I t took some doing but they managed to get the horse Matt was now calling Wind Lover into the vet clinic’s trailer and out to Pip’s barn. They had three barns on the place, the one in the best repair was where her horse Air Dancer ruled supreme, along with Perci’s Wind Dancer. Pan and Phoebe had taken Sky Dancer and Cloud Dancer with them when they’d relocated to the Masterson place. But it wasn’t there that Wind Lover would be the most comfortable. Not with all those males hanging around, demanding her attention .

She settled the horse in the small three-stall barn that had been on the property for more than two generations. It was old and somewhat shabby, but Wind Lover would be safe, warm, and dry. The middle barn held three horses that they boarded for people in town. That money went a long way to buying feed for Phoebe’s little drove of goats .

Pip spent hours with little Wind Lover, getting the horse settled, learning her, letting her just feel Pip nearby. Patient, loving .

Determined to win her trust .

It was going to take her time .

The horse needed to heal first .

* * *

S he spent most of the next afternoon with Wind Lover, and she saw some real progress. The horse seemed to understand that Pip wasn’t going to hurt her at all. She’d just finished cleaning the stall next to Wind Lover’s when her arm caught on an exposed nail .

She tried to clean up the wound herself but it wasn’t happening. She needed an extra pair of hands. Perci should be around the place somewhere .

“Perci? Come help me for a minute." Pip called when she heard the sound of footsteps just inside the barn. She turned, expecting to see her sister. It wasn't her twin standing there. No; it was a big, tall, strong man. For a moment Pip fought panic, until she looked into the familiar blue eyes .

Matt .

Some of the tension filling her dissipated. Some, not all .

She was practically half naked in front of him, after all. She clutched her shirt closer, attempting to cover the old bra she wore. There was no time to slip the shirt back over her head, not without him seeing more than she wanted to reveal. She forced herself to take a deep breath, to remember that Matt had never hurt her. Never would. She knew that. Intellectually. Emotionally? She was still a messed up tangle of nerves. Stupid nerves. "What are you doing here ?"

"I came to check on Wind Lover ."

"I cut my arm, I was trying to take care of it. Just give me a second to put my shirt back on." She shouldn't have said anything about it. It was like she’d triggered his reaction. His eyes took the expected path--he looked down, to where she clutched the orange flannel close .

Pip might not be overly experienced, but she'd certainly seen appreciation like that in a man's eyes before. And Joel looked at Phoebe that way all of the time. With just that same amount of heat. That hunger .

She swallowed as her mouth went dry. Matt had never looked at her that way before, had he ?

Matt Masterson liked what he saw. And she strongly suspected he wanted to see more .

For one wild moment Pip wanted to just let go of the shirt, and let him see. Let him see all of her that he wanted .

She wished she could. Wished she could be like Perci or Phoebe and trust enough to just let go with a man .

Her arms tightened on the material, instead .

Pip fought the shiver that went through her. For the first time, she wasn't shivering from fear. Or from cold. But from something that felt a little like heat, anticipation .

Because she wanted him to see .

She liked that he liked what he saw, didn't she? "Matt? A little privacy, please?" Before she ended up making a total fool of herself. He stepped out of the stall, and she hurriedly slipped the now ripped orange flannel back on, her fingers flying over the buttons .

She joined him outside of the stall. His eyes immediately went to the buttons of her shirt. "You missed one. I'd love to help you fix it, if you'd let me ."

"I…" She didn't know how to flirt with a man. Or how to respond to one who was so… so… like Matt. "Why are you here again ?"

"To check on the horse, remember?” He smiled at her, melting her insides again. And then his eyes shifted a bit. To the arm she’d injured. “Baby, you’re bleeding. Do you have a first-aid kit in here? I am a doctor, after all ."

"Of horses and dogs, not of people ."

"I still know how to use a Band-Aid, Pip. And I won't even peek, anymore than I already have ."

She didn't see where she had any choice. Pip handed him the first-aid kit and he made quick work of the two-inch gash on her arm. "I caught my arm on a nail ."

"It's nasty, but I don't think it'll need stitches. If you want, I'll drive you into town. We can swing by the hospital and have Nate take care of it .”

“I don't really think that's necessary." And they didn’t need another ER bill, not for a little cut like this. At most, she’d just wait until Perci came home and let her twin take care of it. Perci had stitched them all up before. It came in handy, having a sister who was a nurse .

"You’re up-to-date on your tetanus ?"

"I think so. I'm not sure, though.” She appreciated how calm and matter-of-fact he was. No teasing, no pushing the boundaries. Just Matt. Always, just Matt. Pip finally felt herself start to relax. It was always like this with him, wasn’t it? Tense and afraid, then finally, that moment when she relaxed enough to be comfortable with him .

To forget the fear that had coated her life for so long and just be with him .

"I'll call Nate; have him send a booster home with your sister ."

"I… That's not necessary, Matt. I can take care of myself ."

"Why should you have to do it all alone? Sometimes, baby, a man just wants to take care of a woman. Makes him feel strong and worth something, makes him think he matters. To take care of the people he cares about." He brushed a finger over the fresh bandage. He let that finger dip lower, ghosting over the skin of her arm. “And I do care about you—a great deal, Philippa Tyler .”

Pip fought a shiver at the unexpected touch .

Matt had really big hands. Hands that knew exactly how to touch, probably .

Pip didn't know what to say about that, so she said nothing at all. He turned the conversation back to Wind Lover, and she let him .

Pip didn't know how to deal with an attractive man. Period. Especially one who had hinted repeatedly that he found her attractive, as well .

Three months ago it never would have occurred to her that a man like him would look at her that way. Matt had not stopped watching her from the moment he'd stepped into the barn .

Pip had never been so confused in her adult life as she was in that very moment .

For the first time in four years, she found a man attractive. And she didn't have a clue what to do about it. So Pip talked, about the horse and about the boys, and anything that popped up. They just talked, as she dealt with Wind Lover and he examined the mare .

She didn’t know where the words came from but she didn’t miss the pleasure in those blue eyes of his .

Matt had beautiful eyes; he was the only brother to have blue eyes. She’d thought about his eyes often. More often than she wanted to think about .

She thought about Matt more often than she wanted to think about, too. Pip didn’t have a clue what it meant .