I’ll need my bag.”

      “I’ll fill one,” Mr. Hunter declared.

      “Here’s your bag.” Tracey brought it to him and knelt to open it. When she looked up, their eyes held. That’s when a wave of emotion foreign to anything he’d ever known swept through Roce’s body, with such power he was left shaken by the impact.

      It was a miracle that he could concentrate on what he was doing while this beautiful woman, who smelled divine, stayed at his side and anticipated his needs.

      He removed the nail, releasing the pus. It took a good hour to flush out the wound and soak the hoof in Epsom salts and water. Finally, Roce was able to wrap Chief’s foot.

      “Do you think he’ll be all right?”

      Their gazes fused. “That’s hard to tell at this point. He’s less tense since the pressure was relieved. I’m going to start him on medication.”

      Reaching inside his bag, he drew out the balling gun with the antibiotic and placed it in the corner of Chief’s mouth. Very gently, he pushed the tip to the back of his tongue. He dispensed the tablet with the plunger and lifted Chief’s head to make certain he swallowed it.

      “There you go, buddy. We’re going to get you better.”

      “We are,” Tracey cooed, with her arms around his neck. “You poor darling.”

      This woman was a true horse lover. In the background he heard voices. “What’s going on, Granddad?” Another male had joined Mr. Hunter.

      “I phoned Dr. Clayton to take care of Chief’s hoof. It had a hot nail in it.”

      “Since when? He was fine this morning.” The dark-haired younger man, probably in his midtwenties, sounded upset—as he ought to be, considering the pain the horse was in.

      “Since Tracey Marcroft arrived this afternoon and noticed he was limping. We have her to thank for saving Chief from going lame, if it’s not too late. This is the first time you’ve had a chance to meet her, isn’t it? Tracey? This is my grandson, Wes. You’ve already met his wife, Fran.”

      “I did. She’s darling. It’s nice to meet you, Wes.”

      He nodded. “Welcome to the ranch.” In the next breath he eyed his grandfather. “Where’s Dr. Cruz?”

      Wes’s behavior struck Roce as rude. The man exuded no warmth and hadn’t even acknowledged Ms. Marcroft’s contribution. The fact that he completely ignored Roce didn’t matter.

      “I’m afraid he wasn’t available, Wes. You have no idea how fortunate we are that Dr. Clayton was on call and willing to come at a moment’s notice.”

      Wes stood next to his grandfather, but made no comment as Roce put the things back in his bag and moved out of the stall. He addressed the older man. “I’ll come every day to soak his hoof until he gets rid of the infection. He’ll need a fresh poultice each visit. In ten days to two weeks we’ll know if he’s back to normal.”

      “I’m indebted to you.” They shook hands. “Allow me to introduce my grandson, Wes, who’s in charge of the stable.”

      “How do you do, Wes?”

      The young man made a sound of acknowledgment, but lacked the older man’s good manners and didn’t extend a hand, prompting Mr. Hunter to speak up. “You’ll be seeing Wes when you come again tomorrow.”

      “Very good.”

      Roce looked around and saw Tracey Marcroft, who stood a little distance away.

      She smiled at him. “I’m so glad you came when you did, Dr. Clayton. Chief seems more at peace already.”

      “I agree. Getting that nail out did the trick. No animal should have to stay in pain.” He turned to Mr. Hunter. “I’ll say good-night.”

      “Come to my office tomorrow after your visit and we’ll talk more, Dr. Clayton.”

      “I’ll do that.”

      Since the arrival of the grandson, the atmosphere had grown chilly.

      Much as he would have liked to stay near the horse to observe him awhile longer, and talk to Ms. Marcroft alone for a few minutes, he realized now wasn’t the time. But he intended to seek her out tomorrow when he came again. On that happy note, he walked out to the truck and took off.

      When he reached his house twenty minutes later and opened the door, Daisy launched herself at him. He let out a deep laugh. Life suddenly looked exciting in ways he couldn’t have imagined when he’d left several hours ago.

      * * *

      TRACEY TOOK A shower and got ready for bed, but knew she wouldn’t be going to sleep for a while. She was too angry at Wes Hunter, for a variety of reasons. She couldn’t comprehend him treating his grandfather like that, and he’d come close to ignoring her and Dr. Clayton. What in heaven’s name had been wrong with him?

      Before driving to her cabin, she’d noticed John talking to his grandson in private after Dr. Clayton had left in his truck. The older man had shaken his head several times, indicating that they were having an intense conversation. If Wes was upset because he hadn’t seen Chief’s limp, it didn’t warrant his rudeness toward all of them.

      No one knew how long the nail had been embedded, but for some reason the infection had started hurting the horse that

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