Thomas circled the paddock for the fifth time, testing the strength of each post and shaking every board. It had to be strong or else a wild horse might break loose. He still couldn’t believe the exciting opportunity now within reach. The ranch had enough men and resources to expand, so Luke and Marge had decided to work on breaking in horses. Three foals had just reached maturity and Thomas was eager to learn how to train them to be ridden. John had some experience and would teach him starting from today.

The first young horse was Duke, named for his royal bearing. For the past three days, John and Thomas had been spending time with him in the barn, giving him treats and talking to him, letting him get used to their smell and the sound of their voices. A few times, Thomas had reached out to stroke his muzzle, but each time the horse had moved away. However, yesterday he'd let Thomas nearly touch him, a sign of increasing trust.

“Ready?” John called, leading the horse out on a rope. Once they were in the middle of the paddock, John began his instruction. “Now, the way I'm going to teach you isn't real common around here, but I think it's better. Most ranchers want to break a horse's spirit, but I want him to teach him to trust us.”

Thomas watched carefully as John led Duke around the paddock a series of times with just the rope around his neck. He let the rope out and then brought it in, led Duke in different directions, and eventually brought him into a closer circle. He showed him the halter and let him smell it and even nibble on it a little. Gently, he tried to slide it over his head, but Duke balked. However, John didn’t give up.

By midmorning, John was leading him around the pen with the halter in place. By lunch time, Duke was accepting a blanket on his back.

“I can't believe it!” Thomas kept exclaiming. “I've heard the other guys say it takes a week or more to break in a horse, but it looks like you'll have him done by the end of the day!”

John chuckled a little. “Well, we're on the way. It'll be a few more days yet before he's ready to be ridden on the open range, but we've got time. It's worth it. Respect the horse, and he'll give you his trust.”

They were just about to go in for lunch when they saw a cloud of dust in the distance, announcing the arrival of an unexpected visitor. They didn't get strangers out here unless something especially unpleasant was about to occur, or they were receiving bad news, so they both sucked in their breath, anticipating the worst.

Thomas stared hard at the wagon and was surprised to see that it held a grizzled old man and a young woman. Were they father and daughter, lost on their way to somewhere else, or perhaps a mail order bride for their neighbor? He'd been talking about the possibility of late.

However, when they drew nearer, something pricked along the base of his spine. He couldn’t be sure from this distance, but there was something familiar in the bearing of the young woman, and the way she had her eyes fixed on him was almost chilling. His mouth went dry and his heart rate increased.

“Howdy, folks,” called the man, whom Thomas could now see was old Rodney from town. He often gave folks a lift this way and that if they needed it. “Got your visitor for you.”

“Good afternoon,” the woman said politely, with a slight nod, as though meeting honored guests at a dinner party instead of dust-covered cowboys who were dripping with sweat. “I'm so sorry for coming unannounced, but I'm afraid I didn't have your exact address.”

Thomas knew that voice, that tilt of the head, the sparkle in her eyes. All at once, he was excited and petrified.

“Val!” he cried out, torn between sweeping her into a hug and wanting to run into the barn, jump on the nearest horse, and head for parts unknown. “What in the world...?”

“Surprised, aren't you?” she replied with a small grin peeking out from behind her prim expression. “Yes, well, it only took a year to find you.”

Try as he might, Thomas found himself unable to speak or even move. However, when she extended a gloved hand toward him, his years of training and upbringing came back in a flash and he rushed forward to help her down from the wagon.

As she descended, he couldn't help but notice how much she'd changed. He'd know those teasing, flashing eyes anywhere, but she'd blossomed from an awkward teen into a full-grown woman in every sense of the word. He struggled not to stare. Instead, he focused on her face, but that was no less distracting. Her violet eyes sent him a dozen questions in the span of two seconds, none of which he was inclined to answer.

“Why did you come out here?” He was trying for an angry, demanding tone, but the words came out strangled instead. “How did you find me? Do your parents know where you are? Do mine?”

He wasn't sure which one of the questions was most important or most threatening, but it didn't matter as she seemed disinclined to answer any of them.

“This is a charming place,” she said sweetly, ignoring his blustering. “Is it yours?”

Thomas nearly ground his teeth in irritation, but John suddenly made his presence known by issuing a loud laugh. “Triple Range?” he exclaimed. “Belonging to a kid like him?”

Valerie turned her eyes on him, her face a mask of cool propriety. “Twenty-one is hardly a child, sir. Men in my society own houses far grander than this by the time they come into their inheritance, so it's not an unlikely scenario.”

Thomas watched as John's eyebrows shot up and his mouth turned down. He could almost read the older man's mind. It wasn't a pleasant feeling to be put in one's place by a woman so young.

“Yeah, well, we're not in your society right now, are we?” he replied rather gruffly. “A man who comes out here with nothing but the shirt on his back isn't likely to own such a place in his whole lifetime, let alone a scant five years.” He turned to Thomas with an expectant look on his face. “Going to introduce us, kid?”

Feeling like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on his head, Thomas could barely do more than nod. “Uh, yeah. This here is Valerie, d-daughter of my parents' friends. Val, this is John, the foreman of Triple Range Ranch.”

They exchanged cool nods, and Thomas was glad they weren't close enough for Valerie to extend her hand in the expectation of a bow or a kiss on the fingers.

She turned to him, and from the look on her face, he knew that the carefully constructed façade he'd built for himself was about to be shattered.

“Friend?” she repeated with a smile that was more of a smirk. “Oh, I'd say that we're a fair bit more than friends though, aren't we?” She turned her eyes on John and said the words that Thomas had dreaded for years. “I'm Valerie Hillcrest, Thomas’s fiancée, and I'm very pleased to meet you.”

* * *

Despite her calm exterior, Valerie felt a fire building inside her stomach. Of all the scenarios she'd played out in her mind, none had involved Thomas being so standoffish, so formal. At the very least, she expected him to smile, but nothing except fear, dread, and maybe anger had passed over his features since he realized who she was.

And now she had this oaf of a foreman staring at her as though he'd like to shoot her where she stood. She couldn't blame him. Her snobbish demeanor would put off any man, let alone one who clearly disapproved of a fancy woman such as herself.

“Are you men all alone out here?” she asked, reaching into her satchel for a coin to give to the driver. “Or are there other people about?” Looking toward the house, she thought she saw movement coming from inside. In addition, there were some riders coming from just over the ridge to the north. Panic started to grow. Was she really prepared to meet these people and face possible rejection from Thomas all at once? Should she just jump back on the wagon and ask the driver to take her back to the station? Nothing seemed to be going as she'd planned.

However, the driver turned his wagon around and headed back to town. Her pride prevented her from calling out, but she did stare after him for more than a few seconds. When it was clear that her chance was lost, she gave Thomas a level look. No one had uttered a word since she had introduced herself as Thomas’s fiancée. The announcement had apparently struck all of them dumb, so after a moment, she shook her head in disgust and walked in the direction of the house. Hopefully, there would be a more reasonable person within.

“Wait! Val!” Thomas shouted. “You can't just...” His voice trailed off as she gave him a hard look.

“You can bring my trunk, Thomas Joseph Wellington. That's the very least you can do.” With that, she turned abruptly and walked toward the house, her head held high in dignity, but her heart pounding with trepidation. She had no idea who she would find inside, but she prayed with all her might that God would grant her favor.

However, before she could knock, the door was flung open and a little girl holding a baby looked up at her. A tremble shot through her. This girl couldn't belong to Thomas, but what about the baby? It looked to be less than a year. Had he gotten married? Started a family?

Suddenly her corset felt much too tight and breathing became difficult. For the first time in her life, Valerie thought she might faint.

“Mama!” the girl called out behind her. “Some lady is here!”

Reaching out to brace herself against the doorjamb, Valerie waited for the girl's mother to appear. When she did, Valerie nearly sobbed in relief at the kind smile on her face.

“Hello there,” she said graciously, as though greeting an anticipated friend. “Won't you come in? Maddie, get this lady some water.”

With great gentleness, the woman led her over to a long table that was heaped with all kinds of simple but delicious smelling food. Two other women were in the kitchen, one young with beautiful olive-colored skin and dark hair, and the other older and plump. Both looked at her curiously.

After nearly collapsing into a chair and taking a long drink of the proffered water, Valerie gathered her wits and attempted a smile.

“Please forgive me for arriving in such a manner, but I couldn't send out notice since I wasn't sure where I was going. My name is Valerie Hillcrest. I'm...” She hesitated now, unsure of how to introduce herself. What if one of these women had married Thomas? It didn't seem likely that he would have married the young girl's mother, but perhaps her father had died? The young exotic woman, hugely pregnant, looked to be closer to his age, but then how could she have such a young baby and be so pregnant? It was possible, but not likely. Still, she decided to tread carefully. Giving the women her most charming smile, she said, “I'm a friend of Thomas’s from back East. He's been out of communication for a long time and I came here with a message from his parents. They want him to come back home and take over the family business.”