He angled his head toward her, the darkness in his eyes reaching out to her. Then he firmed his mouth into a grim line and eased across the intersection. He didn’t release his tight grip until he pulled into the lane leading to the ranch house. When he’d parked, he sank back, cushioning his head on the headrest. His hands shook as he removed them from the steering wheel.
“Thank goodness Mindy wasn’t in the car,” he whispered, his voice raw. “She’s doing so well, I’m afraid…” His voice faded into the silence.
Tory’s heart broke. She slid across the seat and took him into her embrace. “That was an example of how precarious life can be. In a blink of an eye, everything can change.”
He pulled back to look at her. “I’m glad not this time. But you’re right, which means we need to make the most of what we have.”
“Live for the moment?”
“To a certain extent, but we should always have our thoughts on the future.”
“Well, with that in mind, get changed and let’s go for a ride. I still need to check out the new mare.” She scooted back to her side of the car, aware of their close proximity that did strange things to her insides. She thrust open the door and tossed over her shoulder, “You have five minutes to change. The last one ready gets to cool down the horses.”
With the challenge thrown down, Tory raced for the house, taking the steps two at a time. Slade pounded up to the porch and pushed past her once she’d unlocked the door. When she entered the coolness of the entry hall, he was nowhere to be seen. She heard the slamming of drawers and a closet door and quickened her own pace.
Four minutes, twenty seconds later, a knock sounded at her bedroom door. She threw it open, dressed in jeans, T-shirt and riding boots, and found Slade on the other side, similarly dressed.
His grin was lopsided. “I guess this means I won.”
“You cheated.”
“I did not.”
“I had to open the door.”
“Because you were the first one there. I can’t help it if the key was hard to get out.”
“I should have left it in the door,” Tory muttered, and came out of her bedroom.
“Do you want to race to the barn?” He waggled his eyebrows. “Double or nothing.”
“I think I’ll cut my losses. Your legs are definitely quite a bit longer than mine.”
“I’ll give you a head start.”
“How much?” She paused in the entry hall.
“Out the door and down the steps.”
Tory dug into her jeans pocket and fingered the house key. “Okay.”
She hurried out the door and quickly locked the dead bolt before Slade realized what she was doing. She heard his shouts as she ran down the steps and across the yard.
When Slade finally arrived in the barn a moment later, he said, “You play dirty, Tory Donaldson.”
“You didn’t say I couldn’t lock the door.”
“I had to go out the back door and around the house,” he grumbled, but the frown on his face was a pretense if the twinkle in his eyes was any indication.
She clasped her hand over her heart. “Poor Slade. I feel for you.”
“I get no sympathy.” He scanned the barn. “Which horse do I ride?”
“Black Charger.”
“I don’t like that name. Isn’t he the one you don’t use with the children?”
Tory laughed. “Only because he is so big. Perfect for you but for small kids he’s too tall.”
“Sure. This from the woman who locks me in the house in order to win the race.”
“You have a key to the dead bolt.”
He exaggerated his frown and mumbled something under his breath. “Bring on Black Charger. I have something to prove today.”
Tory saddled her new mare while Slade followed suit with his gelding. Then she led Buttercup out of the barn and mounted her. When Slade was on his horse, she started for the trail that led to the pond. The sun was high in the sky, bright and hot. A light, warm breeze cooled her cheeks and made the ride bearable until they got to the trees. In the shade of the woods Tory stopped and twisted around to see how Slade was doing.
He bounced along, his gelding doing a fast trot. He clutched his reins too tight and he sat too far back in the saddle. Halting the horse beside Tory’s, he sagged forward.
“I think every bone in my body has been jarred.”
“Remind me to give you some riding lessons.”
“Now you tell me, when I still have to go all the way back to the barn.”
“Relax. You need to loosen your hold on the reins. The horse can’t move his head. Sit forward some in the saddle. You’re too far back. The more in tune with the horse, the better the ride.”
“Can I just hold on to the horn if he decides to bolt?”
“He won’t. This is a pleasure ride.”
“Pleasure ride? Your idea of pleasure is very different from mine.”
“Come on. I’ll go slow and easy the rest of the way to the pond. We’ll let the horses graze a while before heading back.”
“If I get off this horse, I don’t know if I’ll ever get back on.”
Tory laughed, loving the teasing tone in his voice. He was enjoying himself as much as she was. She loved to ride, to be one with a horse. What would Slade do if she set her mare into a gallop? Probably panic.
One day she and Slade would race across the meadow. That picture popped into her mind with such clarity that she was surprised. And yet, the vision felt right. She now saw her life with Slade by her side. Maybe those children she wanted wasn’t that far-fetched an idea.
She threw a glance over her shoulder to check on Slade. The grimace on his face made her smile. “Relax. We’re almost there.”
“We still have to go
