Big Sky Reunion. Charlotte Carter

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СКАЧАТЬ that was Arnie. Poor boy. Had a terrible accident a few years back.” Martha pulled a hankie from her purse and dabbed at the perspiration on her face and neck. “Can’t remember just how long ago. It left him paralyzed from his waist down. The past few years, those two boys have been nearly inseparable.”

      There Melinda went, sliding down the rabbit hole again.

      The whole world had slipped off-kilter since she’d seen Daniel at church.

      That wasn’t an image she’d ever had of him. She couldn’t believe what she’d seen and learned about him. It had to be an act, all smoke and mirrors.

      A wolf couldn’t change his killer instincts.

      Daniel couldn’t change his instincts, either. Beneath the charade, he was still Potter Creek’s baddest of bad boys.

      He had to be.

      Back at the ranch, Daniel made himself a roast beef sandwich with mustard and lettuce, and washed it down with a soda. In the upcoming Potato Festival in Manhattan, he and April, his best cutting horse, were entered in the cow-cutting and trail-riding events. Last year Charlie Moffett from Three Forks had beaten him in both events, Daniel’s first loss in six years.

      Charlie had lorded it over him for nearly a year.

      Daniel took a big bite of his sandwich and chewed down hard. That wasn’t going to happen again. The reputation of the quarter horses he raised and trained was at stake. Not to mention the income they produced for O’Brien Ranch.

      The double prize money when he won both events would punch up the bank account so they could pay the balloon installment on this year’s mortgage bill, a result of refinancing the ranch to modernize the place seven years ago.

      Outside the afternoon had heated up. In the distance, dark clouds had begun to form over the mountains. They wouldn’t amount to much this time of year. Along about August they’d bring some much-needed rain, even a few gully washers, and plenty of thunder and lightning. Maybe even start a wildfire or two.

      In the shade of the barn, Daniel saddled April. A sorrel with a blond mane and tail, she was a sturdy girl with strong legs and a sweet disposition.

      “You’re a sweetheart, aren’t you, love.” He tightened the cinch under her belly and checked the stirrups. “This time we’ll leave Charlie and his swayback nag in the dust. He’ll stop his crowing on his Facebook page. Best Quarter Horse Breeder in Montana, my foot.”

      Arnie and his dog, Sheila, arrived at the corral on his ATV. “You’re sure spending a lot of time with April. The other horses are getting jealous.”

      Daniel snorted. “She’ll keep them in their place.” He tugged the reins loose from the fence rail and mounted. “Time us, will you?”

      “As always, your wish is my command.”

      Eyeing his brother skeptically, Daniel settled his Stetson more firmly on his head. “Since when?”

      “Since you started telling Ivy to get lost.”

      “Not lost, exactly. She’s not my type. She’s too young. Too clingy.” Although a few years ago the waitress at the diner might have been. But not now. The kind of female that was looking for trouble no longer appealed to him.

      The picture of Mindy walking into church with Aunt Martha popped into his head. A summery dress that skimmed her calves. Golden curls bouncing as she pushed her aunt along. Blue eyes that sparked like a summer wildfire, challenging him to keep his distance.

      Like the upcoming riding events, he’d always loved a challenge.

      Too bad she hadn’t still been at the knitting shop when he went back to town for Arnie’s prescription.

      Daniel reined April into the ring where he’d set up an obstacle course—a low bridge to walk over, logs laid out in a path to be daintily stepped over, a rail to straddle. Although the trail event wasn’t timed for speed, the time to finish the course was limited, and time penalties were added for every misstep or refusal the horse made.

      “Okay, here we go.” With the almost imperceptible pressure of his knees, he urged April toward the bridge.

      “The clock is ticking,” Arnie announced.

      Without faltering, April went up and over the bridge. Daniel maneuvered her to the next obstacle, the row of logs, which she took with ease. Throughout the course, she didn’t falter once. Even when he dangled the required bundle of burlap on a rope in front of her face, she didn’t flinch.

      They reached the end of the course, and Daniel trotted April over to the fence. “How’d we do?” he asked Arnie.

      “A perfect ride. More than two minutes under the limit, bro.”

      “Ha!” He gave April a congratulatory pat on her neck. “Eat your heart out, Charlie Moffett. This year you’ll meet your match. And eat our dust.”

      Chapter Three

      Monday morning, Melinda took her aunt to Manhattan for her three-times-weekly physical therapy appointment. When they got back home, it was time for lunch, followed by a much-needed nap for Aunt Martha.

      Melinda gathered up a bucket, rolls of paper towels, plastic trash bags and cleaning supplies and carried them to the shop. The door opened much easier this time and she stepped inside.

      A groan escaped her lips. Where to begin?

      “Take your pick, Melinda Sue,” she said aloud. The whole shop had to be cleaned up eventually.

      Leaving the door open to let some fresh air in, she walked over to the cash register beside a glass case that displayed yarn winders and bobbins.

      She’d checked the cash drawer on Saturday and found less than twenty dollars in change. Tugging a plastic box out from beneath the register that was crammed with file folders, she squatted down to go through the records.

      Invoices from three years ago were mixed with even older records. None were noted as paid. A handwritten ledger showed checks written from 2001 through most of 2006 and a bank balance that wasn’t worth writing home about. Hadn’t Martha paid any bills since then? Maybe she’d switched to a different bank account.

      Blowing out a discouraged sigh, she made a cursory examination of the rest of the business records, then set the box aside. She’d have to talk to Martha about the bookkeeping. Her time while Martha napped would be better spent cleaning and tossing what wasn’t usable.

      On her knees, she pulled everything out of the display case, set the items aside and used window cleaner on the neglected shelves and inside of the case. Years of grime darkened paper towels as one section of glass after another began to sparkle.

      “Hello? Anybody here?”

      Melinda started at the sound of Daniel’s familiar voice.

      “The shop’s not open,” she called from behind the counter.

      “Your door is.” His boots tramped across the wood floor until his long, jeans-clad legs materialized in front of the СКАЧАТЬ