Wyatt glanced out at Erin. She still sat motionless under the tree. The carrot on her palm hadn’t been touched, but the mare had moved a little closer. “Yeah, I like her a lot, too.”

“I think you like her a little bit too much,” Kennedy observed.

Wyatt felt a flush creep up his neck.

“I’ve seen the way you look at her,” Kennedy added. “You’re falling in love with her.”

Wyatt wasn’t foolish enough to deny the charge. “And that’s a dead end for me. You should understand that. I’ve told you why.”

“Yep. And I don’t blame you for worrying about that possibly happening again. But love is love, Wyatt. You can’t turn it off just because you wish you could.”

Kennedy turned and walked away, leaving Wyatt to mull that over.

* * *

Erin’s spine tingled when the mare moved in close enough to nudge her shoulder and sniff her shirt. Then she smiled. But she kept her head bent. Next the mare sniffed at the carrot. Then she snorted and backed away. She didn’t trust easily and that made Erin’s heart hurt. But she finally stole the carrot with a quick wiggle of her velvety lips.

Erin pretended not to notice and got out another carrot. It wasn’t what Wyatt had told her to do, but how could she try to touch the horse’s head when the animal kept the rope stretched tight to put distance between them? Erin remembered when she’d once been that wary. In an entirely different way, of course. She’d never feared that her law enforcement colleagues would do her physical harm, but she guessed, in a way, that being mocked or made to feel inadequate had wounded her just as badly down deep where no one could see.

When the horse nudged Erin again, she murmured nonsensical reassurances and touched the mare’s neck, which was damp with sweat. It wasn’t a hot morning, so Erin knew the animal’s perspiration was caused by nervousness. But she felt a surge of satisfaction at being allowed to make physical contact. She pushed slowly to her feet and stepped in close as she’d once seen Wyatt do with a gelding. The mare didn’t object when Erin stroked her neck again. She just made soft, rumbling noises, sounding for all the world as if she were talking. Erin had no idea what the mare was trying to convey, so she tried to think what she might want someone to say if she were afraid.

“I know, I know,” Erin murmured back. “Someone was very mean to you. I’m so sorry that happened.” And Erin sincerely meant it. That such a large and powerful animal had been brought to this state, fearful of even gentle touches, made her feel sick. “But you don’t need to be afraid of me. I’m as messed up as you are, and all I want is to be your friend.”

As she stroked the horse’s neck, she inched her fingertips higher with every pass until she was almost touching the crown of the horse’s head. Then she stopped the advance and offered the mare another carrot, which promptly vanished from her palm. The grinding sound as the equine chewed reminded Erin of how easily the horse could bite her. But so far, the mare didn’t seem intent on doing Erin harm. She just wanted to be left alone. Only even as Erin thought that, she knew it was wrong, dead wrong. This horse needed a friend as badly as she did, someone she could trust, someone who would love her no matter what, and someone who understood her. It wasn’t much to ask for, and yet Erin knew it was absolutely everything. She’d never realized that animals needed love just as much as people did, but spending a couple of hours with this mare had opened her mind to lots of things she’d never stopped to think about until now.