tie.
He hadn’t talked to her in two days, and it hadn’t been his choice. He’d known she wanted breathing room and, because he’d felt the same way years before, he’d given it to her.
He twisted his head, loosening the knot. His fingers were sweaty as he thought about the evening stretching out before him. Tonight Colton planned to enjoy every second of Cassie’s company. He’d even managed to talk to her father on the phone and keep his temper in check. Hurdle number one. There was just one more: Denver.
Colton heard the old truck rattle up the drive, and he braced himself. Denver had called last night with the news that he and Tessa would be arriving today. Curtis had left several hours earlier to pick them up at the airport. And now they were back.
Colton wasn’t looking forward to confronting Denver, but he didn’t have much choice. With a last scowl at the tie, he ripped it from around his neck and hurried downstairs and through the back door.
Before Curtis could crank on the emergency brake, Denver sprang from the cab and helped Tessa, her pregnancy in full bloom, from the truck.
They made a striking couple, Colton decided. Denver, tall and broad-shouldered with raven-black hair and piercing blue eyes, and Tessa, her hair a vibrant red-gold, billowing behind her, her skin tanned, the bridge of her nose dusted with a smattering of freckles. Together, fingers linked, they dashed up the path.
Colton tensed. His relationship with his older brother had always been volatile. Though they respected each other, and probably would defend each other to the death, there was always a keen sense of competition between them—a love-hate relationship that had mellowed only slightly over the years. Their pride and hot tempers often got in the way of their common sense.
Tessa dashed up to her brother-in-law and gave him a fierce hug. “Dad said Red Wing foaled the other night!” she cried, her hazel eyes bright. “A colt! Brigadier’s first! I can’t wait to see him!” She turned her eager face up to her husband’s. “Come on.”
Denver looked about to argue, but the delight so evident on her face must have changed his mind. “Can’t it wait?”
“No! Denver, come on! You know how important this is!”
“Yeah, I know,” Denver said with a half smile. “Let’s check him out.”
Tessa was already heading toward the brood mare barn, striding ahead of her father and the two McLean brothers. Inside, in a large, straw-covered stall, Red Wing guarded the gangly bay colt. His eyes were round and wide, his nostrils flared, his ears twitching nervously.
Red Wing, usually calm and friendly, placed her body squarely between the intruders and her foal. Her ears flattened to her head, and she eyed everyone, including Tessa, suspiciously.
“Look at him,” Tessa cried, fairly glowing. “‘He’s gorgeous.”
Curtis laughed. “You wouldn’t have thought so if you’d been here when he was born.”
Colton’s guts twisted at the memory, and his vivid recollection of that night, lying in the straw, filled with the scent and feel of Cassie . . .
“Good thing Cassie was here,” Curtis rambled on, and Denver shot his brother a killing glance. “This little guy was all twisted up, one foot caught back. Cassie had to help Red Wing out.”
“I should’ve been here,” Tessa said, staring guiltily at the inquisitive colt. Peeking from behind his mother’s rump, he stretched his long neck and blinked. “He’s perfect!”
Her father hugged her shoulders. “That he is, gal.”
“It worked out,” Colton replied. He glanced to the far wall and the box stall where he’d spent nearly an hour in the delicious rapture of Cassie Aldridge. His insides melted. Just at the thought of their lovemaking, he felt his passion surge.
Jamming a fist into his pocket, he shifted, ignoring the lofty lift of one of Denver’s dark brows.
Denver pinned Curtis with a cool glance. “So now you’re a fan of Cassie Aldridge?”
“The girl knows her stuff,” Curtis said.
“And her father?”
He snorted. “Him I could live without.”
“Enough,” Tessa insisted. “Let’s not spoil all this.” She slipped into the box.
“I don’t know if this is such a good idea,” Denver said, turning his attention on his wife, but, as usual, when it came to horses, she ignored him and stroked Red Wing’s soft muzzle.
“It’s okay,” Tessa said, either to Denver or to the horse. Colton couldn’t tell which.
Denver’s gaze slid to his brother, and he eyed Colton’s suit. “Going somewhere?”
“To Nate and Paula Edwards’s party. You’re invited, too.”
Tessa gasped. “I’d forgotten all about it!”
Denver frowned