Leave It to Chance by Sherri Sand Read Free Book Online Page A

won’t work.”
    His cousin clapped him on the shoulder. “When can we trailer him over?” Kyle was the type who wanted to rescue every stray that crossed his path. No doubt it was the reason he took Isabelle Mittingham to their prom.
    “All right.” Ross sighed. “Let’s go look at the barn.”

    Ross watched the green Honda van roll to a stop near his house Tuesday afternoon. He rested his shoulder on the side of his pickup bed and watched as an older woman step from the car and then lean down to help a young boy get his foot loose from the seatbelt.
    Ross crossed the circular yard between the barn and his house to greet them. “You must be Abbey Lassiter. Kyle told me you might be by today.”
    “Hello. And this young man is my grandson Trevor.”
    Ross smiled down at the child. “Hi, Trevor.”
    The boy kept close to his grandma. Abbey bent toward Trevor. “Say ‘hi’ to the man, honey.”
    The boy fidgeted and a shy smile emerged. “Hi.”
    “So you and Kyle are cousins? I don’t recall ever seeing you with Kyle at church.” Her smile was gracious, but a determined question was in her eyes.
    He decided to appease her curiosity. “My folks and I attended across town when I was growing up. I visited a few times when I stayed the night with Kyle. I belong to Faith Community now.”
    “Ah.” The answer seemed to satisfy, and her smile warmed. “I always hoped Kyle and my daughter—” She laughed self-consciously and glanced down at Trevor. “Well, you know how mothers can be. And now Kyle is married and Sierra is single again.”
    Ross slapped his gloves lightly against his leg, and he looked down at Trevor, but the boy wasn’t listening. His attention had been caught by a fuzzy caterpillar that was slowly crawling over the rocks. Ross looked at Abbey. “So, do you want to see the barn? Kyle mentioned you have a horse that needed stabling.”
    Abbey laughed and started walking with him toward the barn. “Now there’s a story. My daughter Sierra inherited it, if you can believe that. Miss Libby had no idea when she wrote her will how terrified of horses Sierra is. My daughter is really quite a level-headed person, but she went through a traumatic experience when she was young.” She glanced quickly at Trevor, then gave Ross a negative shake of her head. “I can explain later.”
    Throughout the tour of the small barn, the woman gave him more details than he needed to know about her daughter’s life. When Trevor found a black beetle climbing over some rags in the corner of the tack room, Abbey was too busy explaining about Sierra’s divorce to even notice. It felt like gossip and Ross didn’t like it.
    He interrupted with a polite smile and brought the conversation back to the barn. “Do you think this would work?”
    Abbey laughed again. “Oh, listen to me, I do go on sometimes. I just thought it’d be helpful if you understood what the poor girl has been through.”
    He rested his hand on top of a stall door. “That’s thoughtful of you, but I prefer to let people tell their own stories.”
    “Oh.” For the first time Abbey had nothing to say.
    He hid a grin and let his hand slide off the stall. “Well, if you’ve seen—”
    “ But there are extenuating circumstances.” A finger waved in protest. “Sierra would never say anything about what’s happened to her. She has a hard time accepting help. And if I can’t find someone who will board her horse, those children will have one more disappointment to deal with.”
    A chuckle escaped his lips. “Does she know you’re here?’
    She tilted her head. “When a person is under stress, do you think she always knows what’s best for her?”
    Ho boy. “And you do, I presume?”
    “Of course, I’m her mother.” She clapped her hands together. “Now, let’s talk payment. I’m on a fixed income but I have a little spending money.”
    What kind of trouble had Kyle gotten him into?

    Sierra dished macaroni and cheese with sliced