Boone sat in his car until well past dark, his chest rioting with insects, then hummingbirds, then crows. He’d called Nicole ten times and texted her twice that. She hadn’t responded once.

He’d done the same to his mother the day they’d left Grape Seed Falls, and pure regret filled him now. He even texted her an apology, though he’d already spoken to her and made things right.

He leaned back against the headrest, admitting to himself that he shouldn’t have gone up to the choir seats. He just thought he could calm her enough to simply open her mouth and sing. She had, sort of. Her voice was nowhere near what he’d heard at his house, and now Nicole had disappeared.

Finally admitting defeat, he drove home, where Lord Vader and Princess Leia greeted him with wagging tails and slobbery kisses. He’d been neglecting his dogs in the evenings since he’d started dating Nicole six months ago, but they still seemed to love him.

“Come on, guys.” He went down the hall to the master bedroom and changed into gym shorts and a T-shirt. He switched on the TV and fell into bed. He let Vader and Leia jump up and lay on either side of him, one hand stroking each dog. He needed them close right now, and he stole some comfort from them as the hours passed and his phone stayed silent.

The following morning, he skipped his running for the day. Instead, he drove down the quiet, early-morning streets of Three Rivers at a crawl. Nothing had changed at Nicole’s, which meant she hadn’t come home last night. They’d made no plans for today, and the clinic wouldn’t be open until Thursday. The sheltered animals still needed care, but Nicole had a schedule to make sure they got fed, watered, and exercised while the clinic was closed.

He didn’t know the schedule, because he didn’t need to know it, but he found himself pulling into the clinic. There weren’t any other cars there, and he parked in the back like he usually did and entered the old building.

The familiar scent of cleaning supplies and animals met his nose, calming him for reasons he couldn’t name. He’d slept poorly the previous night, his thoughts bouncing from Nicole to Puppy Pawz to the botched choir program.

At least his clinic had met the approval of the independent appraiser who’d come to see what the conditions were like. Penelope Whitby hadn’t made a reappearance at any City Council meetings, and Boone hoped the whole affair would simply disappear.

Boone flipped on the lights and moved through the shelter, talking in a low voice to the animals. His phone went off, and he almost tripped over his own feet in his haste to pull it from his jacket pocket.

It wasn’t Nicole, and his heart settled back into his heels. It was Brynn Greene, wondering if he could make a house call for one of her horses.

He responded that he’d be right out, and he retraced his steps and left the building. Sadness descended on him, and it felt like a heavy yoke around his neck. The past six months had been the best he’d had in Three Rivers, at Puppy Pawz. Now, he wondered if he’d ever be able to go back to that building and find anything worthwhile.

There was no way he could make that sixteen-step walk without his heart breaking. He’d told his father that he was in love with Nicole, and he’d marveled at that declaration since.

He hadn’t told her yet. With all of her attention on the Christmas program, they hadn’t even talked more about getting married.

He made it to the ranch, the beginnings of a migraine starting behind his temples. He put on a smile and parked near the stables of Bowman’s Breeds.

Nicole had come out to the equine therapy sessions with him for several weeks now, and he could barely get his feet to move toward the gate at the thought that they might never make the drive out here again.

He eradicated the thought. Surely she wouldn’t break up with him because she hadn’t been able to sing in church. That wasn’t his fault, not by any stretch of the imagination. But the thought returned, and Boone had learned not to ignore his brain when it circled something. He texted her again.

Please let me know you’re okay.

Simple. Not overbearing. He wasn’t begging.

Brynn pushed through a door, a loud squeal coming with her and stealing his attention from his phone. “Hey, Brynn. Whaddya got?”

“Sunshine isn’t doing great.”

“She’s the pregnant one?”

“I have about a dozen pregnant horses.” Brynn threw him a look over her shoulder. “But she’s one of ‘em.”

Boone followed her, not really in the mood to deal with a horse right now. Or another person. Or even himself. But he was a professional, and he did love his work out here at the ranch.

So he did his best to ignore the fact that his phone didn’t chime or vibrate and put a smile on his face when Brynn turned and gestured toward a stall where a beautiful gray and white horse should’ve been standing.

But Sunshine wasn’t standing. She lay in the corner of the pen, her eyes a bit wild and her belly way too big. “How far along is she?” he asked, opening the gate and entering the pen.

Sunshine nickered at him, almost like a warning but not quite.

“Seven months,” Brynn said. “Cal thinks it’s twins.”

“She needs to get up,” Boone said, not sure why he thought that. But with two foals inside, she needed to be eating and drinking and staying on her feet. “How long has she been lying in the corner?”

“Since last night, I think,” Brynn said. “I’m…Ethan came out and checked on the pregnant mares for me last night.”

Boone glanced at her, everything he’d learned about Brynn in the past couple of years at odds with what she’d just said. She didn’t let anyone do anything with her horses at Bowman’s Breeds. She was the expert. She knew every little detail about every little thing.

She was very much like Nicole in that regard, and Boone’s heart twisted once again.

“You didn’t come out?” he asked.

She shook her head, her mouth pressed into a straight line. “I wasn’t feeling well.” She met his eye and added, “My morning sickness seems to hit me in the evenings. Go figure.”

Boone blinked as he realized what she’d said. “Wow, congratulations, Brynn.” He smiled at her, a real, genuine smile. He wasn’t sure he could manage one of those at the moment, but he did.

“Thank you.” She grinned, her whole being seeming to light up. “So I’m not sure. I texted Ethan about her this morning, and he said that yes, she was lying down last night too.”

“And is that odd?”

“He didn’t think so.”

“What do you think?” Boone approached Sunshine, clicking his tongue at her. “What’s wrong, girl? Too many babies in there?”

The likelihood that a mare could deliver more that one baby was pretty slim. If one of the fetuses had died, it could put the other one in danger. And delivering two healthy foals? It was the exception; Boone knew that much.

He put his hand on her neck, relieved when she let him. Her eyes drifted halfway closed, and a sense of peace entered Boone. It was amazing to him how calming a horse was, how his spirit simply quieted in their presence.

“Let me feel, okay?” He ran his fingertips down her neck and along her ribs, searching for the legs and feet of the baby. “Here’s one here,” he said, mostly for Brynn.

He watched Sunshine’s face to make sure he wasn’t causing her any pain. She wasn’t panting. She didn’t seem to be having a problem at all. And since he could only feel one side of her belly, he honestly didn’t know if there was another foal inside or not.

“Let’s get her bridled,” he said. “Would you hand me what I need?”

Brynn complied, and Boone got Sunshine ready to stand. “All right, girl. Time to get up.” He tugged on the reins, but she resisted. “Come on.”

When the horse still didn’t seem close to complying, he turned back to Brynn. “Maybe you should try.”

A panicked look crossed her face, something Boone didn’t understand. But she came into the stall and took the reins from him. “Ethan’s concerned about me getting kicked,” she said, and Boone supposed that made sense.

“Come on,” she said to Sunshine. “Get up, Sunny.”

The horse did for Brynn, stumbling the slightest bit until she settled her weight on all four legs.

“Keep her steady,” Boon said, moving around the front of the horse to the other side. He pressed and felt, moving his hands slowly. “She’s got some rot on this side,” he said, brushing at her coat. “She can’t lay down for that long.”

Maybe Sunshine was just lazy…. “I don’t think there’s two babies in here either. You sure she’d only seven months along?”

“I think so.”

Boone kept back his exasperated sigh. He wasn’t sure why her non-answer bothered him so much. Probably because everything was bothering him today.

He prayed that he could find a well of patience he didn’t know about as he continued to probe for any sign of discomfort or distress with the horse.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with her,” he finally said. “Make sure she’s eating enough. Getting enough to drink. And she needs to exercise. She shouldn’t be this big with just one foal.”

“All right,” Brynn said. “But Cal said—”

“I don’t really care what Cal said.” The words left Boone’s mouth before he could censor them.

Brynn’s gaze flew to his, and Boone apologized quickly. “I’m tired,” he said. “Nicole—” He cut off, unable to continue. He brushed his hands off and moved out of the stall. “She’s not talking to me at the moment. I’m a little…stressed.”

Brynn’s eyes softened, and she patted him on the shoulder like he was a dog. “She’ll come around.”

“I don’t know why she’s so upset.”

“She’s not used to being the center of attention.” Brynn kept a grip on the reins and led the horse out of her stall. “Come on Sunshine. We have to keep walking. You can’t be so lazy.”

He simply closed the gate to the pen, followed her and Sunshine out, and headed home. But he didn’t want to be there, so he leashed Vader and Leia and went to where he’d first seen Nicole for the first time.