Page 74 of Forever After All

At least, he had to hope there was a chance. He’d seen colic take some good horses in just a few hours, but he’d also seen some recoveries.

Thankfully, Applejack wasn’t trying to lie down. If he could keep her on her feet, he’d feel a lot better about the odd behavior.

He turned one side of the loop and saw Jess coming in, walking with a determination that sent his heart racing.

He should be relieved she was here. She was much better at taking care of the horses, but the pounding in his veins was far from relief.

Her hair was down, flowing behind her as she strode toward him. She wore a red-and-blue flannel shirt and dark jeans. When she got closer, he did a double take. Was she wearing earrings?

She didn’t slow her stride until she was right on him. “How is she?”

Jess was wearing earrings and makeup on her eyes. Since when did she do that?

Apparently, since this morning, which was the last time he’d seen her.

Jess was still looking at him like she was waiting for him to countdown to a race or something.

“What?” Linc asked.

“How is Applejack?”

Linc looked at the chestnut horse. She was still antsy. “Um, I don’t know. If it’s colic, it isn’t severe yet.”

Jess had her hands on the horse’s side, feeling over her belly. “When did she start acting differently?”

He needed answers too. Like when did Jess start wearing makeup? “I got here about an hour ago.”

“What’s the ETA on the vet?”

“Still on another call. I’ve been texting him updates, and he said he’ll be here as soon as he can.”

Jess lifted Applejack’s lip and examined her gums. “Did anyone else say they fed her something? When was the last time she was out?”

“Thea fed her at the same time as always today, and she says it was the proper measurement and feed. Applejack was in the side pasture earlier, but she didn’t have a rider.”

Jess took the lead from him and led the horse to the grooming area. “Can you get her some water?”

Linc did exactly as he’d been told and worked to dislodge the rock in his throat. When he returned to the grooming area, he watched Jess nurture the horse. She had a way of comforting that he’d never possess. Applejack calmed under her touch.

“Were you busy? I didn’t mean to mess up your plans,” Linc said.

Jess sighed. “I was on a date.”

There it was, the shot straight to his heart.

What could he say? Sorry I interrupted? He wasn’t really sorry. Selfishly, he wanted her with him instead of some other guy.

His stomach knotted. Maybe he was getting colic too.

“It wasn’t working out anyway.” A grin lifted the corners of her mouth as she continued to study Applejack. “It’s kinda funny, actually.”

If she was about to go into detail about how funny this guy was, Linc would definitely lose his breakfast.

“He seemed like a normal guy.” She covered her mouth as she laughed.

Okay, now he was invested. He wanted more of whatever was making Jess Patton laugh.

She shook her head and tried to calm her laughter. “He wanted me to be his date to his high school reunion.”

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