“Not so huge if we get some help.”

  He’d said we, which calmed her a little. “Like who?”

  “The Chance family. They put on events like that all the time to showcase their Paints. My twin sister, Tyler, is an event planner, and I guarantee she’d help. Nick would, of course, but I’ll bet a few others would pitch in. What do you think?”

  She listened to the horses munching, all twenty-one of them. Intimidating as an adoption fair sounded to her, if the Chance family would help, she’d do it. “That’s a great idea, Regan. Thank you for suggesting it.”

  “Good. We can call the ranch today and see if anyone’s available to discuss the details. If they are, we’ll drive over and see what weekend they have free. We need to start planning and advertising now.”

  “But we’re not ready to set a date! Rex is the only horse you’ve worked with, and you didn’t spend much time with him. How can we set up an adoption fair when so much needs to be done with the horses?”

  His gaze was steady and his voice calm. “Setting a date will give us a goal. We can concentrate on the most adoptable horses first and work with them for as long as we have.”

  “Okay.” She pressed a hand to her chest. “But this is making me nervous. I don’t know how to train a horse yet, and I’m sure I won’t be as effective as you are at first. Plus I don’t have a lot of extra time, as I’ve explained. I don’t know when—”

  He put a hand on her knee and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I can do most of it. We’ll be fine.”

  “But you have a full-time job.”

  “True.” He took a long breath. “So I’d have to train your horses during my time off, which would be evenings and weekends, or whenever I don’t have an appointment scheduled. Logistically, that could be accomplished more easily if I move in here until the fair.”

  She gulped. On the surface, the plan was perfect. She needed help, and he was obviously good at handling horses. As a single guy with no ties, no lease and no mortgage, he was free to switch his place of lodging from the ranch to her rescue facility.

  “So, Lily, what do you think?”

  “I would pay you, of course.”

  “No, you wouldn’t. You’re running a charitable organization and I’m volunteering my time. If you started paying me, I’d be an employee, and I don’t care for that dynamic.”

  “Why?”

  He fixed her with a penetrating stare. “I think you know.”

  “The whole attraction thing.”

  “Right. Suppose you started paying me, and then we became involved. I’m not saying we will, but it could happen. That would be awkward.”

  “It would be better if we didn’t get involved, but I suppose, if we’re living under the same roof...” The thought made her nerves hum in anticipation.

  “I won’t push, Lily. I promise you that. I decided last night that wouldn’t be right. You’re susceptible to me, but you don’t want to be.”

  “For good reason.”

  “I get that. But I’ve given the rebound concept a lot of thought, and while I can see why you’d think that was my motivation, it isn’t. Or it isn’t now.” He hesitated. “It might have been yesterday, before I spent more time with you.”

  She blinked. “That’s honest.”

  “I’m being as honest as I possibly can. I don’t want to be like those other two guys, the ones who were only using you. I like to think I’m not like that. I like to think I see you as a person and not as a means to an end.”

  How she wanted to believe him.

  “I know this might be difficult for you to accept after dealing with two greedy losers in a row, but I’m risking as much as you are with this arrangement.”

  “You are? Why?”

  “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way and become even more convinced that I’m on the rebound after all, but the truth is...” He paused. “I, uh, found Jeannette in bed with my...my best friend. On Christmas Eve.”

  “Oh...that’s terrible!” She hadn’t been prepared for him to confess that, and she was a beat too slow in her shocked response.

  His eyes narrowed. “You already knew that.”

  She was afraid the truth was there in her eyes, no matter what she said. But she didn’t have to confirm it by opening her mouth.

  “Nick told you, didn’t he?”

  “It’s not his fault! I wormed the information out of him! I thought you had—”

  “A secret anguish. I remember.”

  “Please don’t be upset with him, Regan. He’s very protective of you and wishes you the best. I’ve known Nick ever since I was in junior high, and—”

  “He mentioned something about that.”

  “We’re good friends. I told him that if you and I would be working together, I didn’t want to walk into a minefield without realizing it. I can be very convincing when I’m after something.”

  He gave her a lopsided smile. “I can imagine.”

  “Nick wanted us to get along, so he very reluctantly gave me the basic information. I can’t emphasize enough how reluctant he was. He thinks the world of you. You’re family. He didn’t reveal any more than you just said. He gave me no particulars, I promise!”

  “He’d have a tough time doing that when he doesn’t know the particulars. Nobody does except me, Jeannette and Drake. And it’ll stay that way.”

  “Which it should.” She saw the raw pain in his eyes and longed to reach out to him, but he might think she did it out of pity.

  “This explains a lot, though. You had the info on me before you asked me to spend the weekend, right?”

  “Right.”

  “So at that point you decided I had to be on the rebound and you wanted nothing to do with that kind of deal.”

  “Exactly.”

  “But, inconveniently for you, I flip your switches.”

  She sighed. “You do.”

  “That makes two of us with that problem. But considering where we’re both coming from, it could turn into a disaster. I wasn’t willing to admit that before, but it’s possible one or both of us could get hurt.”

  She allowed herself to look into his eyes again and sink into the warm chocolate depths. “True.”

  “I wasn’t just dumped. I was betrayed, which is a whole other kind of hell. In the wee hours this morning I faced the fact that I’m at least as nervous about getting into a relationship as you are.”

  “Are you saying we both have something to lose?”

  He nodded. “I think so, yes.”

  “That does shine a different light on things.”

  “It does.” He held her gaze for a moment. “The horses are getting restless. We need to let them out.”

  “Sure.” She stood. “So we’ll keep things platonic between us?”

  “I didn’t say that.” He got to his feet, too.

  “What are you saying, then?”

  “We should think it through as best we can and be honest with ourselves and each other. No secrets.”

  “Regan, please don’t call Nick and chew him out. Put the blame for the security leak on me.”

  “Don’t worry. I won’t call him. I’ve only known you for twenty-four hours, and I can already see how you’d maneuver Nick into giving up information. I’m sure he thought it was the right thing to do. Obviously I was ready to tell you, anyway. No harm done.”

  She let out her breath. “I’m glad. I was a little worried that you’d be upset with him.”

  “No. From now on, though, this is between you and me. Nick doesn’t need to know what’s going on with us.”

  “You thought I’d tell him?”

  “You said you were really good friends.”

  “Not that good.”

  Regan smiled. “Happy to hear it. Although I warn you, once our living arrangement becomes public, some people will make assumptions.”

  “They can assume all they want. That doesn’t mean they’ll be right.”

  “It doesn’t mean they’ll be wrong, either.” He gave her a long look. “When I see you standing in the light pouring in through the door, your hair so bright and your eyes so soft...” His voice grew rough with emotion. “I ache for you, Lily King.”

  She watched in stunned silence as he turned and ambled down the row of stalls, unlatching doors as he went. No man had ever said anything remotely like that to her before, with such intensity. She might not be psychic, but she had a premonition that from this moment on, her life would never be the same.

  8

  FROM THE WAY the rest of the morning went, Regan concluded that he’d changed the game with that statement. The tension level between them had zipped from yellow to orange and was edging into the red zone. But he’d promised to be straight with Lily from now on. No secrets. So when he’d felt his heart shift as he’d seen her standing in a sunbeam, he’d told her the absolute truth. At that moment, he’d wanted her more than his next breath.

  After that, she’d treated him with wary respect, as if he might lose control at any moment. He wouldn’t, of course. But as they drove over to the Last Chance after all the chores were done, he noticed a flicker of excitement in her eyes whenever she glanced at him.

  The night before when he’d been forced to wear her robe, she’d looked at him with pure lust. He’d enjoyed that, even if he’d felt a little like a Chippendales stripper. Early this morning she’d taken pictures of him with her cell phone and he’d sensed the same motivation: she was admiring the packaging, not the man inside. He wouldn’t knock that because it was damned flattering, but a steady diet of it would be like eating only dessert all the time. After a while, he’d crave something more substantial.

  Now, after his confession in the barn this morning, he was getting the substance he wanted. Besides the current of electricity that constantly arced between them, she was taking the time to really look at him, as if trying to see more than the obvious. He’d risked being more intense, and she seemed fascinated by that. He’d also made himself vulnerable, which was a little scary.

  How strange to think that yesterday he’d been imagining them simply having a little fun together. No big deal. A few laughs. Some great sex. Parting as friends when it was over. But from what he knew of himself and what she’d told him about her background, neither of them were good at that kind of no-strings affair. They’d be kidding themselves if they tried it.

  So if they became involved with each other—and on some level they already were involved—they’d both be all in. Maybe it would last two weeks, and maybe it would last much longer than that. He wasn’t predicting the outcome, only the emotional investment from the beginning. They wouldn’t be able to help themselves.

  He pictured them standing at the top of a cliff hand in hand as they prepared to dive into a deep pool. Every time he thought about holding her in his arms again, adrenaline rushed through him. The tension here in the small confines of his truck’s cab told him the moment would come sooner rather than later.

  As he pulled into the circular gravel drive in front of the Last Chance’s main house, he wondered if any of the people they were about to see would pick up on that tension. Judging from what he’d observed about Sarah Chance, she would. The matriarch of the family didn’t miss much when it came to those she cared about. Luckily for Regan, she cared about him. He’d always be grateful for that.

  Sarah made him feel at home in this massive two-story log house, but the structure itself seemed to welcome him each time he pulled up in front. The wide center section flanked by two wings jutting out at a forty-five-degree angle reminded him of arms spread in an embrace. A covered porch lined with rocking chairs ran the length of the house and symbolized hospitality. Now that summer had arrived, evenings found the chairs occupied by any of the Chance clan who happened to drop by.

  He stopped the truck and shut down the engine before turning to Lily. “How long since you’ve been here?”

  “Oh, gosh, quite a while. I’ve been so busy with Peaceful Kingdom that I haven’t been over since I moved back here. My parents were invited to Nick’s high school graduation party, and they brought me along, but we’re talking almost fifteen years ago. After that...let me think. I kept in touch with Nick off and on through email. When Jonathan Chance died in that rollover, I was at Berkeley. My parents went to the funeral, but I couldn’t come home for it. I would have missed too many classes and my parents advised me not to come.” She paused. “I should have, anyway.”

  “I’m sure everyone understood.”

  “Of course they did. The Chances aren’t petty about things like that, but I still wish I’d made the effort. I’ve run into various family members in town since I’ve been back, and they’re always nice to me.”

  “Have you met Pete, Sarah’s new husband?”

  “I have.” She smiled. “They were eating lunch at the diner one day when I was there. Seems like a terrific guy, and I love the idea of the camp for disadvantaged boys that he and Sarah run every summer.”

  “Uh-oh. I just remembered something. That camp starts next Sunday.”

  “It does? Well, I guess it would. I tend to lose track of time, especially lately.”

  “I forgot about it until now, too, but that means we might only have next Saturday as an option for the adoption fair.”

  “Yikes.” She blew out a breath. “That’s too soon.”

  “Maybe not. If we concentrate on training five or six horses and get those adopted, we’ll significantly reduce the overcrowding. By then you’ll have the fence built. You’d be in much better shape.”

  “I don’t know. A week...” Uncertainty shadowed her blue eyes.

  “We can do it. I have several gaps in my appointment schedule next week. I won’t fill them.”

  “No! You’ll lose money!”

  He shrugged. “I’ll make it up later. No big deal.”

  “I should pay you, then.”

  “We’ve been over that. No dice. I’m not hurting for money, so let’s not talk about it anymore, okay? I want to do this. It’s important to me, too, now.”

  “Okay.” She hesitated. “But do you really think we can be ready in a week?”

  “Yeah, I do.” Unfastening his seat belt, he leaned toward her and gave her a quick kiss. “Have faith.” The kiss had been a last-minute decision, and he needed every ounce of willpower he possessed to end it immediately and open the driver’s-side door.

  But he’d wanted to try a small laser strike and see what happened. Apparently his strategy had the desired effect. By the time he rounded the front of the truck and opened her door, which took several seconds, she was still seated and she seemed a little dazed.

  “Ready to go in?”

  “Sure.” She swallowed hard and started down.

  He offered her a hand, which she accepted without comment. He released his hold the moment she had both feet on the gravel drive.

  “That was sneaky, Regan.” She glanced up at him.

  “Meaning you didn’t like it?”

  “Oh, I liked it. But I wasn’t expecting it.”

  That made him smile. “Aren’t you the woman who told me she likes the unexpected? The one who doesn’t want to be bored?”

  Her expression was priceless. He’d turned her words back on her, and apparently she wasn’t used to that. She couldn’t seem to decide whether to challenge his statement or laugh. In the end, she laughed. “Touché.”

  “Just so you know, I’ve wanted to do that ever since you showed up at the corral this morning, but I couldn’t find the right moment.”

  “You’ve wanted to kiss me all that time?”

  “Not a full-out kiss, because we had stuff to do, but something quick and to the point, just to let you know I’m thinking about it.”

  “By it, are you referring to kissing...or something else?”

  “Kissing.”

  She looked skeptical.

  “That’s all, I swear. If I allowed myself to think of something else, the drive over here would have been painful.”

  Her eyebrows lifted. “My, you are being honest, aren’t you?”

  “That’s my goal. Come on.” He tilted his head toward the steps leading up to the front porch. “Let’s go see if the Chance contingent has next weekend available for our adoption fair. But first I need to warn you about something.”

  “What’s that?”

  “They have a couch in the living room. Don’t read too much into that. They’re still very interesting people.”

  She rolled her eyes. “This is going to turn into a thing, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah.” He grinned at her and felt that flash of happiness he was beginning to associate with Lily. “Our first inside joke.”

  * * *

  SARAH, HER SILVER hair styled in its usual sleek bob, met Lily and Regan at the door. She was dressed casually in jeans and a denim shirt, but Sarah could make any outfit look elegant. As she greeted them, Lily remembered why she admired this woman so much. Sarah behaved as if she’d been gifted with two of the most anticipated guests in the world, A-listers who had graced her with their presence.

  When Sarah was glad to see someone, she pulled out all the stops. Rumor had it that when she wasn’t glad to see someone, her reception could turn a sunny day into an ice storm. She never lost her poise, but she could freeze people in their tracks. Lily planned to stay in Sarah’s good graces.

  “I’m so happy about you buying Peaceful Kingdom, Lily.” Sarah took her by the arm. “You were the perfect person to do it. We’re all gathered in the kitchen gobbling up the last of Mary Lou’s coffee cake, but she saved two big pieces for you and Regan.”

  “Mary Lou’s still your cook?” Lily remembered her from the graduation party fifteen years ago. The feisty woman had taken Lily aside and told her not to settle for some guy who wanted to keep her barefoot and pregnant. It was good advice, and Lily had never forgotten it.

  “She’s still our cook,” Sarah said. “I don’t know what we’d do without her. She’s married now, you know.”

  “Mary Lou? She’s the one who urged me not to get married.”

  “And she was against it for years.” Sarah chuckled as she guided Lily through the living room, which had, as Regan had mentioned, a leather couch, not to mention some heavy-looking leather armchairs. “But we have a ranch hand named Watkins who’d had his eye on her ever since he came to work for us. He’s wooed her off and on, and finally, two summers ago, he convinced her to marry him.”