In the short time he’d known her, she’d taken over practically every thought. If he didn’t watch out, she’d take over his lonely, vulnerable heart, and that could not be allowed to happen.

The last thing he needed was a greenhorn wife. Right now, he wasn’t even certain she would last a week on the ranch, let alone a year.

It was only after he slammed the coffeepot on the stove that Cookie looked up from rolling out pie dough.

“I take it the lesson didn’t go well,” he said.

Chase took a sip from his cup before answering. The hot, bitter brew was just how he liked it. “It went well enough.”

“I saw you out there.” Cookie sprinkled a handful of flour on the dough and kept rolling. “Don’t you think you might have been a little rough on her?”

“It’s for her own good.” The broken, rutted ground was full of buffalo wallows and prairie-dog mounds. Armadillo and rabbit holes added to the problem. Cows and horses were constantly in danger of falling and breaking a leg. But it wasn’t just the holes that worried Chase. Horses could easily be spooked by rattlers and other critters. Like it or not, he was responsible for her safety. “It’s dangerous terrain out there.”

Cookie lifted his rolling pin and set it aside. “So, we’re still thinking of Michael, are we?”

Chase gripped his cup. Even after all these years, it still hurt to talk about his brother. Michael’s death was a stain on his heart that couldn’t be rubbed out. Chase had been only sixteen and his brother a full year younger that fateful day they’d raced their horses. Both had taken a fancy to the prettiest girl in all of Haywire and wanted to ask her to the Christmas dance. Since only one could be her escort, Michael had insisted they race to determine which one got the honor.

Without giving Chase a chance to decline, Michael had taken off on his horse that long-ago day. Like a danged fool, Chase had followed in pursuit. His brother had gotten a head start and had been at least two horse lengths away when the unthinkable happened. His mount had stepped into a badger hole and broken its leg.

If Chase lived to be a hundred, he would never forget the horror of watching his brother take a dive over the gelding’s head. He’d fallen hard onto the rocky ground, breaking his neck. Even now, all these years later, Chase could recall in heartbreaking detail the final seconds of his brother’s short life.

Oddly enough, the ramifications of his brother’s death continued to this day. Grief had shortened his mother’s life and had driven his father to the gaming tables. Financial disaster had followed, which had almost cost his pa the ranch. Had Michael lived, things might have turned out a whole lot differently. Not only for his parents but for him as well. At the very least, he wouldn’t be in this sham of a marriage and fighting to save the family legacy.