LITMIR.BIZ

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also understood she needed some fresh air. “A short ride will do you good. It’ll settle your nerves.”

      “Just along the river, then.”

      “Whatever you say. You’re the boss.”

      April shot him a harsh look. “Don’t say that. I’m not ready to be the boss.”

      “Well, that’s something we need to discuss,” Reed replied. “A lot of people depend on this land for their livelihoods.” He hesitated, looking down at the floor. “And…well, Stu let some things slip.”

      “What do you mean, let some things slip?”

      “Fences need mending. We’re got calves to work and brand. Half our hands have left because Stu would forget to pay ’em. Either that, or he’d lose his temper and fire ’em on the spot.”

      April closed her eyes, as if she was trying to imagine her father roaring at the help. Stuart had a temper, but he’d always handled his employees with respect and decency. When he was sober, at least.

      “You keep saying ‘our’as if you still work here.”

      Reed placed his hands on his hips, then raised his eyes to meet hers. “I’ve been helping out some in my spare time.”

      Groaning, she ran a hand through her bangs. “Reed, you have almost as much land now as we do. Are you telling me you’ve been working your ranch and this one, too? That’s close to fifteen hundred acres.”

      “Yeah, pretty much. But hey, I don’t really have anything better to do. Daddy helps, too. And you know Stu’s got friends all over East Texas. Your uncles come around as often as they can, to check on things and help out. Well, Richard does—not so much James. But they have their own obligations. We’ve all tried to hold things together for him, April.”

      She let out a shuddering breath. “I’m just not ready for all of this.”

      “All the more reason to take things one day at a time and get yourself readjusted.”

      “There’s no way to adjust to losing both your parents,” she said. Then she hurried up the hallway ahead of him, the scent of her floral perfume lingering to remind him that she was back home, good or bad.

      Reed watched as April handled the gentle roan mare with an expert hand. “I see you haven’t lost your touch.”

      April gave him a tight smile. “Well, since you told Tomás to bring me the most gentle horse in the stable, I’d say I’m doing okay.”

      “Daisy needed to stretch her legs,” he replied.

      “I still go horseback riding now and then.”

      “In New York City?”

      She laughed at his exaggerated way of saying that. “Yes, in New York City. You can take the girl out of the country—”

      “But you can’t take the country out of the girl?”

      “I guess not.” She urged Daisy through the gates leading out to the open pasture. “Who’s that other kid with Tomás?” she asked as the two teenagers waved to them from where they were exercising some of the other horses.

      “That’s Adan Garcia. They’re best friends and they play football together. He helps Tomás with some of the work around here. Just a summer job.”

      “Why is he staring at us?” she asked. “He looks so bitter and…full of teenage angst.”

      Reed shrugged. “Guess he’s never seen a woman from New York City before. Maybe that ain’t angst, just curiosity about a ‘city girl.’”

      “Will you please stop saying that as if it’s distasteful?”

      “Not distasteful. Just hard to imagine.”

      “You never thought I’d make it, did you?”

      “Oh, I knew you’d give it your best.”

      She kneed Daisy into action, tossing him a glare over her shoulder.

      Reed followed on Jericho, anxious to know everything about her life since she’d been gone. “So what’s it like in the big city?”

      She clicked her boots against Daisy’s ribs as they did a slow trot. “It’s exciting, of course. Fast-paced. Hectic.”

      “Your eyes light up when you say that.”

      “I love it. I enjoy my work at Satire and it’s fun living with Summer and Autumn.”

      Reed turned his head to roll his eyes. What kind of name was Satire, anyway? But right now, he didn’t need to hear about her fancy threads workplace. So he asked the question that had been burning through his system since she’d come home. No, since she’d left. “And how about your social life? Dating any Wall Street hotshots or do you just hang with the Hollywood types?”

      She slanted him a sideways look. “Honestly, I rarely have time to date.”

      His gut hurt, thinking about all the eligible bachelors in New York. “I don’t believe that.”

      “Okay, I’ve had a few relationships. But…I’ve found most of the men I date are a bit self-centered and shallow. They’re so involved in their careers, they kind of rush their way through any after-hours social life. I don’t like to be rushed.”

      That made him grin. In his mind, she’d just described herself. Her new self. But then, maybe he’d misjudged her. “You never did like to be rushed. Maybe the city hasn’t changed you so much after all.”

      “No, I haven’t changed that much. I know where I came from. And besides, most of my colleagues tease me about my Texas drawl.”

      Reed could listen to that drawl all day long. “You have that edge in your voice now. That little bit of hurried city-speak.”

      “City-speak?” She grinned. “I can’t imagine what you’re talking about.”

      “Oh, you know. Fast and sassy.”

      As they walked the horses toward the meandering river, she gazed out over the flat grassland. Red clovers and lush bluebonnets were beginning to bloom here and there across some of the pastures. “Well, fast and sassy won’t cut it here, unless I’m roping cattle. But at least I can apply my business skills to detangling some of the mess this ranch is in.”

      “How long do you plan on staying?”

      Her eyes went dark at that question. “I…I told my supervisor I’d be here indefinitely. I have three weeks of vacation time and she agreed to let me use my two weeks of sick days. I’ve never abused my benefits at Satire, so she knew I was serious when I came to her asking for an extended leave of absence.”

      “And when…things change here, you’ll go back?”

      “That’s the plan.”

      Reed didn’t respond to that. But his silence must have alerted April.

      Pulling up, she turned to stare over at him from underneath her bangs. “You do understand I have to go back?”

      He nodded, pushed his hat back on his head. “I understand plenty. But tell that to your daddy. He has other plans, I think.”

      She shook her head. “I’m not even sure he realizes I’m here.”

      “Oh, he knows. It’s all he’s talked about for the last week. Every time he’d wake up, he’d ask for you. I kept telling him you were on your way. I think he’s been waiting for you to get home just so—”

      She looked cornered, uncertain. “Just so what? What do you mean? That he’s going to give up and die now? After seeing him, I’ve accepted that, Reed.”

      “Yeah, well, that’s something we can’t help, but there’s more to it.”

      Her

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