“You know what I’d really like to do right now?”

“I can’t wait to hear this,” he said, and her eyes twinkled.

“It’s also been a while since a boy kissed me on a porch swing.”

“You don’t know what you’re asking, Mallory.”

“Actually, I do … oh.” She huffed a sigh then said, “And here’s where I should probably get off your lap and pretend like this never happened. If, you know, I could actually do that—”

“Oh, God, no, honey—” Zach grabbed her hand and pressed it to his chest. “That did not come out the way I meant it. Because trust me, I’ve been thinking about kissing you, too. For some time, actually.”

Her lips curved. “You don’t say.”

“God’s truth,” he said, and she chuckled, low in her throat. “But … it’s been a while since I’ve kissed a girl, too. On a porch swing or anyplace else. And I—”

“Think far too much, is how you want to finish that sentence,” she murmured, then curved her hands around his jaw and brought their mouths together.

And in that instant, he knew kissing her would never be enough.

* * *

Wed in the West: New Mexico’s the perfect place to finally find true love!

Back in the

Saddle

Karen Templeton

www.millsandboon.co.uk

KAREN TEMPLETON is a recent inductee into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. A three-time RITA® Award–winning author, she has written more than thirty novels for Mills & Boon. She lives in New Mexico with two hideously spoiled cats. She has raised five sons and lived to tell the tale, and she could not live without dark chocolate, mascara and Netflix.

To Jewel Kats

Who planted the seed.

Thanks, sweetie.

To Kari Lynn Dell

Who answered my horse/ranching/rodeo questions with her usual aplomb, good humor and patience. If I goofed, that’s my fault, not hers.

Contents

Cover

Introduction

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

“So I gather you know a fair amount about horses?”

With an actual sigh, the getting-up-there Boston terrier slid down on the exam table in front of Zach Talbot and promptly went to sleep. This might take a while, wake me when she’s done.

She being the auburn-haired Texan female of indeterminate age who’d brought the dog into Zach’s clinic three times in the two weeks since she—and her daughter, she’d mentioned more than once—had moved into the old Hufsteter place a ways out of town. Completely renovated, she’d said. Beautiful house. Reminded her of home.

Not that Zach minded chatter, as a general rule. At least it kept him from curling up in a ball inside his own head. However, since he’d yet to find anything really wrong with the little dog, other than a general slowing down due to old age, he was guessing Dorelle Keyes had ulterior motives. Motives that Zach strongly suspected had something to do with this hitherto unseen daughter.

One hooded doggy lid briefly fluttered open as if to say You got it, buddy, before drifting closed again, and Zach met Dorelle’s sharp—oh, so sharp—green gaze.

“As part of my practice, sure.” After gently rubbing the dog between the ears—which got a soft groan—Zach scribbled down a couple notes for Shantelle at the front desk to add to Edgar’s chart, then glanced back at Dorelle. Remembered to smile. “Why?”

“Oh. Well, Mallory—” the daughter “—is thinking about buying a horse for her boy. She’s...” Dorelle glanced around, then practically mouthed, “Divorced. And his daddy has custody at the moment—” Her red-lipsticked mouth slammed shut, as though she’d realized she’d gotten stuck in that narrow wedge between discretion and oversharing. “Anyway, when we noticed the stalls out back, that was the first thing we thought of, how much Landon might like to have a horse to ride when he’s here. So I was wondering if maybe you knew of someone local who might be selling. And you strike me as somebody we could trust.”

His mouth twitching, Zach adjusted his glasses. Although his own mother had always said he had one of those faces. However...

“Horses take a lot of work, ma’am—”

“And while I appreciate that your mama obviously taught you to respect your elders, trust me, no woman past a certain age actually likes to be ma’amed.”

“My apologies, m—Mrs. Keyes.”

“Apology accepted. And second... I know how much work horses take. Mallory’s daddy was a rancher. So we know what to do. We just don’t know who to see. Landon’s eleven, by the way. Far as I’m concerned he should’ve had his own horse long ago. But life had other ideas.”

Not for the first time, Zach got the feeling the woman was deliberately baiting him. As though she’d been given instructions not to blab about personal matters, but if someone asked...well. It would only be polite to answer, wouldn’t it? Too bad for her, then, that Zach was sorely lacking in the curiosity department.

Although his own full plate probably had something to do with that. Not to mention a deeply entrenched sense of self-preservation that kept most locals from developing anything even remotely like real relationships with the outsiders who flitted in and out of Whispering Pines. The town was no Taos or Santa Fe, heaven knew, but northern New Mexico’s clear, high desert air and pristine forests attracted its fair share of tourists and temporary residents. Especially during ski season, which was right around the corner. Granted, Zach could be as cordial to visitors as the next townie. Friendly, even. Especially since they often brought dogs, and he was the only vet in town. But get himself all tangled up in their lives?

Nope.

However, he smiled, focusing on the topic at hand. “Has your grandson said he’d like to ride?”

“Oh, my goodness, yes! He already has, actually. A few times out on a farm north of LA. Where we were living, you know.”

Clearly Zach’s cue—again—to ask what had brought them to Whispering Pines. Except he honestly didn’t care.

Heidi would’ve, though. Because his wife hadn’t known the meaning of aloof, embracing—often literally—everyone she saw as if they were best friends...

“Dr. Talbot? Is everything okay?”

With an actual jerk, Zach pulled his head out of his butt to meet Dorelle’s gaze again. “Yeah, sorry...” He cleared his throat. Smiled. “Actually, my brother Josh is the foreman up at the Vista Encantada Ranch nearby—”

“Oh, yes, we passed it the other day when we were out exploring. And your girl out front, she said your brother worked there. One of ’em, anyway.”

Shantelle was young yet. She’d learn. “The Vista breeds champion quarter horses—which wouldn’t be suitable for your needs—but from time to time they foster rescues, too. I seem to recall Josh saying something about an older gelding that’d been used to teach another rancher’s kids to ride. I haven’t seen the horse yet myself, but I’m sure you and your daughter would be welcome to go out and meet him.”

Dorelle lit up as if someone’d flipped a switch. “That sounds perfect—”

“Dad-deeee!”

“Liam! No!”

The groggy little dog scrambled to his feet as, at the doorway to the exam room, Zach’s older son grabbed his baby brother around his middle and yanked him back. “Sorry, Dad!” Jeremy grunted out around the redheaded, windmilling blur that was his three-year-old brother. “Grandma just dropped us off. Man, he’s fast.”

“So were you at that age,” Zach said, then squatted in front of the pair, ruffling the little one’s rust-colored curls. “I’m almost done, squirt. You wait outside with Jeremy, okay?”

But Liam threw himself so hard into Zach’s arms he nearly knocked him over. He had no idea why the boy was so clingy—certainly a lot more than his older brother had been—but his hugs never failed to overwhelm Zach, with love and fear, both.

“Oh, don’t send them out on my account,” Dorelle said behind him, more gently than Zach would’ve expected. Yes, it was obvious she loved her daughter and grandson, but until that very moment he wouldn’t’ve pegged her as a softy.

Even so, the boys knew the rules. Or at least Jeremy did. To Liam, the concept of boundaries was still a little sketchy. So Zach detached himself from his son, then stood, trying for stern and failing miserably when those big, brown, getting-wetter-by-the-second eyes tilted up to his. So who was the softy now?

“Go with your brother,” he said, steeling himself against those eyes, so much like his mama’s Zach’s own stung. “I won’t be long. Why don’t you think about what you want on your pizza while you’re waiting?”

That did the trick. “Peesa?” Liam breathed, as if this was the most awesome suggestion ever.

“Yep. Now scoot.”

After the boys left, Zach turned to find Dorelle watching him with one of those expressions, God help him.

“Neither one of ’em looks much like you.”

“Truth,” Zach said with a smile. “Although I was apparently as blond as Jeremy when I was his age.”

“Which is?”

“Seven. Eight in a few months.”

“And the little one?”

“Liam’s three. He looks...” His throat caught. Damn. “He looks exactly like his mother.”

“She must be one gorgeous creature.”

Zach hesitated. “She was.”

Dorelle sucked in a short breath. “I’m so sorry, Dr. Talbot. I didn’t know.”

Somehow, he doubted that. And it was the end of what had been a very long day, one that had left Zach so tired he could barely see straight. Meaning he found himself sorely lacking patience for whatever game this woman was playing.

“Really?”

The woman’s eyes briefly widened before she released a short laugh. “I suppose I deserved that. Since I’m sure it’ll come as no surprise that digging up information is a hobby of mine. Especially when I find myself in a new place and don’t know anybody. But I swear to you, this is the first I’m hearing of it.” She hesitated, then asked, “How long?”

Oh, what the hell. “Two years,” he said, and she bit her lip, shaking her head. Then she pushed out a little breath.

“Folks tend to keep to themselves around here, don’t they?”

“Pretty much.” Although Shantelle’s keeping it to herself was nothing short of a miracle. Town nosy-body in training, that one.

“Yeah, it was the same way back in Springerville,” Dorelle said. “There were absolutely no secrets between neighbors, but we had that circling the wagons thing down. And oh, dear Lord—” Her hand flew to her cheek. “You thought I had matchmaking on my mind, didn’t you?”

Zach’s mouth twitched. “I had wondered.”

“Oh, dear boy, no. Not that you’re not cute as a damn button, but I did think you were married. Not a whole lot to do around here. Just like Springerville. One learns,” she said with a slight, almost regal, bow, “to make one’s own entertainment. Although we really are looking for a horse. Talking about it, anyway. And I thought...”

Her eyes clouded. “My daughter Mallory’s had some challenges of her own, this last little while. And this past year or so has been particularly hard on her. Not that she’d ever admit it, God knows. But if you ask me, she didn’t buy a house out here in Nowhere, New Mexico—no offense—”

“None taken.”

Dorelle nodded. “Anyway. She didn’t buy that house except for one reason, and that was to hide.”

“From?” Zach asked before he caught himself.

“Life. Her life, anyway. And I don’t like it, not one little bit. Frankly it scares me, if you want to know the truth. Like she’s given up. And that’s not like her.” Her forehead puckered, the brunette looked down at the dog, who’d fallen back asleep. “So it occurred to me that getting her looking for a horse for Landon might...I don’t know...break whatever this is that’s got hold of her. Start to, anyway.” Softly smiling, she met Zach’s gaze again. “That’s all I was about, I swear. I wasn’t trying to fix you up.”

“I appreciate that.”

“Good.” Dorelle reached over to snap a leash on the snoozing dog before lowering him to the floor, where he blinked, yawned, then sat back down, slightly shivering. “So you’ll call me after you talk to your brother?”

“I’ll ask him later. I don’t have regular appointments on Saturday afternoons.”

“Thank you so much.”

However, as Zach herded his sons to their little blue-and-white house next door to the clinic, Dorelle’s comments about her daughter swirled inside his overworked brain like afternoon dust in the sunshine.

Clearly he needed a hobby. Or at least a nap.

* * *

“Hi, Mom!”

Seeing her son’s ginormous grin swallowing up the entire, if admittedly tiny, phone screen, Mallory Keyes felt her heart swell in her chest. If her precious boy was happy, then she was happy. Nothing else mattered.

Even though it killed her, not being able to touch him, smell him, every day. But Landon deserved a normal life. Well, as normal as the son of a shattered Hollywood power couple—God, she hated that term—could expect. And never let it be said that Mallory couldn’t roll with the punches. Or set her own druthers aside in order to do what was best for her son.

And at least they had smartphones.

“Hey, baby,” she said, steeling herself for that inevitable moment when the kid would groan and go, “Mom? Really? Baby?” He was eleven, after all. But that moment apparently was not today. Thank God. “How’s it going?”

“Good.” He shoved his hand through shaggy, blah-brown hair that softened what promised to be some pretty fine bone structure, heaven help them all. “Got an A on this project we had to do in science. Without Dad’s help, you’ll be happy to know.”

“I am. What was the project on?”

“How mold grows. I had to keep samples in the fridge, it was so cool. Except Cristina kept trying to throw them out.”

Their housekeeper. Sixty if she was a day, built like a warship, heart of gold. “Sounds about right. She making you keep your room clean?”

“You better believe it,” Mallory heard in the background, and Landon rolled his eyes. Gray, like hers.

“This is not a bad thing, Poky.”

“So I guess I can’t pull the ‘I’m just a kid’ thing, huh?”

“Nope.”

“Too bad.” Then he grinned again, and her heart went kaplooey. “So when can I come see your new house?”

“We already discussed this. Over fall break.” Landon’s new school was on some weird year-round schedule, so he got two full weeks off in October. “Did you get the pictures?”

“Yeah, it looks really cool.” He frowned slightly. “Hey. You okay?”

Mallory’s chest pinched again. Five years ago, Landon had been too young to fully understand the implications of the accident that changed all their lives. But more recently he’d apparently become more sensitive to her ongoing challenges, even though she rarely gave voice to them. Partly because the less she did, the less power they had over her, partly because she’d always detested complaining. Mostly, though, because she never wanted Landon to feel sorry for her. Or more importantly, that his mother’s being in a wheelchair would have any negative impact on his life.

Sometimes, though, when the pain snuck up on her, she couldn’t hide it from him as well as she’d like. And considering everything leading up to his new living situation, trying to pretend her life didn’t affect his was probably naive. If not downright stupid.

“I’m doing okay, honey.”

“Really?”

She smiled. “Yes, really. Okay, the move wore me out some, but it was worth it. It is so gorgeous out here. Sometimes you can drive for miles without seeing another car.”

His brows crashed. “That must be weird.”

Mallory laughed. “It is, a little. But you’d be surprised, how fast you get used to it—”

“Gotta go, Cristina’s calling me to dinner. Talk tomorrow?”

“You bet, sugar.”

The calls were never long enough. And every single time, when they ended, Mallory felt as if somebody’d hollowed out her chest. Which in turn made her question, yet again, whether she’d made the right choice, leaving behind her only child.

Except the only other option would have been selfish. If not downright cruel. Granted, the kid was a toughie, but she could tell he needed a break. Not from her, but from the attention she invariably attracted every time she set foot—or wheelchair—outside—

The landline’s shrill ring made her jump. Mallory glared at the thing for a good second or so before wheeling over the tiled floor to answer it. A little testily, maybe. Why Mama’d insisted on installing the blasted thing, she’d never know, since they both had cell phones, for pity’s sake.

“Hello?”

“Oh... I’m sorry,” said a nice male voice on the other end. Real nice. Granted, in all likelihood it probably belonged to someone who did not match the voice, because that’s the way these things usually worked, but a girl could dream. “I was trying to reach Dorelle Keyes?”

“She’s not in right now,” Mallory said in a somewhat less pissy tone. “May I take a message?”

A pause preceded, “Is this her daughter, by any chance?”

Mallory tensed. It was highly unlikely the paparazzi would’ve sniffed her out way up here, let alone unearthed an unlisted number. But these days she wasn’t taking any chances.

“If you leave your name and number,” she said, grimacing at her reflection in the mirror on the other side of the room, “I’ll be sure to have Mrs. Keyes get back to you.”

“It’s Dr. Talbot. Edgar’s vet? She’d asked me to check with my brother about a horse for her grandson?”

The relieved breath Mallory had been about to release snagged at the base of her throat. To hear Mama tell it, this Dr. Talbot would put Michelangelo’s David to shame. And say what you will about her mother, the woman definitely knew hot when she saw it.

So much for not matching the voice.

“Um...you still there?”

Mallory wrenched her gaze away from her wretched reflection. Way too many nights of lousy sleep had definitely taken its toll. “Sorry. She was supposed to run that by me first.”

“I take it you’re Mallory, then?”

Call her crazy, but she was guessing this guy had no idea who she was. Meaning either he hadn’t put two and two together, or Mama had—for once—kept her trap shut. Or maybe he was just playing it cool?

“That’s me. Only nothing’s been decided about the horse. Since we’re still getting settled in—” a half-truth, since once the renovation had been completed all they’d had to do was dump stuff in closets and drawers and they were basically done “—I hadn’t really given it much thought yet.”

“Completely understandable. But if you are interested, my brother says he has a palomino that could be perfect for your son, especially if he’s inexperienced. Not a youngster, but a lot of good years left. No health issues. Even-tempered as they come. And nobody knows horses like Josh—he wouldn’t steer you wrong.”

And neither would this man, she bet. Although how she’d deduce that from a five-minute conversation—and especially given her background—she had no idea. Something about his no-nonsense approach, maybe. But after so many years of never feeling as if she could truly trust anybody, of having to constantly watch her back—it felt...good. Even if it was only an illusion.

“I’m sure he wouldn’t,” she said, rearranging her long sweater over her thighs, even though her legs didn’t really register the chill in the air. “But there are...logistics to take into account. I’m still not entirely convinced this is a good idea.”

“Your mother said you grew up on a ranch, so I assume you know what goes into caring for a horse?”

His unwitting understatement made her smile. And ache, a little. An indulgence she rarely allowed herself. “I did. And I do. That’s not the issue. But I honestly don’t know how much time we’re going to spend here.” Her gaze drifted across the spacious family room opening to the flagstone patio and the pond beyond, its surface rippling gold from the reflection of the stand of yellow-leafed aspens on the other side of the property. Truthfully, the property had wrapped around her heart from the moment she’d opened the images in the Realtor’s email. “And taking on a horse is a huge commitment.”

“So this is a vacation home?”

“Something like that.”

The vet was quiet for a moment, then said, “If it eases your mind, the Vista has excellent boarding facilities.”

Mallory smiled, wondering what he’d wanted to say, but hadn’t. “And you’re an excellent salesperson.”

He might’ve laughed. “Hard to make a decision without knowing all your options. Tell you what—why don’t you and your mother meet me out there, see the horse for yourself? Make up your mind after that. You know where the ranch is, I gather?”

“I do, but...” Mallory paused. “I’ll think about it. How’s that?”

“Fine by me. But if you’re serious I wouldn’t wait too long. As great a horse as I suspect this one is? I imagine he’s gonna find a new home without too much trouble.”

“And would that be you trying to close the deal?”

“Just being up-front with you, Miss Keyes.”

Nope, he had no clue who she was. Mallory smiled—she’d loved her work, heaven knew. And she’d appreciated being appreciated, no lie. But she’d found actual fame tedious at best and nerve-racking at worst. She’d never thought she’d live for the day when she wasn’t recognized, but now that that day had arrived she felt positively buoyant.

But this business with the horse...a prod, Mallory thought this was. One initiated by her mother, perhaps, but clearly with the universe’s approval: to get up off her duff—in a manner of speaking—and actually move forward with something instead of only talking about it. A bad habit she’d slipped into over the last little while.

But the move to Whispering Pines had been Mallory’s idea, so there was that. Even though her decision had clearly flummoxed her poor Realtor. Why not Jackson Hole? Or Vail? Or even Taos, if she had her heart set on New Mexico?

Mallory hadn’t gone into details. Her reasons were her own. Not that she couldn’t see the woman’s point, that here was pretty much nowhere. Only, what no one understood, was that nowhere was exactly where Mallory needed to be right now. As in, somewhere where no one could find her. Watch her. Pity her.

Somewhere where she could truly start over. Something she’d avoided doing until now, even if she hadn’t fully realized that. And sometimes starting over really did mean starting from scratch. From nothing—

And good Lord, she’d wandered off again, hadn’t she?

“You know how much your brother’s asking for... What’s the horse’s name, anyway?”

That got a low, rumbly chuckle. “Waffles.”

“You’re kidding? That’s adorable.”

“That’s one way of looking at it. And Josh usually only asks for enough to cover his costs. We’re not talking prize stud here or anything. The two of you can hash that out, if you decide to take him.” Another chuckle. “The horse, I mean.”

“Would tomorrow work?” Mallory pushed out of her mouth, surprised how hard her heart was beating. “I know it’s Sunday, but—”

“No, tomorrow would be fine,” Dr. Talbot said, sounding a little surprised himself. “I’ll probably have my kids with me, though.”

“Not a problem.” Then she smiled, even as her heart twanged with missing Landon. “Boys? Girls?”

“Boys. Two of them. Loud. Constantly moving. Fight every five minutes. You’ve been warned.”

At that, a laugh burst from Mallory’s chest. “How about early afternoon, if that works for you?”

“One-thirty? That’ll give us time to get home from church, get them fed.”

Church. Sunday dinners. An ordinary life she dimly remembered. Missed more than she’d realized. “Sounds good.” Sounds wonderful...

“Buzz at the gate, somebody’ll let you in.”

“Will do,” she said, then ended the call, holding the phone to her chest as she heard the front door open. If she wasn’t mistaken, that weird, tingly feeling in her chest was...excitement. Lord, she was in a worse way than she thought. Because damned if she wasn’t looking forward to meeting this forthright-to-a-fault dude with the low, rumbly voice.

“Hey, honeybunch,” her mother called out. “We’re home!”

And no way on God’s green earth was she sharing that tidbit with her mother.

Edgar’s little nails scritched across the tile as he scurried over to Mallory, then stood on his hind legs so she could scoop him into her lap. Because she loved the scrawny little bugger beyond all reason. Mama followed shortly, fluffing her hair and wearing that look in her eyes that Mallory wished she could figure out how to banish once and for all. Not that she had anything against her mother’s chronic optimism—heaven knows she wouldn’t have made it this far without it—but all that cheerfulness did get tiring.

“So your Dr. Talbot called,” she said, and Mama—who’d been unloading grocery bags onto the city-block-sized quartz counter in the kitchen—jerked up her head. Surprised, maybe, but not in the least bit guilty.

“My goodness, he works fast,” she said, grabbing two jars of peanut butter and carting them over to the pantry. “I didn’t expect to hear from him so soon.” Shoving up her sweater sleeves, she returned to the counter, scooped up a half dozen boxes of pasta. “I assume he was calling about the horse?”

“He was. And thanks for cluing me in, by the way.”

Mama gave her a look. “It wasn’t anything I planned, for goodness’ sake. But I was there, you know, with Edgar, and the thought popped into my head. Like these things do. I really didn’t mean to go behind your back—” Her face fell as she clutched the boxes to her chest. “You didn’t go and say something dumb, did you?”

Mallory stuck out her tongue, then sighed. “No, you’ll be glad to know I managed to act like a civilized human being.”

“Well, that’s a load off my mind. So what’d he say?”

“That his brother has a rescue that might work.”

“He does? How wonderful! Isn’t Dr. Talbot the nicest man? And, oh, he has two of sweetest little boys. So what did you say?”

Mallory steered her chair into the kitchen and snagged an apple out of the bowl on the counter, polishing it against her jeans’ leg before biting into it. Honestly, trying to follow her mother’s train of thought was like playing pinball. Blindfolded.

“We have a date,” she said, chewing, smiling slightly at her mother’s gasp. “To see the horse, Mama. And you seriously need to give it a rest.”

“Not a chance, missy. Not after what Russell did to you—”

“He didn’t do anything to me. Which we’ve been over a million times. It just didn’t work out. These things happen.” Her mother made an if-that’s-what-you-want-to-tell-yourself face. “It was for the best, Mama,” she said gently. “You’ve got to let this go. I have.” Mostly.

Tears welled in her mother’s eyes. “You really think this is for the best for Lannie?”

“For God’s sake don’t let him hear you call him that. And would you rather he live in a house where nobody was happy? Really?” Her appetite gone, Mallory wheeled over to dump the apple core in the under-counter garbage can. “Also, there’s a new Mrs. Eames, as you may recall. So, onward and all that.”

Mama’s eyes brightened. “So does that mean—”

“No,” Mallory said, knowing exactly what her mother meant.

“What am I ever going to do with you?” Mama said with a dramatic sigh, only to come over and plant a kiss on top of Mallory’s head before collecting her dog and sashaying out of the room, leaving a trail of Giorgio in her wake.

Mallory smiled, only to release a sigh of her own. Because that was the question of the century, wasn’t it? Not so much what Mama was going to do with her, as what she was going to do with herself. Since frankly she wasn’t all that keen about spending the rest of her life without male companionship. Without love and affection and, okay, sex. True, things didn’t work the same way they had, but they still worked. She definitely still...yearned, as Mama might say. But she wasn’t so much of a fool as to think all she had to do was join an online dating service and—bam!—she’d be swarmed by seventy billion takers.

And not only because her legs were basically useless. There was also that whole who-she-used-to-be-before thing to take into account.

But to admit that she yearned—or dreamed, or wished, or whatever you wanted to call it—would a) make her sound as though she felt sorry for herself, which, no, and b) give her mother ammunition. Which, hell no.

Still. What was the harm in indulging a few tingles? A curiosity about the supposedly gorgeous man attached to the sexy-as-sin voice? A man with a sense of humor? And kids? Boys, no less? What was the worst that could happen? She’d get to spend an hour outside, on a beautiful fall day, with a decent guy. And she might even end up with a horse for her son out of the deal. Could be worse, right?

Heh. Maybe she didn’t want to know the answer to that.

Chapter Two

A faint whiff of fireplace smoke tainted the cool, still air, mixing pleasantly with the smell of horse and dirt—the scents of his childhood, Zach thought. His life. What home smelled like.

“I can’t believe you don’t know who Mallory Keyes is,” his brother Josh said as they stood in front of the fenced pasture where several of the horses grazed while they still could. In a few weeks the grass would be frozen, gone, and the horses would be on hay. Waffles was one of them, the early afternoon sun glinting off his pale gold coat. Yes, like syrup glistening over waffles. Behind them kids—and one ancient golden retriever—cavorted, as Josh’s four-year-old boy, Austin, gave Zach’s two a run for their money.

These days most of the fences were strung wire, of course. But this one, closest to the house, was still old-fashioned post-and-rail. A pain to keep in working order, but Granville Blake, whose family had owned this ranch in its various permutations for generations, wouldn’t have it any other way. His nod to tradition, Zach supposed. Now, his forearms propped on the chewed-up top rail, Zach looked over at his smirking younger brother, Josh’s choppy brown hair barely visible underneath his tan cowboy hat.

“So sue me. You know I don’t keep up with that stuff.”

“Except for a while there you couldn’t go online for five minutes without seeing something about her.”

“You couldn’t, maybe.”

“I’m serious. She was quite the hot ticket in Hollywood a few years ago. Well, more than a few years ago, I guess now.” Josh paused. “You remember those Transmutant movies, when we were kids? When I was a kid, anyway, I guess you were a teenager by then. But I know you saw the first one, because the whole family went one Christmas. Anyway, she was The Girl. You know, the redhead with the big—”

“Josh.” Zach’s gaze darted behind them. “Kids.”

“But you know who I’m talking about, right?”

“Maybe.”

“Sure you do. Here...” He dug his smartphone out of his denim jacket’s pocket, clicked a few buttons, then turned the screen toward Zach. His eyes twinkled. “Nobody forgets a...face like that.”

Truth. Now Zach remembered, although he didn’t think he’d ever known her name. Even when she hadn’t been wearing her superchick costume, she was majestic, with all that red hair and legs that did not quit—

“Ring any bells?” Josh said, and Zach snorted. Chuckling, Josh slipped his phone back in his pocket. “Anyway, I think she went on to do more serious stuff afterwards. Maybe married a director or something? Even got nominated for an Oscar, I think. Not sure if she won, though. Mom would know. But she was hurt in a skiing accident a few years back. Right up there, in fact,” Josh said, nodding toward the ski resort, tucked up into the mountains about twenty miles outside of town. “As in, career-ending hurt.”

Zach frowned. “How do you know all this?”

Facing the boys, his brother shoved a hand in his denim jacket’s pocket. “The question is, how come you don’t? Seeing as we do share a mother. And anyway, it was big news here. Her accident, I mean—”

Liam took a tumble. Much wailing followed. Zach held out his arms as the three-year-old lurched toward him, bawling. “Now that you mention it,” he said, hauling up the little guy, “it does sound familiar. But I guess I didn’t pay attention to who it was. I was a little busy, getting the practice up and running, being a new father...”

Softly shushing his youngest’s cries, Zach let the sentence fade away, unable to voice the rest of it: that he’d been so tangled up in love with his wife, his life, that the rest of the world basically didn’t exist. Nor had he cared that it hadn’t. Between those two little houses—his home and the clinic—he’d had everything he needed. And wanted. Getting caught up in pop culture was for people who had nothing better to do.

Except then Heidi was gone, and Zach was doing well simply to hold it together for his sons, his clients. By the time the boys were in bed he’d fall into his own in a dead sleep...until someone woke up, anyway. Extracurricular interests? Let alone activities? As if.

Josh’s mouth twitched. “We really need to fix you up.”

“You really don’t. And you sound like Mom. Which is not a point in your favor.”

“Whatever. There’s this new waitress over at Chico’s—”

“All yours, buddy.”

His brother chuckled again. As well he should, considering he was every bit as much a target for the town’s matchmakers as Zach. “So anyway. Yeah. This Mallory Keyes was a big deal at one time. Real shame, what happened to her. Funny that she’d decide to buy a place here. So close to where her accident happened, I mean. But people sometimes do weird things. How old you say her boy was?”

“Eleven.”

“Then Waffles really should be perfect for him. Although I hope to heck they change the poor thing’s name. Waffles? Honestly. Oh, that must be her... I guess Gus buzzed her in.”

They turned in time to see the dusty-clouded approach of a high-end SUV, steel-blue with tinted windows. As Jeremy and Austin scampered off toward the house, Josh waved the car over; a few seconds later, it pulled up alongside the pasture and the window rolled down...and Zach nearly lost his breath. Especially when Mallory removed her sunglasses. And smiled. Now he remembered her, although his image was of a much younger version. A much less finished version. Mallory Keyes had what their mother would call good bones, all sharp angles softened by a full mouth, deep-set gray eyes and that hair. Holy hell, that hair—

Dorelle leaned over her daughter, grinning. “Hey, there, Doc. I take it this handsome young man is your brother?”

“Sure am,” Josh said with a grin of his own as he walked over to open the driver’s-side door. Dorelle apparently muttered something to her daughter that earned her an eyeroll and a “Really, Mama?” before Mallory extended her hand and they all finished with the introductions. Then, on a little gasp, she lowered her sunglasses. “Ohmigosh,” she said to Zach, “is that your little boy?”

“One of ’em, yes. Liam.”

“Well, hey there, sweetie,” she said, her soft Texas twang curling right up inside Zach’s chest. Then those dove-colored eyes lifted to his. “My mother said they were cute, but...wow. She did not—” her gaze shifted to his face “—exaggerate.”

Now, Zach probably imagined it—because of that curling-inside-his-chest thing—but he could have sworn Mallory looked at him a trifle longer than necessary. Especially when her eyes seemed to jerk back to Josh. “Good to meet you both. Now if you’ll give me a minute...”

Contorting her upper body to reach behind her, she retrieved a small, collapsible wheelchair from the back, deftly popping it open as she set it on the ground in front of her. “As you can see, I have mobility issues. So I hope I’ll be able to get around in this?”

“Not a problem,” Josh said without missing a beat. “The owner’s wife was in a wheelchair for a while. The property’s more accessible than you might think—”

By this time Mallory had maneuvered herself out of the car and into the chair. The car door shut behind her, she tented her hand over her eyes as Dorelle walked up to the fence, her floaty, lightweight sweater billowing behind her in the slight breeze.

“Is that him?” Dorelle asked, pointing. “The one who looks like a sunbeam?

“Sure is,” Josh said.

“Ohmigosh, he’s absolutely gorgeous. Isn’t he, honey?”

But Zach was watching Mallory as she wheeled closer to the fence, her grace and determination colliding with what Zach realized was his own sudden awkwardness. As if he didn’t know what he was supposed to think or do or say so he wouldn’t put a foot in it.

Although why he should feel so unsettled, he had no idea. Wasn’t as if he’d never seen anyone in a wheelchair before, for heaven’s sake. But the image of the woman in front of him was such a stark contrast to the photo he’d just seen—

His phone to his ear, Josh signaled that he needed to return to the house. “You go on and get acquainted, I’ll be back in a bit—”

“Oh!” Dorelle signaled, then started after him, lickety-split. “You suppose I could use your restroom?”

“Sure thing, follow me...”

By this time Mallory was all the way up to the fence, leaning forward to clasp the middle slat. Waffles lifted his head, considering.

“Oh, my,” she said on a breath, her hair glistening in the sun. “He’s stunning, isn’t he?”

Still holding Liam, Zach took a couple of steps closer. “He is that.” As if he understood what was going on, Waffles moseyed closer to hang his head over the top rail, his ears twitching. “Come here, boy,” Mallory crooned, angling herself close enough to raise her hand, chuckling when the horse lowered his head further to snuffle her open palm before lifting it again toward the baby. Zach tilted Liam closer and the horse tried to nibble the little guy’s hair, making him giggle.

“He likes me,” Liam said, giggling as he rubbed his slobbery head. Mallory laughed, the warm, gentle sound nudging open barely healed wounds.

“I would say so,” she said, giggling herself when Waffles returned his attention to her. Fearlessly, she grabbed his bridle to tug him closer, touching her lips to the horse’s velvety muzzle. “You’re absolutely perfect, aren’t you?” she said, laughing again when the horse “nodded” his agreement.

“You clearly have a way with horses,” Zach said, hitching Liam higher on his hip.

“My daddy put me on my first one before I could walk,” she said, the irony trembling in the air between them. “I was in my first junior rodeo at ten. But only because Daddy wouldn’t let me compete until then.”

“What in?”

“Barrel racing, mostly.”

“Yeah?”

She grinned, which is when he caught the dimples. Or they caught him, he wasn’t sure. “Now you know my secret. Used to have the strongest thighs in Texas,” she said, patting the horse’s neck again before wheeling away from the fence. “And, yes—” she looked up at Zach, her face squinched in the sun “—the irony is not lost on me. It’s okay, I know what you’re thinking.”

Zach hesitated, then said, “What I’m thinking, is that I’m not sure if I should say ‘I’m sorry’ or not.”

“You can say whatever you like, I’ve pretty much heard it all. And trust me, ‘I’m sorry’ is the least of it.”

His nephew and his older son came into view again, along with Benny, their old golden retriever, who’d been recuperating on the veranda from the earlier hijinks. Liam wriggled to get down, then ran over to join them. The breeze got going again, rustling the drying leaves, tobacco-colored against the bright blue sky. Mallory looked up, a smile flitting across her lips before she shut her eyes. “Heaven,” she said simply.

His own mouth pulling up at the corners, Zach squatted by her chair, ruffling the dog’s neck when he trotted over, tongue lolling. “I think so. Although I suppose that makes me a rube.”

“Hey.” Opening her eyes, she smiled over at him. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I don’t exactly sound like royalty. Even after nearly twenty years in Hollywood. Not to mention God knows how many speech coaches, many of whom I’m sure I drove to drink.” She looked out toward the other pasture again, her elbows resting on the arms of her chair. “One thing less I have to worry my pretty little head about, I suppose.” One corner of her mouth edged up. “Not that I ever did.”

“How’d you end up there?”

Benny nosed her hand, begging for attention. Mallory obliged. “You know, I honestly figured I’d live out my life right where I grew up. Probably marry a local boy, settle down on his ranch and pop out three or four babies who’d be born wearing cowboy boots. Except one day, there was this notice up at school about a production company needing extras for a movie being shot in the area. And some of us thought it’d be a hoot to go on over, see if we could make the cut. Earn a few bucks. Anything to break the tedium, you know?”

“Yeah, that happens around here a lot, too. Especially over the last few years. Movies shooting in the area, I mean.”

“You ever do it?”

“Me? Oh, hell, no. I hardly ever see films, let alone have any desire to be in them.”

“Which is why you had no idea who I was.”

Despite the teasing in her voice, Zach felt his face warm. “Before my brother clued me in? No. Sorry.”

“Are you kidding? It’s a relief, frankly. And if I’d known then what I do now...” A sigh pushed from her lips. “But I didn’t. And the bug bit. Hard. Even though being an extra is excruciatingly boring, suddenly the idea of becoming a ranch wife seemed even worse.” She paused, not looking at him. “Or perhaps it was more that the ranch boys suddenly made my eyes glaze over.”

“Ouch.”

She shrugged. “I wasn’t even eighteen, for pity’s sake. And woefully sheltered. Even so, all it should have been was a few days’ diversion. But due to a series of completely unforeseen events that started with that call for extras, I ended up with a one-in-a-million career.” A funny smile tilted her lips as she watched the boys once more chasing each other around the field. “And a son I love more than life itself. What is it they say, about life being that thing that happens while you’re busy making other plans?”

“Tell me about it,” Zach said, and her eyes lifted to his, then scooted away again.

“Mama told me about your wife. I’m so sorry.”

One side of Zach’s mouth lifted. “Thanks. But you don’t even know us.”

“But I do know what it feels to have your life dumped on its butt,” she said quietly, then snorted. “Literally, in my case.” She nodded toward the boys. “How’re they doing?”

Zach regarded her for a moment, wondering how she’d so effortlessly sucked him into a conversation he wasn’t inclined to have with people he’d known all his life, let alone with someone he’d only just met. Wondering even harder why he’d let her. And yet...

“Liam—the little one—was too young when it happened to remember his mother. Jeremy was five, though. It was rough going there for a while.”

“I can imagine.” The dog laid his head on Mallory’s knee, begging for attention. Smiling, she obliged. “After my accident, all I wanted was to make sure Landon knew everything was going to be okay. That we’d get back to normal again, even if it was a new normal.” She paused. “Whether I ever did or not.”

“Yeah. Exactly.”

Grinning, she tilted her face to Zach. “Only a few weeks until he comes out to visit. I can hardly wait.”

As obviously close to her son as she was, Zach was curious why he wasn’t with her. The thought of not being with his boys made his blood run cold. But her reasons for leaving her son behind had nothing to do with him, did they?

Footsteps and chatter made him turn to see his brother and Dorelle returning. “I got a quick tour of the house,” she said, smiling. “Met the owner, too. Between us we came to an agreement about the horse. He’s yours, baby.”

Mallory frowned. “What are you talking about? I thought we agreed—”

“We agreed it’d be nice to get Landon a horse. I don’t recall any mention of who was supposed to buy him. And anyway, it’s his birthday coming up. You can get him another video game this time.”

“And I don’t suppose you’re gonna tell me what you paid.”

“You got that right. And, yes, I made them promise to take the horse back if he doesn’t live up to our expectations.”

Josh rolled his eyes. “Like that wouldn’t’ve been part of the deal, anyway.”

Mallory looked to Zach. “You see what I have to put up with?” Except then she lifted her arms and her mother bent over to get her daughter’s hug, even as Zach heard her whisper, “You’re a pain in the butt, you know that? And what would I do without you?”

“Starve, most likely,” Dorelle said, straightening up.

“It’s true,” Mallory said, looking from Josh to Zach, her eyes sparkling. “I hate to cook. Always have. Heck, I’d live on Cheese Whiz and crackers if I could. Love that stuff. Especially squirted right in my mouth. Because I’m all about efficiency.”

Dorelle wagged her head. “Lord, how are you my daughter?”

A few minutes later, Mallory and Josh had worked out the details regarding the horse, who’d stay on the ranch until they had a chance to get Mallory’s apparently neglected stable in order, and the women left. Watching the SUV disappear down the Vista’s drive, Zach heard his brother chuckle behind him. He turned, feeling his forehead pinch.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing. Except you’ve got one helluva weird look on your face.”

Zach opened his mouth, only to clamp it shut again. Because his brother was probably right. Not that he was about to give Josh the satisfaction. Especially since he wasn’t sure he could explain what was going on inside his head.

So all he did was mutter, “You’re nuts,” before calling over his sons and dog and herding them toward, then inside, his truck.

But it was true, his head was buzzing. Even more than usual with the kids yammering behind him. And it kept buzzing for the rest of the afternoon and on into the night, even until after the boys were asleep and Zach was sitting out on his tiny back porch in the chilled night air, listening to the wind rustle the dying leaves and the dog snoring on the porch floor beside him.

The thing was, while Zach wasn’t a people person like Josh or his mother—both of whom he swore fed off other humans like vampires sucked blood—he generally liked them well enough. Enough, at least, to deal with them on a daily basis in his practice. But he could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times he’d found somebody interesting enough to actually think about once he no longer had to interact with them. The one exception to that, of course, had been Heidi. Because, well, she’d been Heidi.

That he couldn’t get Mallory Keyes out of his head now... What the hell? They’d barely even had what you could call a real conversation. Certainly nothing to provoke this crazy reaction.

This crazy attraction.

The thought made Zach actually jump. Oh, sure, she was pretty and all, but him noticing that wasn’t unusual, even for him. He hadn’t lost his ability to appreciate a good-looking woman, even if he no longer had any inclination to act on it.

And that was it, in a nutshell: because there’d never again be anyone like Heidi, someone who got him in a way nobody else ever had. The moment they’d met in school, even, the click had been almost audible. That kind of connection—what were the odds of that happening twice in one lifetime? Hell, even once? That his once had been ripped away from him like that...

His eyes stinging, Zach scrubbed a palm over his face. Sometimes he wondered if he’d ever stop missing her. Or at least if it would ever stop hurting so damn much. Not that he talked about it to anyone. What would be the point? Wasn’t as if that would change anything, or bring her back, or make the hurting stop. And God knew he didn’t need to dump his pain on anyone else. Especially his boys.

What Mallory’d said, about finding a new normal, especially for her son? Much to admire in that, actually. Just as there was a lot to admire in the woman. A lot. Come to think of it, maybe her strength was what he found so appealing. Well, that and her sense of humor. Had to admit, he was a sucker for a woman who could laugh at herself, who didn’t take life too seriously—

Like Heidi.

Zach sighed so loudly he made the dog jump. Absolutely, he wanted nothing more than for his kids to have a normal life. To be happy, for God’s sake, as kids are supposed to be. To have the kind of childhood he and his brothers had. As much as his boys could, anyway, with only one parent. But for him, normal died with his wife. That was just the way it was, nothing he could do to change it.

Just as he knew he’d never fall in love again. Because his once was over.

And not being able to get Mallory Keyes out of his head wasn’t going to change that, either.

* * *

“Honey,” Mama called from the other room, “have you seen my sunglasses?”

Wrapped up in a fluffy throw on a wicker couch—she refused to spend all her waking hours in the frickin’ wheelchair—out in the glassed-in porch, Mallory called back, “Sorry, no.”

“Shoot,” Mama said, her ballet flats slapping against the brick pavers when she joined Mallory. “I know I had ’em when we drove out to the ranch, I must’ve left ’em in the powder room. And is there some reason you’re sitting out here in the dark?”

Mallory felt a tight smile tug at her mouth. “Just thinkin’.”

“About?” Enough light spilled through the great room’s double door to see Edgar cradled against her mother’s chest as she balanced a mug of something in her other hand.

She could, she supposed, refuse to answer. Or lie. Knowing her mother, both choices would be pointless. “How sad that poor man is.”

Mama lowered herself into the padded rocker across from the couch. “I take it you’re referring to our friendly neighborhood vet?”

Mallory smirked. “You know what’s strange? Ever since this—” she gestured toward her lap “—I have a much harder time seeing other people unhappy. Almost like...”

“You can feel their pain?”

“Maybe.”

“That’s hardly surprising,” Mama said, rearranging the spoiled rotten dog in her lap before reaching over to turn on a small lamp on the table next to her. Mallory winced. “Considering how hard you’ve worked to regain your own equilibrium, it’s no wonder you’re more empathetic. Now maybe you understand why I wanted the two of you to meet each other.”

“Oh, I know why you wanted us to meet—”

“No, I don’t think you do.”

Mallory crossed her arms. “You’re honestly gonna sit there and tell me you weren’t trying to fix me up?”

“Not in the conventional sense, no. I’m serious,” she said at Mallory’s smirk. “Yes, I’d love for you to find a man who’ll love you the way you deserve to be loved. I’m not gonna apologize for that. But even now that I know Zach Talbot is single, I’m not all that sure he’s that man.”

This was a shocker. “Really?”

“Really. Well, not now, anyway. Because when his brother and I were up at the house, he filled me in a little more about what Zach’s been through.”

“Oh, Lord, Mama—”

“I did not ask him, I swear. But Josh is clearly worried about him. So’s the rest of his family, I gather. Zach’s the oldest of the four boys—the second one’s off finding himself or whatever, and then there’s Josh and his twin brother Levi—”

“There’s two of them?” With his dark good looks, Josh could put most of the Hollyhood hotties to shame. “Damn.”

“You said it. But Josh and Levi are fraternal twins, Josh said. Anyway...” She waved one hand. “Zach was always the quiet one, but since his wife’s death, Josh says, it’s like Zach’s buried himself in his sorrow. Not that he ever was the life of the party or anything. More the serious type, you know? But for more than two years, it’s like he’s been in a fog. And the more Josh and I talked, the more it occurred to me you might be able to help him find his way out of that fog. As a friend, Mallory Ann. Only as a friend.”

“And I’m supposed to believe that?”

“I do not understand why you always think I have ulterior motives.”

“Um, because I’ve known you for nearly forty years? But even accepting your premise...why do you think I’d be able to help him?”

“Because you’ve been where he is. Not losing a spouse, no, but having your world turned on its head. And you yourself said it hurts you to see others in pain—”

“That doesn’t exactly make me an expert in helping them move past it. And anyway, I would think your situation is more similar to his than mine is.”

Mama stroked the sleeping dog’s head for a moment. “On the surface, that makes sense. But...”

“But what?”

Her mother’s eyes met hers. “Your father and I...we weren’t exactly what you’d call soul mates. Oh, we liked each other well enough, and we got along fine. Shoot, I can count on the fingers of one hand the times we argued. And I truly grieved him when he died. I mean that. Jimmy was a good man. But I remember the day—it was right after your tenth birthday, as I recall—when it suddenly dawned on me I wasn’t in love with him. Never had been. I loved him, of course. Respected him, absolutely. And God knows I wanted more...” She shook her head. “It just never happened.”

Frankly, Mallory wasn’t nearly as shocked as she probably should’ve been. Mama was absolutely right about Daddy being a good man, and Mallory had loved him to pieces. And he, her. But her parents had had separate bedrooms for as long as she could remember. True, there’d been shared laughter, but it’d been more the laughter of friends, not lovers.

“And you’re telling me this now, why?”

“Don’t really know, to be truthful. Except something about being out here...it makes me want to be more honest, maybe. Must be the thinner air or something.”

Mallory smiled. “So why’d you marry him?”

“Oh, you know. Small town, timing was right...” She shrugged. “I had no complaints, though, all told. Don’t think Jimmy did, either. Maybe because we didn’t have any other frame of reference, I don’t know. But my point is, if what Josh says is true—and my eyes and ears tell me it is—I can’t relate to that young man’s sense of loss, of upheaval, nearly as well as I think you can.”

Wishing to hell the light was off, Mallory looked away. Because, fine, her mother was right—Mallory could definitely relate to the hurt she saw in those deep blue eyes, even though their situations were nothing alike. She also guessed Zach was doing everything in his power to keep everyone from knowing how much. Because she’d been there, too. Still was, frankly.

But what struck her even more was how close to home her mother’s confession had hit. That even as Mallory found herself perturbed for her mother’s sake that she’d apparently never experienced true, all-consuming love, she realized...neither had she. That her own marriage hadn’t exactly been all about the passion, either. When it ended, she’d felt more disappointed than devastated. Had Russell felt even that much? she wondered.

And if she let her thoughts continue down this path, she’d be screwed. Hoping to ease the ache in her back, she fisted the cushion on either side of her hips to shift on the sofa. “And what, exactly, do you think I could do for Zach?”

“Be an example, maybe?”

“Of what? My spine is broken, not my heart—”

“Then maybe you should remember those first few weeks, after the accident, when you were sure your life was over. No, you’re no expert, maybe, but you’ve overcome so much, baby—”

“Oh, Mama...”

“What?”

She reached for her mother’s hand. “In case you hadn’t noticed, my life has kind of imploded over the last year or so. Again. Whole reason I’m here, you know? To take stock, figure out what comes next. Maybe to you it looked like I was doing okay—”

“More than ‘okay,’ honey—”

“Physically? Yes, I’ve exceeded everyone’s expectations. Not to mention my own. And I’m grateful for that, believe me. But my marriage fell apart, my son’s living with his father, and I’ve been in career limbo since the accident. Those are the facts. I’m no more in the position to be a cheerleader for somebody else—particularly somebody I’m guessing would not take kindly to some stranger sticking her nose in his personal life—than the man in the moon. I came here to get away from complications, not pile more on.”

“And it’s not like you to feel sorry for yourself.”

“Seriously?”

“Oh, don’t give me that look—yes, that one. Because you know full well you wouldn’t’ve made the progress you did if I’d babied you. If I’d felt sorry for you. And damned if I’m gonna start now. So you’ve had a few setbacks. Big deal. This, too, shall pass.”

And the elephant swaggered into the room and plopped its big ole butt on the pavers between them.

“I know you think I shouldn’t’ve left LA. Or given up on Landon—”

“I never said that.”

“You didn’t have to, the undertones to every one of our conversations are loud and clear.”

Mama’s mouth pulled tight. “Then, no, I don’t think leaving was the answer. And it wasn’t Landon you gave up on. It was yourself.”

Mallory’s face warmed. “Being realistic—or taking time to get my head on straight—is not feeling sorry for myself. Or giving up. Whether you think so or not. And what on earth does any of this have to do with Zach Talbot?”

Shifting the dog in her arms, her mother stood. “You need a purpose, honey. A reason to get up in the mornings. To get out of your own head. And right now it doesn’t look to me like you have that. I’m only saying, that young man might be why you were led to come here.”

“Now you’re just talking crazy.”

“Yeah, well, at least I’m talking. At least I’m facing the truth. Not running away from it.”

With that, Mama shook back her hair as much as a ton of hairspray would allow and left the room.

But the worst part of it was that Mama was right. Dammit.

Then again, if Mallory was as messed up as her loving mother seemed to think she was, what on earth good would she be to Zach? Who by all accounts was equally as messed up?

She tossed aside the throw over her legs to get back in the chair, which she rolled across the floor to turn out the damn light, so she could sit in the damn dark and consider her sins.

Which, apparently, were many.

Dammit.

Chapter Three

By rights, Zach should’ve let his brother return the sunglasses to Dorelle. Except Josh—rightly—pointed out that Mallory’s mother would be far more likely to pay another visit to the clinic than Josh would get anywhere near where they lived on the other side of town. And since they didn’t look like some cheapo discount store things, Josh guessed she’d probably like them back.

Sure enough, the next day Dorelle called, asked if Josh had brought them by. So naturally Zach said he’d be glad to return them to her since she had no reason to bring the dog in at the moment. No, of course it wasn’t a problem.

So here he was, standing on the wooden-planked porch fronting the ranch-style house, set off far enough from the highway that the surrounding pinons and aspens easily swallowed up whatever traffic noise there might have been. It was real pretty out here, Zach had to admit, even though with two young boys and his practice he’d grown to appreciate the convenience of in-town living. Even if the town was Whispering Pines, where convenience was definitely in the eye of the beholder. Still—he turned, smiling at Benny watching the boys chase each other across a space far too large to be called a front yard—sometimes he missed living out in the country.

The front door—carved, huge, way overdone for the house—opened. In a dark green sweater that made her eyes go more hazel than gray, Mallory looked up at him, frowning. Zach lifted the sunglasses. She sighed.

“I swear, that woman loses more pairs of sunglasses. But you didn’t have to bring them. We could’ve picked them up the next time we were in town—”

“She asked.”

“Then I guess that explains the cookies.”

“Cookies?”

“Three kinds, last time I checked.” She leaned over to look past him. “And I take it the comets streaking across my yard are the boys?”

“They have two settings—warp speed and zonked out.”

Mallory chuckled, but her smile didn’t quite blossom full out. “Sounds familiar. Well, I suppose you may as well bring them in to eat the cookies. Because heaven knows I don’t need them—the chair makes my butt look big enough, thank you.”

Swallowing a grin, Zach turned and called. Panting and flush-faced, they ran over, the dog plodding slowly behind. Zach automatically started plucking bits of dried grass out of his youngest’s hair. “You guys remember Miss Keyes from yesterday?”

“Uh-huh,” they said in unison, doing the bobble-head thing as the dog finally finished the journey...and promptly planted his muddy front paws on Mallory’s lap and started to lick her face, his tail pumping a mile a minute.

“Benny!” Zach bellowed over Mallory’s shrieks and the boys’ explosion of giggles, grabbing the dog’s collar and tugging. Hard. Like trying to move a five-hundred-pound boulder. “Down!” With a mighty yank, he finally got the dog off Mallory’s lap. “And you two can stop right now,” he said to the boys. Who of course only laughed harder.

Mortified, Zach turned back to Mallory, busy wiping dog slobber off her cheek. He dug in his jacket pocket for a tissue. Which, with drippy-nosed boys, he always carried. Amazingly, it was actually clean.

“I’m so sorry!” he said, handing over the tissue and glaring at the completely unrepentant dog. “I had no idea he’d do that—”

“No worries,” she said, chuckling, mopping up the dog spit. “Come here, baby... No, it’s okay, don’t you pay any attention to the mean ol’ man...”

The dog gleefully obeyed her, wagging back to again get in her face, grinning his doggy grin and clearly enjoying the hell out of her fawning all over him. A moment later Dorelle appeared, bringing with her the scents of chocolate and brown sugar.

“Oh, I’m so glad y’all came!” she said, snatching the glasses from Zach. “Can they have some cookies?” She beamed down at the boys. “Right out of the oven, all gooey and warm.”

Two sets of pleading eyes swung to his, and Zach sighed. “Only a couple, they haven’t had dinner yet.”

“Got it,” Dorelle said, gathering the boys to her like a mama hen and herding them toward the kitchen. “Y’all like milk with your cookies? Or juice...?”

Zach returned his gaze to Mallory, her lap still full of blissful dog. “Um... I wasn’t actually planning on staying?”

“Meet my mother, the unstoppable force,” she said, gently pushing the dog down so Zach could come inside, into a spacious entryway flanked by a living area on one side, a formal dining room on the other. Not that he knew much about decorating, but the overall effect seemed more yard sale hodgepodge than designer-contrived. Or maybe that was the contrivance. “Oh, and by the way, Mama’s concept of a ‘couple’ probably does not jibe with yours.”

“That’s okay, neither does my mother’s.”

“And by ‘not planning on staying,’” she said, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at him, “was that you just trying to be polite? Or do you really have someplace else to be?”

“Would it make any difference?”

“To my mother? Not a lot, no.”

“And to you?”

Her eyebrows lifted. As did the corners of her mouth. “Far be it from me to detain a gentleman under false pretenses,” she said with a slight bow. “Or keep him against his will. Although I’m sure you know my mother probably didn’t leave those sunglasses behind on accident.”

Zach shoved his hands in his back pockets, unsure about how he felt by this turn of events. Unsure, period. “I did have my suspicions.”

Mallory glanced at the dog for a moment, then back up at Zach. “She’ll swear up one side and down the other she’s not trying to fix me up, but the woman lies like a rug.”

He smiled. “So I take it you’re not exactly on board with her plans?”

After a moment, she said, “The past five years haven’t exactly been a picnic. All I want is a little peace, you know? Some space where nothing’s happening. I am not looking for someone new in my life, believe me. At least not now.” Her lips curved. “And I suspect,” she said gently, “you know exactly where I’m coming from.”

Her understanding rattled him more than he was about to let on. “I do. So the question is...do we tell your mother?”

“Oh, I suppose we should let her have her fun. She doesn’t get much of that these days. And anyway, you seem reasonably sane, which is more than can be said for ninety percent of the men I usually come in contact with. The women, too, for that matter.” Her eyes narrowed. “I feel like you and I could actually have a real conversation, if we put our minds to it.”

Something like a tiny spark flickered in the center of his chest. “Then we don’t have any pressing engagements.”

“Good,” she said, then started toward the large living room, the tile changing over to bare wooden floors. A doorway at the far end opened into what was probably a converted garage, through which he glimpsed a few pieces of exercise equipment. The dog plodded beside her, her new BFF.

“Nice place.”

“Don’t know about ‘nice,’ but it met the main criteria—right location, all on one level, easy access to the outside. It took surprisingly little to retrofit it for my needs. I know the furniture’s goofy, but that’s what happens when seventies’ kitsch—my mother’s stuff from our old ranch—meets I-don’t-really-give-a-rat’s-hiney. And, yes, the torture chamber vibe—” she nodded toward the exercise gear “—adds a nice touch, don’t you think? Seriously, I have absolutely no style sense whatsoever. Nor do I care. And please, sit. Since I am. Of course, I always am, so there’s that. Or we can go take a tour of the grounds, if you’d rather? I doubt Mama’s gonna let your boys out of her clutches for a while.”

Zach wondered if she always prattled like that. If he made her nervous. Although he could only imagine all the people she’d met over the years. Worked with. Why a country vet like him should discombobulate her, he couldn’t imagine. But if getting outside put her mind at ease...

“Sure. Josh asked if I’d check out the stable conditions for Waffles, anyway. He’s pretty protective of the horses that leave his care.” He grinned as she led him through a glassed-in sunroom and onto an obviously new deck that looked over a small pond. “And every bit as bad as your mother.”

She belted out a laugh that made him smile. “You saying we’re doomed?”

“That’d be my take on it, yep.”

“Family,” she muttered as Benny collapsed in a patch of sunshine on the deck and promptly passed out. “Can’t live without ’em, can’t kill ’em. Aw...poor guy. He’s not exactly a pup, is he?”

“Nope. In fact, he’s closing in on fourteen.”

“Get out!” she said, chuckling when the dog released a deep, contented breath. “He’s in fantastic shape for an old dude. You’ve obviously taken great care of him.”

“Actually I’ve only had him a few months, since his owner passed away. She made me promise to take Benito if anything happened to her. Since she was in her nineties, it was touch-and-go which of them would leave first. And she was worried about what would happen if he ended up in a shelter.” Squatting beside the golden, Zach gently stroked the warm fur. “Not many people want to adopt older dogs.”

His eyes still closed, Benny lethargically thumped his tail, then lifted his head to give Zach’s hand a quick slurp before drifting back to sleep. Zach stood, smiling for the old dude. “So how could I not make whatever time he has left as good as possible? And he and the kids are inseparable.”

“I can see that. Then again, dogs and boys are a match made in heaven.”

He looked over to see a gentle smile creasing Mallory’s face as she watched the dog. “You’ve got a pretty soft spot for them, too, I’m guessing.”

“I was raised on a ranch, remember? We always had dogs. Four or five, at least.”

“But Edgar’s your mom’s?”

“He is. We had three pups, back in LA. Rescues, all of ’em.”

“Breeds?”

“Mixed. One big, two medium. They’re with my ex. Or more to the point, with Landon. Because no way was I going to separate them. Poor kid’s been through enough, he can keep the dogs. Well. On to the stables?”

“Sure.”

Her shoulders bunched under the sweater as she navigated the gently sloping ramp leading to what looked like a recently poured cement path, the autumn sun turning her hair nearly the same color as the early-frost-kissed sycamore leaves overhead. “I actually closed on the place three months ago. Took some time, though, to get this all done. And my Realtor was a jewel, supervising it all.”

“It looks like it was always like this.”

“That was the idea. You ever been here before? For the previous owners, maybe?”

Zach shook his head. “Property’s been vacant for years. Twenty, at least.” He stopped short of the stables—four stalls, what looked like a good-sized loft—to take in the spacious dog runs, a sturdy chicken coop. And beyond them, a small orchard. Tart cherry trees, probably. Several types of apple. Whatever might actually produce fruit at this altitude.

Then he glanced over at the stables, and she said, “Yes, I’ve already checked them out. They’re fine. Although I probably won’t bring the horse over until closer to when Landon gets here. Since Waffles needs to be ridden. And it’s not like I can simply hop up on the saddle and take off.”

For the first time, he heard in her voice, if not exactly fear, at least apprehension. A stark contrast to the persona she otherwise presented. To him, anyway. But not only was it none of his concern whether she got back up on a horse or not, he hardly knew the woman. Still, he was surprised how mad it made him, that she’d let fear get in the way of doing whatever she needed, wanted, to do.

Like he had room to talk.

He let his gaze roam over the property, which seemed to go on for a while. “How much land you got here?”

“About twenty acres. After LA, I wanted some space. Needed it.”

“You miss Texas.”

“More than I wanted to admit, yeah.”

“So why didn’t you buy a place there?”

“Didn’t miss it that much,” she said, and he smiled.

“What are you going to do with all of this, though?”

“Haven’t decided. Doubt I’ll entertain much, so I don’t feel any pressure to spiff it up. Although the landscaping could stand some tending. You know anybody who could do that?”

“I’ll get you some names.”

“Good. Thanks.” She paused, her hands folded in her lap. “But I’m sure you’re not the only one who wonders why I chose to buy up here.”

“Because of what happened, you mean?”

She smiled. “Let me guess...your brother?”

“When we were discussing the horse, yeah. As for other people wondering about it...” He shrugged. “None of their business. And if anybody gets up in yours...ignore ’em.”

* * *

Looking back, Mallory thought it was almost scary how naive she’d been when she’d first arrived in LA. How easily she’d trusted people she’d later discovered did not deserve that trust. Twenty years on, she was far more cautious. Far less likely to take anyone at face value.

But something about this man resurrected all that old...innocence, she supposed it was. She knew in her bones she was safe with him, that he was as honest and pure as the landscape that had wrapped itself around her soul from the moment she’d seen it.

“I bought a house here,” she said, “because I fell in love with the area fifteen years ago. The accident didn’t change that.”

“Was that before or after the first Transmutant movie?”

A laugh burst from her chest. “After. By several years. But oh, Lord, what I wouldn’t give to expunge those from my history.” She cocked her head. “So you’ve seen them?”

He smiled. “Only one, when I was a teenager. Although I’d apparently expunged it from mine,” he said, and she laughed again, then sighed.

“I was so young. Barely legal. But both Russell—”

“Russell?”

“Eames. My ex. The director?” Zach shrugged, and she smiled. “Anyway...he and my agent swore it was a good deal. And by the third release, it was a very good deal, money-wise.” A hawk fluttering overhead made her look up. “Although by rights I should’ve been pigeonholed as The Hot Chick and my career would’ve been over before I was twenty-five. Russell’s taking a chance on me beyond that, that I could do something different... I was extraordinarily fortunate.”

“No wonder you married him. If he had that much faith in you.”

A smile pushing at her mouth, Mallory looked out over the wooded ravine dropping off twenty feet from the path. “He really did.” Because that much, at least, was true. “And yes, I suppose that was a major reason why I did marry him. Even though everyone thought I was nuts, what with his being only a couple years younger than my father and all. But for a long time, Russ was everything to me. My champion, my protector, not to mention my acting coach...” She released a breath. “For that much, I’ll always owe him a great deal.”

“So what happened?”

She shrugged. And hedged. “Ultimately we couldn’t adjust to our new roles. As simple as that.” Her mouth twisted. “Russell’s new wife is even younger. Gorgeous. Ridiculously smart. Not in the industry. And Landon likes her. You know, now that I think of it, I think I hate her.”

“Can’t imagine why,” Zach said, and she snorted. Then her eyes met his. “It was a damn good run, you know? I had a career most people can only dream about, and God knows I never expected.” Half smiling, she squinted back at the forest. “And no matter what happens from here on out, nobody can take that away from me.”

After some moments, she heard Zach sigh. “I know what you mean. All the good stuff...it really is ours forever, isn’t it?”

“It really is,” she said softly.

“Do you miss it?”

Mallory met his gaze again. “Sometimes. All the insanity that goes with it?” She shrugged. “Not so much. And I don’t only mean what actually goes into making a film. That has its moments, sure. Magical ones, actually, when suddenly a scene comes together...” She smiled. “There’s a reason I kept doing it. Well, other than the fact that I had absolutely no skill for anything else. Aside from barrel racing, that is. But the world of movie-making...it can be hard. And weirdly far less real at times than the make-believe one up on the screen. Even so, I’ll admit to wishing the decision to quit had been mine.”

He leaned one hand against an apple tree trunk, glancing up into the tangled branches before facing her again.

“And now?”

Was it strange, that she understood exactly what he was asking? “It’s funny—at first I worried that after everything I’d worked for, I’d fade into oblivion. That it’d be as though I’d never existed. Then I found myself hoping people would lose interest, move on to the next thing. And yes, you do start to feel like a thing. A commodity. When that didn’t happen, I realized all I wanted was to be left alone to deal with my life in peace. But mostly for Landon to be left alone to live his.”

“That why you left him with his dad?”

There was no censure in his voice. At least none that she could hear. And certainly she saw nothing but compassion in those gentle blue eyes, so calm and steady behind his glasses. Then a short, dry laugh escaped his lips.

“Sorry, what was that I said about people getting up in your business—?”

“It’s okay. And actually it feels good to talk about it.”

“You sound surprised.”

“It’s not something I usually do. Only child and all that.”

“No friends?”

“Other than my mother? Not really, no.”

Still leaning on the tree trunk, Zach shoved his other hand in his pocket, his gaze tangling up with hers so hard she lost her breath. “So tell me about Landon. If you want to, I mean.”

At least, that’s what Mallory thought he’d said. Hard to tell through the buzzing between her ears. Jeebus. In a few short sentences, this stranger had offered more of himself, been more accepting of her, than Russell had over their entire relationship. She’d had no idea they even made men like that.

And hellz, yeah, you better believe she was going to take advantage of it.

“Leaving him behind was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” she said over the lump in her throat. “But all the attention was really beginning to take its toll on the kid. Especially as he got older. The paparazzi never left us alone. Never. It was ridiculous—I have no idea what they thought they would see, what I’d do that would’ve been even remotely interesting, let alone fascinating. But wherever we went, there they were. No matter how much I tried to evade them.”

“That sucks.”

“You’re telling me. Even if Landon didn’t say anything, I could tell how hard it was on him.” A huge sigh pushed from her lungs. “What I said before, about only wanting him to feel normal? That’s all I’d ever wanted for him, even before all this. So his dad and I decided it would be best for him if I removed myself for a while.”

“Did you consider taking him with you instead?” he asked gently.

“Of course. But the kid’s life is there. Friends, activities...” She smiled. “His dad. Who can’t leave the scene. Or doesn’t think he can. And directors aren’t sexy from a gossip perspective. Seriously, how often do you see Steven Spielberg or Ron Howard’s picture on the front page of The National Enquirer? I was much more intriguing, in a let’s-all-pity-the-gimp kind of way. And I’m allowed to say that, being the gimp and all.”

“And your boy’s happier?”

“I think—hope—he’s at least more...at peace. And honestly? I’m still questioning whether I made the right choice. But it was the only one I felt I could. I’d do anything for that kid. Anything. I’m sure you know what that’s like.”

His lips barely curved. “All too well.”

Mallory smiled back, then released another sigh. “At least Landon knows it’s not permanent, that it’s kind of like when I’d go on location and he’d stay behind, or only come visit from time to time. As much as he remembers that. If all goes well, the sharks will move on to other feeding grounds and I’ll be able to return undetected. In the meantime we talk at least once a day, if not more. I haven’t abandoned my child. Even if it sometimes feels like I have.”

At that, she saw something new in his expression. Almost...annoyance, if she had to name it. Not that she was surprised. No matter how many knots she twisted herself into trying to explain, she doubted few people would understand. Then he reached up and twisted a Gala apple off a nearby tree, holding it out. “Want one? I can’t guarantee it won’t be mealy, this time of year, but—”

So she’d gotten the wrong end of the stick, maybe? “No, thanks, got a whole bowlful inside. And the ones we’ve eaten so far have been perfect. Tart and sweet at the same time.”

“Like memories,” Zach said quietly, frowning at the apple for a moment before taking a bite.

“I suppose so, yes.”

Not looking at her, he chewed for a moment, then nodded, wiping a trickle of juice on his sleeve. “You’re right.” He waved the apple at her. “Perfect.”

“Then please take some home with you, there’s no way we’ll ever eat them all.”

“I might do that. Thanks.” He took another bite, then said, “I should probably go.”

“Ah.”

Zach frowned. “What?”

“We talk about why I left my son behind and two minutes later you suddenly need to leave?”

“No,” he said slowly, “it occurred to me we’ve left my rambunctious boys with your mother, who’s probably more than ready to be rescued by now.”

“Really?”

The frown deepened. “You don’t seriously think I’m judging you?”

“I think it’d be weird if you weren’t.”

“Call me weird, then. Mallory...nobody can truly know what they’d do in someone else’s shoes, but it’s obvious you didn’t make that decision lightly. Or that you were only thinking of yourself. You’re only doing the best you can. Same as every other parent in the world. And something else—whether Landon fully understands it or not right now, you’ve set an example of how the best choice isn’t always the easiest. In fact, it rarely is.”

It was several moments before she could speak. “Wow.”

He shrugged. “Something I remember my parents drumming into us. Just thought I’d share.”

Mallory smiled. “My daddy used to say the same thing, actually. So...thanks. But please don’t feel you have to leave on my mother’s account. When she’s had her fill of little boys—” she wagged her phone “—she’ll let me know. Trust me, that woman is in hog heaven right now. And your boys probably are, too. That woman has grandmothering down to a fine art.”

Chuckling, Zach slid down against the tree’s trunk to sit in a patch of mottled sunlight—sending a shudder of silly pleasure through her. She had nothing to offer this man—other than apples and cookies, maybe—and yet he was still here. How long had it been since someone other than her son had wanted to be with her for her own sake? Warmed her right down to her unfeeling toes, it did.

Zach smiled—and oh, my, did he have a nice smile—when Benny appeared, wagging his tail. “Hey, guy...” He ruffled the dog’s head. “Good nap?” Benny sniffed the apple, actually shook his head, then lay down in the dirt at Zach’s feet as he nodded toward the dog runs.

“I seem to remember the previous owners raised purebred Labs. I think Granville may have even gotten one for his daughter. Hey—maybe you should think of fostering, yourself. You certainly have the space for it.”

Mallory stared at the runs, imagining. “Wouldn’t that mean a full-time commitment?”

“Not necessarily. And God knows the local shelter would be grateful for anything you could do. It’s no-kill, so they get overcrowded from time to time.”

“Let me...think about it.”

“Fair enough.” Zach took another bite of apple, rubbing the dog’s rump with the toe of his boot as he chewed, then threw the core into the ravine as her phone pinged—a text from Mama.

“She’s asking if we’d like to join them.”

One side of Zach’s mouth lifted. “Her way of saying she’s reached her limit?”

“Not that she’d ever admit that.”

Chuckling, Zach pushed himself to his feet, brushing off his butt as he walked toward her. “Yeah, it’s all fun and games until somebody slugs somebody. My own mother regularly threatened to put us up for sale. Unfortunately for her, we knew it was a hollow threat.”

They started back toward the house, Zach’s stride comfortably matching her wheelchair’s pace. And right then, in this perfect setting with this incredibly sweet man walking beside her, Mallory felt almost...whole.

A moment to cherish, for sure.

* * *

Zach had just buckled the boys into their car seats when Dorelle came scurrying out to the truck, an enormous plastic container clutched to her chest.

“Cookies,” she said, a little breathlessly, practically shoving the container into his hands.

“For the entire town?”

“I might’ve gotten a little carried away.”

Zach smiled. “Well, thank you. My mother used to bake up a storm until my father had a heart attack—”

“Oh, no—”

“It’s okay, it was some time ago now, and he’s doing great. But things like cookies are pretty much off-limits. And no sense in tempting the poor man, she says. Anyway, there’s a whole bunch of us who have no problem with cookies, so these won’t go to waste, believe me.”

She beamed. “I’m so glad. Enjoy—”

“Can I ask you something?”

The question had popped out completely without his brain’s permission. Except if it hadn’t, it would’ve bugged him like an invisible thorn that hurts like hell even though you can’t see it.

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