"He's a beautiful horse," a deep voice spoke from behind me. I turned and upon recognizing one of the guests, I smiled. "Thank you. It's Kevin, right?" He nodded his head as he stepped closer. "What's his name?" he asked as he cautiously stretched his hand toward the all white horse. "His name is Mayhem," I answered, amazed that my horse was standing still while a total stranger petted him. "Mayhem? That's a strange name," he commented. I laughed softly and picked up a brush and began to run it over Mayhem's back. "When we first got him, he was very high tempered. He'd been mistreated by his previous owners and didn't like people getting to close to him. One of the hands said he was going to cause Mayhem and it stuck. Fortunately for me, he didn't mind me being around. I worked all that spring and most of the summer with him, getting him to trust me. By the end of summer, I was riding him and putting him through his paces. Unfortunately, he still doesn't like strangers." "He seems to like me," Kevin commented as I finished brushing Mayhem down. "Yes, yes he does,” I admitted in awe. “You act like it’s never happened before, I mean, him… Mayhem, liking someone new,” he said as he moved his hand to scratch between Mayhem’s eyes. “It hasn’t. I wasn’t kidding when I said he doesn’t like strangers. He didn’t even like my dad, and dad was the one who rescued him.” “Wow! I’m honored Mayhem,” Kevin said as he softly kissed the horse’s nose. “Are you going for the ride?” I asked changing the subject and forcing my eyes back to my task. There was just something about the man that drew me, and the fact that my unsociable horse liked him unnerved me. “Yep! I haven’t been on a horse in a long time, but I’m looking forward to it,” he replied. “What about your friends, are they coming also?” A sharp bark of laughter escaped into the near silence of the barn and startled Mayhem, who shied away. “Sorry boy, didn’t mean to scare you,” he murmured as he stroked the now glistening coat. “To answer your question, Brian and Nick are, but Howie and AJ are not!” “Oh?” “Let’s just say that they’re not country boys!” he said with a smirk. “I’ll have to make sure to personally invite them then,” I said with a smile. “I have a feeling even a woman as pretty as you couldn’t get the two of them on horseback,” he said, and then froze as he realized what he had said. I ducked my head to hide my blushing cheeks and felt my heart kick up a beat. It had been a very long time since a man had paid me a compliment and it felt good. “Well, I still have to give it a try,” I said with a careless shrug, hoping to ease the tension that had suddenly sprang up between us. “Good luck,” he said as he smiled, his eyes twinkling in the dimness of the barn. “Cassie, you in here,” my sister Carly called from the doorway. “Back here,” I called. When she stepped up beside me, I immediately asked about the condition of the steer. “It’s ugly, but I doctored the leg and had Billy move him into the nearest pasture so I can keep an eye on him,” she answered. “Good. The last thing we need is to lose a steer because of infection,” I said as I slipped the bit between Mayhem’s teeth. “Callie sent me down here to help you saddle the horses for this mornings ride. She said to assure you that she’ll handle the front desk until I get back,” she said as she moved to the first stall and led a palomino mare out. She was sneaking glances at Kevin and then swinging her gaze back to me. I knew what she was thinking and I cringed. “I guess I’ll head back up to the house then,” Kevin said as he slowly moved towards the door. “I’ll see you at ten,” I replied.                                                        Chapter Three