âYouâre not watching the meteors,â Garrett said.
âHuh?â she asked as she glanced over at him.
He pointed toward the sky, and that was when she realized she must have been staring out into the darkness of the surrounding range land. âGuess Iâm more tired than I thought.â
âYou sure thatâs it?â
She fixed her gaze on her cast, cursing it and how it prevented her from making a hasty exit from her current situation.
âYeah.â She knew her answer sounded weak and not entirely truthful, but it was the best she could muster. Sitting so close to Garrett made it hard for her to think.
Garrett slid off the tailgate. âIâll take you back in.â
She reached out and grabbed his arm. âNo, itâs okay. We can wait until itâs over.â
He captured and held her gaze. âYou said youâre tired.â
She fought the burning need to lower her gaze to that amazing chest of his. âIâll sleep later. This meteor shower doesnât come around very often.â
He stared at her in a way that made her feel as if he was picking through the layers of her brain. And then she watched as his eyes lowered for a moment to her lips. How she wished she could lean forward, invite him to do more than just look.
Chapter One
The new colt marshaled his strength and pushed up onto his long, spindly legs for the first time, drawing a smile from Natalie Todd. She watched as the little guy steadied himself on legs spread wide then as his dam groomed him. A couple of wobbly steps brought the newborn close enough to his mother to nurse. No matter how many horses Natalie helped into the world, the wonder never faded.
âHard to believe they were in distress only an hour ago,â Jacob Hartwell said as he came to stand beside her.
âMaybe Mama here just wanted some female company.â
Jacob laughed a little. âMaybe. She certainly doesnât have a lot around here.â
Steven Hartwell, patriarch of the Hartwell ranching family, was a widower, and his two sons, Steven Jr. and Jacob, were still single. Even though Jacob flirted with her a little every time she came out to the ranch, she knew it was harmless and not at all serious.
âWell, it looks like you have a handsome little fella to add to your testosterone ranch.â
âYou could always marry me and bring some female beauty to the place.â
Natalie rolled her eyes and stepped back from the stall. âSee ya around, Jacob.â
âThanks again, Doc.â
She threw him a wave as she turned and headed out of the barn into the deep cover of night. As she strode toward her truck, she considered just curling up in the seat and catching a quick nap. Sheâd had a long day at the clinic and then because she was the vet on call tonight, her phone had rung about fifteen minutes after sheâd fallen asleep.
When she dragged herself into the driverâs seat, however, her thoughts drifted to her comfortable bed. What was another half hourâs drive back to her apartment? Hopefully there wouldnât be any more equine or bovine emergencies tonight. At least the Hartwellsâ ranch was closer to her place south of Wichita than a lot of other ranches the clinic serviced.
She started the engine and headed toward the highway. Once she got away from the ranch, the landscape darkened around her. With no moon and some cloud cover, the southern Kansas landscape was pitch-black. It took ten minutes of driving before she began to see the glow of Wichitaâs lights to the north. Only a few minutes and a quick shower more and sheâd be curling back into her bed.
Her phone rang on the seat beside her, eliciting a groan and, yes, maybe even a whimper. She slowed, thankful there wasnât any traffic, and glanced at the phone. Her heart gave a painful thud when she saw it was her mom calling. Knowing it wasnât going to be a happy conversation, she pulled off the road. Her hand shook as she picked up the phone and answered.
âHi, Mom.â
âDid I wake you?â Her motherâs voice sounded tired, but then Natalie couldnât really remember a time when her mom wasnât tired.