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Before she could continue, Dean interrupted with a shrug and an exaggerated frown. “Maybe we won’t have to worry about it at all.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that it might be out of our hands already. Once Brig finds out about Gypsy Windandthe fifty grand, he might make his own decision, regardless of what we want.”

“You think so?”

“What’s to prevent him from taking our horse? After all, his old man practically bought her.”

“I doubt that Brig would want the filly . . . you know that he gave up anything to do with racing—”

“Because of Sentimental Lady?” Dean asked bluntly. “Don’t tell me you’re still suffering guilt over her, too.”

“No . . .”

“Just because Brig blamed you for—”

“Stop it!” Becca got up from the table and went over to the counter. For something to do, she began cutting thick slices of homemade bread. She didn’t want to remember anything about the guilt or the pain she had suffered at Brig’s hand; not now, not while she was still bathing in the warmth of the knowledge that he was alive. Realizing that she couldn’t duck Dean’s probing questions, she addressed the issue in a calmer voice. “I think the best thing to do is to wait, until sometime after the funeral. Then we’ll have to talk to the attorneys at Chambers Oil.”

“They’ll eat you alive.”

Becca sighed inaudibly. It was impossible to get through to Dean when his mind was set. Sometimes she wondered why he was so defensive, especially whenever the conversation steered toward Brig. After all, it was she whom Brig had blamed, not Dean. She placed the bread on the table near an open jar of honey. “We can handle the attorneys . . . but if you would prefer to talk to Brig—”

“What?Are you out of your mind?” Dean’s skin whitened under his deep California tan. “I havenothingto say to Chambers!”

Becca assumed that Dean’s ashen color and his vehement speech were caused by his hangover and his concern for her. She dismissed his hatred of Brig as entirely her fault. Dean knew how deeply she had been wounded six years ago, and her brother held Brig Chambers solely responsible. Dean had never forgiven Brig for so cruelly and unjustly hurting his sister. But then, Dean never did know the whole story; Becca had shielded him from part of the truth. Patiently, she forced a smile she didn’t feel upon her brother. “I’ll go and talk to Brig myself.”

“Becca!” Dean’s voice shook angrily and it made her look up from the slice of bread she was buttering. “Don’t do anything you might regret . . . take some time, think things over first.”

“I have.”

“No, you haven’t! You haven’t begun to consider all of the consequences of telling Brig about the loan or the horse! Don’t you see that it will only dredge up the same problems all over again? Think about what a field day the press will have when they learn thatyouand the money you borrowed from Chambers Oil have bred another horse, not just any horse, mind you, but nearly an exact copy . . . a twin of Sentimental Lady! It may have been six years, Becca, but the press won’t forget about the controversy at Sequoia Park!” Dean’s pale blue eyes were calculating as they judged Becca’s reaction.

“Gypsy Wind is going to race. We can’t hide her or the note.”

“I’m not asking you to,” Dean hastily agreed as he noticed just a tremor of hesitation in Becca’s voice. He tried another, more pointed tack. “Just give it time. Brig Chambers has a lot more problems—important problems—than he can handle right now. His father was killed just yesterday. If you bring up the subject of Gypsy Wind now, it will only burden him further.”

“I don’t know . . .”

Dean pressed his point home. “Just give it a little time, will ya? Of course we’ll tell him about the filly, when the time is right. Once she’s proved herself.”

“She won’t race for another five or six months.”

“Well, maybe we’ll have sold her by then.”

“Sold her?” Becca repeated, as if she hadn’t heard her brother correctly. “I’ll never sell Gypsy Wind.”

Dean’s lips pressed into a severe frown. “You may not have a choice, Becca. Remember, when Brig Chambers finds that note, for all practical purposes, he owns that horse.”

“Then how can you even suggest that we sell her?” Becca asked, astounded by her brother’s heartlessness and dishonesty. Sometimes she didn’t think she understood her brother at all. She hadn’t in a long while.

“It might be that the horse is worth more now! For God’s sake, Becca, we can’t take a chance that she’ll get hurt when she races. Think about Sentimental Lady! Do you want us to run into the same problem with Gypsy Wind?”

Becca was horror-struck at the thought. Her stomach lurched uneasily. Dean’s chair scraped against the plank floor. He raked his fingers through his hair impatiently. “I don’t know what we should do,” he admitted. “I just wish that for once you would think with your head instead of your heart!”

Becca’s green eyes snapped. “I think I’ve done well enough for the both of us,” she threw back at him. “As for listening to my heart—”

“Save it!” Dean broke in irritably. “When it comes to Brig Chambers, you never have thought straight!”