Free Wyoming Sweethearts by Jillian Hart

lunch hour making friends with him. “We are all trying to comfort him. Everyone already loves both horses.”
    “I’m sure they aren’t being spoiled.”
    “Not at all.” Her day felt brighter. It couldn’t be because of Sean, right? She leaned back in the seat and savored the fall of sun on her face and the sense of freedom at being temporarily released from her managerial duties. “I’m certainly not guilty of that, right, Julianna?”
    “Right.” The girl shook her head emphatically and her twin braids bounced. “Me neither.”
    Sean chuckled. Eloise felt comfortable in his presence. Not at all like Friday night when it had been a struggle to make conversation with George. “I was going to saddle them up and give them a test ride this afternoon and could use some help. Are you interested?”
    “I’m game. Count me in.” He squared his impressive shoulders. He had come when she’d asked, and she thought about that, finding one more thing among the many to like about the man.
    “Can I come, too?” Julianna steepled her hands as if in prayer. “Please, please please?”
    “After we find out how they handle, then you can see what your dad says.” Eloise gave one braid a gentle tug, knowing that would make the girl smile.
    “Bummer. I know how to ride, you know. Aunt Cady lets me ride her horse.” Sparkles glittered in her eyes full of excitement and childhood wonder. “I love horses, too. I’ve asked Dad one hundred times and he still says I can’t have one. We live in the city.”
    “Yes, there’s no place for a horse in a brownstone.” Eloise understood the girl’s love of horses. It was a phase she hadn’t ever fully outgrown. Her mare, Pixie, lived in her grandmother’s field, as she had for the last fourteen years. “I got my horse when I was your age.”
    “You did? Cool.” Julianna sighed. “I know you aren’t supposed to pray for yourself. That’s not the right way to pray. You are supposed to think of others and pray for them. That’s what Dad says. So, do you know what?”
    “What?”
    “I pray for my horse. She’s somewhere and I want her to be happy. Maybe that way she can find me. And if she does, maybe she can be gold with a white mane.”
    Julianna’s forehead puckered with concern. “Do you think that’s being selfish like my mom?”
    On the other side of the truck, Sean caught her eye. He drove with both hands on the wheel and kept most of his attention on the road, but in the brief moment their gazes met an unspoken understanding passed between them. Probably because they were on the same wavelength.
    Julianna’s mother had left the family for a richer man. She couldn’t imagine how much that would hurt a little girl. Eloise cleared the emotion from her throat. Her parents’ marriage was rock solid. Her grandparents on both sides had been the same. “No, I don’t think it’s selfish. You are asking for the horse to be happy first, even if you never get to meet her, right?”
    “Right.” Julianna sighed. “But I hope I do.”
    “Me, too.” She liked to think there was a very lucky and nice horse out there wanting a little girl to love. She let her eyes drift shut.
Please, Lord, if it’s possible, give Julianna her dream.
    “I saw that,” Sean said after she’d opened her eyes. “I know what you asked for.”
    “How?”
    “Because I did, too.”
    It was tough not to like him even more for that. It was a good thing she spotted the road they needed to turn on to so that she didn’t need to analyze it. There were horses to rescue. “Take a right there by the pine trees.”
    “Sure thing.”
    The truck hit the dirt lane with a bump. They bounced down the wide private road lined by thick trees and she unfolded her memo to make sure she remembered the directions correctly. “We’re looking fora mailbox with the last name Noon. It should be on the left-hand side.”
    “I see it.” He slowed the truck to make the turn. The driveway was in terrible