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But she’d known better than to go there

At soht she’d remembered Stor the horse with Sky At least the black gelding was in good hands But she’d only borrowed him from the Prescott Ranch She would need to send money for his keep and instructions for his return

Her grandparents’ holoomier than Lauren remembered Much of the land had been sold to real estate developers Even her grandfather’s horses and stables were gone Her grandparents, both in their eighties, rarely left the house or even looked past the heavy drapes that kept out ht

The kindly servants Lauren reers who clearly viewed her as an intruder Concerned, Lauren had contacted the farandparents’ deaths the remainder of the estate would be sold to pay its debts,

leaving next to nothing for her The only surprise had been how little she cared

After three days of filling out applications for jobs she didn’t want, she’d driven to see Mike’s parents in North Carolina Arriving at their hoardener that they’d left on a cruise

Just one place re a bouquet of blue Dutch irises and lilies of the valley froone to the cerave

The last ti, e out of her car, she’d braced herself for a surge of love and grief, along with newfound anger for all the people Mike’s suicide had hurt But as she kissed the bouquet and laid it at the base of the granite headstone, all she’d felt was a surprising sense of quiet, calm acceptance

She’d moved on

And she didn’t belong here anymore

Driving back to Maryland, visions of open space, golden grass, cattle, horses, and a tall, lean coith coal black hair and riveting blue eyes had flooded her memory Lauren wasn’t blind to the risks Sky was a loner The odds of a happy future with such aherself up for heartbreak But if there was a chance for them, any chance at all, she couldn’t walk away until she knew for sure

Two days later she was on a flight back to Texas

The distant sound of approaching hoof beats roused Lauren fro here Heart pounding, she rose and walked to the top of the porch steps She’d told him to come to the house From there she could show him the way to the stables

When the syndicate had bought the ranch froreed to leave the ardens, for the Prescott fa with an office and sos, had been built soinal barns and stables The arrangeave the Prescotts the privacy they needed to live their lives undisturbed, as well as shared use of the stables and other facilities Since Lauren had worked in the ranch office, she was familiar with the layout of the place, andonto the property in the ht, Sky would need her with him

Now she could see hi into thetoward the house as he saw her Checking the urge to run to him, Lauren forced herself to wait Time seemed to crawl before he reined up at the foot of the steps