Free Lead Me Home by Vicki Lewis Thompson Page B

that the boys didn’t leap at the suggestion, probably because they were afraid she’d offer them something they didn’t want to eat. “Come on, guys,” she said. “I have some leftover brownies in the kitchen.”
    Their cheers were filled with relief as they ran toward the house.
    She followed at a more leisurely pace and took a moment to look over at the touching picture Matthew and Lester made as they took Houdini back to the barn. Matthew had turned Lester into a celebrity today, and the boy would never forget it. Besides being gorgeous, Matthew was good with both kids and animals. From what she’d seen so far, she was going to have to work extra hard not to fall in love with him.

6
    M ATTHEW ATE A halfway decent-tasting plate of spaghetti with the guys in the bunkhouse, although he couldn’t help imagining how Aurelia could have improved on the basic recipe. But he was a guest in the bunkhouse, and he wasn’t about to complain. It had been Shorty’s night to cook, and spaghetti was his usual contribution.
    A bottle of wine would have been nice, but the cowhands weren’t into it, so Matthew drank the beer they handed him.
    “So where did you come from originally?” Tucker asked Matthew as they finished up the last of the spaghetti.
    “I was born in Billings,” Matthew said.
    “You still have family up there?”
    “Not anymore.” Matthew hadn’t been lucky in that respect. His mom had died when he was seven, and his dad, who had sold the ranch after she died, had never recovered emotionally from her death. He’d passed away two years ago, leaving Matthew pretty much without family connections since he had no brothers or sisters and hadn’t ever been close to his aunts and uncles. It was a sad little story, and since Shorty didn’t press the issue, Matthew chose not to tell it.
    Frank picked up a paper napkin and wiped spaghetti sauce from his mustache. Apparently Sarah’s rule about paper napkins didn’t apply down here. “Everybody’s talking about that kid riding Houdini,” Frank said. “Who would have thought that horse would let a kid get up on him?”
    “I think it was real smart.” Bob sat back in his chair and adjusted his glasses. “Risky, but smart. That boy’s lighter than any of us, and putting him on bareback meant bypassing the saddle issue.”
    “But you’ll have to deal with the saddle issue sooner or later.” Shorty stood. “Everybody done here? I’m ready to clear the table and play some cards.”
    Matthew stood and picked up his plate. “I’d like to find an English saddle. Start with that.”
    “It’s a good idea.” Danny scratched one of his oversized ears. “That way you give him something that doesn’t feel much like the one that scared him before. I’d check with Sarah, see if she knows anybody who has one. I’ll bet she does.”
    “I’ll ask her.” Matthew stacked his plate on a couple of others and walked into the kitchen.
    “Pete took that Jeff kid back to his foster home tonight,” Tucker said as he opened the dishwasher.
    Matthew inhaled a deep breath. “I can’t say I’m sorry.”
    “Nobody is.” Shorty located a cigar and stuck it behind his ear. “Pete being Pete, he’s getting the kid into counseling, but we can’t have that kind of behavior around here.”
    “No.” Every time Matthew replayed the scene in his head, it ran in slow motion as Jeff leaned down, picked up a rock and hurled it at the horse. If it really had been in slow motion, Matthew could have intercepted the rock. In reality, the rock had been airborne before he could move to stop it.
    From that point on, he’d had to clamp down on his anger so that he could be the voice of reason for Lester, who had been terrified at first. The fact that the incident had ended with no injuries didn’t change the way Matthew felt about Jeff’s behavior.
    “So.” Shorty grabbed a dish towel and wiped off the table. “I hope you’re all prepared to lose tonight, because I’m