Free MILLIONAIRE'S SHOT: Second Chance Romance by Bev Pettersen Page A

still hadn’t managed to turn on her light. He was fumbling with her phone. … No, not fumbling. His deft fingers flew over the screen.
    She jerked back, feeling like she’d been sucker punched. Now she realized why he’d insisted on walking her home. It wasn’t because of their old friendship at all, or even to satisfy Grace. He’d just wanted a chance to delete the recording. Protecting his wife by erasing Grace’s comment that Ginger hadn’t been bloody before the game.
    “Are you quite finished?” she asked, hating the hurt in her voice that she couldn’t hide. And that she still used her birth date as the password.
    “Now I am,” he said, passing over the phone. “Please give your grandfather my regards.”
    And even though he’d successfully removed all evidence against Rachel, his voice wasn’t triumphant. In fact, he sounded regretful.

 
     
     
CHAPTER TWELVE
     
     
    Feet shuffled in the kitchen. Cassie shoved aside the sheets and scrambled out of bed. If she didn’t hurry, Gramps would feed the horses, and he wouldn’t stop with tossing hay and grain. How much did a water bucket weigh anyway? More than he should lift, that was for sure. And then she’d agonize all day, worrying that the exertion might cause another heart attack.
    She yanked on a T-shirt and jeans and bolted down the narrow hall.
    “Morning, Gramps,” she called, catching him just as he was reaching in the closet.
    Boots thumped back on the floor and he shot her a sheepish look. “Thought I’d help feed this morning,” he said. “And check on Ginger. How did the trailering go last night? Did you see Santiago or that woman?”
    That woman .
    Cassie shook her head, hoping she could avoid mentioning the flat tire. She was supposed to keep Gramps calm, not worry him with trivial details. From the front of the house, he couldn’t see that the truck and trailer weren’t parked in their usual spot. Maybe she’d find a spare tire kicking around in the shed and be able to haul the trailer back before he even noticed.
    He was too proud to knowingly accept her money, and he’d only get defensive if she mentioned his tires needed replacing. It was best not to say anything and simply buy new ones without him knowing.
    “No one was at the Sutherland barn except for Alex and his daughter.” She pulled out a kitchen chair, encouraging her grandfather to sit. “They were taking good care of Ginger… Alex asked me to say hello.”
    “Do they have many horses over there? Is their barn full?”
    “All forty stalls,” she said, marginally relaxing. Gramps was too interested in horses to quiz her about tires, or people. He wasn’t going to ask any tough questions about the Sutherlands either. Like if Grace looked like Alex, or if Alex was happy…or if Cassie still loved him.
    “Their barn is full of good-looking polo ponies,” she said. “Even more than when Alex’s dad was alive. And Ginger wasn’t outside. She was in a big stall at the office end of the barn.”
    Cassie walked over to the sink, picked up a washcloth and began scrubbing at the spotless counter.
    “Alex didn’t see us at the polo game,” she went on. “He mentioned that he and Grace left early. I don’t think he even knew Ginger was your horse.” She didn’t know why she was babbling. Or why she felt compelled to defend Alex.
    “But of course Alex didn’t know,” Gramps said, his voice matter-of-fact. “Or he wouldn’t have let it happen.”
    She tossed the cloth aside with a sense of relief. Her grandfather preferred horses to humans, but he did understand people. If he still held a high opinion of Alex, then clearly Alex hadn’t changed that much. And she wasn’t going to upset Gramps by telling him about Grace’s recording—the one that had vindicated him—the one Alex had deleted. After all, it was understandable a man would want to help his wife. Especially a protective man like Alex.
    She pulled open the cupboard door and rummaged for the