Texas Forever. Janet Dailey

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СКАЧАТЬ would agree to that.”

      Erin lent half an ear to their conversation, but as they passed the windmill and rounded the barn her attention was fixed on the smallest of three metal-sided pens, where Luke Maddox was working. Walking ahead of Will and Rose, she slowed her steps as she neared the enclosure.

      A dozen or so young foals, still gangly-legged, were milling together on the far side of the pen. With his back toward Erin, Luke was bent against the side of a chestnut foal that was tethered to the fence with a soft nylon lariat. One hand gripped the foal’s tail, holding it with a twist. When Erin moved farther around the fence, she could see how one small front hoof rested on his knee. He was using a metal rasp to gently trim and smooth the hoof’s edge.

      By now, Will and Rose had caught up with Erin. Glancing up, Luke gave them a brief nod, then finished the hoof before releasing the foal to scamper back with the others.

      Only then did he straighten and turn, taking off the baseball cap he wore and raking back his dark, wavy hair. It was still early, but the day was already hot. The light chambray shirt he wore clung damply to his muscular body. A heavy leather apron, split up the center, circled his waist and covered his legs almost to the ankle. A wooden toolbox, open at the top, sat near his feet.

      “Mr. Tyler.” He gave Will a nod, ignoring Erin. “Excuse me if I don’t shake hands.”

      “That’s fine,” Will said. “I’m glad to see you’re already working, but I’m not sure I understand what you’re doing with these foals. They’re not old enough for shoes.”

      “Let me explain,” Luke said. “Or better yet, let me show you.”

      He walked to the clustered foals and eased one of them away from the others, coaxing it gently as he slipped a lead around its neck. “Now, take a look at his legs. Foals have short necks and long legs, so they get in the habit of spreading their legs to graze, even when they no longer need to. If that isn’t corrected, those spread legs will cause problems as they grow. Now watch what we can do about that—it’ll only take a few minutes.”

      Facing toward the rear, with a left-handed grip on the tail, he positioned himself on the foal’s right side, reached down, lifted a front leg and placed the hoof on his knee. “Because of the spread legs, the hooves tend to wear away on the inside edge. I’m going to rasp away the outside edge of the hoof so that it will be level. Like this.”

      With an unbelievably delicate touch, he cleaned the hoof, then used the rough side of the rasp to level off the outside edge. Then, using the finer side of the rasp, he smoothed the surface. The foal showed no sign of pain or distress.

      “That’s all there is to it. Now we do the other hooves.” He moved toward the foal’s hindquarters. “These little fellows are so calm, they’re easy to handle.”

      “That’s because we imprint them,” Erin said. “We handle them as soon as they’re born, so they get used to us.”

      “Good idea.” He didn’t look up. It took him only a few more minutes to finish all four hooves with a few swipes of the rasp. “There,” he said, stepping back. “Take a look.”

      “I’ll be damned!” Will said. “The legs are straight up and down, not spraddled!”

      “Keep them that way, and you’ll have a stronger animal. You can prevent all kinds of problems just by making sure a horse is standing level on its feet.”

      “I’ll be damned,” Will said again.

      “I should be done with the foals and yearlings by the end of the day.” Wasting no time, Luke chose another foal and led it to the fence. “I know you’ll be busy with the funeral tomorrow, but Sky said he’d see that I had plenty of work.”

      “Sounds like everything’s under control,” Will said. “Come on, Erin. Let’s show Rose your stallion.”

      They continued on past the barn to the smaller stud barn. The Rimrock had just three stallions. Two of them were retired cutting horses, with the qualities of strength, stamina, and cow sense needed for working a herd. Over the years, they’d passed these qualities on to their offspring, to produce many fine horses for the ranch.

      Erin’s horse, a magnificent, high-strung palomino, nickered and looked over the stall gate as he heard her voice. She’d been present at his birth, and with him through the seven years of his life. Tesoro, whose name meant “treasure,” was a show stopper, commanding handsome stud fees, especially after a few of his foals, out of chestnut mares, were born with shining golden coats like their sire’s.

      Sky had helped her break and train him, but there was a wild spirit about the stallion. Erin had no trouble handling and riding him, but the men, except for Sky, had learned to leave him alone.

      “He’s beautiful.” Rose raised a cautious hand and stroked the satiny neck. A quiver passed through the stallion’s body, but he tolerated her touch.

      “He was promised to me before he was born,” Erin said. “When we saw that golden coat, we knew we’d want to breed him. My mother was dead set against my having a stallion. She wanted me to choose another foal. But Tesoro was already mine. I wouldn’t budge, and my dad supported me.”

      She glanced at Will. He looked away, as if stung by the memory.

      “Rose, I need to go into town and get a few things for the funeral,” he said. “You’re welcome to come with me. You might enjoy seeing how Blanco Springs has changed in thirty years. We can even get a beer at the Blue Coyote.”

      “That old bar is still there? I can’t believe it!”

      “It’s passed through a number of hands since you were last here. The man who owns it now is Abner Sweeney, who used to be sheriff. That’s a story in itself.”

      “I can’t wait to hear it. Of course I’ll come,” Rose said. “How about you, Erin?”

      “No thanks.” Erin excused herself. “I’ve got plenty to do around here.”

      Like keep an eye on the hired help?

      Erin waited until her father and Rose walked back to the house. Then she turned and headed back around the barn to the pen where Luke Maddox was working with the foals. It wasn’t the man she was interested in, she told herself. It was what he was doing and what she could learn from watching him. She wanted to become an all-around horse expert. And this man could be just the one to further her education.

      * * *

      Luke glanced up to see Will Tyler’s daughter perched on the metal bars of the fence. She hadn’t spoken or made a sound. But her blue eyes seemed to be watching his every move. What was her name? Erin, he remembered now. She was a pretty thing, but he met plenty of pretty things in his trade—ranchers’ daughters and even wives, who let him know, sometimes none too subtly, that he might be welcome to do more than shoe horses. He never took them up on their offers. That would be bad for business. If he needed a woman, he’d have no trouble picking up one who knew the score and didn’t pull strings.

      This little princess, in her tight-ass jeans and cowgirl boots, was strictly off limits. But she didn’t appear to be flirting with him. She seemed more interested in what he was doing.

      Luke released the foal he’d finished trimming. When he straightened СКАЧАТЬ