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getting fired and shipped back to New York in no time if he kept it up.
     
    “Too many bad dreams?” Logan probed lightly, and he almost sighed with frustration as the boy tensed before giving a jerky nod. “Yeah. I know all about bad dreams. Well, she should be all right for a while, hopefully until the Doc can get here. Thanks for the coffee.”
     
    Kaden didn’t want to leave. He wanted to stay and watch but… should he ask? “Can… can I stay and help?” he requested hesitantly, his eyes still trained on the horse breathing heavily.
     
    Logan saw the kid preparing himself for rejection, and there was no way he could tell him to go so he gave in. “It’s all right by me. What do you think, Golden Star?” He looked toward the horse, and she let out a weak whicker.
     
    Happiness spread through Kaden, and he sat down where he stood, with his back leaning into the wall, but still several feet from Logan. The horse shifted slightly, crunching some of the hay beneath her heavy weight. He glanced over at Logan, who’d once again relaxed against the wall behind him. The man’s eyes were trained on the horse as if waiting for some mysterious sign. He could sense the cowboy was concerned about the horse, and he decided to ask questions to distract Logan from his worry. “How old is she?”
     
    Unable to suppress his surprise at Kaden initiating a conversation, Logan turned his head toward him. It seemed the teenager was starting to feel more comfortable around him, and pleasure spread through him. “She’s twelve years old. My father gave her to me when I turned sixteen.”
     
    Kaden did quick calculations in his head and found that meant Logan was twenty-eight. Nine years older than himself. “She’s very pretty. I saw her picture.”
     
    “She’s the gentlest horse anyone could ever meet. Unlike Mantacor, outside in the corral. Whatever you do, don’t go near him. He’d likely bite you as soon as look at you.” Logan tossed his hand in the general direction of the horse he was referring to, and Kaden jolted, shocked. The man was talking about the white horse outside. The one that he’d almost seemed to connect with. But if the horse was as mean and ornery as the man said, why had it let him touch it?
     
    “What’s wrong with him?” he questioned quietly, oddly drawn to the horse more than he had been that morning. The thought that he was an outsider like him, or perhaps he’d been through a lot in his past like him, made him long to be with the animal.
     
    “I got him at an auction cheap. He was wild as can be, bucking, biting, and trying to get away from the men holdin’ him. If I hadn’t bought him, they’d have destroyed him. Much as I’d like to ride him, he won’t let me near him. There are scars on his body that indicate abuse and with the crazy look he gets in those eyes, it cements that theory in my mind.” The taller man’s voice dipped and raised, his tone depending on his emotions as he spoke. It fascinated Kaden to see him so passionate about the creature outside, even though he deemed it mean. Maybe he could… but Kaden cut that line of thought off immediately, berating himself for being so idiotic.
     
    The horse outside reminded Logan of the boy seated nearby. They were two of a kind, those two. A sound brought his head up, and he stood up quickly, startling Kaden, who immediately moved several more feet away. Logan chastised himself for moving so quickly around him before opening the stall door and heading out to meet the vet. “Hey, Doc. How goes it?”
     
    A beautiful red-headed woman stood there, a weary look on her face. Dr. Jessie Riggs was several inches taller than Kaden, with long red hair she currently had braided and twisted up in a loop and amber eyes. Freckles dusted her nose and high cheekbones. “Logan Michaels, this had better be good since you’re getting me out of bed this late at night. I just got done with Hanson’s mare two hours ago.