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I jerk my head back.

"Lainey?"

"Umm. Sorry. I'm just…umm…"

He chuckles, "Look, I've known the Cartwrights for as long as I've been alive. They're good folks. They've also got plenty of money to throw at a problem like this. And all parties are aware that taking this on requires you to upset some of your other clients. So there's a price for that. We just need you to name it."

I stare at more leaves blowing off the trees.

Jagger is in that town.

So is his new wife…or fiancée…whatever she is at this point.

Roy lowers his voice. "I don't mean to be disrespectful, but rumor has it your parents' farm isn't doing so well. I'm confident you could give a figure to cover your losses as well as get your parents out of whatever financial hardships they're having."

My heart pounds harder. I utter, "You know about that?"

"Yes. And I'm sorry to hear it. But this could solve that issue."

Daddy could sleep at night again.

Charlie would be in the same town as Jagger.

I blurt out, "Why call me instead of somebody closer to home?"

"Word travels and I've followed your work. And I'm not being kind saying that. I mean it professionally. Plus, I've never worked with a better equine physical therapist."

More shock hits me. That's the highest compliment I could ever receive in my profession.

"Thank you. But I need to see the horses before I commit to anything," I say, falling back on the one rule I've never once broken since I started this business. "That's how I run my practice, Roy. I don't take a case that I haven't evaluated myself."

"I know that's your rule, and normally I'd back you up on it a hundred percent." His voice goes firmer, more urgent, the kind of tone that tells me he's already anticipated this fight and isn't backing down from it. "But I can't give you that this time. I'm leaving for Dallas tomorrow. That colt with the shoulder needs somebody starting therapy inside the next forty-eight hours if we want any shot at keeping the damage from getting worse. I need you there by tomorrow, Lainey, sight unseen. I know that's not how you like to work, but I also know you. I know exactly what you're capable of, and I wouldn't be asking if I didn't trust you could handle whatever you find when you get there."

I close my eyes. My whole plan for this year and the careful, controlled life I've built out of a horse trailer and pure stubbornness suddenly moves faster than I'm ready for. So I admit, "That's a lot to ask on short notice."

"I know it is. Which is why they're prepared to make it worth your while. Owner told me himself, name your price. Whatever you're charging your current clients, double it, triple it, quadruple it if that's what it takes. They'll cover it without blinking. And think about it. The logistics will be easy on you too. You'll be able to see your baby throughout the day."

That would be nice.

He adds, "Whatever you need to make this work, they've told me to accommodate it. So tell me what you want, and I'll let them know."

My throat goes tight, because a four-bedroom guesthouse and a blank check aren't the kind of offer that shows up twice in a career like mine. And every practical bone in my body knows exactly what that kind of money could do for my parents' ledger sitting open on their kitchen table right now.

But it's so close to Jagger.

What if I run into him and Phoebe?

"Lainey?"

"I'm thinking." I press two fingers against my temple, trying to separate the fear from the math, because underneath the panic, there's a colder, more practical voice. It's reminding me exactly how thin my parents' margins have gotten, how much good a payday like this could do for a farm that's thirty days out on a feed invoice, and how much easier it'd be to actually spend real hours with Charlie if I wasn't splitting every day between client farms scattered across three counties.

I ask, "Can I call you back within the hour? I need to talk to my parents."

"You've got until this evening. After that, I've got to give them a name, and if it's not yours, it's somebody else's."

"I understand," I say.

His voice softens, just slightly. "For what it's worth, I think you should take it. Not just because I'm in a bind, though I am. But because you built something real out of nothing, and this is the kind of case that gets talked about in this business for years. It's the kind that builds a reputation, not just a bank account."