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time we get back. She’ll have afternoon patients coming in before your lesson. She’s on a tight schedule.”
    Jordan hesitated. He shouldn’t, but he guessed Travis, like the boys in his band, had a passion for junk food. And it wasn’t like it was two a.m. Surely his gut could handle it at noon.
    “Sure.” He turned the pickup into the restaurant. “But no drive-through. I want to eat at a table.”
    A few minutes later, across that table, Jordan looked over at Travis devouring his supersized burger. The kid worked hard. He’d watched him that morning. No wonder he had a king-sized appetite.
    “So you have a band?” he opened the conversation.
    “Yeah, well, nothing like yours.” He paused and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Just a bunch of guys fooling around. But I’d like to do it seriously some day.”
    “Play for me sometime.” Jordan picked up a fry, looked at it, and dropped it back into its container. “Maybe I can give you a few pointers.”
    “Hey, would you, Jor…Jake? That would great!”
    “No problem.”
    “Wish I could go at it full time, but right now Shel needs me, and I’m not about to let her down. She doesn’t support my ideas about making a career in music. Afraid I’ll get disappointed…like she was.”
    “Shelby was a musician?” He choked on the soft drink.
    “No, no. She was a world class rider. Had hopes of making the Canadian National Equestrian Team when she was a teenager. Didn’t happen.”
    “So now she’s holding you back from taking a run at fame.”
    “From taking a run at disappointment and hurt, more like.” He focused his gaze on his meal. “Shel is a great sister.”
    “I believe you. She’s one amazing lady.”
    “Yeah, about that.” Travis abandoned his meal to look Jordan squarely in the eyes. “Shel is pretty and smart and has a whole lot going for her. I wouldn’t want her hurt or disappointed again…if you get my drift.”
    “Sure, sure, big brother talk, right?” He grinned into the frown developing on his companion’s face. “Trust me, Travis. I respect your sister far too much to play fast and loose with her. Anyhow, I’m not that kind of guy.”
    “Well, I’m just sayin’.” Travis muttered as he returned his attention to the remainder of his lunch.
    “And I’m just tellin’ you, nothing to worry about, my man.”
    Travis looked up at him and slowly his grin met Jordan’s. “Thanks, Jake. I was pretty sure you’d never do anything to hurt Shel, but I had to talk to you about it. That’s what brothers do.”
    “Understood. Glad we got that out of the way. Now when she gives us both a few minutes off, we can jam, okay?”
    “Great.” Travis crumpled up his hamburger wrapper and piled it onto the tray with the rest of the papers. “Better get going. Shel needs that feed this afternoon. That stop at the boot store slowed us down, but those running shoes you were wearing just don’t cut it for barn work. And you sure as heck couldn’t ride in them.”
    “Yeah.” Jordan looked down at the pair of spanking new steel-toed boots on his feet. “I’ll feel a whole lot better in the event one of your horses accidentally steps on my foot. I’ll bet your sister will be surprised to discover I’ve bought riding boots, too.”
    ****
    As he finished the last fry, Jordan knew he’d made a big mistake. His stomach roiled and ached. Trying to ignore it and hoping he’d make it back to the farm before the real trouble hit, he followed Travis across the parking lot to where the old truck was parked.
    “How about driving, Travis?” He held out the key. “I’d like to catch a few winks.”
    “Farm life getting to you already?” Travis took it and grinned. “Sure. Snooze away. It’ll be good to drive something different.”
    They’d barely made it out onto the highway when the first wave of nausea hit.
    “Pull over, Travis, pull over quick.” Jordan bolted upright in the seat, swallowing hard. “I’m going to be