Making an offer on love

Troublemaker-turned-architect Gabe Matthews has an agenda—and a serious relationship is nowhere on it. To repay his mentor, he trades the big city for the rugged country so he can persuade the sexy cowgirl next door, Danica Brody, to sell the Lightning Creek Ranch.

Soon Gabe is pulling out all the stops to get close to Dani. But earning her trust complicates everything. He knows the last thing she needs is another run-in with deception, and the attraction he doesn’t see coming changes his every plan.

Welcome to Lightning Creek Ranch, nestled in the foothills of Montana’s majestic Bitterroot Mountains, home to the strong-willed Brody family. Life isn’t always easy on the Lightning Creek, but challenges are nothing new to the men and women who live and work here.

And there’s something about the ranch, something in the beauty and solitude that works a kind of magic on those in need of a second shot at life...

Dear Reader,

More often than not, when I start tossing around ideas for a book, the hero comes to me first. He’s a guy with a problem, and after I coax him into the story, it’s my job to make things get worse before they get better. Gabe Matthews, the hero of To Tempt a Cowgirl, didn’t fit the mold. He had a problem—a chaotic childhood and a serious brush with the law—but that’s been taken care of, and now he’s successful and happy. How am I supposed to work with a hero like that?

I need to give him a new problem.

Gabe goes to Montana to help procure the Lightning Creek Ranch in a quiet private sale as a favor to the man who helped him get his life back on track. His plan is to get to know the owner, then broach the matter of a sale. He’s good at what he does and he fully expects to succeed in his mission. What he doesn’t expect is to fall for the owner of the property.

Dani Brody, owner of the Lightning Creek Ranch, has trust issues. She’s been betrayed by her fiancé and has no intention of getting involved with another guy anytime soon...although her new neighbor is proving to be a bit of a temptation. The closer she and Gabe get, the more she thinks he might be a guy worth taking a chance on. And then she discovers the real reason he came to Montana.

Gabe has a problem.

I hope you enjoy reading Dani and Gabe’s story. I made them work for their happy ending, but they’re better off because of it.

Happy reading!

Jeannie Watt

JeannieWatt.com

To Tempt a Cowgirl

Jeannie Watt

www.millsandboon.co.uk

JEANNIE WATT lives in the heart of a rural Nevada ranching community. When she’s not at her computer writing, she collects and sews vintage clothing patterns—her latest obsession. Every now and again she and her husband slip away to San Francisco to soak up the city or run a 10K, but for the most part she enjoys living in her quiet desert setting, thinking up new ways to torture her characters before they get their happily-ever-after.

I’d like to dedicate this book to the staff of the Harlequin Art Department.

Thank you for all the great covers! I swear, sometimes you guys read my mind.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

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

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Extract

CHAPTER ONE

DANICA BRODY STOPPED just inside the door of the livestock sale barn and inhaled deeply. Pine shavings, hay, damp earth and horse—heaven. Her former fiancé hadn’t shared that feeling, which was why walking into this particular barn felt so damned good. She didn’t have to justify her actions to a man who didn’t understand her passion for horses or her need to right a wrong.

Maybe it was a good thing that Chad had been so very bad at cheating.

She bought a sale catalog, debated about coffee, then decided against it because her stomach was in a knot. Several riders circled the arena, showing off their horses’ moves prior to the sale, and Dani drifted closer. Lacy J wasn’t there, but she didn’t expect her to be. Not unless her current owner had found someone brave enough to ride her.

“Hey, Dani!”

She turned to see her high-school friend Gina Salinas waving at her from where she stood behind a stroller a few feet away. “I’m so glad you’re back,” Gina said as Dani reversed course. They kept up on Facebook, but it was the first time Dani had actually seen her friend in over a year.

“I had nowhere else to go after SnowFrost closed its doors.” Dani bent over the stroller to smile at the sleeping baby and was instantly charmed by his thick thatch of dark hair and amazingly long eyelashes. “He’s gorgeous.” Very much like his mother.

“I do good work,” Gina agreed with a satisfied smile. “How long are you staying?”

Dani straightened, rolling the sale catalog in her hands. “Forever, as far as I’m concerned. Someone has to live on the ranch and feed the cows.” All five of them. Sadly, the Lightning Creek was no longer a working ranch, but it was home and she was glad to be back.

“If you need a job, we’ll be hiring at the café soon.” Gina glanced down at her sleeping baby. “I cut back to half days to spend more time with Lucas and they’re feeling the pinch.”

“Thanks, but I’m going to start my own business.”

Gina glanced back up. “Horse training full-time?”

“What better time that when I have a fat severance check and can live rent-free?”

“What I wouldn’t give for rent-free,” Gina said with a roll of her dark eyes. “But my mom just moved in with me, so I’m not complaining. Much.” She smiled ruefully. “At least I have a live-in sitter and someone to share rent.”

“Dani!”

She turned again, this time to find herself enveloped in a bear hug. After nearly having the breath squeezed out of her, she careful extricated herself from the blond giant’s embrace. “Mac. Good to see you.” She and Mac had been close friend since sharing a table in the world’s most boring seventh grade science class.

Mac beamed at her before nodding a stiff hello at Gina, who smiled back tentatively.

“Hey, I’ll see you later,” Gina said to Dani. She smiled again at Mac, then wheeled the stroller away, disappearing into the crowd. Mac watched her go before turning his attention back to Dani. “You coming to the tavern this Friday? It’s one of your last chances to see me for a while.”

“Heading across the state?”

“The oil patch calls.”

“If I don’t, I’ll make it up to you when you get back,” Dani said, because she hadn’t yet decided exactly what her plans were. She hadn’t even planned to come to this sale until she’d heard that Lacy would be on the block. She was still unpacking and figuring out which project to tackle first on the ranch. “I assume you’re here for your paint mare?”

“You aren’t going to bid against me, are you?” she asked, only half-joking. Mac did love a flashy horse.

“Are you kidding? After what she did to her last owner? But I thought you might like to know that some guy has been hanging around her pen for the past half hour or so.”

“Yeah?” Dani asked, her eyebrows rising as her stomach twisted a bit. “Anyone I know?”

“I don’t know him.” Mac gave her a dubious look. “Are you sure you want this mare back?”

“Yeah. I do.”

She was halfway to the door leading to the holding area when he called, “You owe me a beer.”

“For...?” she called back.

“General principles.”

She laughed and waved, but her smile faded as soon as she started toward the pens. She was on a mission to rescue the horse she should never have sold. Her one hope was that the mare went cheaply, because the money she was about to spend should actually be going back into her business. The last thing she needed was for someone unfamiliar with the mare and her history to end up as her new owner.

* * *

GABE MATTHEWS LEANED his elbows on the round metal rails of the horse pen and surveyed the people as they walked into the holding area. So far no Danica Brody, even though he’d heard she was interested in buying the paint mare now eyeing him suspiciously across six feet of wood shavings.

Maybe he had the wrong paint mare.

Unlikely. The only other spotted horse in the entire barn was barely larger than a pony, so logic told him that the mare of interest had to be this one.

A deep voice with a distinctive country timbre came over the loudspeaker, encouraging folks to get their auction numbers if they hadn’t already done so. It was close to showtime and Gabe had thought for certain that Ms. Brody would check on the mare prior to purchase. Maybe he’d gotten bad information.

He dropped his chin to study his new boots as he debated. Cut and run? Hang out a little longer?

If she didn’t show, she didn’t show. He wanted to meet the woman for the first time on neutral turf and this sale had seemed like the perfect opportunity, but if it didn’t work out he’d figure out something else. Hell, maybe he’d buy the paint mare and Danica Brody could come to him.

“You like her?”

A feminine voice near his shoulder startled him and he turned to find himself looking into a pair of large hazel eyes set in a striking heart-shaped face.

“I do,” he said, hiding his surprise in a smile. Danica Brody had come to him.

She gave a small shrug and placed her hands on the rail a foot or so from his, studying the horse as he, in turn, casually studied her profile. She wore a straw cowboy hat and her long wheat-colored hair was pulled back into a loose braid fastened with a silver concho.

“Are you the owner?” he asked.

“No. The owner of this particular horse should be beaten about the head and shoulders.”

He laughed. “Yeah?”

She looked sideways at him, as if wondering if she should have spoken so freely. “Are you a friend of Len Olsen?”

“Can’t say that I am.”

“Wouldn’t matter if you were, I guess,” she said, looking back at the mare. “I wouldn’t take back what I said.” She frowned at the mare. “Do you know anything about this horse?”

“Just what’s in the catalog.”

“If I were you,” she said, “I would steer clear of this mare. There are a lot better horses here. Horses that would suit you better.”

One corner of Gabe’s mouth rose in amusement. Warned off. “That’s a rather bold statement, since you know nothing about me.”

Danica didn’t appear one bit apologetic. “I know horses and this isn’t a horse I would bid on if I were you. You won’t be doing anything but buying trouble. She put her last owner in the hospital.”

“Is that a fact?” he asked. “Which horse would you bid on if you were I?”

She eyed him for a moment and Gabe did his best to look as if he cared about horses. Then she pulled the catalog out of her back pocket and started turning pages.

“Any of the Dunning Ranch horses are good. They have excellent foundation stock.” She flipped a few more pages and pointed at a solid brown, rather boring-looking horse. “I know this gelding. He’s quiet and competent.”

Gabe nodded, trying not to notice just how good Danica Brody smelled as she continued to thumb through the catalog. Something spicy with a hint of floral. A nice change from the pungent smells that permeated the barn.

She looked up at him then. “Are you new to the area? Or did you drive in just for the sale?”

“New to the area,” Gabe answered truthfully. “I’m at the Staley place.”

“The castle?” Danica said on a laugh. “Then we’re neighbors. You drive through my property to get to yours.”

Gabe smiled back. “Imagine that. I’m Gabe Matthews.”

“Dani,” she said. “Did you buy it? The Staley place?”

“Something else I should steer clear of?”

“No. It’s just that it’s been empty for so long...even after it finally sold a few years ago, no one moved in and I heard a rumor it might be for sale again soon.”

“Is it haunted or something?” he asked with an amused smile.

“I don’t know what the deal is, but we—my sisters and I—didn’t really mind when no one moved in. Less traffic across our place. More peace and quiet.”

“I’m temporary,” he said. “Leasing. I’m on a forced vacation and staying there for the time being.”

“Forced vacation, huh?” The loudspeaker blared and Danica glanced over at the stands. “If they’re clearing the arena, then I’d better get my seat.” She patted the metal fence. “Good luck if you decide to bid.” She almost sounded as if she meant it, but she couldn’t stop herself from giving the mare one last long look.

“Same to you,” Gabe said.

* * *

SO WHY HAD that Gabe guy been hanging around Lacy’s pen for such a long time? Mac had seen him there and he’d still been there when she arrived. And if he was on vacation, then why buy a horse?

Perhaps it was a prolonged vacation, and maybe, like Mac, he had a penchant for flashy horses. But he didn’t look like a horse guy, even if he had been wearing cowboy boots. His new jeans, gray crewneck sweater and well worn leather bomber jacket had shouted urbanite.

Maybe he rode English.

Dani took her seat as the first horse came into the arena and when the auctioneer started his spiel, she glanced around the sea of cowboy hats to see if she could spot Gabe. She was just beginning to think she had nothing to worry about when she caught sight of him sitting a few rows down from her and to the left, a number in his hand.

Great.

If he, or anyone, bid against her today, it was only because of Lacy’s color and conformation. No one would be riding the mare today, showing off her moves, because no one knew if or when she was going to explode. Thanks to Len Olsen, Lacy was a gorgeous, untrustworthy animal and Danica needed to get her back. She owed her.

“Hey, gorgeous.” Mac scooted in beside her and Danica slid sideways to give him room. “I see Lacy’s up fourth.”

“Yes. At least it’ll be over quickly.” She shot a look over at Gabe, saw his number paddle shoot into the air and felt a wash of relief as he continued to bid on the palomino now spinning effortlessly on his haunches in the sale pen.

“Here to bring me luck?” Dani asked Mac.

“Why else?” But he seemed to be searching the crowd.

Dani brought her attention back to the bidding action. Gabe bid several times, then when the action got too rich, put his number back on his thigh and kept it there. Now Dani had an idea of his limit, which was unfortunately well above her own.

She closed her eyes and let out a sigh. Mac’s big hand landed on the back of her neck, massaging for a moment, making her head move side to side. “It’ll be okay,” he said as he settled his hand back on his thigh.

But it wasn’t okay. Instead of starting slowly, the bidding on Lacy took off immediately. Dani had planned to wait until the bidding slowed—not that she’d really expected it to take off—and then jump in toward the end. Instead, she sat dazed as the sale price kept rising and rising. Someone really wanted Lacy and it wasn’t her new neighbor, who’d sat without moving. Dani swallowed as disappointment washed over her—she told herself that the mare would be going to a good home if someone was willing to pay that much for her. She glanced over at Gabe, saw him move his paddle, then thrust her own number high in the air. The spotter pointed at her and her competition, who sat somewhere behind her bid again. Her gut twisted.

Too rich. She just couldn’t justify it. She and her sisters had just sunk a lot of money into much-needed fence repair, greatly diminishing her store of available cash. The auctioneer pointed at her questioningly as the bid stalled out. She shook her head, feeling close to tears, which was ridiculous because she didn’t cry.

“Going...going...”

Mac grabbed Dani’s hand and lifted it up high. Her startled gaze jerked up to his face, but he just smiled at her.

“I’m already over budget,” she said, pulling her hand out of his.

“I’ll loan you the rest.”

The auctioneer asked for fifty dollars more. Fifty dollars more. Now twenty-five. He pointed over Dani’s head at her competition, a questioning look on his face. No bid, but Dani still held her breath as he intoned, “G-o-ing....g-o-ing...”

Her heart was pounding. She wanted to win, but if Mac tried to force her hand up again, she was going to have to wrestle him for control or file for bankruptcy.

“Gone!”

Mac wrapped an arm around her and squeezed. “You’re welcome,” he murmured.

“I hope you take payments,” Dani said as she got to her feet.

“And I don’t even charge interest.”

Dani fought a smile as they walked together to the sale office to settle the deal. Lacy J was hers once again.

* * *

FOR ONE ROTTEN MOMENT, Gabe had thought he was going to have to buy the horse. Buy it, “realize” it was too much for him and sell it at a loss to Danica Brody. She’d obviously wanted the mare badly, but had only allowed herself to go to a certain point in the bidding—at least until her friend had intervened. He lingered in his seat until he saw Danica come out of the sale office, tucking her checkbook into her jacket pocket, then followed her to the exit, where he intercepted her. Something flashed in her eyes when she saw him—recognition? Guilt? Satisfaction?

“I thought you said buying this horse is buying trouble—or was that only if I bought her,” he said.

“Oh, no,” she said easily. “I’m buying trouble, too. But the thing is, I know what I’m getting into.”

“And you think I don’t?”

“I truly doubt you know this mare like I do. We kind of grew up together.”

“And then someone ruined her?”

“Something like that.” She held out a hand. “No hard feelings?”

“No,” he said with a half smile as he took her hand, rather enjoying the way it felt in his. Small but strong, smooth and warm. She stepped away and Gabe made his move. “Hey, since we’re neighbors...I don’t suppose you’d like to—”

Her expression instantly shuttered. “No,” she said simply. “But thanks anyway.”

* * *

DANI CROSSED THE lot to where she’d parked her truck and trailer. She’d refused to allow herself to believe she wouldn’t get Lacy back, so had come prepared to haul the horse home. It would have been a lonely trip home if it hadn’t been for Mac. She owed him. Owed the horse. Seemed as if she owed everyone a small debt of gratitude—even Chad for showing his true colors before the wedding. Good of him to save her all that future heartache.

Speaking of men, her neighbor worked fast. She couldn’t really blame him, though, if he was living alone in the castle. Not much to do in the isolated place and coffee with a neighbor would have probably been welcome. Of course, he might have been talking a drink or a date, but she hadn’t given him a chance to offer anything. She was so not in the market right now, but he was damned good-looking with his dark hair and striking gray eyes and she’d felt a nice jolt of...something, when their fingers had touched. A corner of her mouth tilted up as she got her keys out of her pocket. Too bad Jolie wasn’t here. Her sister was a sucker for smoldering hot guys. While she...she’d had enough of that for a while.

Her phone rang in her pocket and she dug it out. Allie. Her oldest sister, who’d also had enough of men for a while.

“I got her,” she said as she unlocked the door to the trailer’s tack room.

“For a song?”

“Uh, no. The song part didn’t happen, but I got her.”

“That’s going to be one expensive lawn ornament, Dan.”

“I—”

“Owe her. I know. And I’m looking forward to seeing her when I come for my stuff.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to drive over tonight? Sleep over?” Dani asked, reaching into the tack room for Lacy’s old halter.

“I’d prefer not to spend the night on the ranch.” Allie spoke matter-of-factly. Too matter-of-factly. Dani pressed her lips together, wishing that her sister could separate her bitterness toward her ex husband from the ranch itself.

“I understand.” The silence that followed her comment stretched on just a moment too long and Dani’s radar went up. “Are you okay?”

“Fine.”

“What happened?” she asked flatly. She knew this tone and also knew that unless something was dreadfully wrong, Allie wouldn’t share without being prodded—the burden of being the stoic older sister that their mother had depended on. “Kyle?”

“Who else? I had to threaten him with a lawyer today in order to convince him to bring back Dad’s old tractor. He still insists he needs it to work around his place.”

“And...”

“You know as well as I do that he doesn’t need a tractor. He wants to sell it to a collector. In fact, from the way he was acting, I think he already has a buyer.” Allie blew out a disgusted breath. “He actually told me that he deserved the tractor in return for the sweat equity he’d put into the place.”

“Oh, yeah,” Dani said. “He was drowning in sweat. That’s why the place is falling apart.”

“Exactly! I asked him why, if he’d put in so much effort, we just paid someone a boatload of money to patch up the fences and gates so the cows would stay home. He didn’t have an answer to that one.”

“I imagine not,” Dani said.

“He is so pissed that he had to go back to work,” Allie continued in a lower voice. “He’d never planned on working again.”

Dani’s former brother-in-law was openly angry that he hadn’t received a share of the property in the divorce settlement, which was why he kept trying to lay claim on anything of value left on the ranch, like, say, a vintage tractor.

“Into every life,” Dani said drily.

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Allie said and then her voice brightened. “But, hey, I didn’t call to cry on your shoulder. I called to see about Lacy. I’m glad you got her.”

“She’s changed,” Dani said.

Allie gave a soft snort. “Haven’t we all? Even Mel.”

“No kidding,” Dani said with a wry smile. Their ultra-driven sister had finally stopped dealing with her demons by never slowing down and had settled on a remote ranch in New Mexico with her new husband. “I need to call her, too. Tell her the news.”

“That reminds me—Mom phoned late last night. They’re heading off to the Great White North to fish. We shouldn’t expect to hear from her for a while.”

“Mom the world traveler.” And she deserved it. After more than a decade of living lean in order to raise the girls on the Lightning Creek Ranch as her late husband had asked, she’d remarried and was living comfortably in Florida. “I hate to cut this short,” Dani said, “but I need to load Lacy while there are still some people around to help if I have trouble.”

“Be careful,” Allie warned in a serious voice. “I’d like you to be in one piece when I see you tomorrow.”

“Will do.” Dani ended the call and dropped the phone back into her pocket. As she started for Lacy’s pen, she saw someone loitering nearby, then stifled a groan as she realized just who it was. Marti Kendall. Petite, toned and tanned, dressed in slim-fitting Wranglers and a studded black T-shirt, she looked like she’d stepped out of a Western fashion ad in Horse & Rider.

“Hey, Marti,” Dani said as she opened the gate to Lacy’s pen, “was that you bidding against me?”

“No,” Marti said with a light laugh, brushing back a hank of her beautifully streaked light brown hair. “I have more than enough horses to deal with. The last thing I need is a crazy one.” She leaned her arms on the rails, fixing Dani with a candid look. “So is it true what I’ve heard?”

“Depends on just what that was,” Dani said, coiling the halter rope. Marti had been a couple of years behind her in school and the undisputed queen of her class—no, make that of Eagle Valley High. The aura still clung to her, making it difficult for Dani to warm up to the woman. What made Marti so certain that she was a cut above everyone else, other than her perfect looks and amazing horse skills?

“That you’ve come home to start training for a living? Just like me and Dad?” she asked brightly.

“Seems like a good time to do it.”

“Wow. I hope you’ve done your research.” She spoke with a note of concern that didn’t fool Dani one bit. “You know that the market is fairly saturated here.”

“I’ll take my chances,” Dani said, trying to infuse some sweetness into her dead tone.

“I guess what I’m saying is, since you’re just starting out, don’t be surprised if you can’t get enough work to make ends meet. Dad and I are kind of the go-to trainers in the region.” She flashed her very perfect teeth. “But you know that.”

“Why,” Dani asked slowly, “would you care if I made ends meet?”

Marti seemed surprised by the question. “Because I’d hate to see you fail.”

Yeah. Right. And I have this bridge...

“I’ll be fine,” Dani said. “Thanks for your concern.”

“Well, good luck.” Marti patted the side of Lacy’s pen, the silver bangles on her arm jingling as she moved. She started for the door, then stopped and turned back. “Since you’re here, can I sign you up for an Eagle Valley Days committee? We have a lot of last-minute details to work out.”

“I need to work out a schedule before I commit. I may not have time.”

“Oh...and Chad’s family is pretty heavily involved. I understand.” She sounded as if she actually did understand as she expertly delivered the Chad jab. “But if you change your mind, give a call. We’re in the book.”

“I’m sure I can find your number.”

“Just look under ‘horse training’ in the Yellow Pages,” Marti said with another bright smile. “I think we’re the first entry.”

* * *

“SHOT DOWN. HOW UNUSUAL.”

Gabe smirked at his assistant, hoping the full effect came across on the FaceTime phone connection, even though Serena Anderson Widmeyer was impervious to both his charm and his temper.

“I’m not trying to date her. I’m trying to get to know her. Make friends.” Then offer her a fair price for a piece of land he needed. He had it on good authority that there were stability issues on the Lightning Creek Ranch and that it had come close to being put on the market a few months ago. He planned to capitalize on that instability as soon as possible.

“Hard to do if she shuts you down,” Serena said with a wicked smile that came through clearly, even though she had the airport terminal window at her back.

“You’re a rotten assistant.”

“That’s what happens when you hire the boss’s family.”

“You aren’t family,” he muttered.

“I was at one time,” she reminded him with a serene smile.

And then she’d come to her senses. She and his best friend, Neal Widmeyer, had been ridiculously unhappy in their marriage, but after the divorce, both had continued to work for Widmeyer Enterprises in different departments. Oddly, they now seemed to like each other much better than when they were married. Good thing, because Stewart Widmeyer did not take well to dissension in the ranks.

“What do you think of the place?” she asked.

“Potential. A lot of potential.” Nestled against a mountain with a fishing stream running through it and within shuttle distance of a ski resort, it was a gem of a property, nicely protected from the rest of the valley by Lightning Creek Ranch acreage.

“Enough to compete with Timberline?” Timberline was the resort on the opposite side of the valley that Stewart’s former partner had essentially stolen before parting ways with Widmeyer Enterprises.

“I think so. Eventually,” Gabe said. But they needed more land, first to insulate the proposed resort from the possibility of encroaching housing developments and, more important, to make a world-class golf course. Timberline didn’t have a golf course and had no hope of procuring the acreage at this point in the game.

That was Stewart’s trump card.

He planned to make a bigger, better, more exclusive resort than Timberline, steal Timberline clientele and make his duplicitous partner, Mark Jeffries, pay. The trick was keeping the plans under wraps while Gabe investigated the possibility of buying the Lightning Creek. If anyone associated with Timberline figured out that Widmeyer Enterprises was looking at property, land prices would go up astronomically. That was where Gabe came in. Jeffries, of course, knew all the family members who worked for Widmeyer. He didn’t know Gabe, who acted as an independent consultant. His name was on no company rosters—he was identified only as Process Resources, Inc. He was nameless and faceless, and was thus able to lease the Staley property with no fear of word leaking out. He’d even drummed up a few side contracts so that he had something to do while he “vacationed” in his new house.

“They just called my flight,” Serena said, “which means you have to do without me for the next two weeks because I’m turning off my phone.”

“Right.”

“No, really. I’m doing it.”

“I’ll expect you to call for an update tomorrow.”

Serena made a rude noise. “Won’t happen. Good luck with Ms. Brody,” she said. “Gotta go.”

“What if I need you?” he asked, just to be a dick.

Serena made a face and then the screen went blank. Gabe smiled to himself as he set the phone down on the table.

Good luck with Ms. Brody. He was going to need it.

Temporarily moving to Montana from his home base in Bloomington, Illinois, getting to know Danica Brody and then introducing the idea of a sale had seemed a logical approach, but now that he’d met Dani, he sensed that he’d have to move carefully. Take his time, collect information. Refrain from pushing too hard and spooking her.

He could play it that way. And in the meantime...

Yes. In the meantime.

Gabe strode through the house, paused and looked out the window at the spectacular view, then walked back into the living room and unrolled a map. His side contract was a simple project designing a small park for a town in Idaho. He’d put in a low bid just to get something to work on and now he didn’t feel like working on it. For the next few days, until the service providers had time to work him into their schedules, he had no internet, no TV. No company. He wasn’t one for big gatherings and a lot of social interaction, but he wouldn’t mind hearing the sound of a human voice, either.

When was the last time he’d been lonely? Or ever considered the possibility of being lonely?

After an hour of staring at his project and listening to music on his phone, Gabe finally walked out of the house and headed for his car. If nothing else, he’d go eat somewhere, soak up some local atmosphere.

An hour later he had to concede defeat. Atmosphere soaking had not gone well. He’d hit a small tavern that served food, ate a steak dinner by himself, then wandered into the bar for a drink. Obviously McElroy’s was a very local establishment, since no one tried to make conversation with him, with the exception of the bartender, and that was duty talk.

Gabe didn’t mind. He conversed with the bartender until he finished his lone beer, then tipped the guy decently and hit the road back home again. He’d learned nothing of value, but he’d made the guy laugh a few times and considered that a decent inroad.

On the drive home, he was debating about the best way to make contact with Danica Brody without getting shot down again, when he rounded a corner and something white and large—no, huge—appeared in the road in front of him. He jerked the steering wheel to the right and mud flew as the tires spun, then caught, yanking the car sideways and slamming it into the ditch. Gabe’s forehead smacked the steering wheel and then he slumped back into his seat, checking his forehead for blood. His hand came away clean and he dropped it into his lap.

Well, shit.

Gabe let out a long breath, shoved the door open and got out to assess damage. In the distance, he could hear the hollow thud of hooves on the hard-packed road.

A horse.

A black-and-white horse.

And Gabe was pretty darned certain he knew where to find the owner.

CHAPTER TWO

GABE WALKED ACROSS the field toward the lights of the Lighting Creek Ranch, hunching his shoulders against the wind. The distance was deceptive and what he’d thought was at the most a ten-minute walk through the tall grass took well over twenty, but finally he climbed through the fence onto the driveway and made his way to the house.

Deep booming barks followed his knock on the front door and a few seconds later Dani glanced through the window, frowning as she realized who was on the porch. Instead of pulling the door open, she cracked it a few inches, hushing the giant dog behind her as she did so. She did not look happy at seeing him on her porch.

“I almost hit a horse with my car. I think it was the one you just bought.”

The color drained from her face. “Are you sure?”

“It happened fast, but yeah.”

Without another word, Dani grabbed a coat and stepped outside, shutting the door before the dog got out. She brushed past Gabe, taking the porch steps two at a time, her golden-brown braid bouncing on her back.

Gabe followed her across the driveway to the corrals attached to one side of the barn. Once there she pulled a small flashlight from her pocket and snapped it on, sweeping the light through the enclosure not once, but twice, as if she could possibly miss something as large as a horse. The corral was most definitely empty.

“How did she get out?” Gabe asked.

Dani shook her head as she reached out to rattle the closed gate. The latch held firm. “I don’t know, but I have to find her before someone hits her.” She hurried back across the drive, head down against the wind.

“Where’s your car?” she asked.

“It’s in the ditch.”

Dani stopped. “Is it damaged?” she asked on a startled note.

“I don’t know.”

“We can use the tractor to pull it out just as soon as I find the mare.”

“I’ll get a tow truck.”

“I can’t afford a tow truck. I’m on a tight budget,” she said as she once again made a beeline to the house. Gabe had to trot to keep up with her.

“I’ll pay for it.”

“Why would you do that when I can just pull you out?”

Gabe shook his head, then followed. Where he came from, women didn’t pull cars out of ditches with tractors. Nor did guys. They called tow trucks, as he was going to do.

“Which way did she run?”

“I was kind of busy hitting the ditch after she charged me, so I’m not certain.”

“Think, please.” She stopped again, tilting her chin to look up at him impatiently.

Gabe reminded himself that he was here for diplomatic reasons and couldn’t afford to lose his temper any more than he already had. “I think...she went toward my place.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

Gabe didn’t question the “let’s.” He simply fell into step and then when she jerked her head to the passenger side of the ugliest truck he’d ever seen, he wrenched open the door and got inside. A cloud of dust rose from the seat cover as he sat, then he shifted on the seat to move the deadly-looking piece of curved metal digging into his thigh.

“Hay hook. Just toss it on the floor.”

Dani put the truck in gear and it jerked forward, groaning as she shifted it into a higher gear. She swung the wheel hard, turning the truck in a tight U and Gabe bounced sideways in his seat, dust rising once again. “Damn, I hope she went your way.”

So did he. He wanted Danica to recapture her horse and he wanted his freaking car out of the ditch. If he hadn’t left his phone in the car, he’d be seeing about it right now.

* * *

THIS WAS A NIGHTMARE, plain and simple. She’d just gotten Lacy back and now she was gone again. More than that, if the mare hadn’t gone to Gabe’s place, she was a menace to traffic. She could easily lose her horse and get sued in one fell swoop.

“We’ll find her,” Gabe said from beside her, keying in on her thoughts. It’d be pretty hard not to know what she was thinking, hunched over the steering wheel like a crazed woman.

She turned down the drive to the castle, slowing as they passed his car, which was a good five feet off the road. It looked very expensive—the kind that needed parts special-ordered—but she wasn’t going to worry about that now.

“I see tracks,” Gabe said, pointing at the road.

Sure enough, there were U-shaped divots that the horse had brought up out of the road as she’d cantered toward his place. Great. Now all she had to do was hope that the mare was still at his place and hadn’t taken off cross-country.

“This horse means a lot to you,” Gabe commented.

“She was my 4-H project. I raised her, trained her with my dad’s help, won a lot of money on her, then sold her to help pay for college. All part of the plan I’d made with my dad before he died. The ass-hat that bought her abused her with big bits and spurs.”

“That stinks.”

“It hurt. Lacy trusted me. She was a fantastic roping horse. Before...” Dani spoke without looking at Gabe, then slowed the truck to a stop and got out. Gabe followed and as soon as the truck door banged shut, they stood together in the darkness, looking, listening.

“There she is.”

Dani turned in the direction Gabe was pointing and saw the pale outline of the mare standing in the shadows behind the large stone, cedar and glass house. “Stay here,” she said. “Block the gate if she tries to leave.”

“Sure thing,” Gabe said.

“Easy, baby,” Danica said, slowly approaching the shaking horse. Lacy snorted and stomped a foot. Dani stopped instantly and took a step back. The horse rolled her eyes, but stayed put.

“Easy,” she cooed as she slowly approached the horse, stopping and taking a half step back whenever the mare looked as if she was going to bolt. Finally she reached out and rubbed the mare’s lower neck, then slipped the rope around it. As soon as the rope touched her, the mare stilled.

Dani bit her lip and eased the halter over the mare’s nose. Lacy’s head jerked up but Dani held tight to the rope, tried again once her nose came down and this time managed to fasten the halter. Her shoulders sagged with relief and she sent Gabe a weary look that she doubted he saw through the darkness.

“Well done,” he said.

“Yeah.” She continued to stroke the mare’s neck, crooning at her under her breath. “You don’t have a lot of light around here,” she commented, wanting to check the mare for injuries.

“Apparently the yard lights are all dead. I’ll have to see about getting the bulbs replaced. I’ve only been here a couple of nights and haven’t had time to call a service guy about it.”

“Service guy?”

“I don’t seem to have a ladder that tall,” he said.

“I’ll lend you one,” she said, patting the mare soothingly. “And we’ll see about getting your car back on the road.”

“I’ll get a tow truck.” He seemed to mean it.

“Suit yourself,” she said.

“Nothing personal. It’s just that my insurance will cover a tow. It probably won’t cover you ripping my rear axle off with a tractor.”

Dani didn’t know whether to laugh or be insulted. Regardless, she was responsible for whatever happed with his vehicle and told him so.

“Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now we need to focus on getting the horse home. Do you want me to help you get your trailer?”

She shook her head. “I’ll just lead her home.”

“Home is a good mile away.”

She shrugged.

“It’s dark.”

“I have a flashlight.”

“How about I come with you?”

Again she shook her head. “I’ve put you through enough tonight. I’ll be back in the morning for the truck if you don’t mind if I leave it here.”

“Why would I mind?” he asked innocently.

* * *

DANI ARRIVED AT Gabe Matthews’s driveway early the next morning just as a tow truck pulled out, a sports car attached to the towline. How much was this going to cost her? It’d looked as if the car had simply ended up in the grassy ditch last night when she’d walked by leading Lacy, but knowing her luck, the frame was now bent, or some chunk of special German-made chrome needed to be replaced.

Well, such was life.

But why was life always this way when money was tight? When she was trying to live on a shoestring budget as she started her dream business...the one that Marti Kendall had pretty much told her was doomed.

Yeah, we’ll see about that, Marti.

Jingling the keys in her sweatshirt pocket, she continued down the driveway. Worrying didn’t do a lick of good. All she could do was focus on the positives, and there were positives. She had a place to start her business; a place where she could live rent-free.

After she and Jolie had talked Allie and Mel out of instantly selling the ranch following Allie’s divorce, the sisters had agreed that as long as one of them wanted to live on the place, they would keep it. If Dani and Jolie didn’t want to live on the place, they would revisit the idea of a sale. Dani didn’t see that happening. Her father had once told her that he didn’t regret not having a lot of money because he had something better—a life that made him glad to get up in the morning. That was what Dani wanted. In a way she was lucky that her company had folded when it did. It gave her the kick in the butt she needed to start living a life that made her glad to get up in the morning.

She walked over the cattle guard at the Staley gate and paused for a moment, studying the house. It’d literally been years since she’d been close to the house, but it looked better than ever. Even though no had lived in it for the past year or so, the windows sparkled in the early-morning sun, the cedar appeared freshly oiled and the lawn was green and manicured. The Staleys had paid a pretty penny to keep the place they’d grown tired of maintained as they’d waited—and waited—for a buyer. Apparently they still hadn’t found one if Gabe’s company was only leasing.

She’d decided against checking in with Gabe before leaving in the truck. It was early—barely after sunrise—and she imagined a guy on vacation would want to sleep in. She’d just started for her beat-up vehicle when a voice behind her made her jump.

She turned to see Gabe standing on the porch, wearing jeans and a gray-and-black plaid shirt, half-buttoned, with the tails hanging out. His dark hair was still rumpled from sleep, his feet were bare and he wore glasses. Dark horn-rimmed glasses that made him look like a sexy scientist. “You’re here early,” he said, running a hand over the back of his head.

“My sister is coming later this morning.”

“She could have given you a ride.” He walked down the damp stone steps. Dani pulled her eyes away from his bare feet and fixed them back onto his face.

“I like walking.”

“I noticed. How’s the mare?”

“I put her in a stall in the barn. As far as I know, she’s still there.” She took a few steps closer, turning the keys over in her hands. “I saw your car...leave.”

“It’s a company car, so I figured it’d be best to have it checked out.”

“What company?”

“I doubt you’ve heard of it,” he said with a half smile. “I’m a consultant for a company that designs parks and gardens for towns and universities.”

“Does the company have a name?”

One of his eyebrows lifted slightly at the question. “Gabe Matthews, Consultant, LLC.”

“You’re forcing yourself into a vacation?”

“It was either that or a heart attack.”

“Do you have other employees?”

“I contract my help for the most part.”

Which only brought more questions to mind, but Dani forced herself to step back. Her neighbor’s business had nothing to do with her. “Well, let me know what the damages to your car are.”

“Danica, I don’t quite know how to break this to you, but you’re not paying.”

“I’m not?” The words came out on a note of challenge.

“That’s what insurance is for.”

“What about the deductible?”

“My company has a top-notch insurance policy. Low deductible.” He stepped onto the purplish flagstones. “I’ll tell you what you can do.”

“What’s that?” she asked, her eyes never leaving his. They were the most amazing stormy gray, and looked even grayer because of the shirt he was wearing.

“You can give me a ride to town when I get the call to pick it up.”

“I could do that,” Dani agreed. “And maybe even buy you lunch.” It seemed the least she could do. Then maybe she could get answers to the questions she probably shouldn’t be wondering about in the first place.

“Or dinner. My treat,” Gabe said.

“That isn’t exactly me buying you lunch.”

“You can buy a drink later.”

Dani shook her head. “Lunch.”

“I’m not hitting on you,” he said on a note of amused exasperation.

“You’re not?” she asked, cocking an eyebrow.

He smiled crookedly. “Maybe a little, but in a neighborly sort of way.”

And maybe that was a bit flattering, but Dani shifted into retreat mode. She still had some Chad issues to work through before diving back into the dating—or even the quick-drink—pool. “I don’t know you and I don’t go out with guys I don’t know.”

“How do we get to know each other?”

“I guess we go to lunch.” Because that was as far as she’d let things go, even if he was the best-looking guy she’d seen in forever.

“Lunch it is.”

* * *

OKAY. DANI BRODY truly was skittish. He had to take care not to appear to be hitting on her, but he had to admit, it was a bit difficult when everything in him reacted to her in a positive way. A very positive way. It didn’t help that she looked pretty damned delectable wearing jeans she probably hadn’t expected to be seen in since she’d arrived so damned early. Form-fitting, well-worn, frayed holes at the knees...he blew out a short breath, shaking his head as he watched her ass while she stepped up into the truck. Yeah, the woman could wear jeans.

She started the engine and with a quick wave swung the vehicle into a circle and drove past him. The old truck groaned as she shifted gears, and not because she was bad with a clutch. No, this was more of a transmission-on-its-last-legs groan. Well, when she sold the ranch to Widmeyer, she’d have plenty of money for transmissions. She could buy property elsewhere and set herself up in style. New house, new truck. Big barn. Just without quite as much acreage as she had now.

He went back into the house and almost turned around and went back out again. He’d been rattling around alone inside of the elegant box for three days and now, without the car, he had no means of escape. Granted, he had work to do, but he preferred to work in the evenings, losing himself in his plans until somewhere along the line he realized it was early morning and he needed to go to bed. That was what had happened last night and it’d only been a fluke that he’d woken up and glanced out the huge window next to his bed to see Dani walking down the drive.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. When his friend Neal Widmeyer answered he said simply, “I’m going to need more to work on while I’m here to keep from going stir-crazy. Have anything you can send my way?”

“Not at the moment,” his friend said. “Go mingle with the locals.”

“I have no wheels.” Briefly he gave a rundown of what had happened and then Neal laughed.

“Sounds like you have your pretty neighbor right where you want her—beholden to you for not suing.”

“True,” Gabe said. “But she’s not very friendly.” Actually that wasn’t totally true. She was friendly, but only superficially so. She had barriers that Gabe was going to have to work around.

“I know charm is not your strong suit, but you’ll have to see what you can do. Push the envelope.”

“What are you talking about? I’m charming.” Gabe settled his hip against the black granite countertop, staring across the room at the state-of-the-art stainless-steel range and cooktop. Maybe he could take up cooking.

“No. You have money. There’s a difference.”

“You’re saying woman only like me because of my money?”

“Pretty much.”

“Bullshit. They like me because of my... Never mind.”

“Dream on,” Neal laughed. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re getting to know Ms. Brody. I’ve never seen Dad so determined to bring in a project.”

“Probably because he’s never been bent over and so thoroughly screwed by someone he trusted.” Gabe crossed to the front door and stepped outside to look out across the fields at the Lightning Creek Ranch. He could just see the rooftops of the two barns between the tall poplar trees. “Let him know that I’m doing my best to help him rectify matters.”

“Can you hurry?” Neal was only half-kidding.

Gabe gave a soft snort. “I don’t think this is a hurrying situation.” And even though Stewart was showing uncharacteristic signs of impatience, Gabe intended to approach the matter methodically, just as Stewart had taught him.

“You’re right. Best not to hurry and screw things up further.” He cleared his throat, then asked, “Did you hear from Serena?”

“Off on her vacation and she swears she won’t check in.”

“Right. Well, when she doesn’t check in, will you have her call me?”

“Uh, sure.” Gabe wondered why Neal didn’t simply call her himself, but decided against asking questions. At least not at this point in time.

“Thanks. If I find any work, I’ll send it, and in the meantime I know Dad’s fine with you picking up contracts.”

“Easier said than done.”

“Not with your charm.”

Gabe hung up and smiled. When he and Neal had first met, neither had seen their friendship lasting so long. Why would they have? They’d had nothing in common except for being forced to work at the same youth center during the summer before their freshman year. Neal had been there because his father had wanted him to see how the other half lived and Gabe because his youth probation officer had thought it was a good idea. Meanwhile, Gabe’s best friend, Sam Cody, had been enjoying all summer had to offer. Gabe had been pissed and Neal had been doing his best to rebel against Stewart—while still showing up for work on time.

Gabe’s lips twisted on the memory. Oh, yeah, Neal had been quite the rebel.

At first Gabe had tolerated Neal hanging with him—the kid had money and money was handy—but eventually he’d come to trust Neal as much as he was able to trust anyone. Considered him as much of a friend as Sam, even though he never let the two of them hook up for any length of time. Sam didn’t understand Neal. Sam wanted to work him, exploit the rich kid. Gabe hadn’t allowed that to happen. He felt protective of Neal and, in a weird way, he’d learned something about life from the kid. Living with a foster family more concerned with getting a monthly stipend than actually parenting the moody teenage boy in their care, Gabe had done whatever he pleased in his off hours, while Neal had curfews and responsibilities. He couldn’t stay out all night. He had to study. He had dreams and aspirations that seemed very exotic and out of reach to Gabe. College. Grad school. A retirement plan.

Things Gabe never thought he’d have, but did, thanks to Stewart Widmeyer.

CHAPTER THREE

“I HAVE NO idea how Lacy got out,” Dani said as she helped Allie fold her winter clothes and put them in a plastic bin to haul off to school in Idaho. “Unless she dropped to her belly and crawled out under the bottom rail. The gate was latched. There wasn’t enough room to get a running start to jump. I’m mystified.”

“You’re just lucky she went to the neighbor’s instead of heading for the county road.” Allie held up a sweater, grimaced and put it back down again. “I can’t face this one. Want it?”

“No. And I’m aware I’m lucky,” Dani said drily. The donation pile was about five times larger than the folded clothing in the plastic bin.

“Do you think someone let her out?” Allie asked just a little casually as she folded a sweatshirt and put it into the bin.

“Why would someone let her out?” Dani asked, shocked at the question.

“No idea. It seems about as realistic as her crawling under the fence or jumping over it from a standstill.”

“Gus did go a little nuts just before I got into the shower yesterday.” The Pyrenees-border-collie mix raised his black-and-white head at the sound of his name, then laid it back down on his paws with a heavy sigh. Gus wasn’t exactly a ball of energy unless he was chasing a bunny, his chosen prey.

Allie stopped folding. “I don’t like this.”

“You aren’t talking about the sweatshirt, are you?”

“No.”

“Did you have trouble with...intruders when you lived here?” Dani asked reasonably, shaking open a black plastic bag.

“I had trouble named Kyle,” her sister retorted bitterly.

It took Dani a second to realize what her sister was getting at. “You think Kyle let the mare out?”

“Last time we talked he was pretty angry.”

“Why would he do something like that?”

“Because I taunted him about the fences and gates?”

Dani let out a sigh. “Kyle isn’t responsible for everything bad that happens here.”

“But he is responsible for a lot of it and if we sold the place, we wouldn’t have to put up with him.” Allie sat down on the edge of the bed, her expression intense as she said, “You shouldn’t have to deal with him alone while I’m at school.”

“I don’t think I’ll be dealing with him once he brings that tractor back.” Which he’d grudgingly promised to do the next day.

Dani sat down next to Allie, bunching the T-shirt she held into a loose ball. “I don’t want to sell.”

“Dad died here.”

“And sometimes I feel like he’s here with me,” Dani said as she started stuffing clothing into the bag.

Allie simply pressed her lips together and shook her head. “You don’t remember the bad times like I do.”

“Yeah. I do. But they affected me differently. I see them as something we got through.”

“And then I started them all over again by bringing my husband here.”

“You know...we all liked Kyle. A lot.” Allie glared at her. “In the beginning,” Dani amended. “What I’m trying to say is that we were all taken in by him.”

“Yeah.” Allie popped the lid onto the box. “But you didn’t spend as much time with him as I did. I dated him for two years and still didn’t see the real guy. I believed in him. Made excuses for him while he ran this place into the ground.”

“Would selling it honestly make you feel better? Or just make it so that you never had to come back here and be reminded of the past.”

“Does it really matter which?”

“I wish the place didn’t make you so unhappy.”

“I made a mistake moving back here. We should have gotten our own place. Then we could have sold, I could have paid the bastard off and he’d have left us all alone.” Allie gave Dani a weary look as they walked downstairs together, Allie carrying the box and Dani dragging the heavy bag. “I won’t make noise about selling the Lightning Creek as long as you and Jolie are happy here, but the instant things start to go sour, I say we slap this place on the market.”

“Jolie and I are in total agreement. We just want a chance to make a go of it.”

“And I don’t begrudge you that.” Allie opened the back hatch of the Subaru Forester and shoved her box in before turning to reach for the bag.

“I can take it to the donation box if you want,” Dani offered.

“No. I want the satisfaction of kissing my old life goodbye.” She hefted the bag and shoved it into the crowded cargo space, jamming it on top of the boxes.

“Have at it.”

Allie hugged her with one arm before heading to the driver’s side of the car. “Who knows,” she called over her shoulder, “maybe the ranch will treat you better than it treated me.”

“Mel did okay here.”

“She was only here for a short time.”

“Don’t make me feel guilty about loving the place,” Dani said with a hint of frustration. She hated having this wedge between them.

Allie raised a hand. “You’re absolved from guilt. I’m off to make a new life in Idaho. But—” her voice became stern as she said “—if you suspect Kyle is doing anything, anything at all—”

“I’ll call the authorities.”

“Promise.”

“Scout’s honor.” Although she was pretty certain that this wasn’t a promise she’d have to keep.

A few moments later, Dani watched her sister drive away. Maybe after a semester of college, Allie would start to feel more in control of her life and better about the ranch. Maybe Kyle would back off.

Regardless, Dani would not allow herself to feel guilty about insisting that they keep the Lightning Creek. In a way, she felt as if she was helping Allie dodge a bullet. Cash was good. But land was forever.

* * *

THE CALL FROM the garage came sooner than Gabe expected, just after noon, when he was thinking about taking a run to work off some of his nervous energy. The car was fine with the exception of the cracked headlight, now fixed. If he wanted, they could send someone out to pick him up.

“No. I have a ride.”

Gabe hung up and proceeded to call his ride, who answered her phone almost instantly. Gabe found himself smiling at her husky hello. Damn, but he was beginning to love this woman’s voice. It resonated, stirring something deep inside of him. Something that made him halfway wish he could get to know her for real—and how long had it been since he’d felt like that?

Too long, probably.

“I’ve just gotten a call from the garage.”

“And?” He could hear instant stress in her voice.

“No problems.”

“Not one?” she asked suspiciously.

“Cracked headlight, but it was cracked before the accident.” A white lie wouldn’t hurt. “They offered me a ride, but I wanted to take you up on your lunch offer. If you’d rather not, I’ll call them back.”

“No. I owe you lunch.”

“And I’m taking you up on it.” When she didn’t say anything, he added, “It’s not easy being the new kid on the block.”

“And not working while on vacation?”

“Uh...yes. Exactly,” he said, surprised.

“I’ll be right over.”

“No hurry.”

“Now is good,” she said in a tone that made him think she wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. That wasn’t exactly the way he’d hoped she’d approach lunch together, but he’d work with it, see what kind of foundation he could lay.

He dragged off the comfy long-sleeved T-shirt over his head and pulled an ironed shirt out of the closet before changing into his clean jeans. There’d once been a time when all he’d owned were T-shirts and ratty jeans and he’d been okay with that—until he figured out that people judged you by what you wore and treated you accordingly.

Dani showed up fifteen minutes later and he was glad to see she was driving the newer truck she’d had hitched to the horse trailer at the sale, rather than the one that threatened dust poisoning.

“Do you want to eat first, before we pick up my car?” he asked as he got into the passenger seat.

“That’d probably be easiest,” Dani agreed without looking at him.

Gabe settled back into his seat, telling himself that all things took time. He couldn’t risk pushing matters.

“Any ideas where to eat?” he asked.

“That all depends if you prefer Mexican or burgers.”

“If I prefer burgers are you taking me to a drive-in?”

“No. A café with booths,” she said. “Red vinyl.”

“It doesn’t get any better than that.”

She smiled politely and started the truck. Ten minutes later she parked in front of a building that had obviously once been a gas station. He held the door for her and a woman in a classic pink waitress’s uniform pointed them to a booth in the corner. The menus were waiting at the table, but Dani made no move to look at hers.

“There’s only one thing to get here—The Works.”

“I always make it a point of trusting those that know,” he said, stashing the menu back behind the napkin holder.

“An excellent practice,” she said, sipping her water. The waitress started toward them but stopped when Dani held up two fingers. “I hope you don’t mind Coke,” she said. “It’s either that or orange soda.”

“Coke is fine,” he said reaching for his own water. “Quite the ordering system you have here.”

“Saves time.”

“Looking to get away fast?” he couldn’t help asking.

“Oh, no,” Dani replied, looking vaguely guilty. “It’s just that...” She fought with herself for a moment, then one corner of her mouth twisted a little before she said, “To be honest, I was engaged to be married until a little over a month ago. I’m not looking for, well...anything.”

“Not even friendship?”

She frowned as she studied him, as if debating whether or not that was possible. “Friendship is fine,” she finally said. “But I make friends slowly.”

“Warning me off again?”

“I’m a believer in full disclosure,” she said, her hazel gaze meeting his candidly. “I like to know where I stand and I assume other people are the same.”

“I agree.”

Dani leaned back as the waitress set two Cokes on the table, waiting until the woman walked away before saying, “Please understand that I’m not saying we won’t become friends. It’s just—”

“Full disclosure. I get it.”

“Thanks.” She pushed the napkin-wrapped flatware aside so that she could rest her elbows on the table. “How is it that you came to vacation at the Staley house?”

He gave a casual shrug. “I wanted to...disappear, I guess—somewhere in Montana—and I found the place through a private company that specializes in leasing executive homes.”

“Oh.” She gave a considering nod. “I always thought of the Staley house as more of a big-ass mansion than an executive home.”

Gabe smiled. “It is huge. I rattle around in it, but the windows are big and the light is great.”

“You’ll have to give me a tour before you leave. I’ve lived next door, endured their traffic while growing up, but have never been in the place.”

“Sure,” Gabe said, pleased that she was talking about seeing him again sometime in the future. “Does the traffic across your place bother you?”

She shook her head. “Not recently, because no one has lived there, but when the Staleys were in residence, yeah. The road is just a little too close to the house. Dad used to cuss out Granddad for granting the original owners access across our property, but there wasn’t much he could do about it.”

“Shame,” he said, sipping his Coke. And interesting. He waited until the food came before he asked her what she did for a living.

“Until recently I worked in marketing at a winter equipment wholesaler, but they went out of business, so I decided to move home and try my luck at training horses.”

“You can make a living training horses?” Gabe asked.

“I’m going to try. It’s the perfect time. I have a little severance pay to invest in my business and we own the ranch outright.”

“Those are good circumstances,” he agreed.

“My sister Jolie might join me after she gets done with graduate school. She’s doing an internship right now at a big experimental farm in southern Idaho.”

“She trains, too?” This was looking worse and worse, but the more he knew, the more he could plan how to approach this matter.

“She’s a barrel racer. She puts on clinics, but I prefer working with horses to people.”

“Why?”

She smiled. “Horses,” she said, tapping her spoon on the table, “are logical. People are not.”

“I’m logical.” A characteristic he’d ignored until he started college and discovered that there was comfort and security in step-by-step processes—a welcome change from his former scattershot approach to life and the resulting chaos. He’d reached the point where he couldn’t imagine operating any other way...or perhaps he was afraid to, afraid he’d lose everything he’d worked for if he went back to shooting from the hip.

“To a point. But if a horse does something, it’s the result of a stimulus, either current or remembered. The right stimulus will produce the right result. Progress may be slow, but if you take your time—” she shrugged her shoulders “—you’re usually successful. People, on the other hand...people have agendas.”

He shifted slightly. “Are you saying all horses behave logically?”

“Oh, no. Sometime horses are too traumatized to overcome their flight responses. They short-circuit.”

“And are no longer logical.” He wondered if she was talking about the paint mare she’d just bought.

“They would be if they could overcome the fear factor.”

“Maybe people are the same.”

“They are,” she agreed in a halfhearted way that made him wonder if she was thinking about her own recent past.

“Do you prefer horses to people, Dani Brody?”

She gave a slow considering nod. “Yes. A lot of the time I do.”

* * *

THERE WAS SOMETHING about Gabe Matthews that drew in Dani, made her want to know him better. Perhaps even trust him. Maybe it was that behind his easy charm, she sensed that he was as guarded as she was. That he had his secrets and his vulnerabilities, just as she did.

Once upon a time she hadn’t been guarded, or even all that vulnerable, despite the knocks life had sent her way. Nor had Allie—at least not in the way she was now. But look at the two of them today, ready to believe that anyone who was friendly or showed the slightest inclination toward pursuing an acquaintanceship had an agenda. She wasn’t as bad as Allie, but she now had barriers where there hadn’t been any prior to her experience with Chad the Liar.

Was this how she wanted to live?

A small voice told her that this was the way she had to live until she got a handle on what Chad had done to her. He’d betrayed her, made her feel stupid for trusting him, made her lose faith in her own judgment. She hated that.

After dropping off Gabe, Dani stopped at the mailbox, then turned into the driveway leading to the house. She was almost to the cattle guard when she stepped on the brake and leaned forward over the steering wheel to peer out the windshield.

“What the hell?” she muttered as she got out of the idling truck and walked over to the edge of a huge stream of water flowing from the edge of the lawn across the driveway to the barn. The white plastic standpipe had been snapped at the base. Dani bit back another curse as she saw a second river flowing behind the barn.

“Son of a bitch,” she said, as she approached river number two. That standpipe was also snapped. What had happened and, more important, where was the water main?

She hadn’t a clue and had no idea where to start looking.

A few minutes later she stalked back to her idling truck, pausing for a moment before she got in to check the driveway for tire tracks and footprints. Nothing.

A fluke. This had to be a fluke.

She put the truck in gear and parked it a few yards from the water flow before heading to the house, where Gus was barking, demanding to be let out. He galloped out, heading straight to the flowing water when she opened the door. Dani followed, taking her phone out of her pocket and holding it for a moment as she debated. She had to call Allie and if she didn’t know where the water main was located, then she had to get Kyle’s number. No way around that, even though she was going to get another earful about bad ranch karma. Not to be helped. She punched her sister’s number into the phone, got the out-of-range recording.

Great. She pressed her lips together for a moment. Mac was working halfway across the state, Gina had babies to tend to. With a sigh, she called her sister again, left a message telling her she needed Kyle’s cell number, then, after ending the call, she hit the number of the closest able-bodied guy in the area. Gabe.

“Hey, this is Dani Brody,” she said when he answered. “Are you busy?”

“Not really.”

“Are you handy with plumbing tools?”

There was the briefest hesitation before he said, “I don’t think I have any lying around.”

“I have the tools. I just need some muscle and know-how.”

“Be right over.”

* * *

WATER WAS FLOWING across the driveway when Gabe drove in.

“We need to shut off the main,” he said as soon as he got out of his car.

Dani gave him a frazzled look. “I’d love to do that, but I have no idea where this one is. I turned off the two I know about, but no luck, so I called Allie and she’s calling her ex-husband, and I should have an answer—”

The phone buzzed in her hand and she turned her back to Gabe as she answered.

“Thank goodness...yes, I’m sure he was happy you had to call him...” Dani started walking “Right...yeah, I know...he’s where? Well, at least that’s good to know.”

Gabe followed as she walked around the barn and kicked dirt off a round cover with one foot. He lifted it, revealing a couple of faucets a good arm’s length down the hole.

“I guess if we turn off both of them, it should handle everything,” Dani said to him, then into the phone she said, “My neighbor. Everyone I know is at work...of course it makes sense.”

Gabe lowered himself to the ground and shoved his hand into the pipe, gritting his teeth as he worked to turn the stubborn handles with little more than the tips of his fingers.

“Is there a key?” Dani asked into the phone. “Thanks. I’ll look.” Dani disappeared into the barn and came out with a long metal fork that she bent down to give him. “Use this.”

Gabe pushed himself to a sitting position, took the fork and shoved it down the hole, using the tines to twist off the faucet. The flow from the closest broken standpipe slowed to a trickle within a matter of seconds.

“Yes, it worked,” Dani said. “Thanks, Al. I know this wasn’t easy...yeah. I will. Promise. Drive safe.”

Dani clicked the phone off and dropped it into her pocket. “Thanks. I kind of panicked when I couldn’t find the main and Allie was out of cell range.”

“Sure thing,” he said, brushing the loose dirt off his side. “Let’s take a look at the problem.”

The problem was that the two standpipes had been snapped off at ground level.

“This is strange,” he muttered.

“Yeah,” Dani agreed.

“I’ll need a shovel.”

“You don’t have to fix them,” she said. “I just needed help shutting the damned water off.”

“And I don’t have a whole lot to do right now.” He gave her a long look and Dani finally nodded.

“I’ll get a shovel.”

A few minutes later he’d dug around the pipe to the point that they had something to work with. “Are all your standpipes PVC?” he asked.

“Only the ones that Kyle, my ex-brother-in-law, put in. He was all about saving a buck.”

Gabe surveyed the place for a moment, taking in the run-down appearance despite the fact that everything had been recently painted. It also appeared that Kyle wasn’t too deeply into working hard, either. No wonder rumor had it that he’d wanted to sell before Dani’s sister had filed for divorce. It was easier than maintaining the place. Now if he could just convince Dani that the property was better off in other hands...but no. Instead of doing that, he was helping her fix the place.

Neal would love it if he could see this. Gabe was going to keep this bit of information to himself.

The pipe hadn’t cracked below the surface as Gabe had feared. It was a somewhat clean break, one that could be sawed off and coupled to the original stand.

“All you need is an inch-and-a-half coupling, some PVC cement and a hacksaw.”

“I have a hacksaw and I’m pretty sure the hardware guy can talk me through the rest.”

And he was pretty certain he was going to do what he could to help her out—if she would let him. But there were things about his situation that bothered him. “I have to ask,” he said, leaning on the shovel, “is this the way your life always goes? Crisis to crisis?”

“Pretty much,” she said with a faint smile. “I think it’s my personality.”

“But this doesn’t seem like an accident. Not unless you have some pretty damned big gophers around here.”

An odd look crossed her face as she tilted up her chin. “It had to be. I mean...what else could it be?”

“Two snapped standpipes?”

He stabbed the shovel into the ground and crossed the distance between them, stopping short when her gaze shot up warily. “Maybe you should report this to the authorities. The mare, the standpipes—it just seems odd.”

“Yeah. Maybe so.”

“No maybes, Dani. It’s odd.”

“This isn’t exactly something I want to report to the authorities.”

“Why not?”

“Because Kyle is a deputy sheriff.”

“All the more reason to report it. Especially if you think he might be involved.”

“He’s on vacation right now.”

“But where was he when these pipes got snapped? Call.”

She held his eyes for a moment, her troubled hazel gaze meeting his no-nonsense expression dead-on. Then she said, “You’re right. You want to come in while I look up the number?”

A break. She trusted him—at least enough to let him in her house.

CHAPTER FOUR

GABE FOLLOWED DANI through the front gate and up the walk to the two-story house. It was sturdily built, with classic Victorian lines, and he wondered if it would be possible to move it to a different location on the property. In the rough plans he’d drawn up, the main lodge would stand where the house was now. The fields beyond would become the golf course. The barns, fences and outbuildings would have to go.

Dani opened the door and then glanced back over her shoulder at him before walking inside. Her footsteps echoed, rousing the big dog enough for him to raise his head.

“You, uh, seem to be lacking furniture.” There was a recliner with a small folding table at one side, a ladder-back chair pushed against the wall with horse tack hanging from it and not much else. From what he could see, the dining room was empty except for a large carved armoire.

She looked around. “Yes.”

He frowned at her as she walked to the armoire and pulled open a drawer. After digging out a phone book, she riffled through it then punched the number into her phone. Tipping the receiver away from her mouth, she said, “The divorce wasn’t pretty. The only furniture that stayed are the things that Jolie and I—” She suddenly brought the phone back to her mouth and said, “Yes, hi, this is Dani Brody. I need to report an...incident, I guess.”

Gabe listened as she described what happened, idly surveying the tangle of leather straps hanging from the ladder-back. He doubted that the authorities were going to take her report too seriously, because the tone of Dani’s voice made it clear that she wasn’t convinced it was anything to worry about. But having her call the sheriff made him feel better. She was pretty damned isolated, living alone, and if someone wanted to screw with her, all she had for protection was that giant mutt, who appeared to be semi-narcoleptic now that he’d given Gabe the canine all-clear.

Dani hung up the phone and turned back to him with a small shrug. “They told me to report anything else suspicious.”

“Good. Now they have a record.”

“Yeah,” she said. For a moment they stood on opposite sides of the room. The awkwardness was becoming palpable and Gabe realized that she didn’t know what to do with him now that he was in her house. That deal about making friends slowly, no doubt. The last thing he wanted was her to feel self-conscious around him, so he smiled and said, “I’m glad you called. If everything’s okay now, I’d better get back to what I was doing. I have a deadline.”

“You need to work on your vacation skills.”

“I’ll make a note.”

“With an alert?” she asked mildly. “Practice vacation skills from nine a.m. to ten a.m.?”

“Something like that.” He paused at the door, debating for a split second before he said, “Call if you have other issues, okay?” When her expression started to close off, as if he was getting too familiar too fast, he added, “I’d jump at any chance to procrastinate from my project.”

He reached for the doorknob and her features relaxed—because of what he said, or because he was almost out the door?—and she took a few slow steps toward him as he walked out onto the porch. She stopped at the door, putting a hand on the frame. “I appreciate you coming. Sorry if my hostess skills are rusty.” She gave a soft snort, then smiled at him. “Who am I kidding? I was never a good hostess. That was for my sisters to handle.”

“Well, I’ve never been a big fan of anything fancy.”

“Your car says otherwise.”

His eyebrows lifted. “Touché. But there’s no getting around the needs of the Y chromosome.”

She laughed at that, a dimple appearing in one cheek close to the edge of her mouth, charming the hell out him. And making him very aware that he needed to get out of there a winner. “Good night, Dani Brody,” he said in a low voice before forcing himself to step outside. He needed to leave because it would have been too easy to stay and he was not going to blow this by overstaying his welcome—even if she had called him.

“Good night.” The door was closed before he looked back, but he’d definitely heard a husky note in her voice.

All in all he’d made some decent progress...but truthfully, he was glad she’d called for other reasons. The standpipes and the horse concerned him.

* * *

DANI STOOD BY the door, waiting until she heard the fancy car roar to life. Then she wrapped her arms around herself and took a few slow paces through her empty living room as the low rumbling purr disappeared into the distance. She shook her head. Dani, Dani, Dani. Get a grip.

This was the time to focus her energy on building and establishing her business, not being distracted by the hot vacationing guy next door.

You called him.

Indeed. And he’d been nice enough to come over and lend a hand. And that was where it stopped. A little neighborly help.

She still had mixed feelings about calling dispatch. Maybe this did need to be reported, but now Kyle would know something was up. Kyle, who had nothing to gain by sabotaging the place. So if it wasn’t Kyle, the only person who had anything even resembling a reason to vandalize the place, then...

Then it had to be a fluke.

She just wished she could still the small voice echoing what Gabe had said—two snapped standpipes?

* * *

EARLY THE NEXT MORNING, Dani went to Lacy’s pen, feeling ridiculously relieved to find the gate closed and the horse still there. During the long night, she’d let paranoia get the better of her, wondering if someone was sneaking around her place causing mischief, but now, standing in the warm sunshine, her fears felt overblown.

Lacy stood stock-still while Dani approached and crooned soft words as she moved closer, but when she raised her hand to pet the mare, the horse jerked her head back.

“It’s okay,” Dani murmured, leaving her arm outstretched until Lacy finally moved forward to touch the back of Dani’s hand with her nose. When she thought of what a trusting, confident animal Lacy had once been when she sold her, it was difficult to tamp down the anger. People like Len Olsen shouldn’t be allowed to own animals. But they did and there was nothing she could do about it, except try to rescue Lacy, bring her back to where she’d been.

“Ah, Dad,” she muttered. It would have hurt him as much as it did her, to see the only offspring of his favorite mare in this condition.

* * *

“I MADE CONTACT,” Gabe told Stewart during their first touch-base call early the morning after Dani had called him about the standpipes.

“It went well?”

“Yeah.” Not entirely according to plan, but he wasn’t going to argue with success. He also wasn’t going to tell Stewart that his car had almost gotten totaled by a horse or that he was making repairs on the Lightning Creek Ranch.

“What’s your read?”

“That this will take time.”

“How much time?”

“If I act too soon, my gut tells me the deal isn’t going to fly. Ms. Brody is...not quick to trust.” To put it mildly. “I can’t slap money on the table and be assured the Brodys will take it.” And if he made his move too soon, there was a good possibility that he wouldn’t get a second chance.

“I want this done soon,” Stewart said before coughing and then clearing his throat for the second time in their short conversation. “I need it done soon.”

Which concerned Gabe. He’d worked with Stewart for several years and had never seen the man impatient, which in turn made him feel edgy. “I’m confident that I can bring Ms. Brody around to our point of view.”

“The sooner you do, the sooner I’ll sleep at night.” A rare admission from a guy who made it a point to never show weakness. “But no pressure,” he added in a way that made Gabe feel like the vise had just been cranked another notch.

“Right,” Gabe said drily. “I’ll be in touch.”

No pressure. Gabe ended the call, then walked to the window and clasped his hands at the back of his neck as he stared out across the fields at his target.

Were the standpipes still standing? The horses in their pens?

Was Dani all right?

She was playing at the edge of his thoughts in ways that weren’t associated with property procurement. She was attractive and he sensed she’d be fun once she let her guard down. He liked her and that made him want to make certain that she felt as if she was making the right move when she decided to sell to him. He had no doubt it was the right move. Granted, she currently had a property she could live on rent-free while she started her business, however, that place needed a lot of work. If she sold, she could buy a smaller, nicer property with her share of the proceeds. A place that didn’t need work and would allow her to funnel all of her money toward her business and herself. Hell, she could probably even afford some furniture.

And he’d told Stewart he could get the property.

All he needed was a logical reason to keep in contact with Dani, to get to know her better—to get her to trust him. A legitimate, motive-will-not-be-questioned reason.

There was only one solution he could think of, although it had a few inherent flaws he’d have to work around, like not having ridden a horse in twenty years. But maybe riding a horse was like riding a bike. Maybe you never forgot.

Hoping that was indeed the case, Gabe went to his computer and brought up the Montana Craigslist and started shopping for horses.

* * *

DANI LEFT THE house through the back door so that she could set a bucket of compost on the pile next to Allie’s neglected garden. Every year her sister had poured all of her energy into tending flowers, tomatoes, vegetables, the same way she’d attempted to tend her marriage. After the first year, the marriage had done about as well as the garden was doing now—struggling along without much hope of growth.

Everyone had liked Kyle when Allie first brought him home. He was caring and protective of Allie, charming and easy to talk to, but as time passed, it became apparent that he also had a huge sense of entitlement that kept him from engaging in such mundane things as daily chores and responsibilities. He dreamed big dreams, starting projects he never finished, forging ahead with half-baked ideas, then cut corners to get them done fast. When Allie had tried to discuss matters, he’d accused her of having no faith in him. If anyone had had faith in him, it was Allie, but even she had been worn down. And then bitter.

Dani snorted softly as she emptied the bucket then left it next to the compost pile. Not that long ago, she’d been thankful that Chad wasn’t like Kyle, that they worked on all aspects of their shared lives as partners, except for the Megan Branson aspect. Chad worked on that all by himself.

“Hey,” she called softly as she approached the three mares standing in adjoining pens. Lacy ambled closer to the fence, then stopped a few feet away as always. Gus wandered into the pen and Lacy approached him slowly, sniffed at his coat, then nudged him with her nose as she used to nudge Dani for treats. Gus touched her nose with his and then moved on to the next pen.

Dani was a little surprised at the contact, since Gus generally ignored horses and cows, preferring bunnies and deer, which he charged after even though there was no possibility of catching them. It was like a canine duty thing, which always left Dani smiling.

She tossed hay into Lacy’s feeder, then moved on to the next pen, where two young mares, her first contract, stood side by side. Both three-year-olds, they’d been raised together and barely touched beyond being halterbroken. As near as Dani could tell, the owner, a recent transplant from Seattle, wanted them gentled into kids’ horses ASAP. Dani had patiently explained that thirty days would give them the basics and sixty days would get them to the point that a person who knew how to ride would have a well-trained, confident mount, but achieving kids’-horse status took a few years and a certain temperament.

The woman had simply beamed at Dani, as if she thought Dani was being modest about her abilities, and said she was certain Roxie and Rosie would surprise her. They were so gentle. They ate treats out of her pocket and came when she called. Dani didn’t have the heart to tell her that the treats were probably a large part of the reason for their affection.

She fed the mares and then leaned on the fence, soaking up a few minutes of early-morning sun before heading out to feed the cows. This contract would pay for two months of living expenses if she was frugal, and allow her to put ten percent into savings. The furniture would have to wait until she had a few more horses on contract, but she didn’t care about that. It wasn’t as if she was entertaining or anything. She needed enough money to make a down payment on a canvas-covered arena, allowing her to train year-round, and that wasn’t going to happen if she blew her money on furniture. Like Kyle, she was dreaming big, but unlike her ex-brother-in-law, she was also making a plan.

The phone buzzed in her pocket and Dani pulled it out as she headed to the cow pasture to check the water tank with the sticky valve. “Hey, Kelly,” she said.

“I might be a few minutes late. My brother went to town and Corrie needs me to help her load some hay, but as soon as we’re done, I’ll head over.”

“Not a problem. See you soon.”

Dani pocketed the phone again. Living alone was one thing. Training alone was another. It was so easy to get hurt and if no one was around, who would render first aid? So she’d arranged the equivalent of a babysitter until Jolie moved home. Her friend Corrie’s young sister-in-law was studying for the SATs, so Dani had arranged for her to study at the house during her training time. She’d have to come up with something else once school started, but for now, this worked. When Jolie came back home, as she promised to do when her internship ended, the problem would be solved.

As she walked back to the house, she saw Gabe’s low-slung car cruise by her house. She was surprised he was awake this early, since as near as she could tell, he didn’t sleep at night. For the past few nights—since the standpipe incident—she’d woken up every few hours on alert, despite the fact that Gus hadn’t stirred. Every time she’d awoken, the lights across the field had burned brightly. City guy.

Well, until recently she’d been a city girl, although she had a feeling that Gabe would not consider Missoula a real city. She didn’t know his background, but his demeanor didn’t cry out rural. Rural guys didn’t wear ironed button-down shirts with their jeans. Not that he didn’t look great in those shirts. And not that she was looking. Much.

* * *

BUYING A HORSE that needed training was more of an ordeal than Gabe anticipated. His goal was to find an animal that needed work, but not one that was so ill-tempered that it would be a danger to Dani. And then there was the matter of him actually riding it...he hadn’t been on a horse in two decades and he had a feeling that Dani might notice a small detail such as that.

As he walked to his car from his fourth unsuccessful attempt to buy a suitable mount, his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, noted the name on the screen and smiled wryly as he brought the phone to his ear. “Serena, I thought you weren’t going to call.”

She gave a small sniff before saying, “I’m just checking on you as a friend, not as a business associate.”

“Ah. In that case, I can tell you that living alone in a rural area is trying my patience. I need to find a hobby.”

“What about the park you’re designing?”

“Done.”

“Design another.”

“I’m working on a spec project.” It was a design he doubted he’d be able to use, but just in case Stewart was amenable to moving Dani’s house, he was trying to come up with suitable surroundings. It seemed a logical way to fill downtime.

“I see.”

“So, how’s vacation?”

“Good. Good.”

“Great.” A healthy stretch of silence followed, which Serena finally broke by saying, “If I had called about business, what would you have said to me?”

“I would have said that getting to know Dani is slow going. I don’t really have a reason to hang out with her.”

“After getting shot down.”

“Yes. Twist the knife, Serena. You know how much I like that.”

She laughed softly. “I’m sorry. It’s just that getting shot down does limit your options a bit, unless you two join the same club or something.” She paused for a thoughtful moment before going on to say, “How did you originally plan to make and keep contact?”

“I planned to wing it.” He figured if he could dig up some information on her, he could decide how to proceed. It had seemed to work the first few days—the horse sale, her call to come and help her with the standpipes. Even the horse escaping had been fortuitous. But since calling her to make certain that everything was okay on her property—nothing. Not one bit of contact and Stewart’s call had only served to remind him that the days were slipping away.

“And now?”

“I’m buying a horse.”

“Great idea. Do you know which end to feed?”

“Yes. One of the few things I do know.”

“So...you’re going to buy a horse and have her train it.”

“Yes.”

“And somehow not let her know you don’t ride.”

“I’ve ridden.” In fact, some of the happiest days of his life had revolved around a big brown gelding of uncertain breeding, owned by the only foster family who’d treated him like one of their own kids.

Serena made a disparaging noise. “When?”

“A long time ago. Okay?”

“So what are you going to do? Ask her to give you brush-up lessons?”

“She prefers horses to people.”

“And therein lies your problem,” Serena said on a note of amusement.

“Maybe I could flip the horse.” The idea struck him out of nowhere, which was why he needed to talk to actual human beings sometimes. “Then my rusty riding ability won’t be an issue.”

“Is horse flipping like cow tipping?”

Gabe frowned, wondering what the hell she was talking about. “It’s like flipping houses. I could buy a young horse, have Dani train it and then sell it at a profit.”

“Not a bad idea,” Serena said slowly. “Except I kind of wonder how cost effective that would be. And flipping horses might sound kind of mercenary to a horse lover.”

“Okay, forget flipping. Maybe I had a traumatic horse incident as a child that I want to get over.” And maybe he needed to be careful not to stack up too many lies. Or any lies for that matter, other than those made by omission, which really weren’t lies in this case. Stewart needed the land. Dani and her sisters had once been on the brink of selling. Timberline personnel couldn’t find out about the prospective purchase. Given all those factors, omission was the only sane course of action.

“From what I hear from Neal, your entire childhood was a traumatic incident.”

“I overcame,” he said darkly, and then he smiled as the perfect answer struck him. “I’m going to give the horse to you.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes. I am. You can keep it here. Sell it. Whatever. That way I can have it trained and not have to ride it.”

“Well, this has been a great hypothetical conversation. Would you keep me posted so I don’t have to call and not ask about business?”

“You bet, Serena. Enjoy the rest of your time off.”

“I hope I can,” she said softly. “Bye, Gabe.”

“Bye.”

Gabe pocketed his phone and started the car, waving at the horse owner, who’d started toward him and was possibly wondering if Gabe had changed his mind about the nasty beast he’d advertised as being the perfect mount for the right person. The right person apparently needed to be able to mount a horse that skittered sideways and reached back to try to bite the rider’s knee. Granted, the owner had been suitably embarrassed by the animal’s performance, but Gabe had no doubt that the guy would sell to anyone just to get rid of the horse.

He turned onto the main highway and started following the GPS directions to the final place on his list. Now that he had a plan, as in giving Serena a horse whether she wanted it or not, he felt better. More confident.

More honest.

He didn’t like lying to people and now he wouldn’t be lying to Dani. He just wouldn’t be telling her the entire truth. And if he didn’t owe Stewart a debt of gratitude, he didn’t know that he’d be doing any of this.

CHAPTER FIVE

DANI HAD THOUGHT it would take time to grow her business, but less than a week after putting out her advertisement, she booked her last training slot. Feeling a deep sense of satisfaction, she finished the notes she’d made while talking to her client, then shoved her feet into her boots and headed for the door. Later that evening she’d make up an official work schedule, and in the future she’d have to stagger her clientele. She was okay right now because she had four thirty-day clients, three sixty-day clients and one that wanted a two-week tune-up. That filled eight hours a day and when she added on care and feeding...yes. Full schedule. And the best part was that she wouldn’t need to touch her severance pay for living expenses. If things continued like this, she could probably take on a few more horses and hire a part-time assistant until Jolie moved back home to join the business.

Marti Kendall wasn’t going to like this one bit. Oh, well. As far as Dani was concerned, she was due. She’d always had to work pretty damned hard for everything she’d ever gotten and even then she had a way of catching things at the tail end of success. SnowFrost was an excellent example. It had been a thriving business when she’d first been hired, but the owners were slow to change and the market had passed them by. Other more nimble companies had filled the available niches and left SnowFrost in the dust, which was a lesson in itself. She needed to pay attention to the business end. Sudden success could evaporate at any time, leaving her struggling to make ends meet.

Jolie would have smacked her for thinking like Allie, but Dani couldn’t help herself and Jolie didn’t need to know.

The day was hot and sweat was trickling down her back between her shoulder blades when she finally brushed down the piebald filly, her last horse of the day. All in all, she was satisfied. Exhausted, but satisfied. She tossed hay and scared a few mice out of the grain barrel. They practically ran over Gus’s feet and the dog watched them go by with a bemused expression. Small rabbits, perhaps? Dani made a mental note to check the Humane Society for cats, then closed the barn door. She was halfway across the drive when she heard a vehicle pull into the drive and stopped dead in her tracks.

Kyle.

Great.

Calling Gus close, she waited under the poplars that edged the front yard until Kyle pulled to a stop and got out of his vehicle. Gus pushed his big body closer to Dani’s legs and lifted his head, zeroing in on the man crossing the drive. He made no sound, but there was no mistaking the fact that he was in full protection mode. Kyle, smart man that he was, stopped a few yards away.

“How’s it going?” he asked casually, glancing around as if looking for changes before bringing his attention back to Dani. He still had his golden-boy good looks, but they were somewhat marred by the grim set of his mouth.

“Going well,” she said noncommittally. Now that he was here, she couldn’t help but flash on the standpipes. The horse escape.

“Good.” He attempted a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Hear from Allie lately?”

“I have,” she said, the same noncommittal note in her voice.

“Is she doing okay?”

“Starting school is an adjustment, but yes. I’d say she’s doing okay.” She and Kyle had gotten along just fine until Allie had become so unhappy with her marriage. After that, things had gotten awkward. And now that she was wondering if he’d been vandalizing the ranch out of spite, she wanted him off her property. Now.

“She did say that you were bringing the tractor back soon,” Dani said, pushing back a few strands of windblown hair as she tipped her chin up at him.

His face started to go pink as it always did when he was confronted on an issue. “I’ll bring it back this weekend. I’ve been on vacation at the Washington coast.” He spoke with an edge of challenge in his voice, making her wonder if he expected her to question his whereabouts. It also made her wonder if she was in for more retribution via property vandalism if she crossed him. “I heard you made a call to Dispatch while I was off.”

“A week ago.”

“Today was my first day back and when I heard, I thought I’d stop by and check out the situation.”

The fact that he was doing that made her wonder when exactly he’d left and if he’d stopped by the Lighting Creek on his way out of town to stomp a few standpipes, let a few animals go. It’d be a passive-aggressive way to give Allie grief...or maybe to take out his frustrations on the ranch he wasn’t going to get a piece of.

“Nothing to check out,” Dani said. “A neighbor helped me with the problem and he was the one who suggested that I make a report.”

“A neighbor?”

“Yeah.” She turned to point across the field. “A guy who designs parks is renting the Staley house for a vacation.” As if Kyle wouldn’t already know this. Sheriff’s office personnel knew everything in this county. “Long story, but we’d met a couple of times and when I found the standpipes broken off, I called to see if he could help me find the water main.”

Kyle frowned in the direction of the house for a few thoughtful seconds before turning his gaze back to Dani. “You don’t think that’s a little suspicious?”

“What?”

“He moves into the place next door, then strange things start happening here?”

Dani frowned back. “No. I don’t find it suspicious because I don’t think he had anything to do with it.” Yes, he could have let out Lacy, because she didn’t know his whereabouts when that happened, but she knew exactly where Gabe was when the standpipes were snapped—with her.

Kyle didn’t look convinced and Dani had to bite her lip to keep from saying, “Nice try, Kyle, but I think I know who’s responsible for doing those things...and so do you.” He’d only deny it and right now her objective was to get him off the property.

“I heard Jolie is moving back,” he said as if she hadn’t spoken.

Dani smiled, wondering when her ex-brother-in-law was going to get the hint that he wasn’t going to get a lot of family information from her. She didn’t want to burn any bridges, but she wasn’t going to open up to him, either.

Kyle glanced down at his dusty boots, his eyebrows drawn together in a thoughtful frown, then back across the field at the Staley house. “I might just see what this guy’s about,” he said.

“He’s not about anything,” Dani said, earning herself a sharp cop look.

“You don’t know that.”

She let out a barely audible sigh. “No, I don’t. But I haven’t seen him in a week.”

“And nothing’s happened in a week.”

“Are you trying to make me nervous?” she asked.

“I’m trying to keep you safe. Allie and I might have split the sheets, but that doesn’t mean I can shut off feeling protective just like that.”

Dani had never noticed a lot of protectiveness before the divorce, but she wasn’t fool enough to say that when all she wanted was to get rid of him. “Look. I just want to be a good neighbor. I don’t feel threatened. Would you mind holding off on seeing what the guy is about until something else happens?” Which she was pretty damned certain wouldn’t.

Kyle studied her for a moment and Dani did her best to look unconcerned. “If you have anything strange happen, you call me,” he said, pointing his index finger at her.

“I will.”

He nodded. “All right.” Another awkward face-off and then he headed to his SUV.

Dani walked toward the house, even though she still had outside chores. She needed a drink. Or maybe just to splash cold water on her warm face. What she didn’t need was for Kyle to harass her next-door neighbor. She’d just as soon stay off the guy’s radar, because frankly, she didn’t like how easily she could conjure up that mental picture of him standing on his porch when she’d gone to collect her truck, looking all rumpled and sexy. Or the way she’d found herself leaning across the table toward him when they went to lunch. Oh, yeah, she was attracted. Like a magnet. She knew nothing about the guy, had been recently burned in the worst way, yet her primal instincts were saying, “Oh, yes. We must have some of this.”

Not. Going. To. Happen.

Of course it wasn’t. She hadn’t seen Gabe in a week. He’d made a duty call after the standpipe incident and after that, nothing. For all she knew, Gina, who’d made no secret about finding him supersexy, was having her way with him and he’d never given her another thought... No, she would know that, because Gina wasn’t quiet about her conquests. But that didn’t change the fact that he was keeping his distance and that was exactly the way she wanted things.

She glanced over her shoulder at the Staley house before pulling open the door. Off the radar. That was where she wanted to be.

* * *

“SHE’S A REAL nice little horse,” the older man leaning against the fence said as they watched the dark brown mare with the white legs trot around the round pen. “What exactly are you looking for?”

Gabe shot him a look and the man said, “A trail horse? Arena horse? Cutting? Roping?”

“Ah. Well, to tell you the truth, I’m looking for a horse with no bad habits and I figure if I get one that hasn’t been used and have it trained, then I might just get that.”

The old guy smiled broadly. “You’re on the right track there.” He gestured to the round pen, where a woman with golden-brown hair that fell almost to her waist was putting a horse through its paces. She looked a lot like Dani, only smaller, her hair a shade darker. “Marti is one of the best trainers in the area. If she wasn’t, then she wouldn’t work here...even if she is my daughter.”

Gabe gave a polite nod, watching as the daughter stopped the horse, then walked over to pet its neck and slip a halter onto its head. “We have a partnership,” Paul said, bringing Gabe’s attention back to him. “I raise horses, Marti trains. She brings in outside horses, but she also trains my youngsters for their new owners. Gets them off to a good start, like you were talking about.”

Gabe gave a tight smile and turned his attention back to the mare. He liked her looks. She was quiet and trusting and when he’d scratched her ears, she’d bobbed her head appreciatively. A far cry from the nervous, anxious, skittish and just plain mean horses he’d looked at over the past few days. He knew next to nothing about buying a horse, but even to his unpracticed eye, this mare looked well put together and the price was right because, as the man had explained, the cost of hay had tripled recently due to severe drought, so horses were going cheap.

The bottom falling out of the horse market put a damper on his resale plans, since Serena made it clear that she was not accepting a gift horse, but he’d figure out how to get the mare a good home later—even if it was at a loss. Right now the connection with Dani was more important than money lost or gained.

“She’s been started under saddle, but she’s still green. What’s your riding level?”

“I haven’t ridden in a while. I want to get back into it while I’m here,” Gabe said without hesitation.

“With a young horse? That’s a wreck waiting to happen.”

A soft laugh came from behind them. “Not necessarily.”

Gabe turned to see Paul’s daughter standing behind them. “Hi. I’m Marti,” she said, running an eye over Gabe as if he was himself a piece of horseflesh. “You look athletic.”

Gabe shrugged. “I run and bike. Swim a little.”

“Triathlete,” she said with a smile. “You have balance then. And stamina.” He almost smiled at the way she said stamina. “Tell you what,” she said, crossing her arms. “You buy Molly from Paul, I’ll train her and throw in a couple weeks of riding lessons. We’ll start you on a finished horse, then shift you over to Molly once I’m confident she’s ready.”

Damn, damn, damn. Gabe forced a smile. “Very generous of you.”

“It’s one way of building repeat clientele.”

Gabe looked over at Paul. “Tell you what—give me a day to think about it. I have another horse to look at later today, then I’ll call and let you know.”

Paul pushed off from the fence where he was leaning. “All right. I’ll hold her until tomorrow for you. After that...” He shrugged.

“I understand. Thanks.” Gabe started for his car and Marti fell in step. “My offer stands even if you don’t buy Molly. I have a few open slots in my schedule and I’d be happy to work with both you and your new horse.”

Gabe stopped at the car. “I appreciate the offer. Thank you.”

“Anytime.” She patted the top of his car, then stepped back as he got inside. Gabe drove away thinking it was too bad he couldn’t take her up on her offer. He had a feeling that Marti could teach a guy a lot.

* * *

“I’M FULL UP.” Dani felt a ridiculous pang of regret as she said the words, but facts were facts. “Eight horses, eight hours in the workday.” She smiled a little. “Not counting all the other things I have to do.”

“I understand.” Gabe spoke matter-of-factly, but she’d caught the flash of disappointment in his expression. Well, one thing was for certain—if Kyle had indeed stopped by to “check him out,” Gabe didn’t hold a grudge. “I can give you the names of other trainers in the area.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

“What kind of horse did you buy?”

“A dark brown horse.”

“Breed?”

“Quarter horse?”

“Gender?”

“Female.”

“What do you know about horses, Gabe?”

“Not a lot.” He smiled disarmingly. “I want to learn.”

“Do you ride?”

“I don’t have a lot of experience, but I have ridden.”

She studied him askance for a moment. “Do you plan on learning to ride better?”

“That’s the next step.”

She couldn’t help smiling. “Do you have a checklist?”

“A mental one.” He shrugged one shoulder. “I can’t help the checklist. It’s the way I’m wired. And I like horses, but never got a chance to learn to ride well. It’s not easy for a guy my age to get back into it.” He smiled a little. “Since we have a small amount of history, I thought of you.”

Something about the way he said the last words made Dani very aware of, well, him. His effect on her, which wasn’t the effect she was looking for right now. “If I had one less horse...”

“Again, Dani. Not a problem.”

“Do you want me to get you those names?”

“I already have one. Marti? She offered to train the horse and give me lessons at the same time.”

“You’ve met?”

“At the place I bought the mare.”

Dani forced a smile, said nothing. Gabe smiled back and she realized he was truly disappointed. It was all she could do not to say, “Sure. Another horse. Why not?” But she couldn’t. She was too busy.

It wasn’t until he’d driven away and the rooster tail of dust had settled that she admitted the truth to herself. It wasn’t all about being too busy. When you started a new business, you made sacrifices. It was something about Gabe Matthews himself and the gut-level attraction she felt toward him. That and a sense that he was showing one side of himself in order to protect another. A sense that he had trust issues as deep as hers.

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