“Why would you ask that?” she questioned, curious as to what he was in for. It was true, she was there as punishment, but she wondered how he would know that.

“Most kids in here don’t come for the fun,” he chuckled.

No. She could clearly see how they wouldn’t find shoveling horse shit a fun way to pass the day. She sure as hell wouldn’t be doing it if she hadn’t been caught.

“So I take it you find this fun?”

“I don’t mind it,” he said, a cute smile slipping her way from underneath the brim of his straw hat.

“So, you’re not in trouble?”

“Nope. Come here every day after school.”

“Why would you do that?” Tessa glanced around, wondering if she should grab a shovel and help him. Although, he seemed to be doing a fantastic job all by himself. He was almost finished.

“FFA,” he said simply.

Future Farmers of America.

Tessa had heard of the organization at her school.

“Oh.”

“But that doesn’t answer why you’re here,” he said as he turned toward her, carrying the shovel as he moved closer.

“Hey, I know you,” she said, recognition dawning. “Richie Donovan, right?”

“Yep. And you’re little Tessa Dryden. Adam’s baby sister.”

Tessa didn’t make a snide remark, but she wanted to. She hated being referred to as Adam’s baby sister. And she definitely didn’t approve of being called little.

“So, why are you here?”

“Mr. Deluth didn’t tell you?” Tessa asked curiously.

Considering Mr. Deluth had caught her red handed when she brought his prize thoroughbred, Texas Shadow, back into his stall early that morning, she figured half the town would know what she’d done by now.

“Nope. Haven’t seen him today,” Richie said as he opened the adjacent stall door and headed inside, leaving Tessa to stare at him from just outside.

“I got caught bringing Texas Shadow back this morning.”

Richie’s head snapped her direction, a deep frown on his face. “You stole Shadow?”

Stole was such a harsh word, Tessa thought to herself. She would admit she had snuck into Mr. Deluth’s stable and taken the horse out for a ride, but to say she stole him would insinuate she had no intention of bringing him back. And she did bring him back.

“Technically, I brought him back,” she said defensively.

Richie’s face was a mask of concern as he stomped toward her, tossing his shovel onto the hay that lined the perimeter of the stall.

“Where’re you going?”

“To check on Shadow,” Richie barked, not looking back at her.

Tessa felt about two inches tall right then. Was Richie worried about the horse? She hadn’t hurt him. She’d just taken him out for a ride. Granted, it had been dark and after the tongue lashing she received from Mr. Deluth, she now understood how dangerous that had been for both her and the horse.

But she’d just wanted to ride.

She had felt like there was a rope around her neck, chaining her in place and she just needed to get out. Sitting on a horse, her hair flying in the wind, the power of the animal beneath her, the thud of hooves against solid ground… she hadn’t found anything that was quite like it.

She’d gotten so tired of listening to her mother and stepfather argue because her mother was crying all the time, sometimes never getting out of bed for days at a time. They did it more often than not, and Tessa was beginning to wonder why the man even hung around. She was starting to believe maybe that was why her father had left.

Shaking off the thought, she jumped into motion, heading out of the stable and back in the opposite side toward the stall where Texas Shadow was kept. When she got there, Richie was inside, his hands roaming over the animal, his voice low and soothing as he talked to him. Tessa made eye contact with the horse and her heart galloped almost as fast as he’d done last night.

Texas Shadow was one of the most elegant horses she had ever seen. Tall, broad, sleek. His lustrous black coat was soft, his mane long and coarse. She’d fallen in love with the animal the first time she saw him. Granted, she didn’t visit Mr. Deluth’s farm often because she and Luanne weren’t friends anymore. Hadn’t been since the beginning of their ninth grade year.

“You’re lucky he’s not hurt,” Richie said angrily as he stomped past her, nudging her backward as he did to get her out of the stall.

Tessa took two steps back, watched as Richie closed and latched the stall door and waited to see what he would say. When his piercing blue eyes landed on her, Tessa could see his fury but right there in Mr. Deluth’s barn, she fell in love with that boy. Just a little bit.

And a year later, Tessa was head over heels in love with Richie Donovan.

The shower water had turned cold, so Tessa turned it off before grabbing one of the towels hanging on the rack. She went to wipe her face, realizing she was crying, the salty taste of her tears on her lips.

God, she missed Richie.

He had been her saving grace. And he’d even stood by her when karma had paid her a visit several years later, punishing her for all of the things she had done as a rebellious teenager. The thought brought more tears to her eyes.

Holding the towel to her face, knowing the waterworks wouldn’t shut off until it was ready, Tessa stood in the bathroom, dripping on the bathroom rug.

She knew she should’ve been grateful for the sequence of events that led her to Mr. Deluth’s door and ultimately to Richie, but the consequences hadn’t been as easy for her. Or Richie.

Ultimately, Mr. Deluth spared her. Had Jerry Deluth opted to punish Tessa for stealing his horse, she knew she would’ve been in a lot of trouble. Not only would she have been arrested, but in their small town, she never would’ve been able to get rid of the stigma associated with what she had done. As it was, there was a long list of indiscretions that she was responsible for.

Right up until her nineteenth birthday, or shortly thereafter, Tessa had been a free spirit. At least that’s what Richie liked to call her. She disobeyed every rule that was laid out for her. Hell, sometimes she even wondered how she was still alive with all of her ignorant stunts: drugs, alcohol, vandalism, even some petty theft, and although safe, she had been promiscuous when it came to sex. Tessa had pushed the envelope, tried to see what she could get away with.