It was early Monday morning and Miguel was driving Cait’s Jeep, with her beside him. They’d been in Ottawa getting supplies and were now heading toward Hatten land. They’d been told that cows had escaped and were endangering Heritage Harvests trees. Strong fences were important in Kansas.

If necessary, they would have to get a couple of Hatten horses and start herding. But then, with both Kelly and Adam away, the horses probably needed the exercise.

Cait had spent the whole morning telling her father every detail about the Saturday night and Sunday morning she’d spent with Dr. Jones. She was talking at lightning speed as he listened, mostly in silence.

“And he might buy the old Fredericks place and restore it. I came up with a lease-purchase deal that I think the uncles will like but maybe you can help talk them into it. Oh! And I said I’d get him a date or two. And—”

“Dates! Did he ask you to do that or was it your idea?”

“Um. Mine. But he’s kind of lonely.”

“He told you that he’s lonely, so you said you’d fix him up?”

“Don’t make it sound bad. It was very nice. We’d spent the whole night together and... Stop it!” She was looking at his raised eyebrow. “You know exactly what I mean. We were cataloging. Then he sewed up a raccoon. Don’t let me forget that I need to call Mrs. Schneider and tell her to keep her kids at home. At least during the night.”

“Celeste always was a pain. She used to drive Kelly crazy.”

They were at the stoplight on Main Street and Miguel glanced at his daughter, but then he looked across her and his eyes changed to something Caitlyn had never seen before.

She whipped her head around. What in the world was he looking at?

Just a few feet from her, driving the truck next to them, was Vera Exton and she was staring at Miguel. Cait looked back and forth from one to the other. Their expressions were so intense, so, well, intimate, that she felt herself beginning to sweat.

Her dad didn’t break eye contact with Vera, but when the light changed, they both floored their gas pedals. The trucks seemed to leap forward in a surge of speed and energy that made Caitlyn gasp.

She held on to the door armrest. Holy crap but they were still looking at each other, not the road.

The trucks were doing forty, fifty, then fifty-five. They were in the downtown of Ottawa. Not a place for speeding! Cait thought she might start whimpering in fear.

Vera broke the spell. Suddenly, she slammed on the brakes, did a turn that laid rubber and went down a side street.

Caitlyn’s heart was pounding as she looked at her father.