giving her a reputation for being able to work with troubled animals.”
“At least she’ll be alive.” Wade retorted.
“If I agree to this—and I’m not saying I do—will you tell her before you sell him? You owe her that,” Grady said.
Wade sighed. “I suppose,” he conceded, dreading the conversation. He knew, just as Grady obviously did, that Lauren wasn’t going to thank him for trying to protect her. “I’ll have to find some way to make her understand.”
Grady gave him a commiserating look. “I don’t envy you that conversation. Midnight is a great horse, one of the best I’ve ever seen. He has a lot of heart. It’ll be a shame to lose him, but if it’s what you have to do for your own peace of mind, then put Midnight in the next horse auction over in Cheyenne.” He grinned. “And let me know how your conversation with Lauren turns out. I’d like to be a fly on the wall for that one.”
Wade wasn’t nearly as relieved by Grady’s acquiescence as he had expected to be. After all, the man was letting him get rid of a magnificent, promising stallion on what amounted to a whim. If Lauren’s safety hadn’t been involved, Wade would never have considered selling the horse. And if he’d been the one in the paddock taking the risks himself, he would have considered it part of the job.
Clearly some of his lack of enthusiasm could be attributed to losing a potentially great stud. The rest, no doubt, could be blamed on the certain knowledge that Lauren was likely to take a verbal strip out of his hide when she found out. He wasn’t looking forward to that nearly as eagerly as Grady seemed to be.
“Thanks,” he said sincerely. “I owe you, Grady.”
“You do, indeed,” the other man said.
“If you don’t mind, I think I’ll wait for Lauren on the porch. I might as well get this conversation over with tonight.”
“Good idea. Besides, I’m pretty sure there’s nothing out there she can throw at you the way there would be in here.”
Wade winced. “You think it’s going to be that bad?”
“Oh, yeah,” Grady confirmed. “In fact, I’m betting it’ll be worse.”
Wade regarded him wryly. “Thanks for the encouragement.”
“Anytime, pal. If you need somebody to patch you up later, give a holler. I’ll make sure the first-aid kit is fully stocked.”
“Very funny,” Wade muttered as he went on out to the porch to wait.
When Karen and Lauren drove up a half hour later, he could hear the two of them giggling as they emerged from the car. It made him wonder what went on at these gabfests of theirs. He sighed. That hardly mattered now.
The pair of them stopped in their tracks when they hit the bottom step and spotted him.
“Hey, Wade, how are you doing?” Karen asked politely.
Lauren said nothing, but her gaze never left him. It was as if she sensed right off that she wasn’t going to like his reason for being there.
“I’m fine,” he told Karen. “Did you all have a good night?”
“We always do,” Lauren retorted with a hint of defiance. It was not a good sign.
“How was Gina’s pasta?” he asked, hoping that neutral turf would ease the tension.
Lauren wasn’t buying it for a second. “Gina’s food was fabulous, as always, but somehow I don’t think that’s what’s on your mind.”
“No,” he agreed.
“Well, I assume you’re not waiting out here for me,” Karen said cheerfully. “I’ll leave you two and go see what my man is up to. Come on in when you’re through, though. I have some news I’d like to share.”
“Fine,” Lauren said distractedly, her gaze still locked on Wade.
When they were alone, Wade said to Lauren, “Well, are you just going to stand there all night?”
“That depends,” she said.
“On?”
“What you’re doing here.”
“We need to talk,” he said.
“I got that much. About?”
“Midnight.”
“There’s nothing to discuss. I’m just doing my job.”
“Not anymore,” he said curtly, annoyed that she had voiced what his own sentiments would have been had the shoe been on the other foot.
Her furious gaze cut straight through him. “I beg your pardon. Are you firing me?”
“Nope,” he said quietly. “I’m selling Midnight.”
“Over my dead body,” she snapped right back.
“It’s a done deal. Grady has agreed.”
“Do you have a buyer?”
“Not yet.”
“Then I’ll buy him. Name your price.”
“You can’t afford it,” he retorted.
Her mouth opened, but she snapped it closed again as the apparent reality set in. She was visibly trembling with outrage as she stalked up the steps and