Page 5 of Dust Storm

“C’mon, girl.”

She trotted along obediently toward the barn.

Libby, the thoroughbred American quarter horse I had been riding since I was in my twenties, let out a blustering huff as I tacked her up.

Sadie looked antsy, prancing around the barn as I mounted Libby and gripped the reins, guiding her out of the barn.

Libby let loose when we rounded the corner and headed away from the barn and outbuildings. She grunted, hooves thundering into the dirt.

When the conglomerate of structures turned to a speck in the distance, the stress began to loosen and melt away. Clean air and sunshine surrounded me. Sadie, the ranch’s retired cattle dog, bolted like a bullet from a gun.

Maybe we were all a little stir crazy.

I used the spur-of-the-moment ride to survey the near side of the property to make sure nothing was out of place.

After a few miles, Sadie looked like she was tuckered out. I tugged on the reins and slowed Libby to a canter as we rounded the corner to Nate’s house.

No one was home.

Huh.That was weird. Nate and Becks had a pipe burst yesterday and were in the process of fixing the sopping mess. Becks was on maternity leave from her job as an international news correspondent. She should have been there.

Apart from my momma, I hadn’t seen any vehicles leaving the property today through the cameras.

Shit.

Libby must’ve sensed my urgency as I nudged her into a gallop again. The dog peeled off and trotted down the path to my place, but I headed for the front gate.

Becks sat on the porch of my parents’ house, her hands over her baby bump as she watched dust plume from the tires of a sedan as it peeled down the drive.

Her red hair was tied up in a bun on top of her head, and a glass of tea was in hand. As far as sisters-in-law went, I’d take her. She was a far cry from Nate’s first wife, Vanessa.

As much as I hated seeing him torn up about it in the moment, none of us were surprised when they divorced. What surprised the hell out of us was seeing him on TV, rescuing a reporter out of rubble while he was deployed.

But it worked out well for them. Now, Bree and Gracie were over the moon to be getting a cousin.

I slowed Libby a safe distance from the house, giving myself a chance to watch as the sedan stopped. The doors opened and a man hopped out from the driver’s side.

The guy wrinkled his nose, sneering at the scenery.

Great.

Becks hooked us up with some uptight city slicker. This was gonna go over like a fart in church.

Libby let out a displeased grunt.

Then the other door opened.

Blonde hair danced on the wind like rays of gold. The woman straightened and turned, studying her surroundings through the privacy of an oversized pair of sunglasses.

Libby eased forward, letting me steal a look at her from behind.

She had a pair of fuck-me legs and an ass to match.

Her fingers flexed as she grabbed the door and slammed it shut. The sun caught something shiny on her hand.

A goddamn engagement ring.

2

---