her. “Doc Winters sent me over with some of that new liniment you was asking about.”
Silver glanced over her shoulder at the young man giving her an admiring glance from behind the fence.
“Hi, Jamie. Just put it in the office for me, okay?”
“You gotta sign for it. Doc Winters said you gotta sign for it.”
“Why don’t you sign for me, Jamie? I’m fine with that.”
“The doc wouldn’t like it. He’s got a new office manager who says he’s gotta clean up his act, and she’s making the doc’s life miserable.”
Silver laughed. “Well, I’m almost finished anyway, so bring the paper on out here. I wouldn’t want you to break the rules on my account.” That was her job. Breaking rules, pushing to see how far she could go, before someone hauled her back to the gate. Unfortunately, most of the time she was pulled up short before she’d even gotten onto the field. But that didn’t stop her from trying.
Jamie slipped into the paddock and picked his way over to Silver, taking care to avoid the big black stallion at the other end of the line. He held out a professional-looking clipboard. “Here you go, Miz Braybourne.”
“You can call me Silver, Jamie. You used to.” She sent the young man a teasing grin. “Before you remembered that I changed your diapers when I baby-sat for you.”
Jamie blushed and scuffed his toe in the dirt. “I wish you’d forget about that.”
Silver held the lunge line in one hand as she scribbled her name with the other. “Can’t, Jamie. You had such a cute little backside.”
Silver’s grin expanded as Jamie turned every shade of red. “Ah, geez!”
A high-pitched cackle erupted from the fence, followed by a halfhearted command, “Girl, you leave that there young man alone. Ain’t no call to embarrass him that way.”
Silver handed the clipboard back to Jamie, smiling at his muttered “thank you” as he walked to his pickup truck. She looked over her shoulder at Travis O’Neill, whom her grandfather had nicknamed Tater when he was just a little sprout. “Tater, where’ve you been? Dad was down here looking for you a little while ago.”
“He found me,” he replied, resting his elbows on the fence.
Silver stared at him. There was something about his tone of voice…. She slowed her horse to a walk. “Is anything wrong?”
Tater climbed stiffly onto the fence, perching on the top rail. “What could be wrong, girlie?”
She walked to the horse and removed the line, leading him by the bridle over to Tater. “Besides the fact that we’re in hock up to our ears, you mean?”
“Nothing new in that, Silver. Braybournes been either in the money or out of it ever since your great-great-great-great-grandfather settled Cecil.”
“I know, but we were getting ahead until Brett made that stupid investment.”
“Your brother didn’t make it by hisself, ya know. Your daddy okayed it.”
“I know. If he’d asked me, I could have told him—”
“Point is, he didn’t. So I’d let it go if I was you, and do your best to help turn things around, any way you can.”
“I’m trying, Tater, but my father doesn’t always listen to me. For God’s sake, I know as much, if not more, about horses than any of my brothers ever did, and he listens to them. No questions asked. And now with Daddy’s accident…”
“Well, you know how it is with a man and his sons.” He held up his hand to shut her up. “Now, I ain’t sayin’ it’s right, just that’s how it is with some people.”
“Uh-huh. And much as I love my brothers, what did those three sons do? Each of them managed the place for a while, then moved on to something else. I’m the one who stayed.”
“You’ll be moving on yourself someday, Silver. Some man’ll sweep you right on out of here.”
“What?” Her chin came up. “No, that won’t happen.”
“You’ll get yourself hitched and—”
“Think again. The only male I’m interested in—” she jerked her head toward her horse “—is this one, ’cause the man hasn’t been born yet who can sweep me off my feet.” Silver kept hoping she’d find one, but so far all the men she’d met seemed so tame. So familiar. So boring. If she ever met one who wasn’t…look out! She didn’t see much chance of that, however, not in her social circle.
Tater eyed the stallion and chuckled. “Silver, girl, I don’t think that there male is what your pa has in mind for your future.”
Silver grimaced as she started on her biggest gripe. “No. I’m supposed to be the Braybourne debutante, go to all the parties and play the dating game.”
“I always said you could do anything you put your mind to, girl.”
“Oh, I’ve got the debutante moves down pat. I know when to smile, when to flutter my lashes, when to tease and flirt. But on the whole, I’d rather muck out the stables.”
Tater laughed. “Ah, Silver, the man that takes you on is in for a hard ride. You’d swear something is black even if it’s as white as a church steeple.”
She looked down at her jeans and old, comfortable riding boots. “Did you ever try to stuff your feet into a pair of heels, Tater? Take it from me, you might as well be wearing a piece of wood balanced on a nail. My toes go numb.”
“But you look right pretty when you wear ’em.”
“Forget the flattery.”
“Don’t you have something to do today?”
“Today? I don’t think…wait a minute, what day is it?”
“It’s Monday.”
“Oh damn, Mama and I are going to that charity tea. I forgot.” She glanced at her watch. “Eleven-fifteen? It’s not that late, is it?”
“It surely is.”
“Oh, Lord, I have to get going.” Taking a good grip on Lucky Hand, she started to walk away.
“Wait a minute, Silver.” Tater caught up with her and grabbed the bridle. “I’ll rub him down and feed him. You get on up to the house and put on your fancy duds.”
“Well, I…he’s my responsibility.”
“So’s that charity project you been helping your mother with.”
“I know, but—”
“Go on, git. The horse and the farm will still be here when you get back.”
DARCY PULLED HIS PICKUP to the side of the road and stared at
