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“I’m sorry to hear about your mother, Sophia. I didn’t know my mom. She died when I was a baby, and shortly after, my father married Casey’s mom. But we lost both of them in a horrible tornado that passed through our town in Oklahoma just a few years later. It touched down and swept away everything in its path over one square mile.”
“Oh, that’s awful,” Sophia said, her eyes widening with horror.
It was the same incredulous reaction Audrey got when she explained the circumstances of the tragedy to others. Usually she didn’t like talking about it.
“How did you escape?”
“Casey and I were playing with friends on the other side of town. The tornado missed us. It’s weird, you know. One side of a street could be completely destroyed, and the other could be eerily untouched.”
Sympathy touched Sophia’s eyes. “I’ve seen it on the news and always wondered how that could be.”
“It was really hard and nightmarish on us, but we managed. We had no choice.” Audrey shrugged then. Life had been tough after that, but Casey had always provided for them. He had uncanny talent as a bronc buster and had made more than enough money on the rodeo circuit to keep a roof over their heads and plenty of food on the table. Audrey didn’t dwell on the past. She refused to spend her life feeling sorry for herself. “It’s been Casey and me ever since.”
Sophia smiled as she loaded the last of the dishes into the dishwasher. “I think we have a lot in common, Audrey. It’ll be nice having another female living on the ranch again.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” Audrey really meant it. She’d been unnerved coming here to face Luke. She’d lost her courage in confronting him, but she’d gained something, too. A job and a chance to matter, doing something she loved to do. She was looking forward to working with Trib and the other horses, spending time on the ranch and getting to know Sophia better. “And who knows, we might just diffuse the toxic levels of testosterone around here.”
Sophia laughed lightly. “We can certainly try. I think you and I are going to be great friends.”
Her heart panged with warmth. She could use a new friend. “Me, too.”
“Hey, everyone, I’d like you to meet Katherine Grady. She goes by Kat.”
At the sound of Luke’s voice, Audrey whirled toward the kitchen door. A Marilyn Monroe look-alike with platinum-blond hair stood beside him, her wide green eyes fashionably made-up to match her pretty emerald-and-blue outfit. She held on to Luke’s arm and darn if Audrey didn’t hone right in on that. A flashback of rodeo groupies—pouty pink lips and all—came to mind. Her heart sank. She struggled to keep her expression from taking a nosedive in front of everybody.
“Nice to meet you,” Kat said, her voice soft as butter.
Suddenly, Audrey’s head clouded up and spun. It was like the time she’d climbed onto the mechanical bull at Dusty’s Dancehall in Texas. She’d been sixteen and trying to prove to the guys she wasn’t a child. As soon as the bull started bucking, everything in that honky-tonk got blurry real fast. Only this was worse.
The world around her began to fade. Her legs went numb. She reached forward to grip the kitchen counter and missed, scraping her fingernails on the sharp edges. Desperate to hold on, her arms flailed. She needed support. But it was too late.
Blackness surrounded her.
Right before all the lights went out.
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