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She stepped out of the elevator and rounded a corner to a scene of controlled chaos From far down the corridor a monitor shrieked its alararbled voice blasted over the intercoht the word stat Some poor soul was in crisis Here in the hospital, the only helpful thing she could do was stay out of the way and try not to look
Walking doard her father’s rooht as well have been invisible She had just reached Room 233 when the door opened partway and the doctor she’d met yesterday stepped out into the hall For an instant he looked surprised to see her Then his features shifted into the impassive mask she’d seen the day before
“I’m sorry, Miss Prescott,” he said “Your father just suffered awe could, but we couldn’t save hione”
Sky lifted the saddle off the blue roan and patted her damp withers A sharp littlemaneuvers with the paddock cows By next week she’d be ready to join Quicksilver and several other colts up on the caprock, working the herd with the cowboys Sky tried not to get attached to the young horses he trained But that wasn’t easy They were the closest thing he had to his own children, and he took a parent’s pride in everything they accomplished
To date, the training had gone well enough But Sky couldn’t help worrying Will was counting on the sale of the colts to shore up Riht didn’t end soon, what rancher would have enough spare cash to pay what they orth? Sky knew better than to voice his concerns to Will The boss of the Rih trouble on his plate
Eyes shaded by the briazed west The first clouds of the afternoon were drifting over the escarpht no rain Yesterday he’d seen traces of virga, the phantoh and evaporated before it reached the ground Ghost rain, his grandfather had called it Sky still missed the old man
So far he’d had no chance to talk with Jasper The retired fore and wouldn’t be back till later in the day Meanwhile, Sky had plenty of work to do
He’d just turned thehis face at the outside tap when his cell phone rang Seeing Lauren’s nuood between theered a riffle of anticipation
“How’s it going?” he asked “You were sleeping like an angel when I left Did I wear you out?”
“Sky” Her voice quivered and broke “Oh, Sky!”
“What is it?”
He listened in shock while she told him about her father’s fatal heart attack “Itup to his rooht have been there to say good-bye—or even to call for help in time to save him”
She trailed off Sky wondered if she was crying “I’ll be right there,” he said “Wait for me”
“No, don’t co you can do here, and I can’t leave yet There’s the paperwork, the insurance, the funeral home, and maybe even the police Nobody was prepared for this to happen”
“Lauren, I want to be there for you”