Tess stood up fast, the back of her knees hitting her chair. “Hey, Silas. Would you be able to help me out with something real quick?” She waved him away from the table to a quiet corner.

  “You have nothing to worry about,” Silas assured her before she could say anything. “I know Kyra probably mentioned that your brother and I got into it yesterday, but the issue has nothing to do with us. Not that there is an us.” He exhaled as though frustrated. “Just don’t worry. He doesn’t know we spent the night together. I promise. He won’t ever know.”

  “Okay. Good.” She breathed easier. “But then what’s going on? Why is he so mad at you?”

  The cowboy’s expression tensed. “It’s not important. We can talk about it later. You should focus on the meeting, get everyone organized.”

  “Right.” By now the restaurant was full. Almost every table had been occupied with familiar faces. What had she planned to say again?

  “Tess, are you ready?” Minnie waved her to the front of the bar. “You can get started while we serve the drinks.”

  “You’re coming with me, right?” She glanced at Silas. “I mean, you were there too. You saw what I saw. You helped get Legacy back to the ranch.”

  “Sure. I can come with you. Lead the way.” He gestured for her to go first.

  As they took their places in front of the bar, Aiden rushed into the café wearing a scowl. Though his expression seemed to soften when he sat down next to Kyra.

  “You have the floor, my dear.” Minnie nudged her shoulder and the room quieted.

  Inhaling deeply, Tess pictured Legacy, the beautiful horse that had been all bloodied and suffering when they’d found her. That was all it took to help her focus. “Okay. So. Um…” She clasped her hands in front of her waist. “Thank you all for being here tonight.” Too quiet. She was speaking too quietly. “We wanted to alert you all to the fact that the wild horses who’ve inhabited this land for generations are in danger,” she said louder. “When I was out riding the other morning, I heard gunshots and the herd came charging onto my land.” Take a breath. Let them process the information.

  After a few beats of silence, she continued. “Later, Silas and I rode back up the mountain and discovered a mare with a gunshot wound to the head.” She paused again, taking in the concerned expressions around the room. “We were able to save her and she’s now recovering at the ranch, but we should all be concerned about someone targeting these beautiful animals. It’s our duty to protect them.”

  “Yeah it is,” Aiden called out, giving her a supportive thumbs-up from the front row of tables.

  Tess stood a little taller seeing all of the nods and smiles around the room.

  But then Ford Leach stood up. The old rancher had grown up on the south side of town and always looked like someone peed in his morning coffee. “We all know the wild horses are overpopulated around here,” he grouched. “And as a rancher, Tess, you know how much we rely on those grasslands for our cattle. Hell, what’s one less wild horse if it means our cattle can eat?”

  A few murmurs of agreement went around the room. They weren’t as loud as the supporters though.

  “I know the issues surrounding the wild horses are complex. But the fact is, they were here long before we were.” She struggled to maintain a diplomatic tone. “And they shouldn’t be shot through the nose and then left to suffer and die. Need I remind you that shooting a wild horse is a federal offense, thanks to the Horses and Burros Act of 1971? These animals are federally protected, and they shouldn’t be targeted for sport.”

  “Hear, hear.” Minnie started to clap, and the majority of the room joined in with the applause.

  Tess used the momentum to keep going. “Now, it’s all of our responsibility to coexist with the wild animals who call Star Valley home. And I’m hoping we can band together to make sure no more horses suffer the way Legacy has. If Silas and I hadn’t found her, she likely would’ve contracted an infection and died a slow, very painful death.”

  “It’s only a useless horse,” Darrell Braxton called from a table near the window. “And they’re everywhere now. They’ll take over this whole valley if we let ’em.”

  “They’re not taking over,” Minnie yelled back. “And they deserve to live in peace without being hunted.”

  Sounds of agreement bounded around. It appeared the majority in attendance wanted to help protect the wild horses, but those other few could prove to be a problem.

  More arguments started—with Ford and Darrell the main instigators.

  When the volume in the room started to rise, Tess clapped her hands. This was no longer a productive meeting. It wouldn’t help anyone to sit here and go back and forth with men who had no regard for the animals’ welfare.

  “Thank you all for your input,” she said above the noise. “My intention was to make this an informational meeting, a reminder for all of us to keep our ears and eyes open. For those who are interested in staying involved in the conversation and actually doing something to help, I’ve left a notebook at the bar. You can sign your name and email address so I can be in touch.”

  It wouldn’t help to set up a patrol schedule now, with all of the naysayers listening in. “I appreciate everyone being here. If you have any questions, please come and find me.” She turned her back on the room and picked up the water glass Minnie had left for her while people started to stand and chat.

  “Nice job.” Silas gently elbowed her arm. “You gave exactly the right amount of information without—”

  “This is a whole lotta trouble you’re goin’ through for one damn horse, Tess.” Darrell butted in between them. “Most of us don’t have time for this. We’re all barely keeping up as it is. I’ll tell you right now if it comes down to the survival of those horses or the survival of my own cattle, it’s not gonna be a hard decision.”

  Tess studied the man’s grizzled face. He was only in his fifties, but the years of sun exposure had aged him. “It sounds to me like you wouldn’t mind shooting a wild horse yourself, Mr. Braxton.” She gave the statement a few seconds to sink in. “Is there something you’d like to confess?” He could’ve easily ridden his UTV up there and shot Legacy. Maybe he was on a one-man crusade to rid the valley of wild horses.

  The man’s ruddy eyes steeled. “Don’t you go making accusations you can’t back up,” he spat. “You’re supposed to be one of us. Jace would’ve—”

  Silas thrust his hand onto the man’s shoulder. “That’s enough. I think you need help finding the door, Braxton.” He roughly directed the man toward the exit while Tess turned back to the bar, bracing her hands against the surface, trying to breathe.

  Jace would’ve what? What would Jace have done? He wouldn’t have stood for the brazen and illegal killing of a wild animal. She knew that much.

  Once again, she felt the acute awareness of her husband’s absence. She was still getting used to standing on her own, confronting the challenges of life as a single woman instead of as a couple. The truth was, Jace had done most of this. The confronting. The standing up. The challenging. He would’ve led the charge and she would’ve been happy to support him. But now she was learning how to follow her convictions—how to act on them.

  “You okay?” Silas approached her with the same concern that had been in his eyes when he’d found her crying That Night.

  “I’m fine.” She stuffed those memories down deep where they belonged. She needed all of her energy focused on Legacy and the wilds right now. “I’m encouraged, actually. It seems most people aren’t going to stand for this in Star Valley.”

  In fact, much of the crowd was still gathered in groups around their tables discussing the situation. “Thanks for getting him out of here though.” She tucked her hair behind her ear and peered up at Silas. “It’s nice to know someone has my back.”

  She only wished this someone didn’t make her heart spiral out of control every time he got close. She wished she didn’t want to pull that someone close and push him away at the same time.

  “You were great, Tess.” His eyes lingered on hers for another few seconds before he looked away. “Uh, I should go help Minnie and Louie clean up in the kitchen. I’m sure they have a lot to do.” He moved around the bar and walked away.

  Tess watched him, her heart still thumping. Silas was always doing things to help people out. Sometimes, on a particularly busy Friday night, she’d heard he’d stay after closing at the café to do the dishes and make sure Minnie and Louie were able to get home by a reasonable hour.

  “Tess? Excuse me.” A man tapped her on the shoulder.

  She whirled around, lest anyone notice that she’d been staring after Silas like an enamored puppy.

  The man standing in front of her smiled. “I don’t know if you remember me from the PTA meeting but I’m—”

  “Brad Kline.” She blinked a few times so her brain could catch up. “Callie’s dad.” She shook his hand. “Of course I remember. I was hoping to talk to you about the girls.” She hadn’t even noticed him sitting in the crowd. During her speech, all of the faces had blurred together. It was surprising he hadn’t stood out more because she’d been meaning to talk to him.

  “Yeah, I listened to your phone message earlier today, figured we could talk tonight since Callie is home with my parents.” He exhaled that tired-parent sigh she recognized all too well. “I’m sorry about what happened at school. Trust me, I talked with Callie about the situation, and she’d like the chance to apologize to Morgan.”

  “I can’t say Morgan handled things well either.” Had her daughter really spat on someone’s shoes? “In fact, the reason I called is because I’d like to invite you and Callie over for an afternoon this weekend. If the girls spend some time together, I have a feeling they’d quickly get past their differences.”

  “That would be great, actually.” The man appeared pleasantly surprised. “We haven’t gotten out much lately. There’s a lot to do at the ranch. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t tend to avoid the gossip in town.”

  “I get it. Trust me.” This was a small community—and a beautiful community in many ways. But everyone did know everyone else’s business. She’d hardly been acquainted with Brad and his ex-wife, and yet even she’d heard about their ugly divorce. “How about Sunday afternoon, around two?”

  “We’ll make it happen.” His smile evened out. “Thank you again for being so understanding. Callie’s changed a lot this year, I’m afraid. She could use a good friend right now.”

  Good friends were the only way Tess made it through the last two years. Her people had picked her up and carried her along until she was able to walk on her own two feet again. Now she was in a place where she could do the same for someone else who needed support. “We all can use good friends.”

  “Isn’t that the truth?” The man’s pocket started to buzz. “I’d better take this call. I’ll see you this weekend.”

  Not even one second after Brad walked away, Kyra was by her side. “Who was that?”

  Tess ignored her friend’s exaggerated eyebrow raise. “That was Brad Kline. He’s the father of a girl from Morgan’s class.”

  Kyra watched the man walk along the storefront windows all the way to his truck. “Is he single?”

  Here we go. “Yes. Recently.” She glared, daring Kyra to make any inferences. “Why do you ask?”

  “I don’t know.” Her friend popped her shoulders into an overly dramatic shrug. “Just wondering, I guess.”

  Uh-huh. “Well, don’t get any fancy ideas in your head.” Seriously. That was the problem with people who were in love. They wanted everyone else to fall in love too. “Morgan and his daughter have had some issues at school so we’re going to get them together to try and work through things.”

  “I think that’s great.” Her friend linked their arms together. “There’s nothing wrong with hanging out with an attractive cowboy once in a while.”

  Brad had a nice face—receptive hazel eyes complete with smile lines, a nicely angled jaw, and an easy demeanor. The man had a certain charm. But there was only one cowboy occupying her thoughts lately.

  “There wouldn’t be anything wrong with it if I actually felt something for said attractive cowboy.” Brad was good-looking. He seemed nice. And that was it. Nothing extra happened inside of her when she looked at him or talked to him. No sparks. No distinctive urges or anticipation. Not like when she looked at—

  She had to stop thinking about Silas. But she couldn’t deny that in the last two years, he was the only one who had managed to light a spark.

  “Oh, there’s Lynn.” Her friend waved at the woman across the room. “I need to go ask her how her oven burn is healing.” Kyra hurried away. As the only nurse practitioner in town, she was always on call.

  “Nice job up there tonight, Sis.” Aiden joined her, a beer glass in his hand. “I know you don’t like public speaking, but I was impressed.”

  “Thanks.” Now that she had her brother alone, she didn’t want to make small talk about her speech. “What’s going on between you and Silas?”

  “Oh, he didn’t tell you?” Aiden rolled his eyes and gave his head a good shake. “I don’t know why I’m surprised. Of course he didn’t tell you.”

  Unease spilled through her stomach. Silas had something to tell her? “What’d you mean?”

  “He didn’t tell you about his plans?” Her brother scanned the room with annoyance. “Looks like he’s already gone home. He’s probably avoiding everything like he always does.”

  “He’s in the kitchen helping Minnie and Louie.” She wasn’t sure why she felt the need to defend Silas. Why was her brother being such a jerk? “What was he supposed to tell me?” She thought through their conversations that week. “Oh wait. You mean that he plans to take some time off, go on a vacation?”

  “He’s hardly going on a vacation,” Aiden muttered. “Look, it’s not my place to say. But he’s being typical Silas. Acting with no thought for anyone but himself.”

  In truth, she happened to think Silas always thought about everyone else. He’d certainly shown her a lot of consideration—taking all of that time to help her with Legacy. And he didn’t have to be standing in Minnie and Louie’s kitchen right now doing the dishes. “I don’t understand.” She tried to read her brother’s eyes. Maybe it wasn’t anger she saw there. Maybe it was hurt. Plans. Aiden had said something about Silas’s plans…

  A different kind of panic set in. “Is he leaving Star Valley? Did he take another job or something?” He couldn’t be leaving. He wouldn’t make plans to leave without telling her, would he?

  Her brother’s jaw tightened. “You’ll have to ask him that.”

  “Okay. I will.” Her voice got too high and shaky, but she didn’t even care. Right now, she didn’t care if her brother caught on to her emotions because she couldn’t control them—not the ache in her heart or the apprehension simmering in her stomach. “I’ll ask him what’s going on the next time I see him.”

  But she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Silas drove into the café’s cramped parking lot and squeezed his vintage Bronco in between two massive trucks.

  It was early as hell—barely seven o’clock—but when your friend texted you, Need to talk. Meet me at the café ASAP, you hauled your ass out of bed and showed up. Where was Thatch anyway? He didn’t see him sitting in any of their usual booths by the windows. He must’ve had to settle for a table in the back.

  Still groggy, Silas climbed out of his car and cruised in through the café’s squeaky door.

  Minnie nearly bumped into him, armed with a coffeepot in hand. “Mornin’, sweetie.” She sidestepped him. “It’s awful early to be laying eyes on your gorgeous face.”

  “Tell me about it,” he grumbled. Especially since he’d been here until ten last night. Then when he’d gone home, he hadn’t been able to shut off his mind. Even playing a round of solitaire hadn’t gotten his thoughts off of Tess. “I’m supposed to meet—”

  “Silas!” Kyra waved at him from the table in the back corner. Aw, hell. What were she and Aiden doing sitting with Thatch? He wasn’t in the mood for Aiden’s bullshit at this hour of the morning.

  When Silas approached the table, Aiden stood abruptly. “What’re you doing here?”

  Silas shot their guilty-looking buddy, Thatch, a hearty glare. This was clearly a setup. “I got a text.”

  “So did I.” Aiden directed a not-so-friendly look in Thatch’s direction too.

  But their friend pointed at Kyra, deferring the blame. “Don’t look at me like that. It was all her. I swear. She made me text both of you, even though I told her this wasn’t going to be pretty.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” Kyra signaled to a passing waiter and quickly ordered a round of cinnamon rolls because she knew full well none of them could resist Minnie’s cinnamon rolls. That was the only reason Silas would stay.

  “It’s time to get over whatever is going on between you two.” She tugged on her fiancé’s hand. “Now sit.”

  Aiden dropped back to his chair, glowering at Silas. As if this little meeting had been his idea. He could’ve still been in bed dreaming about Tess right now.

  “And you can sit right there,” Kyra told him cheerfully, pointing to the seat across the table that already had a steaming mug of coffee sitting in place waiting for him.

  It didn’t appear as though he had a choice. Silas had to hand it to Kyra, she knew how to get her way. He took a seat and got started on the coffee. He was going to need all the caffeine he could get for this discussion.

  “I’m sorry I had to resort to extreme measures to get you two in the same room, but this had to be done.” Kyra’s bright smile turned stern. “You guys are like brothers. And you’re always there for each other no matter what. So we’re going to sit here and talk about what’s upsetting you both.”