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heights she’d never imagined possible. The only other times she’d experienced such highs were on the back of a horse, and that had nothing to do with an orgasm, and everything to do with bonding with another creature until they were one. She and Isaac had been one for a brief moment.
    “Hey, how’s Tiff doing?” Sam nudged her shoulder.
    Avery startled and blinked at Sam several times, trying to process what she was talking about.
    Sam frowned at her. “Are you okay?”
    “Yes, of course. Why?”
    “Nothing. You seem different today. And that ride—” Sam studied her for a moment then turned her attention back to the slight blonde girl standing with her back to them out in the field.
    Avery ignored the compliment. “I wish there was something we could do for her,” She said as she followed Sam’s gaze.
    “It’s going to take time. I know her parents have her in counselling. I just wish she’d get back in the saddle. Riding a good horse can cure pretty much anything that ails a person, and Dex is one of the best young rider horses in the nation.”
    Avery nodded her agreement, but they both knew Tiffani couldn’t be pushed. Her reasons for not riding had nothing to do with a fear of horses and everything to do with an all-consuming fear of her own mortality. She barely spoke and hadn’t ridden since that fateful day a week before Thanksgiving, and her haunted brown eyes were enough to melt the hardest heart.
    “I appreciate your keeping an eye on her, making her your special project,” Sam added. Avery had taken Tiffani under her wing and assigned her tasks to do around the barn, such as grooming horses, cooling them out, anything to keep her busy. It wasn’t much, but maybe it was the little things that truly mattered when all was said and done.
    Sam glanced over her shoulder as a car pulled into the driveway. She winked at Avery. “See you later; Carson’s here.”
    An impeccably dressed, tall blond man exited the Mercedes sedan, a conservative car for a conservative man. Dressed for the office, he wore his usual suit and tie. His hard face relaxed into a smile when Sam ran toward him and threw herself in his arms. Avery turned away, partially amused and a little bit jealous. Would she ever have what Sam and Carson had? Or what Izzy and Cooper had?
    At the top of her list of requirements for a relationship-caliber partner was a man who loved horses, but finding such a man who wasn’t an arrogant dick or gay or both proved pretty much impossible. Avery had seen too many relationships destroyed by a jealous husband who didn’t understand how important horses were to someone like her. Her family was a great case in point. They still didn’t get it, and they never would.
    Avery headed back to the barn. She had plenty of work to do. Besides her everyday duties, one of the barn cleaners called in sick, and the rest of the staff was pitching in to clean the stalls. She was filling a wheelbarrow with manure and trying not to think about a pair of ice-blue eyes and a sexy smile when her oldest sister peeked in the stall. Izzy wrinkled her nose at the smell. Avery rolled her eyes. Izzy could be such a prima donna.
    “What brings you to the country?” Avery asked, forcing her voice to remain neutral. She hated this friction between the two of them, but Izzy had started it, and Avery wouldn’t give in, not this time. She didn’t want to go to med school, and Izzy would have to get over it.
    “Just returning some things I borrowed from Emma. That’s all.”
    “She’s at work, but you can leave them in the apartment. The door’s unlocked.”
    “Have you met your surly neighbor yet?” Izzy asked, glancing at the ranch house on the far edge of the field.
    “Uh, why?” she asked innocently. Something in Izzy’s tone kept Avery from admitting she knew Isaac. Her oldest sister could be a pain and way over-protective. Their relationship was on shaky enough ground. The last thing Avery needed was a