Free Belong to You by Cheyenne McCray Page B

Anna looked around at the people she loved and wondered if they should move. With Chad knowing the truth and the chance that he might report her aunt and uncle, maybe she should convince them that they should pick up and go. No matter how much they enjoyed their lives in Prescott, they could always start over somewhere else. They’d done it before, when they left Bisbee.
    There were no easy answers. She could do as Chad had blackmailed her to do, and still be discovered.
    Anna let her breath out slowly, trying to release the tension in her body. She smiled and nodded to her aunt and uncle as they spoke about work, and she listened as Pablo talked about his activities in third grade. Josie had just turned five and would start kindergarten in the fall.
    Deciding to enjoy her family, Anna pushed thoughts aside of Chad, Mike, and everything else that tore at her heart. She needed to take this all one day at a time—it was all she could do at this moment. Maybe they’d have to move, maybe not. But for now she needed to be present for the ones she loved.
    She spent the rest of the day teasing her young cousins and laughing with them as well as her aunt and uncle. She let the day unfold as every Sunday did, allowing herself to enjoy the time she had with her family.
    A family she loved with every part of her heart and soul.
    * * * * *
    Mike slapped his Stetson against his thigh, shaking off the dust as he walked toward his cousin Jayson’s truck. He’d had just driven onto Mike’s property, hauling a horse trailer behind his vehicle.
    The afternoon sun shone brightly in the clear, cloudless sky and the still air was cool against his face. A horse’s whinny came from the direction of the corral.
    Dust rose from around the tires as Jayson parked his truck. He killed the engine, opened his door, and jumped out. “How’s it going, Sheriff?” Jayson asked with a grin as he rounded the vehicle.
    “Just fine.” Mike met up with Jayson and slapped him on his shoulder. “Any cattle get out while your fence was down the other night?”
    Jayson nodded. “Took us a good part of the night to round up about twenty head and get them back on my property. Repairing the fence was the easy part. Helped that the moon was bright.”
    They walked toward the back of the trailer where the backside of a horse was visible. Jayson unlocked the back gate and swung it open. He patted the horse’s rump. “Let’s go, little girl.”
    It didn’t take much coaxing before the beautiful mare was out of the horse trailer. Jayson held the Quarter horse by her halter while Mike took a good look at her.
    Mike stroked the sorrel’s neck as he admired her. “She’s a fine mare.”
    Jayson nodded his agreement. “Dancer is one of my favorites. Have to say I’m going to miss her. She’s a little headstrong sometimes, but she’s got a good disposition.”
    “You’ll get visitation in a couple of months when it comes time to breed her,” Mike said. “That stallion of yours is among the finest in the state.”
    “Firestarter sure is.” Jayson stroked Dancer’s muzzle. “Comes from a long line of champion stock.”
    Jayson gave a slight tug on the halter and he and Mike fell into step with the horse as they headed toward the barn. The mare’s hooves made a clopping sound on the hard packed earth as they walked.
    “A shame you had to put down that Appaloosa,” Jayson said.
    “She was a good mare.” Mike reached for the latch to the barn door and pushed it open. He’d had Viv for twenty-two years before the accident with a delivery truck that broke both of her front legs and caused her to have internal bleeding. A sense of loss always accompanied thoughts of the mare. They’d been together a good long time.
    Once they were in the barn, Mike put Dancer in a stall and removed her halter. He gave her a flake of alfalfa hay, and checked the watering trough before closing the stall door. His other two horses were out in the corral.
    When they left