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Thanks to a flu epidemic that had sidelined a good number of the Triple C
riders, Trey was among those assigned to the chore. Behind him, saddle leather
creaked as Laredo swung aboard his horse.
Are you about ready? Laredo kept a still hand on the reins.
Yup. Trey unhooked the stirrup from the saddle horn and scooped up the
trailing rein, then swung himself onto the seat, toeing his boots into the
stirrups.
First to reach the fence gate, Laredo reached down and unlatched it, then
pushed it open as he maneuvered his horse through the gap.
I noticed the thermometer was tickling the forty-degree mark this morning,
Laredo held the gate for Trey. It s going to feel downright balmy today.
True.
The abruptness in his answer had Laredo running a speculating eye over him.
But Trey s young, rugged features had that closed-up look, typical of a Calder
determined to keep his thoughts to himself. For Laredo, that was telling in
itself.
As warm as it is, I thought Sloan might come along to get a look at the
calving sheds. Laredo gave the gate a push, swinging it shut after Trey rode
through.
She wanted to, but I talked her out of it. Too many have the flu bug here at
South Branch, and she s too close to term to risk getting sick now. Trey
pointed his horse at a large, round bale some distance away where a half dozen
cows were gathered, their sides ballooned by their advanced pregnancies.
Sounds like you had to do some talking to convince her, Laredo guessed as
they approached the cows, keeping their horses at an unhurried walk, the
strike of their hooves on the still-frozen ground making a dull clop.
A heavy breath spilled from Trey. You got that right. She was upset with me
anyway. She has a doctor s appointment at the end of the week. She wanted me
to take her. Needless to say, she wasn t happy when I told her that I
couldn t, not at calving time. I ll be damned glad when this baby s born.
Maybe she ll stop being so testy then.
Been hard to live with lately, has she? Laredo surmised.
Yes and no. She gets some crazy ideas in her head sometimes, and nothing I
say seems to make any difference.
Trey didn t volunteer more information than that, but Laredo was certain he
knew what kind of crazy notion Sloan had. You mean like you re cheating on
her.
Trey abruptly reined up, his gaze shooting to Laredo, a dark anger in its
depths. Good God, don t tell me she s spouting off to others about it.
Not that I ve heard. Laredo halted as well.
Then how did you know?
I picked it up in Blue Moon when I was there the other day. Rumor has it that
you re seeing someone on the sly and it s causing problems at home.
Trey made a small, disgusted movement of his head and kneed his horse forward
again. I d like to know when I m supposed to be doing this. I ve been home
every night for months, he muttered.
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Easy. Laredo relaxed the pressure on the bit, letting his mount move
alongside Trey s gelding. An afternoon here. An afternoon there.
You re serious, Trey realized.
That s the talk.
A grimness settled around his mouth. Let s hope Sloan doesn t hear it. Yet
it was something Sloan was smart enough to figure out by herself.
It does make you wonder how the rumor got started, though, Laredo remarked
with seeming idleness.
Wise to his ways, Trey studied him. Any ideas?
It seems the rumor started circulating not long after we learned about her
connection to Rutledge. I suppose that could be another coincidence, he added
dryly.
Tongues wag all the time. It doesn t mean anything. Yet Trey couldn t
totally dismiss his words.
This time the tongues are drawing comparisons between you and your father and
the poor choice he made in his first wife. Laredo paused, then spoke with a
note of caution. There are more Taras in this world that we d like to
believe.
You still think Sloan might be some tool of Rutledge s, Trey muttered in
irritation. And I still say you re wrong.
Maybe I am. But something about all this doesn t smell right.
It isn t Sloan.
I hope to hell you re right. You two have enough troubles without throwing
that into the mix.
The only problems we have are in her mind, Trey stated flatly.
Really? What about her career?
Trey stiffened. What about it?
Talk is that you re insisting she give it up.
I ve never said a word to her about it. That was the truth. Yet it didn t
alter that vague resentment he felt nearly time he saw her with a camera. It
hardly matters, though, considering she ll soon have a baby to look after.
Makes me wonder where the Triple C would be if your mother thought like that.
And you can t say you didn t know Sloan was a professional photographer when
you married her.
Amusement was in the look Trey gave him. You can t seem to make up your mind
about Sloan. One minute you re talking against her, and in the next you re
taking her side.
Laredo grinned. Kinda sounds like I m riding the same horse you are.
The discussion, already near its end, came to a quick close when Trey spotted
a cow standing well apart from her herd-mates. Her raised tail and anxious air
were sure signs she was in the initial stage of labor, making her a prime
candidate for the calving shed.
A few notches past its zenith, the sun was a big yellow ball of light in a
freeze-dried sky. Below it, the two-lane highway stretched like a gray ribbon
across a winter-brown landscape. Here and there, old snow could be seen
clinging to the shady sides of its flanking ditches.
Only one vehicle sped along the road, heading north, a narrow shadow racing
along the shoulder, keeping pace. Cat was behind the wheel with Sloan in the
passenger seat. Music from a CD played softly over the Suburban s speakers,
covering the silence. On this return trip from Sloan s doctor s appointment,
all the topics of conversation had been exhausted.
For about the fifteenth time in the last fifty miles, Sloan shifted in her
seat, seeking a more comfortable position. The movement didn t go unnoticed by
Cat.
Concern was in her face as she said, Are you sure you don t mind if we stop
at Fedderson s before we go home? I can always run back to town and pick up
the shrimp Marsha s holding for me.
Honestly? I d welcome the chance to stretch my legs after riding for two
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