Michael knew the barn setup, so he ended up being in charge when he and Wes unsaddled and groomed the horses.

“That Winston’s a character,” Wes said as they turned the horses out into the pasture. He leaned against the rail and watched the Paint interact with the rest of the herd. “I’m glad Kendra put me up on him.”

“He’s a fun horse.”

“He’s in great shape, too. All the animals look healthy and happy. I can’t believe Kendra handles it all by herself.”

“Not by a long shot. I guess everyone’s off doing stuff, but she employs two of her sons and a future daughter-in-law, whose dad also works here.”

“A family operation, then.”

“Definitely.”

“I think my dad might have had dreams of that, but only my brother Pete stuck around.” He gazed into the distance and heaved a sigh. “I could kick myself from here to next week for suggesting we ride through the trees. If we’d stayed in the open, Roxanne wouldn’t be hurt.”

Michael glanced at Wes’s tense profile. Poor guy. Must be a burden to carry that kind of responsibility for another human being. “Not your fault, dude.”

“I’m the one who asked to go that way.”

“And I was happy to oblige. Got us out of the wind. Kendra and I have ridden through there plenty of times and never had that happen. You can’t blame yourself for a chance encounter with a rabbit.”

“Guess not.” But he didn’t sound convinced. He looked over at Michael. “At least after watching how you handled that episode, I know you genuinely care about her.”

“Relieved to hear it.”

“I knew from the beginning that Phil didn’t give a damn about her welfare, but she seemed so happy that I didn’t say anything. I’ve regretted that ever since.”

“And you’re sure as hell not going to make that mistake this time?”

“Nope.” Wes gazed at him with those eyes that were so like Roxanne’s, only not. “Like I told her, you wouldn’t intend to hurt her, but I can see the potential. Your style and hers are so different.”

“I respectfully disagree with that statement.” Michael tamped down the anger that flared up. “You don’t know me well enough to say that.”

“You’re not hard to get to know. Some people disguise their true nature, but yours is right out there, front and center.”

“I like to think so.”

“It’s a good trait. If you weren’t interested in my sister, we could probably be friends.”

“Well, I am interested in her and she’s interested in me. If that precludes friendship between you and me, so be it.” Yeah, he was getting pissed. Not good.

“She is interested, but I don’t see how it can—”

“Too bad. I do. And if I have enough time and a dose of good luck, she’ll see it, too.”

“You’re missing my point. Roxanne builds a bridge before crossing the ravine. You leap and build the bridge on the way down.”

“She might be more like me than you think.”

His eyes narrowed. “You may think that because she jumped into this relationship, but that was—”

“You betcha she did and it was the right move. I’ve got another saying for you. Leap and the net will appear.”

“That’s crap. Leap and get smashed on the rocks below.”

“Not if you trust your instincts. And she does. It’s why she’s succeeded in a highly competitive creative field.”

“Come on, Murphy. She’s well educated and she researched the hell out of that field. It’s called knowledge and training.”

“And instinct. She—”

“You just want to believe that because it serves your purposes.”

“It serves hers, damn it! If it works for her professionally, why not personally?”

“It didn’t work two years ago with Phil.”

“So what? People make mistakes.”

“And I’m worried that she might be headed for another one.”

Michael scrubbed a hand over his face. “This is getting us nowhere and I have to head out. If you’ll excuse me, I need to go inside and tell them I’m—”

“Look, you laid it out for me that first night, plain as day. You thrive on challenges.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Roxanne’s had a bad experience and she’s afraid she’ll repeat that pattern.”

“That’s pretty clear.“

“And it makes her a hell of a challenge for you.”

Michael stared at him. “Oh, for God’s sake! That’s not why—”

“Isn’t it? If the day comes when she decides you’re the one and she’s no longer a challenge…what happens then?”

He dragged in air. “So that’s it. You think it’s all about the thrill of the chase. Well, buddy, you couldn’t be more—”

“I’m not the only one who thinks that, Murphy. She does, too.”

That was a sucker punch to the gut. It took him several seconds to recover, but eventually he had his bearings. “Thank you for telling me that. It’s something I needed to know.” He glanced at Wes. “Ready to go check on your sister?”

“Sure.” Wes pushed away from the rail. “I take back what I said.”

“Which part?”

“You’re not as easy to read as I thought.”

That was some satisfaction, at least. “Good.” He didn’t try to make conversation on the way up to the house.

Neither did Wes. But their strides were the same length. Their boots hit the ground perfectly in sync. They could have been on a drill team.

Michael couldn’t hold back a chuckle.

“What’s so funny?”

“You and me, marching in step.”

“Makes sense. We’re about the same height.”

“And God forbid one of us gets to the house ahead of the other one.”

Wes gave him a sideways glance. “Damn it, Murphy.” He was smiling.

“What?”

“Why do you have to be so likeable?”

“It’s my superpower.”

Wes seemed to get a charge out of that. He started laughing. “That’s what I’m talking about! We just had this intense conversation and you were ticked off. Hell, I was ticked off. Now you’ve got me laughing. I don’t want to like you but damned if I can help it.”

“Told you we’d become buddies.”

“We’re not buddies. I said that Tuesday night. Nothing’s changed.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m playing the long game.” He walked across the porch and insisted Wes go in first. A crack had appeared in the guy’s armor. That was encouraging.

Wes grinned and shook his head. “Still not buddies.”

“It’s not over ‘til it’s over.” He wouldn’t allow the guy to get between him and Roxanne. But if he could become friends with her beloved brother, everyone would win.

Roxanne glanced up from a book she’d been reading as she lay under an afghan on Kendra’s couch. Noises from the kitchen indicated Kendra was in there working on something.

Roxanne smiled. “You two look like you’ve been having fun.”

“I wouldn’t call it that,” Wes said.

She gazed at her brother. “What would you call it, then?”

“I’m not sure. Time spent with Murphy can be hard to categorize.”

“In other words,” Michael said, “he thought he had my number and now nothing adds up. How’re you feeling?”

“Not too bad. Kendra put some arnica on the bruise and gave me a couple of aspirin. I have an ice pack on it, too.”

Wes nodded. “All good. I can pick up some arnica for you when we go back to town so Kendra can keep hers. But I’m glad she had some.”

“Me, too. Oh, and she invited us to stay for lunch so I can keep my knee elevated a little longer.”

“That’s nice of her.”

Kendra came out of the kitchen. “There you are. I thought I heard you boys come in. Michael, any chance you can stay for lunch? I know what you said before, but—”

“Thanks, but I can’t. I’m opening today and I have Greg Paladin coming by at noon to deliver his estimate on our expansion.”

Kendra blinked. “What expansion?”

“Oh, right. It’s been on my mind so much I keep forgetting everybody doesn’t know about it. I talked with Greg yesterday about enlarging the building’s footprint to include a small gift shop. We’ll call it the GG Country Store.”

“Wow.” Kendra’s eyes widened. “Evidently you’ve blown right past t-shirts.”

“We’ll sell those, of course, and several other items featuring Roxanne’s logo.” He glanced over at her. “We’ll need to get together once I have a list of the items and the specs.”

“Absolutely.” She seemed enthusiastic but something else was going on in that brown gaze of hers.

If they’d been alone he would have asked her about it but they weren’t and he was running out of time. “Anyway, I’ll be tied up for the next couple of hours, but I’m glad you two are staying here for a while. When you’re ready to leave, would you please text me?”

Wes had his suspicious face on again. “Why?”

“So I can meet you there and carry Roxanne up the stairs.”

She shook her head. “I appreciate the offer, but that’s not necessary. I can make it up there. I’ll just lean on Wes.”

“Yeah,” Wes said. “We can handle it, Murphy.”

“I’m sure you can, but it’ll take you at least three times as long and result in a lot more pain and suffering.”

Wes rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at Roxanne. “He’s right, sis. While he’s been pumping iron, I’ve been taking exams. I wouldn’t trust myself to carry you up those stairs.”

“Then it’s settled.” Michael focused on Roxanne. “See you soon.”

“Okay. Thanks.” She looked as if she had a whole lot more to say.

He did, too. He was still wrestling with the information Wes had provided.

If she thought he’d bail the minute the challenge was gone, he wanted to talk about it. With her brother in town, he didn’t know when he’d have the chance, but somehow he’d find a way to kick that misconception to the curb.