Ryan walked over carrying a pair of mugs. “I wasn’t sure if you liked tea or coffee best,” he said apologetically, slipping one of the mugs into her hands, “so I made you a hot chocolate.”

Amy brought the mug to her lips, blew off the steam, and took a long, heavenly sip.

“That’s sweet,” she said.

“What, too much sugar?”

“No, I mean, sweet of you to think of me, and sweet of you to lend me these clothes.” As Amy said this, she had to reach down and hike up the pants, which were nearly falling off her hips.

“Wow, they’re even bigger on you than I thought.”

She laughed. “They’re a little generous in the waist, but they’re dry, so thank you.” She wrapped her hands around the mug and made a glancing nod to the window. “Little Dipper is gonna be okay?”

“She’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

“The storm won’t be scaring her?”

“Not anymore. Now that she’s inside and locked up with the rest of the herd, her anxiety will be under control.”

“What happened to her?” Amy asked, taking a second sip. “What caused her to become this way?”

Ryan set his mug down on the desk. “She’s had a rough past. Not cared for properly, badly mistreated.”

“She was born someplace else?”

“Yes, I rescued her from a farm, next county over. I was driving past and nearly put the truck in a ditch when I first saw her, I was that horrified.” He stepped closer to the window, his somber expression reflected in the glass. “She was wilting by the side of a fence, ribs showing through her stomach, with barely enough energy to shake off the flies buzzing around her ears. Her hooves were so overgrown that she could hardly walk, and she had deep harness sores running along her shoulders, probably a result of being overworked. The grass in her field had been grazed down to the nubbins. Hadn’t eaten in days, would be my guess. As soon as I saw that poor animal, my heart bled.”

“That’s awful. Where was her owner?”

“Up in the house. I went to see him, and boy was he a nasty piece of work. He flashed me this greedy, yellow-stained grin and told me to mind my own business and get off his property and never come back.”

“What! Did you report him?”

“And risk him getting off with a warning? Not a chance. That horse’s life was at stake. She needed help right away. I told the man I’d buy her off him, told him he could name his price. I did what I had to do to get Little Dipper out of there. Didn’t think twice. Money was already tight by that point, but I didn’t care. I paid him what he wanted.”