Charlene Sands - Vegas Vows, Texas Nights

The air left her lungs and her shoulders slumped. “Oh no. Not our girl.”

“Yep. I’m afraid so.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Thought you’d want to know. Wes tried to call you.”

“I—I was fast asleep. I didn’t hear my phone.”

“I’m on my way out to see her. Maybe for the last time.”

Oh man. All she could think about was the raw deal Snowball had gotten, a life of abuse and pain. Her owner had neglected her and she’d come to the rescue undernourished, scarred and broken. It wasn’t fair. They’d tried their best to save her, and now Katie wasn’t about to let her take her last breaths alone. “I’ve got to see her, too.”

“I’ll take you.”

“No, you go on.” She ran a hand through her hair. She must look a mess. “I need to run a comb through my hair and freshen up.”

“I’ll wait.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Katie, I’m here, my car’s out front and we’re driving to the same place. Let’s not waste any more time when we can spend it with Snow. Just do what you have to do, I’ll be waiting downstairs.”

He was right. Snow was too important to her to quibble with him about driving arrangements. “Okay, fine. Give me a minute.”

Five minutes later, she was dressed in jeans and a red shirt, her hair in a knot at the top of her head. She splashed water on her face and put on lip gloss to keep from biting her lips and then dashed down the stairs and out the door of the bakery.

Luke waited for her out front, leaning against his black SUV, his hands in his pockets, a pensive look on his face. Her stomach was still in a twist about her ultra-secret marriage to her sister’s ex. And now, the sweet mare she’d tended for the past year might be dying.

“Ready?” Luke asked, opening the door for her.

“Yes… I think.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Snow’s a special one.”

Katie climbed in and grabbed her seat belt while Luke closed the door and took a seat behind the wheel. They drove off in silence and as they approached the canyon, she shivered.

“Cold?” he asked.

“A little.” She hugged her arms to her chest. “I forgot my jacket.” She’d forgotten how chilly the canyon could get in the later hours of the day.

“I can warm you up real fast,” he said, giving her a smile.

His dimpled grin brought heat to her body instantly. She flashed back to Vegas and those hours they’d spent in bed together.

He reached for the dials on his dashboard and soon a flow of warm air surrounded her. “Better?”

She nodded.

“I’ve got an extra jacket in the back. I won’t let you freeze to death out here.”

That he was talking about “letting” her do anything or not gave her nerves a rattle. He wasn’t really her husband—just thinking it seemed completely foreign to her—but he was taking care of her needs and that wasn’t something she was used to, with any guy. “Thanks.”

A few minutes later they approached Red Barrel Horse Rescue and Luke parked in the gravel lot in front of the small building that served as the office. “I’ll go in and let Wes know we’re here,” he said. “You want to stay in the car and keep warm?”

“No, I’ll go with you.”

“Sure,” he said. He stretched way back and grabbed two jackets from the back seat of his car. “Here you go.”

He handed her a suede jacket lined with lamb’s wool, while he took a lighter weight cotton one. They tossed them on, hers almost reaching her knees, and Wes came out of the office to greet them.

The men shook hands, then Wes gave her a gentle hug. “I knew you two would come out as soon as you heard. Snow’s in the barn. I’ve made her as comfortable as possible.”

Luke met her eyes, then looked back at Wes. “We’d like to see her now.”

“You two know the way. Stay as long as you want.”

“Thanks,” Luke said, his hand closing over hers gently. They began walking toward the barn and Katie took note of all the other horses in the corrals on the property. They were the lucky ones who’d been given a second chance at Red Barrel. There were so many others who were sick and hungry running wild in the canyons.

Once they reached the wide wooden doors, Luke turned to her. “No matter what happens in there, just know we did the very best we could for her.”

“I know that,” she whispered. “It’s just that she’s a special one. And she’s been through so much.”

“Well then,” he said, his eyes softening. “Let’s make her final hours the best they can be.”

She held on to a breath. And then exhaled. “Okay.”

They walked out of the daylight and into the darkened barn. A cold shiver ran through her. It was definitely jacket weather in the canyon.

“There she is,” he said, pointing to the largest paddock in the barn.

Katie moved closer to the stall and as she laid eyes on Snow, she clutched her chest. “Oh, sweet girl.” It hurt so much seeing Snow weak, giving up the fight.

“She’s down,” Luke said. “But she’s still with us.”

“Yes, she still is. You’ve waited for us, haven’t you, my pretty Snowball?”

Snow lifted her head and eyed them both before laying her head back down on a pillow of straw.

Katie took off her jacket and entered the stall, laying the jacket on the straw beside the mare. “Do you mind?” she asked Luke.

“Not at all,” he said, doing the same with his jacket.

They lowered down and sat on the jackets next to Snow.

“Hey, girl. I’m here,” she whispered in her ear. “You don’t have to do this alone.” Katie laid her hand on Snow’s mane and used the gentlest touch to comfort her. “I know you’re struggling to breathe. Just stay calm. I’m here.”

Luke stroked Snow’s flank and whistled a soft, mellow tune. He was actually pretty good and not only did the whistling relax the mare, it soothed Katie’s nerves as well.

“That’s nice,” she said, closing her eyes. “How did you learn to do that?”

“A buddy of mine taught me when I was overseas.”

Katie opened her eyes. “When you were in Afghanistan?”

He nodded. “We had time to kill when we weren’t on active duty. You know, something to fill the void from being away from home.”

“Must’ve been hard.”

“It wasn’t a walk in the park,” he said.

“Yet you signed up for it. When you had family here and a multimillion-dollar company to run. You didn’t have to enlist.”

“I felt like I did. I think the time away helped.”

“Are you talking about my sister now?”

He nodded. “I never meant to hurt her. I know she hates me, but a lot of time has passed since we broke up.”

“You mean, since you walked out on her? Humiliated her?”

“Yeah,” he said, frowning. “If that’s the way you want to put it.”

“It’s just that my family trusted you,” she said, stroking Snow’s mane. Luke hadn’t stopped his caresses either. “And your decision sort of came out of left field.”

“What can I say that I haven’t already?”

Katie was at odds with her feelings. She wanted to support Shelly and their mom, but Luke had a point. He couldn’t marry a woman he didn’t love. It was just too bad he’d come to that conclusion right before the wedding was to take place.

“I know they hate me, Katie. But do you?”

The question took her completely off guard. “ Hate ’s a strong word.”

“So you don’t?”

“Let’s just say I hate how things played out.”

Luke nodded. “Fair enough.”

“Speaking about the way things played out, any news from your attorney about our dilemma?”

Luke frowned. “No.”

She drew a deep breath. “Too much to hope, I guess.”