Leann Harris - Second Chance Ranch

She wondered what was happening. Dinner with Zach’s parents tomorrow night was simply business. They wanted to know about their son’s progress. Nothing more.

So, why did she feel so confused? Zach’s kiss.

Obviously Zach had feelings for her as proved by what just happened, but where had those feelings sprung from? Gratitude. Simply gratitude for his recovery. Nothing more.

She’d pushed him into riding again, forced him to face the life he’d left. She demanded the best from him and didn’t accept excuses.

He’d responded to that tough love with an eagerness that surprised her.

So had he misinterpreted his own feelings?

And what about her feelings? Zach tapped into the attraction she’d felt for him so long ago, but watching him struggle and watching him interact with the kids, she gained a respect for the man. She admired him. That was it. Nothing more.

Too bad that logic didn’t feel right.

When Leann Harris was first introduced to her husband in college she knew she would never date the man. He was a graduate student getting a PhD in physics, and Leann had purposely taken a second year of biology in high school to avoid taking physics. So much for first impressions. They have been married thirty-eight years and still approach life from very different angles.

After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, Leann taught math and science to deaf high school students for a couple of years until the birth of her first child. When her youngest child started school, Leann decided to fulfill a lifelong dream and began writing.

She is a founding member and former president of the Dallas Area Romance Writers. Leann lives in Dallas, Texas, with her husband. Visit her at her website, www.leannharris.com.

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I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you…

—Ephesians 1:18

To the men and women of the U.S. Military, all current and former members. Thank you for your service to this country.

I want to thank:

Brenda Rozinsky and Ariane Mele at Equest Therapeutic Horsemanship Ranch for their help.

Donald R. Cummings at Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas for his generous time and explaining to me how prosthesis limbs work.

Theresa Zumwalt and Jane Graves for your insight with horses.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Epilogue

Letter to Reader

Questions for Discussion

Zachary McClure closed his eyes and breathed in the calming and familiar smells of the barn—horses, grains, leather and liniment. He hadn’t smelled anything that comforting in the past four years. Dust, diesel and fear had filled his days in Iraq. Disinfectant, moans and sickness had filled his last year in the hospital. The smell of horses took him back to pre-army days. That was before—

He stopped the thought. He couldn’t change the past.

“You all right?”

Zach opened his eyes and looked into his sister’s concerned face. Beth had always looked up to him, but lately they argued a lot. He hadn’t wanted to come today, didn’t want to face the ghosts of his past and the limitations of today, but she kept badgering him with phone calls and coming by his apartment, telling him he needed to start riding again. He tried sending her home, but somehow she got him to agree to come once here to the New Hope Ranch.

“I am.”

“C’mon. My friend Sophie is waiting for us.” Beth linked her arm with his and started moving forward. “You remember her? She was my roommate in college.”

He definitely remembered Sophie Powell. The weekend Beth brought Sophie home he’d been thunderstruck by the coltish girl. She wasn’t model-beautiful, but there’d been a beauty about her. It had been her eyes, piercing blue. And her smile set him back on his heels. She had a crooked nose with freckles scattered across it and her cheeks. But that only added to her beauty. “I remember,” he muttered. Only too well, he silently added.

Beth leaned close and whispered, “I think she had a crush on you.”

“What?” Zach’s head jerked around and his gaze clashed with Beth’s. Her grin told him she was teasing him. Yet, there was a twinkle in her eye that made him wonder if maybe it was true.

“And she’s ex-army, too.”

This had the smell of a setup.

They walked down through the walkway between the stable and the office. Children’s voices filled the air with laughter and excitement.

When they emerged, he could see the two practice rings. In the far ring a horse with its rider and two spotters moved around the enclosure. On the far side of the rings stood bleachers where three people sat, watching. In front of the closest ring, a woman knelt before a horse. A young boy, maybe six or seven, stood beside her.

“Will he bite?” the boy asked, eyeing the reddish-brown horse.

“No, she won’t. You should give it a try. Samantha, or as we call her, Sam, is very gentle.”

Zach remembered that low, rich voice. Sophie’s. He often wondered what had become of his sister’s college roommate and had wanted to ask, but that would’ve given his sis ideas.

Sophie held an apple in her hand. “Put your hand out,” she instructed, “and I’ll give you the apple.”

The boy frowned at Sophie, then at the apple.

“You sure? I saw the b-i-g teeth.” The boy kept his hand clenched in a fist.

Zach felt a smile bubble up, but he knew Sophie wouldn’t appreciate his reaction.

She nodded. “I’m sure. Sam’s my friend. She can be your friend, too.”

The boy glanced around and saw Zach and Beth.

Without thinking, Zach walked over to the pair and took the apple from Sophie’s hand. Her startled gaze locked with his. The connection was instantaneous and well remembered. Silently, he asked her permission.

Her nod was almost imperceptible.

Zach hooked his cane over his left forearm and put the apple into his right hand.

“You need to make sure your hand is flat. It makes it easier for the horse to get the apple if your fingers are not in the way,” he explained. “I’m sure Sam wouldn’t want to bite your fingers, so you have to make it easy for her.”

The boy’s eyes widened.

Zach showed the boy how to hold the apple, then offered it to the horse. Sam opened her mouth and took the apple.