T hey didn’t wait until two. Matt kept one hand on her spine as they walked the quarter of a mile from the center of town to his clinic .

The rescue organization had called; they’d wanted to bring him a special horse in need of rehabilitation and resocialization before she could find a permanent home .

He pushed the anger away .

To be honest, he’d wanted to refuse until he’d heard the animal’s story. Matt just didn’t know when he’d have the time to work with her .

That’s where he hoped the woman still shivering next to him came in. He easily sensed the scene in the diner had upset her more than she was telling him. “I need your help .”

She looked up at him, her eyes telling him all he needed to know. She hadn’t been paying the least bit of attention to where he’d been leading her, had she ?

She’d just let him lead her away .

Matt wanted to turn back. Blacken both Jay Gunderson’s eyes for whatever it was he’d done to her .

Maybe someday he would. Just on principle alone .

Just to erase that look in her eyes. Matt fought the urge to pull her closer and reassure Pip that everything would be alright. To kiss her and promise to keep her safe from everything for now until eternity. “This way. The rescue I’m affiliated with called me this morning. They’re bringing me a Quarter Horse who’s had a rough road. Rumor is she only responds to a few people. And to be honest, I don’t have the time to devote to her right now. I was wondering if you can help me move her, if possible. Levi should be done with the far barn on our place in a week or two. I want to stable her there. It’s away from Rollo and the rest of our horses. She’s not too keen on males in her space at all, I think .”

Rather like the woman next to him .

* * *

H e wanted her help with a horse. That was a simple request. One Pip had no doubt she could meet. Some of the tension filling her lessened. Became more manageable. Of course, it helped that Matt’s clinic was on the outskirts of town, far away from that damned diner. She hadn’t been there before--they used a vet located just over the county line for their livestock—but she’d heard good things about him .

More, she knew he genuinely loved the animals in his care .

He’d purchased two of her Quarter Horses just a few months back, after Phoebe had been hurt, when they’d needed money to pay the hospital for Phoebe’s care .

She’d planned to wait a year or two longer and get a higher profit, but that hadn’t been in the cards .

They were the first of her horses she’d ever sold. It had broken her heart to watch him drive away with them. But she’d done it. And she knew the two geldings she’d trained as cutting horses would always be well taken care of .

Now that her sisters lived on his property, she’d even see those horses occasionally. Pip had to admit it had worked out well for them .

But that meant she was basically starting back a few paces on her plans to build her own AQH breeding program. She’d been meaning to invest the money from those horses back into her program eventually. Instead it had gone to the Masterson General Hospital. Just like every other spare penny the family had. They were still paying hospital bills from the wreck that had killed her mother and injured both Perci and her brother Phoenix. And bills from the heart attack her father had had after .

The loss of profit from those horses was just another setback .

She was a Tyler. Tylers handled setbacks. It was kind of their stock in trade .

She waited next to the man while the rescue organization’s trailer backed in. It was a good rescue. She’d heard of them before. Some of the tension filling her started to relax .

It always did whenever Matt was close by—after the initial panic that a man like him was so close receded .

She had to admit he made her feel at peace. Relaxed in a way she hadn’t been before .

They both knew what they were doing, and she and Matt worked quickly, with the need for only minimal communication between them .

The trailer was backed to the paddock behind the clinic, and everything was ready .

The horse refused to come out. Even with the handler .

Pip knew patience was sometimes the only thing that worked with some animals. Heck, she understood it herself .

Sometimes the world was a very frightening place .

The instant Matt entered the trailer to try to help the horse protested .

Matt stepped out quickly .

Pip heard the horse inside, heard the fear .

“She’s afraid. So very afraid,” she said. “You’re both big men. Threats. How was she loaded ?”

She looked at the man who’d driven the truck from Montana .

“We were set to have two of us, but Charlie’s mom called, and she had to go. Family emergency. Charlie loaded her .”

“Let me go in. See if I can calm her some .”