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that way. Some of them even chose to live there year round, rent-free as long as they worked.
    All in all, she was very proud of what her family had built here. She whistled for Dingo, their family dog. The dog fancied herself a shepherd and always helped with the calf sorting. Not only was she a smart dog, she had more patience than any person—or dog for that matter—that Haley had ever known.
    Dingo cut across the field and separated two calves from their mamas, leading them into the corral with a little help from Haley and Bobby, one of their quarter horses, which had been named by Alex.
    “You make that look easy,” someone said next to her. She almost fell off the horse when she heard his voice. Looking over, she saw Wes on top of Lou, another one of their quarter horses. They were going to have to stop letting Alexis name all their animals.
    “ What are you doing here?” She knew she sounded harsh, but this was her time. Her ranch. She didn’t want him here now.
    He smiled and tipped his hat. “Working off my rent.” He pulled Lou closer to her horse.
    “Don’t—!” she warned, but it was too late. Lou leaned over and bit Bobby on the neck, causing the horse to jump and jolt. When she reached for the reins, she missed and went flying through the air. When she landed on her butt, her vision grayed with pain.
    Then Wes was beside her, trying not to laugh. “Oh, my god! Are you alright?” He took her shoulders in his hands, trying to hold her still.
    “Yes, fine,” she said between clenched teeth. “Just leave me alone.” She tried to push him away, but he pulled her up onto her feet and proceeded to run his hands over her. “Stop!” She tried to push him away again, but he continued to look her over. Finally, she grabbed his hands and looked him in the eyes. “I’m fine, really.”
    She saw concern and laughter in his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
    Caving, she laughed, even though the pain was still predominate in her mind. “It’s okay. You didn’t know that Lou doesn’t like Bobby.”
    “ Who? What?” He ran his hands down her braid.
    “ Lou.” She nodded to his horse, which was grazing nearby. “Bobby.” She nodded to her horse, which had run into the corral, as far away from Lou as possible. “They don’t like each other. I suppose it all started with Cindy.” She dropped his hands and started brushing the dust off her jeans.
    “ Cindy?” he asked, watching her.
    “ Yeah, they had a misunderstanding. Cindy is attracted to Bobby, and Lou is jealous because he liked Cindy.”
    Wes chuckled.
    “What?” She looked up at him and frowned.
    He laughed again. “It’s just that you’re talking about the horses like it’s a soap opera.”
    She stopped dusting off her jeans and looked at him. She laughed. “I guess when Alex gives them human names, I start thinking of them as such.”
    When she stopped laughing, she looked up into his eyes.
    “Are you okay?” he asked, his voice low as he stepped closer to her.
    How had he gotten so close? Why was she letting him get this close? She was trapped in his dark eyes. Today, in the light, they looked lighter. She could see the hazel freckles in his irises. His hand was running up and down her arms as he leaned closer to her. She felt herself leaning closer to him, drawn in by his eyes.
    Just then, Chase broken in. “Is everything okay?”
    She pushed back from Wes and looked up at her brother-in-law. “Yes, Lou got at Bobby, who tossed me off. Can you go grab him for me?”
    He laughed and shook his head. “I guess we need to deal with that. I’ll go grab him.” He set off on his horse, toward the corral.
    “ Why are you here?” She turned on Wes once Chase was gone.
    “ I told you. I’m working off my rent. I moved into one of the ranch houses yesterday.”
    She felt the tension building. “You what?”
    He laughed. “Don’t look so upset. It’s just until I find out about my loan.”
    She tensed. “Loan?”
    He smiled.