Finally Home by Lois Greiman Read Free Book Online Page A

that appealed to Ty’s need for calm, but since the day he and Sophie had found her tethered and neglected in a neighboring pregnant mare urine facility, the girl had been in love with the horse. And there wasn’t no accounting for love. He glanced across the table once again. Sophie’s long, smooth hair shone like a pampered sorrel’s in the overhead light. The pink turtleneck she wore under her sleek zip-up sweatshirt matched its trim to perfection, and her earrings, though small and barely visible past the burnished sheen of her hair, probably cost more than he had earned in his life.
    He curled his ragged fingernails into his palms and scowled at the unoffending stew.
    â€œWhat about Blue? He didn’t get that bandage off again, did he? Or Marley!” They’d spotted a trio of unclaimed horses in an overgrown hayfield a few weeks ago. Sophie had named the unkempt buckskin after the Jamaican musician and worried about the feral animals ever since, though they’d proven impossible to track.
    â€œI didn’t see the wild band again. But everybody else looked good out there ’cept this little one here.” He nodded toward the abandoned lamb.
    â€œShe’ll be fine once she gets something warm in her belly,” Emily said.
    Ty shifted his gaze to the girl. To look at her you’d think she was an urban brat, but she was an earth mother at heart, always ready to nurture and console and feed. If life made any sense at all he’d be in love with her instead of . . .
    He stopped his thoughts abruptly.
    â€œI’ll mix up some milk,” he said, and bumped gracelessly to his feet, jostling the table as he did so. “ ’Cuse me,” he added, but Emily was rising with him.
    â€œWhat about dessert?” she asked.
    â€œI don’t need nothing. Thanks anyhow,” he said.
    â€œIt’s a new—” she began, but just then someone knocked at the front door. They turned toward it as Colt Dickenson stepped inside.
    â€œI forgot to drop off the groceries,” he said and set a reusable Monsanto bag on the floor. The irony of the behemoth chemical company stamping its name on an environmentally friendly sack wasn’t lost on anyone.
    â€œMr. Dickenson!” Emily’s eyes lit up like firecrackers at the sight of him. Ty glanced at Sophie, but if she was thrilled by the cowboy’s appearance, she didn’t let on. Casie just looked tense, her cheeks somewhat pink. “You’re just in time for dessert.”
    â€œThanks,” he said. There was a stiffness to him this evening that didn’t usually exist. Colt Dickenson was generally as smooth as river water. “But I promised Mom I’d fix the bathroom faucet tonight.”
    â€œIt’s a new recipe,” Emily prodded. Emily was aces at prodding.
    â€œI’m sure it’s top-notch,” Colt said. “But I should get going.”
    â€œPlum cobblers. I’m thinking of adding them to my list of for-sale items, and I need feedback.”
    A few months earlier Emily had started selling jams and pies to their neighbors. Shortly after the denizens of Hope Springs had tasted her wares, she’d been invited to deliver breakfast pastries to the Pony Espresso in town. Increasing sales had made it necessary for her to find a vehicle in which to deliver her goods since Puke, Casie’s old truck, wasn’t exactly reliable. Colt had offered to give her a loan, but true to her frugal nature, Emily’d found an ancient pickup truck that appealed to her. Its dented fenders and broken headlights made Puke look like a thoroughbred by comparison. But it ran, if the wind wasn’t too strong and God was feeling generous.
    â€œThey’re still hot,” Emily added and pulled a pan of steaming cobblers from the oven. Sugared cinnamon wafted from them like fragrant dreams, firing up Ty’s salivary glands.
    â€œWell . . .” Colt said, already