Vinnie's thug hadn't been concerned about anything. Not about his getting free, not about his body being found taped up. Not about much of anything at all. He'd parked the Blazer near the edge of a steeper-than-hell drop-off, gotten out long enough to drive a screwdriver blade through the gas tank. Then he'd put it in neutral and given it a push.

Colby had had to work fast, and even then he almost hadn't made it. He'd jerked his wrists free and wrenched the door open, flinging himself out of the car just before it had gone over the edge. He'd hit hard, unsure even as he'd tumbled over the hard ground whether his would-be killer had seen his escape. And then his head had crashed against something hard and he'd come to rest, barely clinging to consciousness. He'd managed to open his eyes, to peer around him, but all he had seen was thorny brush. And then he'd heard the Blazer explode when it hit bottom.

No wonder the bastard hadn't been worried about removing the duct tape. Hell, there wouldn't be a body left to examine in a wreck like that.

Thank God for the little drug addict, he thought. At least he was alive.

And then he'd sunk into oblivion.

Now he was awake and fighting through the pain. It took a long time, it seemed, for him to manage to move. First one limb, then another. Movement gave the pain a focus, it seemed. When he moved his hands, it screamed in them. His legs, too. His back. His head. Everything.

It didn't matter. He had to get up, get moving. Get the hell out of here, wherever here was. He struggled to his feet, hands on a boulder to help him even as he realized that was probably the rock his head had struck. Damn.

Looking around, he saw no one. But his vision was far from dependable. The ground seemed to swell and rise toward him, then recede again like an uneasy sea. Dizziness sickened him. Hell. There were trees in one direction, a steep drop in another, open space in a third. Probably the road.

He headed for the trees. Best to stay concealed in case Skinny Vinnie or his drone decided to check on the job they thought they'd done. Almost as an afterthought he checked his pocket for his cell phone, was relieved to find it still there. And getting a signal-not a strong one-but maybe enough. He began punching the keys...but before he finished, his vision blurred and he had to start over.

He figured he got about a hundred yards and accurately entered six digits before he collapsed again.

Barbara Jean seemed moved by Tyler's reaction to the miniature horses. Kara thought it must be clear to her, that it would be clear to anyone with a pair of working eyes, how important this was, what a major event this was in Tyler's life.

They all trooped into the barn, standing by while Tyler "helped" Barbara remove Rusty's saddle, blanket and bridle, then brush him down. Barbara turned to Jimmy and Kara. "How long you gonna be in Big Falls, Mr. Corona?"

"Jim." He glanced down at Kara, seemed to be considering before he answered. "I don't know. It depends. But I do know it'll be three or four weeks at the very least."

"And Ty here has PT-what?-once a week?"

"Twice a week," Jim told her.

She nodded. "Well, you can consider this a standing date then."

"Oh, Barbara, we'd be taking advantage," Jim said. "We can't do that."

Barbara shrugged and nodded toward Ty. He was singing to the pony as he brushed him. "Frankly I don't see how you can not do it. But if it makes you feel any better, I can charge you for the time. Tell you the truth, I've been considering doing something like this for a while now."

"I didn't know that," Kara said.

Barbara nodded. "I've been reading about programs where these miniatures are brought right into hospitals for sick kids-kids with cancer, burn victims, all sorts of different problems. And so far it looks as if it makes a heck of a difference in those kids' lives. So I'd been playing with the notion, kind of mulling it all over, and then you called." Barbara smiled. "Now that I've seen the results firsthand, I can't come up with a single reason not to pursue this."

"You're an angel, Barbara."

"Seems this state's full of angels," Jim muttered. Then he called to his son. "Hey, Ty, what do you think about us doing this after every PT session while we're in Big Falls?"

"Really?" He hugged Rusty's neck. "Oh, Dad! That would be so cool!"

Jim sighed and his hand closed around Kara's.

She swallowed the lump that came into her throat. "Let's get Ty home," she said. "Look at him, he's tired out. You can see it in his eyes."

"I can. I guess I shouldn't be surprised you can, too." He crossed to his son, whose head now rested against the pony's side. "Time to go, Ty. But we'll be back. Day after tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, Dad." He stroked the pony's nose, then reached for his crutches, which were leaning against the side of the stall.

"You did a good job today, Ty," Barbara told him. "I think Rusty really likes you."

He smiled tiredly and Jim scooped him up. Kara scrambled to gather up the crutches, noting that Tyler didn't even argue with his dad about being carried. When Jim slid his son into the truck, Kara climbed in beside him.

Tyler leaned up and wrapped his arms around her neck just as Jim was getting in the driver's side. "I love you, Kara," Tyler said softly.

Kara's eyes filled instantly, and she lifted them to meet Jimmy's. He'd frozen behind the wheel, keys halfway to the ignition switch. She knew he could see the tears brimming in her eyes, but there was nothing she could do to prevent them.

"I love you, too, Ty," she whispered.

He released her neck but snuggled close beside her for the ride back to Big Falls and fell asleep before they'd gone a mile.

Jimmy looked over at Kara. "What do you say we go on a real date tonight? Just you and me."

She blinked at him. "What about Tyler?"

"Can we get one of your sisters to watch him?"

Kara nodded. "I did tell him he could play with the twins later on. And I think Maya would love to have him." She shrugged. "Okay."

Jimmy didn't come inside when he dropped Kara off at home. She wouldn't let him walk her to the door, not with Tyler sleeping soundly in the pickup by then. She promised to ask Maya about babysitting and call him only if it was a problem. Otherwise, she would expect him at seven.

She watched him drive out of sight, then went to the door and walked inside. Maya, Selene and Edie were at the kitchen table waiting for her.

Probably waiting to grill her about her day with Jimmy, she guessed, and then painted a smile on her face and reminded herself that her family loved her and only meant well.

"Looks like someone called a family meeting," she said, half joking. "Maya, would it be terrible of me to ask you to watch Tyler tonight while Jimmy and I go out for dinner?"

Maya looked at the others, who shrugged as if helpless. Then she said, "It's not terrible of you to ask at all, hon. I'd love to have Ty. He can sleep over if he wants." She shrugged. "I mean, unless your plans change."

"Which they might," Edie put in.

"We don't have the whole story," Selene said. "There's more going on here than meets the eye."

"What are you guys talking about?" Kara asked. "Where's Mom?"

At that moment her mother came into the kitchen, met Kara's eyes and immediately lowered her own. Something was wrong, Kara realized. Something big. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Sit down, hon."

She didn't even consider arguing with her mother. She pulled out a chair and sat, then waited, knowing that whatever it was, it was going to be bad. There was nothing wrong with Caleb or the twins or with Wade. Edie and Maya wouldn't be sitting there, grim-faced but calm, if there was. "God," Kara said, rapidly ticking off possibilities in her mind. "Has something happened to Mel? Or Alex?"

Her mother shook her head. "It's about Jimmy and Tyler." She drew a deep breath before plunging on. "A woman came by here today, Kara. She was asking about them. Claimed she was Tyler's mother."

Kara felt the breath rush out of her as if she'd been punched in the belly.

"She asked if I could tell her where to find her husband and her son," Vidalia went on.

Kara sat there, blinking in shock. "He told me Ty's mother was dead. He...why would he lie to me about something like that?"

"Kara, don't think the worst," Selene said, getting to her feet. "We don't have his side of the story yet."

Kara got up slowly and moved past them all, needing the solitude of her room before she let the tears flow. "I knew all along he was too good to be true. God, I was so stupid to let myself believe..."

She ran then, tripped halfway up the stairs and almost fell on her face. Then she got her footing again and hurried the rest of the way to her room. She closed the door, turned the lock, and sank onto her bed to hug her pillows and cry. She couldn't think, couldn't reason, couldn't even begin to plan how she was going to handle this. Not yet. Right then all she could do was cry her heart out.

"Is Kara ready?"

Jim stood just inside the door in the kitchen and wondered what he'd done to make Vidalia Brand look as if she would like to flay him alive. Come to think of it, Maya had been acting oddly, too, when he'd dropped Tyler off a few minutes ago.

Vi opened her mouth to reply, but before she got a word out, Kara came into the room, and he took a moment to drink in the sight of her. She looked great, as she always did. Her hair was curly tonight and it bounced when she moved. She wore a skirt that was long and loose and flowed like a floral-print breeze around her long legs, with a pale green sweater that only hinted at what hid beneath it. He thought she was wearing more makeup than usual. Especially around her eyes.

Her mother gaped at her, apparently too distracted by her to remember what she'd been about to say. "Don't tell me you're still going," she blurted.

Kara squeezed her mother's arm, met her eyes and passed some silent message to the woman. Vidalia pursed her lips, shook her head and spared Jim one last glare before she stomped to the door. "I've got to get back to the Corral," she said. "We'll talk in the morning, young lady."

"Good night, Mom."

Vi moved past him without a word and left the house.

Jim looked again at Kara, his eyebrows raised. "Is she angry with me for some reason?"

Kara lowered her head, not meeting his eyes. "Is it okay with you if we skip dinner tonight?"

He frowned at her. Something was wrong. "Whatever you want to do is okay with me, Kara. Did you have something else in mind?"

"Yeah. Something else." She swallowed hard. "We need to talk, Jimmy."

He bit his lip and moved closer to her. "Kara, what's wrong? Clearly your mother is angry with me. And you..." He frowned and touched her chin, lifting her face so he could verify what he thought he saw there. "You've been crying?"

She closed her eyes. "I thought I'd gotten rid of the evidence."

"Tell me why."

She met his eyes now. "Not here," she said. "Too many people running in and out all the time."

She was working up to something. Something big. Hell, he'd screwed up somewhere along the line and he'd better figure out how. And soon, so he could fix it.

"Come on then." He took her arm, led her out of the house.

"To where?"

"To dinner. Just as planned."

"But I-"

"Trust me on this, Kara, okay?"

She sighed but nodded and let him help her into the pickup. He saw her noticing the picnic basket on the seat between them, the mini cooler in the back. But she remained silent-maybe brooding?-for the entire ten-minute drive.

When he pulled to a stop by the falls, she shot him a look.

"I'd planned a...special evening." He got out of the truck and took the picnic basket with him. He noticed she didn't get out right away, but he decided to give her a minute to gather her thoughts. He took the blanket and the ice chest from the back, spread the blanket on the ground. Then he took the bottle of wine from the picnic basket and stuck it into the ice he'd brought along.

He heard the pickup door, looked up to see her coming toward him. She stood for a moment, staring out at the falls. So he walked up beside her, slid an arm around her shoulders and took in the view, as well.

"I never get enough of this spot," she said. "There's something about the sheer power of a waterfall. You can feel it thrumming right in the middle of your chest."

"Can you?"

"Mmm. Close your eyes and try."

He closed his eyes but only briefly. He was more interested in her than in the falls, beautiful though they were. She stood there, eyes closed, face to the thundering cascade. Some of the mist gathered on her cheeks, dampening them as she seemed to inhale the scent and sound and feel of the place.

Then she opened them again and turned to look at him. "Mom had a visitor at the house today." She drew a breath, seemed to square her shoulders before she went on. "A woman named Angela. Said she was your wife, Tyler's mother."

Jim drew back in reaction to that blow. His gut clenched tight, as did his fists. "Was she alone?"

Kara blinked, apparently surprised by the question. "I tell you a woman shows up claiming to be your wife and all you can think of to ask is if she was alone? Jimmy, you told me she was dead."

"I told you we'd lost her," he said. He turned quickly and strode to the area he'd set up for what he'd intended to be a romantic evening. "You assumed she was dead and I let you. And I've been kicking myself for it ever since. But for the record, Kara, she's my ex-wife." He yanked the wine out of the ice chest, crammed it back into the picnic basket and picked up both of them. "Grab the blanket."

Kara did so, then ran to keep up with him as he carried the other items into the truck. "Jimmy, don't you think you owe me an explanation?"

"I owe you more than that. Hell, a lot more." He took the blanket from her and crammed it into the truck, then held the door open. "Get in."

She got in. He went around to his side and started the vehicle moving.

"Jimmy, please. Tell me what's going on."

He glanced sideways at her, pushed a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry. Kara, dammit, I'm so sorry I wasn't honest with you from the beginning. It's just...my marriage to that woman is not something I'm proud of."

"But why?"

He closed his eyes. "It's a long story. She's trouble, Kara. She hasn't seen Tyler since she left us four years ago. She hasn't wanted to see him. He doesn't even know who she is."

Kara lowered her head. "I don't understand. If she doesn't want him, then why is she here?"

"That's what I'd like to know." He pressed harder on the accelerator and soon was braking to a jerky stop in the driveway of Maya and Caleb's house. It curved uphill to where the house rested, above and beyond Vidalia's farmhouse. He jumped out of the truck and ran to the door, knocked once before flinging it open.

Maya and Caleb looked up fast, and Maya smiled. "Back so soon?"

"Where's Tyler?" he asked, scanning the living room.

"In the playroom with the twins. Why?" Maya said, pointing.