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“I knew you’d say that” She replaced her hat and sighed “I like this We’re all in love Except for Patience We need to fix her up with souys?”
Charlie considered as in town “There’s the new guy”
Annabelle reuy?”
“Gideon Gabriel So like that”
“What? Why don’t I know about this? Who is he?”
“He bought the local radio station Mayor Marsha told o It’s all very mysterious”
“Have you seen hi?”
“I haven’t seen him and I don’t care what he looks like I only have eyes for Clay”
“As you should” Annabelle paused and re-covered her face “I was going to ask uy, but you’ve distracted me About Clay Should I worry?”
“Like I said, I’m not in love with him”
The hatat her She shook her head “No I’m not”
“Are you sure?” Annabelle asked “Love is sneaky”
“Clay says it’s an at-first-sight kind of thing”
“Maybe it was for him, but it wasn’t for me Of course I had a sucky childhood His was better”
Charlie had never been in love She’d felt loved by her father, but that had been different She believed Do their way through that
“How is loving Shane different from the relationship you had with your first husband?” Charlie asked
Annabelle pushed off her hat again “I’er and more sure With Lewis, I was so desperate for someone to care about e his actions With Shane, I see love in both his words and deeds” She wrinkled her nose “I know that sounds old-fashioned but both are important I need to hear the words, but what he does makes me feel special”
“Like the fact that he doesn’t want to wait to get married? That he built his house to suit you?”
“Soives with his whole heart I’ve never had that before Loving hi loved by hiives more”
That, Charlie could relate to Clay didn’t take her for granted, or dislike the parts of her she liked best She felt the same about him She knew his flaws and was okay with them
“Clay’s a good guy, too,” she said
“He is”
Charlie waited, but Annabelle didn’t see to warn me to be careful?” she asked
Annabelle sat up and faced her “I don’t think so”
“But I haven’t been with a man in a decade Clay’s basically my first adult relationship It would be easy for me to fall for hi for anything else That puts et hurt”
Annabelle leaned forward and patted her ar up so fast I’m just so proud”
Charlie swatted away her arm “Shut up”
Annabelle’s smile faded “You don’t need me to tell you the potential pitfalls You already know Besides, I think Clay’s at just as much risk as you are”
“I ae chair
“Exactly”
Charlie wondered if Annabelle knew the words were just cheap talk When it came to Clay, she found herself both hopeful and terrified Being around hi she wanted But he was also afor another Clay had said love was a lightning bolt and so far there hadn’t been a single flash in the sky
She planned to enjoy everything about her experience with hi her heart as best she could If she got hurt, she would recover She would move on Whatever the cost, it orth it He’d made her whole and noknown him
CLAY LED KHATAR out of the corral The white Arabian stallion playfully nuzzled Clay’s neck
“I’ him away “She’ll be by later In the meantime, behave”
The majestic animal snorted, as if ath that ith it, he was one of the gentlest horses Shane owned Good news for his brother, Clay thought Shane had gotten the million-dollar horse for a discount due to his difficult and potentially killer nature Which had turned out to be the result of bad training and some abuse
Since arriving in Fool’s Gold, the once-mean-tempered horse had turned into an equine kitten Last week Khatar had escaped fro classes He’d decided that next to Annabelle, he adored a little girl na burns the previous sueries as she healed She’d started riding a small pony but Khatar had made it clear that when she was ready for a horse, he planned to be the guy
While the class circled the ring, Khatar had kept pace with Kalinda and her pony He’d stayed close when she’d dis between her and the other horses
“You’re kind of a sap, you know that?” Clay patted the horse “Ready for a good long ride?”
Khatar’s ears perked up at theWhen Shane hadthe final paperwork on his house, Clay had offered to exercise the horses With his alfalfa crop in the ground and no firefighter training scheduled, he had the time
He’d just finished saddling Khatar when an unfauy climb out He was in his mid-to-late thirties and had on a shirt that said “Gil” and the name of the local hardware store
Clay reet the man
“Can I help you?” he asked
“I’ for Nate”
Gil was an average kind of guy Not too tall, with ht brown eyes Seconds later a teenage girl clier seat Her eyes were red and her mouth trembled
“Daddy, no,” she cried
It didn’t take Clay long to figure out what this was about His stoer had continued to play the gaainst
“Your daughter?” he asked, irl
Gil jerked his head in agreement “Do you knohere he is?”
Clay reached for his phone and pushed a button “Nate, would you come out by the house, please?”
“Sure, boss”
Gil’s gaze settled on Clay “You brought him here?”
“Yes I’m sorry”
“Like that’s gonna help”
Nate appeared at the doorway to the barn and surveyed the situation Clay watched the indecision cloud his gaze
“Don’t ,” Clay told him “Come face what you’ve done”