Whirlwind - Janet Dailey Page 0,106

her beloved stepmother, and to her own peace of mind, to learn the truth.

* * *

By the time the sun came up on Friday, Tess and Ruben had loaded their bulls and left for the bucking venues. By eight-thirty, Val had made a quick breakfast for the boys and stashed their gear in the back of Shane’s pickup, which she’d borrowed for the day. The two teens had hoped to ride in Val’s red Cadillac convertible, with the top down. But since she needed to pick up supplies in Ajo, they would have to forgo that treat.

From the upper pasture, where she’d taken the ATV on the pretext of fixing the fence, Lexie watched the truck drive away, with Val and the boys in the cab. She’d avoided any encounter with her sister that morning. The last thing she needed was another lecture, or to find out that plans had been changed to keep her from checking Aaron’s house.

From where she sat in the ATV, she could see all the way to Aaron’s property. The battered red pickup he drove on his rare trips to town still sat in front of the house. He’d have to be leaving soon for his appointment in Tucson. Property closings could take time. Surely this one would not be scheduled late in the day.

Looking toward the ranch house now, she could see Shane, coming down the ramp in his chair. He’d be headed for the stable, along the path that had been swept smooth to ease the passage of his wheels. For him, cleaning the stalls and getting food and water for the horses would be slow work. But Lexie knew that he liked being able to do it. He was also getting to know the horses, in the hope that one could be trained to carry him with a custom saddle.

Touched by his strength, courage, and pride, she watched him labor toward the open stable door. He had insisted that he couldn’t be a whole man for her. But he was more man than any she had ever known. She loved him so much—and even if she lost him, she would never stop.

She would love him for the rest of her life.

As Shane disappeared into the stable, Aaron, wearing a sport jacket over his usual plaid shirt, stepped out of his house. After pausing to lock the front door, he walked to his truck, climbed into the cab, and drove out of the yard.

Lexie stayed where she was, her pulse racing as she watched the red truck climb the road to the pass. She couldn’t make a move until he was out of sight. If she could see him, he could look back and see her.

And it wouldn’t be a good idea to start up the ATV. The noise of the engine would bring Shane out of the stable to check on what was happening. She would have to get to Aaron’s house on foot.

She watched the truck crest the pass and vanish. Just to be safe, she forced herself to wait a few more minutes. Then she climbed out of the ATV and set out across the pastures, down the slope toward Aaron’s house.

* * *

Shane entered the first stall of the long stable. The horse, a buckskin mare, had been nervous about the wheelchair on his first few visits, but by now she’d grown accustomed to the strange mechanical contraption attached to the man. He talked to her and stroked her before he picked up the pitchfork he’d propped against the wall of the roomy box stall. Moving with care, he began forking up the dirty straw and pitching it into the wheeled cart he’d left outside the stall gate. Devising this process had taken time, trial, and error, and he was still trying to become more efficient. But he enjoyed working and being with the horses. It was one of the rare times he felt at peace. His latest long-term idea for the ranch was to add bucking horses to their rodeo stock. Bulls were ready for retirement after five or six years in the arena. A healthy bronco, for less investment, could buck for more than twenty. Tess was actually thinking it over.

He hadn’t seen Lexie this morning. More than likely, she was avoiding him. The strain between them had been there since his first day on the ranch. For that, he could only blame himself. He’d needed space, but until yesterday, he hadn’t realized how far away that