* * *

Wyatt stood just inside the new horse’s stall, resting his shoulder against the gate frame. Erin might see him if she looked. He would deal with that when it happened. For now, he couldn’t focus on other chores. He was too worried about her. What she knew about horses would fit into a thimble with room to spare.

It wasn’t long before he was smiling, though. When Erin sat motionless under the tree, he recognized one of his own tactics for working with a frightened horse, and he was proud of Erin for remembering it. When an equine felt frightened, a motionless human quickly became a curiosity, and eventually the horse might step closer to figure out what in the heck was wrong. Equally important, though, was that Erin was trying to think of ways to make the horse connect with her. To succeed required understanding of what frightened the animal.

The mare was getting an A in Psychology 101 as far as Wyatt was concerned. And Erin was following all the safety rules that he’d recited to her so far. He wasn’t particularly thrilled that she was sitting at the feet of an equine given to rearing and striking, but he couldn’t really scold her for that, because she’d learned that trick from him.

Wyatt was still observing Erin when Kennedy entered the stall behind him. Sensing someone’s presence, Wyatt turned and then smiled at his brother. “You got home late last night. We didn’t get to talk.”

“Jen didn’t want me to leave,” Kennedy told him. “The attack did some bad stuff to her.” He tapped his temple. “She knows Sorensen is still locked up, but the other three guys stood and watched. I think she’s afraid they’ll come find her. I tried to tell her they weren’t really responsible. I think it was more a case of being afraid of Rob and not having the guts to interfere. But Jen wouldn’t turn loose of my hand so I could go.”

Wyatt sighed. “Ah. You saved her from them once. Now she feels afraid if you’re not around.”

“I guess that’s it. I don’t think she’ll ever be the same after this.”

Wyatt couldn’t hear the emotions in Kennedy’s voice, but he could see them on his face. His brother was starting to care deeply about Jen. “Nobody can ever be the same after living through something like that. But eventually she’ll move beyond it. If you decide to walk beside her as she makes that journey, you’ll need to be very patient.”

“Yeah. Tomorrow after my last class, I’d like to stop by and see her again. It’ll make me about an hour late.”

“Erin may leave in the morning. If you’re late, we’ll be shorthanded. We’re in the middle of second calving season. You’ll have to do all your work after you get home.”

“I can do that.”

“All right. Just see that you do.”

Kennedy shuffled his boot over the straw under his feet. Then he looked up and said, “I hope Erin doesn’t quit. I really like her. A lot.”