Heartbreak Cove (Sanctuary Island) (RE8) by Lily Everett Page B

reins. “That’s good,” Sam praised them both. The twin smiles he got in return were sunny enough to blind him.
    “You can do this, Caitlin.” Andie sounded so sure, so calm, it was like she’d never doubted it for a second.
    Caitlin pressed her lips together and nodded once, short and sharp.
    Keeping his breath and heart steady was a challenge, but he had lots of practice. Facing forward once more, Sam said, “Okay, let’s try that again.”
    This time, when Caitlin urged Peony forward, she clucked softly at the horse in imitation of the way Sam did it. And it worked for her the way it always worked for him. Peony lifted her hooves and daintily picked her way over the rails as if she were born to be a high-stepping show horse.
    After the fourth rail, Andie burst out, “You did it! Great job, Caitlin!”
    Sam turned in time to catch Caitlin’s small, tentative smile at her aunt. From the way Andie’s whole face lit up, he had the feeling it might be the first smile Caitlin had given her since arriving on Sanctuary Island.
    Caitlin’s fingers tightened on the reins once more, but when Peony tossed her head up and down, Caitlin wrinkled her nose and relaxed. Looking down at her aunt, she asked, “Can we do it again?”
    Sam felt Andie’s thrill at being asked, at being part of this moment, as acutely as if she’d thrown her arms around him and squeezed the breath from his lungs. These two females were going to be the death of him.
    An hour of exercises later, Caitlin was finally starting to droop a little. When she confessed that her butt and her knees hurt, Andie hustled them over to the gate where Jo was waiting for them. “Taylor went up to the barn—Sam, I think your cousin, Matt, is here. You three did a wonderful job!”
    “Four,” Caitlin said. She went beet red when they all looked at her in surprise, but she lifted her stubborn little chin and elaborated, “Peony did a good job, too.”
    Nothing could have charmed Jo Ellen more. “That’s exactly right. You have the makings of a real horsewoman, Caitlin.”
    Caitlin ducked her head and busied herself with hauling her leg over the saddle to climb down, but Sam could tell she was pleased. Pleased enough, it turned out, to ask Jo if she could be the one to lead Peony back up to her stall. The look of pride on her face as she carefully took the rope from Sam, and the way she listened so intently as Jo explained how to walk on Peony’s left and to keep the long end of the rope from trailing and tripping the mare … it made Sam smile.
    He dropped back to walk with Andie, who had her arms wrapped around herself like she might fly apart with happiness if she didn’t contain it. “That was amazing,” she said, her eyes shining.
    “It was, kind of.” Sam rubbed a hand over his undeniable smile. “Your brother is lucky. Caitlin’s a good kid.”
    The mention of her brother seemed to cast a shadow over Andie’s face. “I wish Owen could’ve been here to see how well Caitlin did.”
    Even knowing that every question he asked made it more likely Andie would start to expect some answers from him in return, Sam couldn’t stop himself from saying, “What’s he off doing that’s more important than this, anyway?”
    Sam winced a little at the belligerent way that came out, but Andie didn’t get offended. Instead, her chin lifted and her spine went straight. “He’s in the army, special forces. My kid brother, Owen, is a Ranger.”
    Respect slowed Sam’s steps for a few paces. “Rangers lead the way.”
    “You know the Ranger motto?”
    “I even know where it comes from,” Sam countered. “I may not have served, but I can read a book.”
    “I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just that the armed forces aren’t for everyone.”
    They definitely weren’t for men with felonies on their records. Pushing down the bitter surge of remembered disappointment, Sam attempted a shrug. “Probably for the best. As you know, I don’t do so hot when