Hope for Tomorrow

by Elizabeth Maddrey

  “Hmm.” Morgan cast a considering look her way. “Alone?”

  “No. I said I’d go along. But the thing is, I haven’t ridden before. Maybe it’d be better if she just—”

  “Do you want to go?”

  “Sort of.”

  He nodded. “Then you should go. Our horses are all—or mostly all—beginner friendly. And Betsy knows what she’s doing. She won’t take you anywhere that’s too big a challenge. Who knows? You might even have fun.”

  “What if I fall off?” The words rushed out before Skye had the chance to decide not to say them.

  “Then you get back on. It’s not just a saying, you know.” Morgan closed the distance between them and laid his hand on her shoulder. “It’s how life works. You mess up? You stand up, dust yourself off, and get back on the horse.”

  Skye frowned. “It’s not that easy.”

  “Never said it was. I think, sometimes, we make it harder than it actually is, though.”

  Skye lifted a shoulder. Maybe he was right.

  “I’ll have horses ready around one. That work?”

  Skye blinked. Her shoulder was cold where his hand had been. Everything seemed colder without him close. She nodded. “Yeah. Thanks.”

  Morgan tapped his forehead with two fingers and turned back toward the stable.

  “Morgan?”

  He looked over his shoulder, eyebrows lifted.

  “Do you know which one is my brother’s cabin? I thought I’d stop in and say hi.”

  “Sure.” He lifted his arm and pointed. “Last one in the row. His car’s out front. Can’t miss it.”

  Of course his car would be there. Which probably meant she could have found it without asking if she’d spent a few extra seconds thinking about it. Whatever. “Thanks.”

  “See you this afternoon.”

  Right. To ride a horse with her grandmother. Because that didn’t seem like a disaster waiting to happen at all.

  She trudged away from the stable in the direction Morgan had pointed. The cabins weren’t in a row. Nor did they really look like cabins. At least not the instant mental image she’d had when she heard the word. They were more like cottages. Although that probably wasn’t manly enough for the residents. Thus cabin.

  And there was Cyan’s car. How had she missed it when she looked down this way?

  Skye turned and frowned. She wasn’t far from the stable, but between trees and a bend in the road, it was trickier to see than she’d expected. It made her feel a little better.

  Her phone rang. Skye dug it out of her pocket and smiled in spite of herself at her twin’s face on the screen. Spotting a big rock, she aimed toward it and answered. “Hey, Roy. How’s the Internet treating you?”

  “Gah. You know I hate that.”

  She smiled and perched on the rock. “I do. It’s why I do it.”

  “You’re such a younger sister.”

  “Younger by like twenty minutes. You’re no sage elder.”

  He snorted. “And yet, I’ll always be older than you and thus, wiser.”

  Skye rolled her eyes. “What do you want?”

  “You interested in helping me out with a new sponsor?”

  Royal cobbled together a living making podcasts as well as YouTube and Instagram videos about various things. He’d managed to gather a collection of steady sponsors as well as the occasional one-off who brought him a product to review. Since he made a big deal out of having a twin sister on his channel, sometimes he’d send more female-oriented products her way. Sometimes that ended up being embarrassing. “What is it?”

  “I swear I didn’t know it was that kind of product last time. Now my contact info outright says I’m not interested in repping anything sex related.”

  “Uh huh.” Her brother led an active and varied life. He had enough online fame that he was recognized here and there, and girls seemed to think being seen with him was something to strive for. Her brother wasn’t quite a dog, but he certainly wasn’t a saint.

  “No seriously. It’s a DNA kit. They want us to both do it. Twins, right? So maybe we’ll find out something cool.”

  “Like an ancestry thing? Where Mom and Dad’s families came from?”

  “Yeah. Plus they do major medical stuff—but that’s optional. They mostly want us to make a quick video doing the test and sending it off, then looking at the report where we see all our twinness. Easy money.” The first hint of wheedling came into Royal’s voice.

  “And you need more money because?”

  “Ads are down a little. It’s no biggie. I’m sure it’s going to be fine soon, but I have expenses, and this would be quick and easy. I just need a little help. From my favorite younger sister.”

  “I’m your only younger sister. Plus, I’m in New Mexico.”

  “What? Why?”

  Skye sighed. “It’s a long story. The short version is I’m staying at the grandparents’ for a little bit.”

  “Where Cyan is?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You meet his fiancée and instafamily?”

  “She’s great. So is Calvin.” Admittedly, Skye hadn’t spent much time with either of them. Yet. But she’d only been here three days. “But it’s not an easy drive for either of us anymore.”

  “I’ll come to you. I’ve got miles I can use. Give me a few days, maybe I can figure out a way to swing someone else paying for it. Either way, if I come there will you do it?”

  The fact that he was willing to travel was concerning. Usually she had to go to him. Or they’d meet in the middle. “You sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah. Look, I just need this, okay?”

  There weren’t many words he could have used that would have pushed her to do it faster than those. “Okay. If you let me or Cyan know your arrival plans we can meet you at the airport.”

  “We’ll see. I’ll probably want wheels of my own so I can take in the night life.”

  Skye laughed and looked around at the top of the mesa where her grandparents lived. The town wasn’t much livelier. “Night life around here is campfires and coyotes.”

  “Oh, come on. It can’t be that bad.”

  Maybe he was right. She hadn’t been in town on a Friday night, but driving through yesterday on the way to the highway hadn’t convinced her there was a lot to do when the sun went down. Knowing Royal, he’d find some way to pass the time. “If you change your mind, let me know. It’s a long drive from the airport to here.”

  “Got it. I’ll keep you posted. You sure the grandparents will be okay with me crashing?”

  “They’ll think they died and went to heaven.”

  “Sweet. Thanks, Skye. Gotta run. Bye.”

  The phone clicked in her ear. She tapped the power button on her phone and glanced around again. It was quiet. Peaceful.

  Skye tipped her face up to the morning sun and closed her eyes. Sitting here like this, she could almost believe it was going to eventually be okay.

  6

  Morgan watched as Wayne led the group of teens from his church down the trail on horseback. He often ended up with the day off—as much as a day was ever off when animal care was part of the job—on Saturdays. Not today.

  Not that he minded saddling everyone up and doing some rudimentary horse skill training for the kids. They seemed nice and had paid attention, which is more than often happened when groups came in. He’d planned to be the one leading the trail ride, but Wayne had changed his mind and said he wanted the exercise. Which was fine. It just left Morgan at loose ends for the two hours or so that Wayne said they’d be out. Maybe he’d head back to his cabin and load up the game console. What were Tommy and Joaquin up to? They could usually be counted on for a little battle when they had free time.

  “You aren’t going on the ride?”

  Morgan jolted at Skye’s voice and turned. He shook his head. “I’m surprised you weren’t going along. You have a natural seat.”

  She grinned. “My grandmother said the same. And I was thinking
about it. Then I saw how many of the teens were boys and decided it might be better if I stayed back.”

  Morgan lifted his eyebrows.

  “That came out wrong. I’m not conceited, I promise. It’s just—”

  “I get it. I usually try to steer clear when there are a whole bunch of teenage girls. Apparently grooming a horse is very manly.”

  Skye laughed.

  It was nice to hear her laugh sound light and not forced. Something had changed since Thursday. “Feeling better?”

  “What do you mean?” She furrowed her brow.

  “You sound different.” When he was alone, he’d kick himself. Nothing quite like turning into an awkward schoolboy whenever she was around. “Never mind.”

  “No. I’m curious. How do I sound different?”

  “I don’t know. Lighter, I guess. Forget I said anything.”

  “No . . . no, I guess you’re right. I had a good talk with Cyan Thursday afternoon, after you pointed me toward his cabin. And another one yesterday. And yeah, it helped. I don’t think I expected anyone to notice.”

  That was probably reasonable. He might not be a cop anymore, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t still read body language or tell when someone sounded less stressed. He shrugged. “So if you’re not here to join the trail ride, what brings you out this way?”

  “I don’t know. I wanted to get out of the house. Betsy was trying to talk me into Chinese checkers, and I’m not opposed, necessarily, just not right now. Maria, Calvin, and Cyan are off doing something. I didn’t actually catch their plans, but it didn’t sound like something I should try to intrude on. So I decided I’d take a walk, and I ended up here.”

  “Happens to me a lot. There’s a nice path through the woods if you’re up for a bit of a hike.”

  “How strenuous are we talking?”

  “Not very. There’s a little bit of an incline, but it’s not bad.”

  Skye chewed her lip. “It’s marked?”

  “It’s an established trail, you won’t get lost.” He watched her, the nerves obvious as she considered. He didn’t really think about it before adding, “Why don’t I come with you?”

  “You have time?”

  Morgan considered the trail and Skye’s general fitness level. Based on appearances, they ought to be able to get to the first major clearing and then back before the trail ride was over. Barring a catastrophe on the ride, of course. “Let me check if Tommy or Joaquin can hang out, or at least check in periodically, at the stable just in case there’s an issue with the ride, or if they come back early.”

  “Thanks.”

  He smiled and tapped out a quick text. A couple of seconds later, his phone buzzed. He read the text and nodded. “We’re set. Let’s grab a couple bottles of water from the fridge in my office, and we can head out.”

  Skye followed him into the stable. “It’s quiet when the horses are out.”

  “Can be. Sometimes it’s quiet when they’re here, too. Just depends, I guess.” He stopped when Tommy strode around the corner. “Hey man, appreciate this.”

  Tommy smirked. “No problem. If I end up doing all the grooming, you’ll owe me. Otherwise I can read in here just as easy as in my cabin.”

  “We should be back in time to handle that. Let me know if something happens and you need me. We’re not going far.” He ducked into the office and pulled out water bottles, dropping them into a lightweight backpack he kept hanging on a peg on the back of the door. It had a rudimentary first aid kit in it, so they should be okay if something minor happened. He came back out into the hall where Tommy and Skye were making awkward small talk. “Ready?”

  “Yeah. Nice to see you again, Tommy.”

  Morgan glanced back and saw Tommy making an exaggerated kissy face. Morgan rolled his eyes with a sharp shake of his head. It wasn’t like that. He’d have to set Tommy straight. And probably Joaquin. What one of them thought, the other tended to glom onto before long. Skye might have all the characteristics of the woman of his dreams, but he wasn’t going there.

  They chatted about inconsequential things as they crossed what Morgan considered the settled area of the ranch. He pointed out the big firepit where the Hewitts served s’mores, coffee, and hot chocolate after taking people out in sleigh rides at Christmastime. He nodded in the direction of his cabin, tucked about as far from the main house as was possible to still remain in the area, and gestured toward the driveway that led to the summer camp.

  “Summer camp?” Skye’s breath was coming a little more forcefully than seemed reasonable for walking across basically flat land.

  Still, Morgan slowed his pace some and nodded. “It’s their primary income at this point. They let people cut Christmas trees and do sleigh rides and campfires from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve, and they board horses. Then there’s an equine therapist who uses the riding ring for some of her clients, but it’s the camp that sustains things around here. They run graduation getaways in May. June tends to be family camps. July is the more traditional summer camps and then in August, there are usually private camps for various troops of kids in state or nearby.”

  “And they run the whole thing?”

  Morgan pointed to the start of the trail leading into the mix of pine and aspen trees that flowed up the hillside. “Not anymore. Now, they hire it out. Joaquin and Tommy do the maintenance year-round, at the camp and around the rest of the ranch. But where Betsy used to head up the kitchen in the lodge, now they have a cooking crew available for hire—or people organizing private camps can choose to bring their own. Same with housekeeping. If the groups don’t want to put in the sweat equity at the end of their time, Wayne and Betsy hire it out and pass the cost along to the campers.”

  “That’s really enough to keep them going all year?”

  He shrugged. The temperature dipped as they moved into the full shade of the forest. “They’re not going to be taking any European river cruises or anything, but they can make payroll and cover groceries.”

  Skye reached out and braced one arm on a tree trunk as she stopped, her breath coming in short gasps.

  “Are you okay?” She couldn’t possibly be. Not if a slight incline had her acting like she’d just run flat out for several minutes. “Maybe we should head back.”

  “No.” Skye shook her head. “I can do this. I need to do this.”

  “Why?”

  She frowned at him. “Because it’s ridiculous not to be able to. I’m young and reasonably fit. I should be able to take a walk in the woods without getting light headed and nauseated.”

  She had a point. But just because she should be able to do something didn’t mean she was able to. And from where he stood, she wasn’t on the winning side of the ability debate. “Tell me when you’re ready to go again.”

  “I’m ready. Just maybe we could slow down some?”

  He’d been barely moving as it was. How was he supposed to go slower? “Why don’t you lead?”

  Skye straightened and took a tentative step. Then another. She nodded absently to herself and looked around. “It’s pretty here.”

  “It is. I’ve always considered it one of the unknown treasures of the United States. Unless you ski, you’re not super likely to come here—and even if you do, Colorado slopes have more cachet. Or even Santa Fe.”

  “I’ve never been.”

  “Skiing?”

  “Yeah. I don’t see the appeal of sliding on sticks down a mountain side. People die.”

  “People die crossing the street.” Seemed like there were more ways to die than there were to stay alive. Sometimes, people died when they were minding their own business and stopping to grab a pop on the way home from work.

  “I guess.” She glanced up at him and something about her gaze warmed his insides. “You an adrenaline junkie, Morgan?”

  One corner of his mouth twitched up. “Not anymore.”

  He kept an eye on the time as they walked. Their conversation meandered from topic to topic at a faster pa
ce than their feet. They weren’t going to make it to the clearing with the vista. Not if they wanted to get back in time to handle the horses after the trail ride.

  “We should turn around, head back.”

  Skye stopped. Her breathing was still more labored than he liked and she was pale—maybe even a little green around the edges. “I thought you said there was a clearing.”

  “There is, but it’s still another thirty, forty-five minutes up the trail at this pace.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I’ve seen it before.”

  “I’m still sorry. I imagine you would have preferred to spend your day a different way.”

  “I’m not in the habit of doing things I don’t want to do. I offered because I wanted to come.”

  Skye’s gaze met his. “Okay. Thanks. I’m still sorry.”

  He laughed. “Fine. Apology accepted. Let’s head back before you pass out and I have to carry you.”

  “It’s not that bad.” She stumbled over a rock and pitched forward.

  Morgan snatched her around the waist, arresting her fall. He held her tight against his body for the space of three long heartbeats before pulling away and stuffing his hands in his pockets. Sensation danced along his nerve endings and he had to work to force his thoughts away from how right it felt to have her in his arms. “You were saying?”

  Skye kicked the rock into the pine needles that bunched at the edges of the trail and frowned at him.

  He lowered his voice. “You okay?”

  “Nothing damaged but my pride.” She started back down the trail, her eyes glued to her shoes.

  “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

  “I don’t know, okay?” The words exploded out, full of anger and tinged with despair. “That’s why I’m here. No one knows. I’ve been to four doctors and they all say it’s one form of anxiety or another. But the medication doesn’t help. Nothing helps. So I just have to figure out how to live with it.”

  “Do your grandparents know?”

  She shook her head. “I told Cyan. I imagine he’s told them. He could never keep a secret.”