That shocked her silly. “Me?” Her voice squeaked, and she swallowed around the frog in her throat. The colt stirred, as if he sensed her upset, so she roped in her emotions. After several deep breaths, she continued, her voice calm now. “I’d never met you before Chicago. Why were you looking for me?”
“I...just was.”
She grimaced. “That’s certainly cryptic. Can you be a little more specific?”
“No. The reason doesn’t matter. But this does. Do you really believe I would hurt the colt? Hurt any animal?” His face remained expressionless but for a narrowing of his eyes and a slight jut of his chin. His voice sounded cold, and she decided right then she never wanted to be on the wrong side of the courtroom from him.
“I don’t get you, Chance. I don’t know why you’re here. I...jeez. We’ve had some good times. Sex. Granted, the sex was fantastic but—”
“But what? We didn’t have sex, Cassie. I made love to you. I...” He choked off whatever he was going to say but stayed on the offensive. “Is that all you can manage? Just sex? What’s your deal? Relationships too sticky for you?”
She rocked back from the anger in his voice. “Whoa, dude. Back right the hell up. You’re the one who didn’t return my calls.”
“I couldn’t.”
“Couldn’t? What? You flushed your phone down the toilet? Your dog ate it? Oh, wait, you don’t have a dog.” She glared at Buddy. “You just steal mine.”
“There are...extenuating circumstances.” He clenched his jaw, and the words gritted out between lips stretched tight across his teeth.
“Extenuating circumstances? What’s that? Legalese for I can’t be bothered?”
Chance rubbed his temple, eyes closed. When he spoke, he seemed to have leashed his temper. “That’s not fair, Cass. You have no idea what’s going on. What’s at stake.”
She wanted to throw her hands up in the air and scream but Doc was restless again. She bridled her emotions though her angry response hissed out. “How the hell am I supposed to know if you don’t tell me!”
He ground his teeth together. “I can’t tell you. Not right now.” He dragged the fingers of one hand through his hair and sighed. His gaze caught and held hers. “Please. Can you just trust me? For a little while longer?”
So many replies popped into her head. Why should I? How can you ask that? Oh, hell no! But as she looked at his face, recognized the pleading for understanding in his eyes, the grim set of his mouth, which all showed a crack in the emotions he did his best to stonewall deep inside, none of those admonitions worked. Between one thudding beat of her heart and the next, she knew the answer.
“Yes.”
Twelve
By the time the vet left, Cass felt exhausted. Her arm still ached from the booster, and the bandages over the deeper cuts on her arm itched. Chance walked the man out, and only then did she stop to wonder why there’d been no mention of the bill at all. She stroked the colt’s neck, hoping her touch would keep him calm. The vet had done what he could, telling her to watch him for further signs of distress and to call if Doc wasn’t better in a few hours. They’d have to get him on his feet every hour or so and walk him to help ease the blockage in his intestines.