It’s not your problem, he told himself and decided he was only borrowing trouble. If there was a culprit involved in the Isaac Wells mystery, he was long gone. There probably wasn’t much danger anyway. The whole Isaac Wells mess was probably blown out of proportion, grist for the slow-turning gossip mill in this part of the country. He took one final look at the fiery redhead. She was standing now, one hip thrown out the way it had been earlier and as she turned toward him, he noticed the now familiar pucker of her full lips, the arched eyebrows pulled together in concentration.

He swallowed hard as his gaze skated down the column of her throat to the gap between the lapels of her blouse, to the hint of cleavage he’d seen earlier. He gritted his teeth and looked away in disgust. He wasn’t used to the earthy pull of this woman, the desire that singed his mind every time he looked at her. “Come on,” he ground out, clucking to the horse and urging her back down the steep grade.

He couldn’t worry about Ms. Kinkaid or anyone else, for that matter. He’d learned long ago that he could only take care of himself.

At that particular thought, he scowled. Reaching flatter ground, he pressed his knees into Lizzy’s sweaty sides. Though she was tired, the mare responded, her strides stretching as they reached the lower hills where the grade was much gentler and the stables were in sight. Her ears pricked forward and she let out a little nicker at the small herd that had gathered by the weathered fence.

“Yeah, and they miss you, too, Lizzy,” Luke said, already feeling at home on this dusty scrap of land. All of the outbuildings needed new roofs, the siding of each was crying out for gallons of paint, and there were few windows that didn’t require replacement of at least one new pane.

But he was getting ahead of himself. First he had to find out if Ralph’s son had fathered a child around here. It shouldn’t be too hard. He’d already started checking birth notices for ten and eleven years back. Tomorrow he’d drive to the county courthouse to check records there and, of course, there was always local gossip—as good a place to start as any.

He cooled Lizzy down and stripped her of bridle and saddle, then set her free in the closest field. With an eager nicker, she joined the small herd gathered near a solitary pine tree. A few half-grown foals frolicked around their more sedate dams while a roan gelding rolled on the ground. His legs pawed the air madly and he grunted in pleasure as brown clouds of dust enveloped his body. Luke smiled. All in all, the horses looked healthy and alert. Good stock. Ten head if you counted the two fillies and one colt.