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Or weird, like every guy you’ve ever gone out with has said.
But Ry laughed. “Pretty enough, isn’t he?”
“Which one, Cody or the horse?” she asked, the corners of her mouth twitching.
He laughed again. She could get used to this, making him laugh. “Either way works. Chance jokes he rides Dorado so Cody doesn’t have to.”
“It would be nearly blinding.” She couldn’t seem to help smiling, because he was.
“Also not wise. Cody tends to wander sometimes, and for all his flash, Dorado is not just a pretty face. He’s a fiery beast, Mom says.”
“I’ll bet your brother keeps him in line.”
“He does. Guess he got used to giving orders.”
She watched as the man in the camo hat leaned over to kiss the redhead. She glanced at Ry, and saw the smile on his face. A loving, pleased smile.
“Just seeing them makes you happy, doesn’t it?” she asked as they reached the flat and started toward the house.
“It does,” he said. “He was carrying around a ton of guilt, for something he couldn’t have helped. And only Ariel could help him put it down.”
“Only Ariel?”
“His guilt was over the way her husband died. Chance had himself convinced he could have stopped it.”
Kaitlyn looked back at the quartet by the fence. She thought about what she already knew, that Ariel’s late husband had been Tri’s handler. With that added on top of it… “Then what I’m looking at here is practically a miracle.”
“Mom calls it a Christmas miracle, since that’s when it happened,” Ry said, and when she looked over at him again at those words, he was watching her so intently it was unsettling.
In the end she found it one of the most pleasant afternoons she’d had in a while. Ry introduced her to Chance and Ariel in an odd sort of way, by name first and with why she was here, officially, almost sounding like an afterthought. As if for a moment, Ry himself had forgotten. That gave her a very strange feeling she didn’t have time to dwell on right now.
She was formally introduced to Tri by, interestingly, Ariel. The dog made a careful inspection, apparently decided she was no threat, and seemed to relax, sitting at Ariel’s feet again.
“You passed,” Chance said, making her smile.
“Amazing how far he’s come,” Ry said. “You wouldn’t had dared let him out off-leash before Ariel came along.”
“She straightened us both out,” Chance said, with a look at the redhead that made Kaitlyn’s eyes sting, knowing what she knew about what these two had gone through to get to here. She thought of Keller and Sydney, what they were like together. And clearly these two were just as meant to be, and perhaps even more of a wonder, since he was the one the entire Rafferty family had been the most worried about. And looking at the couple now, the idea strayed through her mind that if there was hope for him, there was hope for anyone.
“Come on in,” Ariel said, gesturing toward the door. “We’re still unpacking, but there’s coffee on. As long as you like plain and simple, basic black with cream and sugar if you want.”
Since that was all she’d been able to afford for a very long time, Kaitlyn simply smiled and said, “My brew of choice.”
The cabin seemed more spacious inside than she’d expected, probably because the compact kitchen and living room were all one large space. But she barely noticed that before her gaze fastened on the painting on the far wall. She didn’t have to ask; it was clear it was by the same hand as the one in the main house. It was, she’d swear, of the stream they’d just crossed, except at a higher flow. At sunrise, she thought, judging by the faint wisps of mist the artist had managed to portray with a most delicate touch. And the wide-open Texas sky over the rolling land of the Hill Country was the crown of it all, captured forever by a seeing, steady hand.
She gave a slow, wondering shake of her head. “He was truly brilliant,” she said softly.
The moment the words were out, she realized Chance had gone very still. The ex-soldier looked at his brother.
“I didn’t have to tell her,” Ry said quietly. “She guessed.”
“Well, well,” Chance said, an odd sort of expression coming over his face as his gaze became more pointed. Not surprise, but…acknowledgment? Understanding? Or simply a secret shared between brothers that others weren’t privy to? She wouldn’t know about that, having never had any siblings, let alone brothers. But then Ariel exchanged a glance with both men, and it was a knowing one that threw her theory right out the window.
No, she wasn’t sure what it was all about. But she was certain that the smile on Ariel’s face was pleased. And that made her feel oddly pleased herself.
As they sat at the small kitchen counter with mugs of coffee, Kaitlyn listened to the story about their trip to pick up two new residents.
“They seem pretty bonded, so this will be interesting,” Chance said. “And this guy,” he added, nodding at the dog who had plopped happily in a bed against the far wall, “has become quite the ambassador. He really eased the other dogs into cooperating.”
