Stud in Texas (Rugged and Risque 4)

Caleb set aside his fork and said, “The reason Sam missed dinner, which I didn’t tell you about, is because he had some extra work to do. He spent the better half of the day making arrangements for a new horse.”

Sam eyed his brother. “I told you to let her know I couldn’t get away for dinner after you left the stable.”

Sky looked at Caleb. “Why would you keep this from me?”

“It’s a particularly bad case,” Reese explained. “Caleb only just barely started to tell me about it and I just… I couldn’t listen anymore.” Tears welled in her tawny eyes. “We thought it might be best if you didn’t know about it at all.”

Sky’s stomach roiled at the obviously dire situation. She pushed her plate away. “But you guys will fix him up, so…?”

Sam did the same with his plate, not getting through his slice, either.

Not a good sign coming from a dessert man.

He said to Sky, “Just like some of the things you picked up on right away about me, darlin’, I saw immediately how attached you become to the horses at the ranch. Fortunately, all of our current ones are on the road to recovery. This new one, though… Well, he’s in real bad shape. We might not be able to save him.”

“What?” Her heart fractured—and she hadn’t even met the horse yet.

In a somber tone, Caleb said, “I might have to put him down.”

“I knew you’d be upset,” Reese told her. “So I asked Caleb to not say anything.”

“Well, I’m not the only one who’s upset,” she said as she glanced around the table.

“True,” Sam concurred, “but it would be best if you and Reese stayed away from the med facility when we bring him in from Austin. Trust me, you don’t want to see this one, darlin’.”

Caleb added, “I have an arrangement with a vet who takes on our more difficult cases and stabilizes them before they come to us. He’s done all he can, and h

e needs the space freed up in his facility. So we’re going to take on the horse and see if we can improve his condition.”

“What kind of horse?” Sky asked.

“Darlin’, the less you know, the better,” Sam told her.

“This story really will break your heart,” Reese insisted with watery eyes.

Sky stared at Sam. He sighed. Then he said, “Another Arabian.”

Such beautiful, majestic animals. She felt sick to her stomach that someone had abused him.

Sam leaned in close again and said, “Trust me, Sky. Don’t get involved with this one, because he doesn’t have much of a chance of pulling through.”

She nodded. “I appreciate you sparing my feelings.”

He kissed her on the cheek, obviously not even caring what Caleb or Reese might make of it. Then he told her, “Think about all the horses that survive. Even Midnight’s doing better, with your help. And Bells likes you coming around too. They all do.”

She glanced over at Reese. “Are you okay?”

Reese swiped at a couple more tears, then said, “This is the downside of rescuing abused animals. They can’t all be saved.”

Her insides coiled. She looked back at Sam. He gave a slight shake of his head.

“Don’t go getting any ideas.” He didn’t need to say anything more. She’d told him last night that he couldn’t save everybody. She’d said it flippantly. Now it left her unsettled to think it actually might be true when it came to this new horse, because she knew how seriously he took the ranch’s rescue mission.

He and Caleb had to be hurting, knowing they might not be able to improve the horse’s condition. To have to put him down would weigh heavy on their hearts and their minds for a long time.

And how much more traumatizing would it be for Sam, given the past demons he’d battled?

The pretzel that was her insides didn’t loosen, but she forced a soft smile and said to Sam, “Maybe this horse will surprise you.”