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Charlie thought about hi her to the stars “He really is”
CLAY FOUND THE drive back to the ranch anticlimactic Okay, maybe he didn’t qualify for superhero status and a cape thatpretty damned close
It had been a great day Watching the firefighters work the line had been a rush and a half Actually being able to do so was even better But the best part had been the captain saying he’d done a good job
He was used to being complimented But all the accolades were about how he looked—so he had very little control over Sure he worked out, but he knew that his appearance was siifted when it carass fire, taking charge and getting it right was about who he was inside
He drove onto the ranch and parked As he cli into the barn While there was nothing unusual in that, he didn’t like the way the other
Clay walked into the barn It took his eyes a second to adjust When they did, he wished they hadn’t
Nate stood by a girl, his hand at her waist, her arer was e of the friend His use of the word girl had not been idle She didn’t look old enough to drive
“Afternoon,” he said into the silence
The couple jumped apart Nate turned and sed “Boss You’re back”
“I am” He crossed to them “I’m Clay Stryker”
The girl—a pretty blonde with big blue eyes, sers “With two e’s”
“Nice to meet you, Candee I need to talk to Nate for a minute If you’ll excuse us?”
Candee giggled her agreeed him to the other side of the barn
“I won’t even get into the fact that you’re supposed to be working,” he growled “What the hell are you doing with a girl her age?”
Nate bristled “She’s over eighteen”
“You sure?”
“She swore she was”
“Did you bother to confirm that?”
Nate shook free of Clay’s grasp “This isabout I run your farm Whom I date is my business”
“Not when it’s onpissed wouldn’t help the situation “This is a setting attacked by a crowd of angry mothers with pitchforks or worse, you need to be sensible Find soh school”
Clay glanced back at the girl “If she’s under eighteen, you’re fired”
Nate went pale “No, boss Don’t say that She’s not I know she’s not I really need this job”
“Maybe you should act like it”
Nate nodded “You’re right I won’t see her again”
“Fair enough” Clay returned to Candee’s side “I need to see your driver’s license”
Candee blinked at hiet a drink”
“Humor me, please”
She opened her s and held out her wallet He leaned in to check the date
God was shteen the previous htened
“It was nice to meet you, Candee”
“You, too” She rocked forward and back on her feet “Are you who they say? That model?”
“Not anymore”
She glanced at Nate, then back at him and lowered her voice “You want my number?”
“I’ someone”
“Is she prettier than me?”
The easiest question of the day He thought of Charlie in her gear, shouting instructions and taking on a fire, then nodded “She’s spectacular”
“If you change your mind, I work part-time at the bakery”
“Good to know”
Then, feeling decades older than his thirty-one years, he walked away When he was outside, he turned back to the barn and wondered if the decision to hire Nate was going to co word entirely
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
DOMINIQUE WRESTLED THE euard, had left for a feeeks In truth, she’d let hi for hinment and then she would be forced to face the truth about her career That she was no longer famous There were no fans and anyone who reenarian and not really much of a threat
Tears filled her eyes She brushed therily She’d cried more in the past few months than she had in the past decade and it was time for the unseemly display of weakness to end She had survived cancer and she would survive being rejected by her daughter People ht think that ballet dancers were delicate creatures, but Dominique knew the truth There was steel behind successful dancers and she had been the best
She would return to her life and find a way to make it less lonely Maybe she could volunteer or read to orphans Take a lover Although in truth, she didn’t really want any man Dan had been her one true love and when he’d died her heart had died, too
Friends then, she told herself as she carried the contents of the drawers to her suitcases Even a monkey had friends Somehow she would learn how to have one, too She had to Otherwise she would truly die alone
Someone knocked on the suite door
Do room and opened the door only to find thein the hallway
“Hello,” Marsha Tilson said, stepping into the suite “Dominique, this is Denise Hendrix She lives here in Fool’s Gold”
“Nice to meet you,” Denise said with a warm smile
Doh, in a natural way Her clothing was casual—jeans and a long-sleeved blouse—but the si suited her
“How can I help you?” she asked, wondering why they’d stopped by and how long they would be staying She had packing to get to and then a long limo ride to the Sacramento airport From there she would fly to New York and lick her wounds