Page 20 of Total Jane Wreck

Marigold is first to recover. “Chet—so good to see you!” she practically sings. “Pour yourself a glass and join the party!”

Chet steps only halfway out. “No thanks,” he says. “Just thought I’d say hello. Also, Jane—thank you for the work you did today with Freckles. I’ve never seen him so trusting and relaxed.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll start the same training technique with Miss Adele tomorrow.” I’m careful to use my most professional voice, trying to hide that the wine’s got me remembering him naked in that shower stall.

Chet nods. “Glad to hear it.” He gives me this strange, searching look, then pivots and disappears back into the house. The door swings shut behind him. When I’m sure he’s gone, I let out a slow, careful exhale.

Marigold immediately starts in. “That man is wound tighter than an eight-day clock.”

Axel Rose chuckles. “He’s not so bad. I think he just needs a hobby or something.”

“Aren’t horses his hobby?” Marigold asks. “Or do you mean that he just needs to get laid?”

My mouth drops open in shock. “How can you say that when his girlfriend is battling lymphoma?”

“Birdy Banks?” Marigold rolls her eyes. “According to my sources, that relationship is over.”

“Really? Who are your sources?”

Marigold gestures toward Axel Rose. I give her an imploring look.

“Thanks,” Axel Rose says to Marigold. “You weren’t supposed to repeat that.”

She shrugs. “Sorry.”

Axel Rose shakes her head. “Do me a favor, and don’t feature Chet and Birdy’s relationship in your next novel, okay?”

“No promises,” Marigold answers. “A sexy, brooding billionaire who trusts no one, including himself, and the ailing woman who loves him? That’s like crack for romance readers.”

I stare at the faraway porch light above the barn, faint as a firefly, while Axel Rose and Marigold continue their BFF banter. Then, mustering some bravado, I tilt my glass and lean toward the other women, voice low. “Please don’t let Chet know that I intend to buy Betty from my family.”

“Do you intend to buy her from your family?” Axel Rose asks.

I nod, realizing that it’s true. “But if Chet knew, he’d worry that I’ll beg him to buy her himself, and then things would be so awkward . . .”

Both women tilt their heads, mulling over what I just said.

“Or . . .” Axel Rose raises an eyebrow. “You could let us bring it up in a very subtle sort of way. I bet he’d help you, if he thought that doing so was his own idea.”

“No.” My response is flat and strong.

“But—” Marigold’s eyes grow wide. “For Chet, buying Betty would be a drop in the bucket. Like a normal person spending ten bucks on a new pair of socks.”

“Asking him for money wouldn’t be right,” I state. “And I could never bring myself to do it.”

They appear convinced. Because they don’t press me further. Instead, the three of us sip the last of our wine, watching as the sun sets behind the mountains.

Chapter Ten

I believed he was naturally a man of better tendencies... could he have been rescued from contamination.

“Freckles has colic,” I tell Chet.

His eyebrows knit together, concerned—perhaps more by my urgent tone than by the words I’m saying. “But Freckles is not a foal,” Chet answers. “Do adult horses get colic?”

“Horses can get colic at any time in their lives,” I say. “When they do, it’s life-threatening. And super painful.”

Poor Freckles. Like Miss Adele, he’s youngish, with previous owners who clearly pushed him too hard during training. He got bone chips that went ignored, until Freckles came to Resilience Ranch and Chet paid for surgery. At least, that’s what Axel Rose said. “Freckles is okay now,” she told me, “but he’s got permanent joint damage.”