Lone Star Wedding by Sandra Steffen Page B

she’s too pretty to be named after darkness.”
    Hannah shrugged one shoulder, and cautiously held out a hand to stroke the animal’s short mane. “Linda is the Spanish word for pretty.”
    â€œA horse named Linda?” Lily asked.
    Hannah grinned. “You’ll come up with something, Mom. In the meantime, she’s lucky to have so much love and attention.”
    Mother and daughter both paused. Their gazes met, and they both grinned. “Lucky,” Lily said. “Why, that’s perfect, especially since lately I feel like the luckiest woman alive. Look here, Lucky. Atta girl. What do you think? Are you feeling lucky today?”
    The filly batted her inch-long eye lashes flirtatiously. For a moment she reminded Hannah of Maria. “Mom? Ryan said you talked to Maria last night.”
    â€œThank goodness I finally reached her.”
    â€œHow is she?”
    â€œShe sounded good,” Lily said, her fingers slipping into the back pockets of her jeans, her eyes delving into Hannah’s. “Better than she has in a long time.”
    Lily’s relief was evident in every feature. Her brown eyes shone with affection, not worry, her smile was soft-looking and serene. Hannah heaved a heartfelt sigh. Maria had always been plagued with dark moods. She was easily bored and easily angered. Lily used to say her youngestchild was like the girl in the nursery rhyme who had a little curl in the middle of her forehead. When she was good, she was really very good, but when she was bad, she was horrid. Hannah smiled at the memory. On her good days, Maria had been such fun. And on her bad days…well. Hannah had spent more time worrying about her younger sister than about everyone else in the family combined.
    â€œIs Maria seeing anyone?” she asked her mother.
    For a while now Hannah had suspected that her sister was involved with a married man. What other explanation could there be for her obsessive desire for privacy and seclusion?
    â€œI don’t know, dear, but she’s agreed to come to the ranch for a visit. Ryan suggested we make it a celebration. We’re both hoping it will allay Maria’s fears and reservations about him.”
    â€œI think that’s a good idea, Mom.”
    â€œYou’ll come, won’t you?”
    â€œYou know I will.”
    Lily beamed at her daughter, and laughed out loud when the filly nudged her in an obvious ploy for attention. “See? Didn’t I tell you I’m the luckiest woman in the world?”
    Hugging her mother goodbye, Hannah remembered the dream Rosita had described. A shiver crawled up her spine. Forcing the unease away, she prayed her mother would always be this happy.
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    Parker jiggled the change in his pocket. Never one to enjoy standing around doing nothing, he glanced at his watch. He had a meeting at three. Although he had plenty of time, he was in a hurry to be on his way.
    He’d been waiting by his car. Wondering how much longer Hannah would be, he strode into the stables. Theair was rife with the smell of horses and hay and manure. Several of the animals poked their heads out as he passed. Two teenage boys were pitching straw, a couple of slightly older ranch hands were cleaning out stalls. It made Parker appreciate his clean, tastefully decorated office in the city.
    Through a window, he could see Lily brushing down a young horse. Hannah wasn’t with her. Where had she gone? Glancing around, he caught a glimpse of her white shirt up ahead. She stopped abruptly and let out a little yelp. Listening intently, he stayed in the shadows, and crept closer.
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    Hannah pressed a hand to her throat. “Oh,” she said, her eyes trained on a man who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. “I didn’t know anyone else was in here.”
    The man was large, broad-shouldered and muscular. Although she couldn’t see his eyes beneath the brim of his dusty cowboy hat, she could feel