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know how much he appreciated their hard work. Too many people expected animals to push, pull, and carry things for them without so much as a thankyou. Some didn’t even give them enough rest or food, either. Bryce shook his head at the thought. How could anyone look into the eyes of a horse and not know it deserved to be cared for in return for its loyalty and hard work? To Bryce’s way of thinking, treating animals right just made good sense.
    Refreshed by the break, the horses managed to trot a bit faster despite their heavy burden. Bryce came to the fork in the road just as the sun began to set. A few hundred yards farther, he pulled up to Miz Willow’s barn.
    Bryce’s stomach rumbled loudly as he unhitched the team. The horses deserved to be taken care of first—after all, they’d worked a lot harder today than he had! He’d just led them to their stalls when Daisy walked into the barn.
    “Hello, Daisy.” It was good to see her in her pretty blue dress. But something wasn’t right. He noticed it in her gait—if she’d been a horse, he’d’ve figured she’d gotten a rock wedged in her shoe.

six
    Daisy walked toward Bryce stiffly, her arms crossed in front of her and her jaw set. To be sure, something had caused a hitch in her getalong.
    “Bryce.” Daisy didn’t say another word until she stood in front of him.
    He waited. No sense trying to find shelter until you knew which way the wind blew.
    “We need to talk.”
    Uh-oh. Men never said that. Women did—and only when they were angry. Bruce knew from living on Chance Ranch with four sisters-in-law that if a woman said “We need to talk” it roughly translated to: “If I were a man, I’d’ve given you a shiner, but I’m more civilized than that, so I have to get the message across another way.”
    “All right.” Bryce fought the urge to cross his own arms. The last thing he wanted to do was intimidate her. Whatever was on her mind, it was important to her, and that meant he needed to hear it.
    “I know you’re trying to be a friend to Jamie, and I appreciate it,” she began.
    There was a “but” lurking in there somewhere. Bryce waited it out.
    “But …”
    There it is. I knew it!
    “I don’t think I’ve been clear about the way I choose to raise my son.” She paused to look at him expectantly.
    He had no idea what she expected. Somewhere along the line, he’d managed to botch things up, but he hadn’t a clue where. An uncomfortable silence filled the barn before Daisy let out an exasperated breath.
    “I’ve tried my best to raise my son with the knowledge that he’s as good as everybody else.” She glared up at him, challenging him to disagree with her.
    The lioness was protecting her cub. Daisy’s eyes lit with an amber fire, glowing through in her indignation.
    “He is just as good as everybody else,” Bryce agreed readily. “Better than most, I’d say.”
    She visibly deflated. He’d stolen the wind from her sails. The anger left her eyes, leaving behind two empty pools of hurt. Bryce ached to hold her close. He’d caused her pain somehow, and he wanted to make it right.
    “Then why did you tell Jamie he couldn’t do things well enough by himself?”
    “I never said that.” Bryce felt as though he’d been punched in the gut.
    “Yes, you did!” She blazed with anger once again. “You told him the work was done better if he did it with someone else!”
    “Something’s not right here. True, I tried to teach Jamie that working with someone isn’t any cause for shame.” The boy’s ma already had an aversion to asking for help, but Bryce wanted Jamie to know it was all right.
    “Work together is done better,” Daisy chanted.
    “Oh.” Bryce finally understood. “Close, but not quite. I taught him that work is better when done together—it’s more fun being part of a team. It makes the time go faster.” A sudden thought chilled him to the bones. “I was so sure Jamie understood what I meant. Does he think