Danny Friessen was most known for his brilliant red hair and vibrant blue eyes, which were gifts from his mother, Diana Friessen, and for his stubborn “go it alone” attitude, which he’d apparently inherited from his father—that and the same difficult and intense characteristics that gave him his focus and drive as well as his tendency to be unreasonable at times, as his mother had informed him. His father had only laughed and said, “That’s my boy,” especially considering Danny resembled him more and more every day.

His friends at school often looked to Danny to lead them, but he chose to be the silent observer instead of the life of the party. That had earned him the nickname Mr. Mysterious, and he rightly couldn’t remember whether it had been the popular girls, the jocks, or the student council who’d labeled him as such in the graduation yearbook three years earlier.

“So watcha doing?”

Danny hadn’t heard her pull up. Evie Wetzel was short, slim, with mud-brown eyes and dark hair that was always tied back in a ponytail. Her silent arrival was a surprise, considering her muffler was shot and her tailpipe was secured with wire from a coat hanger, but sure enough, there was her rusty brown pickup parked by his older Bronco.

“Hope you don’t mind me dropping by?” she said.

Danny just shook his head. “Of course not.”

Evie seemed to always wear the same faded blue jeans and sleeveless plaid shirt. They’d been friends since Mrs. Friedman’s kindergarten class, where he’d perpetually been a thorn in the uptight woman’s side. He still remembered standing beside his mother as she was informed of his unacceptable, rambunctious, out of control behavior after he’d refused to sit still and listen, then gone on to make farting noises behind the teacher’s back and raid the stash of M&M’s in her drawer.

“Just cleaning up all this tack and oiling these bridles for my dad,” Danny said. “Why don’t you get your ass in here and help me?”

Evie worked for her own dad, a former butcher, who owned the Tasty Pig, one of the best barbecue stops in the state, as far as Danny was concerned. He tossed her a pair of work gloves from the bin beside the tack room, which she caught one handed as she strode over. He worked oil into a cracked bridle that was part of the gear his dad used for the horses. Jed Friessen was a cowboy to the core, as his mom teased, with his love of horses. He was still taking groups out for day and overnight trips on horseback, teaching kids to connect with the animals.

“So what brings you by?” Danny said. “Would’ve thought you’d be working, or is it that late already?” He didn’t have a clue what time it was, since it was Saturday and he’d just come back from an hour’s ride after studying his prelaw courses all morning until his brain was fried. The ride always gave him a chance to decompress and figure out a lot.

“Closed up early today,” Evie said. “Dad’s been losing business, competing with that new chain restaurant that opened up right next door, so I thought I’d come by and bug you.” She worked in the oil like a pro, but then, Evie had grown up much like him but with two sisters instead, both older. She shared his love of horses, considering her dad had a small acreage with two of his own as well as some chickens and goats.

“That sucks,” Danny said. “People gotta know there’s no question on who’s better. They’ll figure it out.” He wondered, though, as he’d known for a while that her dad’s place wasn’t quite the hit it should’ve been.

She just shrugged. “Well, seems many disagree, wanting three pages of the same old mediocre variety compared to Dad’s barbecue. They don’t get that he knows meat better than anyone in the county. If it keeps up, Dad is talking about cutting back on my hours—but enough about my woes, since this should teach me to get up off my heinie and figure out something else. Do you think I’d have a chance as an airline stewardess, jet setting off to all kinds of exotic locations?” She stared up at him, and the expression on her face was priceless as she batted her lashes.

Danny took her in. At five one or two, tops, she was tiny. He could picture those in the trade, and he just couldn’t see her in one of those pantsuits or skirts. All he could imagine was her smart mouth as she jumped up to try to reach the overheads and tossed old guys bags of nuts. He had to shake his head before she nudged him, gave him a haughty smile, and winked, showing her bottom two teeth, crooked, the same slight crossover she’d had since they were kids.

“I’m kidding,” she said. “Geez, you should see your face. You know, you could at least pretend that I’d rock at it.”

“You want me to lie?” he said and took a poke in the ribs from her.

“Hey, seriously, be nice!” she replied.

He had to laugh. “You know you can be anything you want. Maybe it’s time for you to figure out what you want to do, go back to school…”

She was already shaking her head. “I’m not the brainiac you are. You know that. I barely passed high school. You know how I struggled with every class, including gym, which I failed miserably. I was the one who never got picked for anything, as I couldn’t run, catch, or fetch. With my grades, a scholarship was never in the cards, and you know my parents didn’t have savings put away for postsecondary. I suppose I could get a student loan, but then, I don’t have a clue for what, so, all in all, seems kind of a waste of time and money, don’t you think? And don’t suggest prelaw like you,” she added.

Danny took in her big eyes, the humor that was always poking him, and the fact that she’d never let a moment slip without pointing out how smart he was. The fact was that school and learning came easy for him, always had, but he remembered how painful school had been for Evie. Everything he aced, she struggled to get, but every smart-mouthed comment she dished out had been a source of amusement for him.

“Yeah, but you have the skill of managing idiots,” Danny said. “That alone should get you…” He stopped and took in the way she was staring at him. “Come on, Evie. Seriously, even in school you were always quick with a comeback and a dash of sarcasm. You’d be great in anything dealing with people.”

She sighed as she hung up the oiled bridle and reached in the bin to grab another. “Well, you ever thought that maybe I’m not comfortable in front of people? I’m just not willing to ignore and excuse idiotic behavior like everyone else does.”

Just then, he heard a car, and he glanced back to take in his dad’s pickup, shiny, black, and fairly new. He watched as his mom and dad got out. He could hear them talking, laughing.

“Hey, Evie,” his mom called out and waved.

“Hi, Mrs. Friessen.”

He knew his mom had always liked Evie, having often pulled her aside for tea when she and Danny were kids. His dad had teased it was the closest his mom would get to having a daughter—not that there was anything between Danny and Evie. There never would be. She was his friend, and that was all he saw her as, and she him.

“Evie, I see Danny roped you into helping clean the tack,” His dad said as he stepped into the barn. His dark hair was short, and he pressed his cowboy hat to his head. His jeans were new and clean, and his gray T-shirt pulled at his wide chest. His dad’s barn now had eight stalls and was heated, with an enclosed riding ring and viewing room parents could sit in to watch after they dropped off their kids.

“Ah, you know I don’t mind,” Evie replied. Danny took in the way his dad was watching him and then her.

“You two heading out for a ride today?” His dad asked. Danny knew his dad would’ve loved to saddle up and take off into the hills, but his mom had roped him into errands with her, and then there was the chore of looking after his brothers, Mark and Christopher, both off doing he didn’t have a clue what.

“Just got back from one when Evie drove in,” Danny said just as he heard music and another car. The music grew louder as a red flashy Mustang GT convertible pulled in beside Evie’s truck, dust spewing. The horses started kicking up in their stalls from the jarring thump of the bass, and the ones out in the corral were racing around.

“Who the hell…?” His dad started just as the car turned off, and so did the music.

Out stepped Charlene Adams, Charlie for short. She was tall and leggy, with long, sleek black hair, dressed in a pink crop shirt that showed off her belly button ring. She could have graced the cover of any magazine, and she had a smile that dazzled.

He heard Evie utter a crude remark.

“Hey, Danny,” Charlie said, stepping into the barn in sandals with a slight heel, her toes painted red. She lifted her dark shades, shoving them on top of her head. “Oh, hey there, Evie. Didn’t know you were here. Was wondering whose pickup that was. Thought it might be one of the hired hands.”

“Nope, just mine,” Evie said. “It may not look like much, but it runs. Hey, you may want to be careful of that pile of manure. You wouldn’t want to wreck that pedicure.”

Charlie stopped and stared at the pile of horse dung Danny hadn’t yet cleaned up since brushing down his speckled gray gelding and putting him in his stall with a fleck of hay. His dad rubbed the back of his neck, and he was expecting him to say something.

“Hi, Charlie,” Danny finally said. “What are you doing out here?” He could feel his dad staring at him, and he glanced over, taking in his expression and almost hearing him say, Seriously?

“Thought I could interest you in a movie tonight, maybe dinner first,” she said and smiled, showing perfectly straight white teeth. It was one of those smiles that seemed to start at her toes and move all the way through her. Some people could pull off that magic with just a smile, and Charlie was one of them.

A horse nickered, and another kicked at the stall, still unsettled. He noticed the way Charlie stiffened.

“They’re likely spooked from the way you blew in here, music cranked and all. Loud noise and craziness doesn’t mix with horses,” Evie said, and Danny picked up her dripping sarcasm.

“Sorry about that!” Charlie shrugged and smiled again, then looked around, setting her eyes on his dad, who was still leaning against the wall, taking them in. “Oh, you must be Danny’s father. Wow, now I see where he gets his looks from!” Charlie actually held out her hand to his dad, and he wasn’t sure what Evie muttered under her breath, but he was sure it wasn’t anything a lady should say.

His dad took her hand. “Charlie,” he said, glancing at Danny. “Charlie’s kind of an unusual name for a girl.”

She slid her hands in her back pockets, which only accentuated her perfectly rounded breasts. “Mom’s sense of humor. Dad wanted a son but got me instead, so Charlene turned into Charlie, and it stuck.” She was giving that megawatt smile to his dad, and he took in Evie rolling her eyes behind her. He wanted to shake his head for her to stop before his dad slapped his arm.

“Well, I’m sure your mother has some things lined up for me to do, so I’ll let you kids finish up here. Oh, Danny, can you also make sure to clean up the saddles, too? I’ve got a group coming in Wednesday.” Then his dad wandered out and stopped in front of the cherry red Mustang, taking it in before shaking his head as he kept going.

“So how ’bout it?” Charlie asked. She stood at least six inches over Evie. “Can I interest you in taking a break and going with little ol’ me to a movie and maybe a bite to eat tonight? Oh, and before I forget, I wanted to tell you I was telling my dad about you being in prelaw, and he said he’s got a friend he’d love to introduce you to. He sold his big Chicago firm and settled out here to open an office in Arlington. He’s a pretty big name, litigating some of the biggest cases back east, and he’s now trying to keep a low profile, but he’s coming for dinner tomorrow night, so how about joining us and meeting him? It would be great to have that contact and resource.” Charlie was so vibrant, a looker. She’d been on the arm of one jock or another all through high school and college. He was still surprised she’d stuck close to home, opting to go to the same community college he did. What that was about, he didn’t have a clue.

“Yeah, I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve got some more studying to do…”

“Ah, come on,” Charlie said. “All work and no play, you know the saying. Come on, Evie. You can join us, too. Tell Mr. Mysterious to loosen up and come have some fun.” She tossed Evie a glance over her shoulder, then slid her hand over his bicep. “You’ll have fun, and hey, I promise no chick flick. You get to pick whatever macho blood and guts movie you want.”

Her hands were soft, and there was something about her persistence and the way she touched him that had him considering her proposal. Maybe she knew she was getting somewhere, as she slid her arms around his waist and hugged him.

“Please, Danny, pretty please?”

Yup, she was all soft and warm, and damn, she smelled good.

“Okay, fine,” he said. As Charlie looped both her arms around his neck, he took in shock, he thought, in Evie’s eyes. She squeezed the leather of one of the bridles. Just then, Charlie planted a kiss on his lips that went from zero to a hundred. Wow! When he broke the kiss and looked over, Evie was at her truck, door open, lifting her hand to wave.

“Hey, aren’t you coming?” he called out. Charlie was still plastered against him, her hand now resting on his chest.

“Nope, not this girl,” Evie said. “You, though, have fun. Later!” Then she was in her truck and backing out.

“Well, three’s a crowd anyway,” Charlie said, and he took in her expression at the rattle and roar of Evie’s truck, which was sounding more and more as if it was on its last legs.