“Bart will make him behave,” Sassy promised.

She let out a long breath. “Do I have to go?” she asked miserably.

“Yes.”

“Okay. I’ll drive myself to the guillotine, then.”

Sassy laughed. “It’s not going to be that bad. Really. You might actually enjoy it.”

“I might learn to fly.”

“Spoilsport.”

“I’d rather groom my new horse.” She smiled broadly. “He’s a palomino. He’s absolutely gorgeous! I named him Sand.” Her eyes were dreamy. “His last owner died. They said he’d been grieving, but when he saw me at the auction, he came right over to the fence and lowered his head. I knew he was mine. I couldn’t afford him but Cousin Rogan bought him for me for my birthday.”

Sassy laughed. “Your cousin is one of the sexiest men I’ve ever seen, and one of the biggest woman-haters.” She shook her head. “Aren’t you lucky that you’re first cousins? He likes relatives.”

“He hated my mother,” Mina pointed out. “Actually, so did his mother,” she added. “They were sisters, but they never spoke. Aunt Sallie died of cancer years ago, and Uncle Fred followed her the next year when he got kicked in the head by a horse he was trying to treat. I’m the only relative Rogan has left.”

“It’s like that with my family, too,” Sassy confided. “It’s just my mom and me and Selene.”

“Does she still want to be a fighter pilot when she grows up?” Mina asked with a gentle smile.

“Yes. She’s been studying every book she can find on Raptors. F-22s,” she added when Mina gave her a blank look. “She knows all about them.”

“She’ll be an amazing pilot.”

“Oh yes.”

Mina looked in the mirror again. “How did you do that?” she asked, fascinated.

“I’ll show you another time. You’d better get started over or you’ll be late. I have to go by the house and get John.”

“So I’ll see you there.”

Sassy nodded. “And don’t be nervous. Most of these people have lived here all their lives, just like you.”

“I never traveled in those circles, though,” Mina said. “High society, I mean. I’m just a cowgirl.”

“You’re a famous writer, Willow Shane,” she teased, “growing more famous by the day. And SPECTRE is going right to the top, you mark my words. I love your books, but this latest one is astonishing!”

“Thanks. You can have as many as you want,” Mina laughed. “I get boxes of free copies.”

“You’re sweet, but you need to let me buy my own so you get royalties,” she teased.

Mina just shook her head. “Money never has mattered to me, except that time my mother forced me to work as a waitress so she and Henry had money for groceries. If it hadn’t been for Cousin Rogan, the whole ranch would have gone on the auction block. He loved my father. It broke his heart when Dad left my mother for another woman.”

“Do you ever hear from him?” Sassy asked.