LITMIR.BIZ

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No reason they couldn’t eat there. “How about a horseback ride?” she asked instead, evidently channeling Chelsea, which was a terrifying thought. “I know just the spot.”

      He agreed, so she gathered their dinner, while he found napkins and washed the knife. It would have been downright cozy if she hadn’t been caught stealing looks at him. Of course, she’d caught him looking back.

      When Kathy saw them saddling the horses, she gave her a blanket and a wink. Melanie volleyed with a glare normally reserved for boys who loitered outside the girls’ locker room. Thank goodness Lucas had missed the exchange. But that hadn’t stopped her from blushing like a lunatic.

      The silent ten-minute ride went quickly and comfortably, considering the storm brewing in Melanie’s head. The sun was sinking, the air wasn’t too warm, and in fact, the crisp breeze hitting her cheeks felt refreshing. It would’ve been perfect if only her mind hadn’t kept circling back to the same question. What on earth was she doing? They couldn’t have that much to discuss. It would’ve made more sense to have eaten in the office while they talked and then gone their separate ways. She still had a lot of work to do. He probably had a long drive to wherever he was going next.

      And yet she wasn’t sorry. She didn’t feel bad for not doing the sensible thing. She was enjoying Lucas. That wasn’t a crime or a sin. Though to ignore the broad stretch of his T-shirt across his shoulders might be.

      “Is that it?” He pointed to the grassy knoll protected by a thicket of aspens.

      “How did you know?”

      “That’s where I’d go.” He twisted around in his saddle and looked back toward Blackfoot Falls and the distant Rockies. “Great view.”

      “You can even see part of Safe Haven.”

      He swung off Sergei, the gelding he’d chosen, and tethered the black to a sapling.

      Before she could dismount, Lucas caught her by the waist and helped her down. She shoved the hair out of her eyes, about to tell him he didn’t need to do that, but he had strong hands and all she could manage was “Thanks.”

      He smiled and turned his attention to the mare. “Is she your favorite?” he asked and stroked the horse’s neck.

      “Candy Cane is everyone’s favorite. Someone abandoned her two years ago. Can you imagine? She’s so sweet and gentle I never worry when the kids want to ride her.”

      “I’m surprised you haven’t found her a home.”

      Melanie grinned at the mare, who nudged Lucas with her muzzle when he stopped stroking her to gather the reins. “You shameless hussy,” Melanie said, taking over pampering duty as they walked to the sapling. “Safe Haven is her home now. We’ve never tried to place her.”

      His thoughtful frown warned her that he’d switched to business mode. “Last year I heard you had to move close to a hundred horses because you were overcrowded.”

      Nodding, she watched him tether Candy next to Sergei. “Annie was still here then. It was bad. No funds, very little feed to get through winter. Luckily, two other sanctuaries took them in.”

      “Some were mustangs that eventually ended up in the prison system.” He collected the blanket, and she grabbed their dinner. “That’s how we learned about Safe Haven. Your operation is small and out of the way, so you hadn’t been on our radar.”

      “Small? Are you kidding? Sometimes it feels as though we’re drowning.” She stopped in the shade, though the sun was low and weak. “I’m not complaining—”

      “I know. You don’t have someone here full-time, and you and Shea have other jobs. Volunteers mean well but you can’t count on them. This is a remote area, so new volunteers aren’t coming out of the woodwork. And with this economy, donations are down. I get it.” He shook out the blanket. “Yet look at what you two are accomplishing in spite of everything.”

      “No, not me. I have limited involvement. It’s people like Kathy and Levi—” She watched him crouch to smooth out the wool blanket, smiling. “What?”

      “You’re being modest.”

      “I am not.”

      He took the bag of food from her and set it down. “I like the way you think outside the box. What you’re doing with your students is commendable.” He studied her for a moment. “Did you grow up here?”

      “Yes.”

      “On a ranch?”

      “No, not really. We always had a few animals. Mostly chickens, two mares, a milking cow...”

      “You’re teaching those kids valuable life skills. And they’re learning to have a healthy respect for animals. You’d think that wouldn’t need to be taught. That any decent human being would understand their responsibility to—” He stopped, cleared his throat and looked away.

      His voice had sounded strained; his jaw was still clenched. The blue eyes she’d found so appealing had turned cold, sending a shiver straight down her spine. He kept his gaze averted and stared at the Rockies—to hide the sudden darkness that had come over him, she suspected. She was guessing he’d had a bad experience with someone mistreating an animal. That was enough to push her buttons.

      She moved closer. He was a stranger, a man she’d met only a few hours ago. What was wrong with her that she didn’t feel some modicum of fear? Did she have no survival instincts at all? His tension all but blasted her like heat from a furnace. His mouth was tight-lipped and grim, cautioning her to give him space. And yet the warning had an opposite effect.

      The curse she’d hidden since hitting puberty was to blame. That was the only explanation. Why else would quiet Melanie, Pastor Ray’s obedient daughter, feel this stirring inside her, feel a deep longing to touch Lucas? Good girls stayed away from bad boys. They didn’t go looking for trouble.

      She hesitated, giving herself a final chance to sync with reason, but it was no use. She touched his arm.

      He slowly turned and glanced at her hand. “Sorry, did you say something?”

      For the life of her, she couldn’t come up with an excuse for touching him. Or for standing this close. She moved her hand to her side and focused on the Big Belt Mountains. “Would you like me to point out landmarks? There’s Mount Edith over there. And on the right—”

      Lightly brushing the back of her hand, he said, “How about we eat?”

      She curled her fingers into her cold palm. And then realized he hadn’t initiated contact at all. Her trembling hand had grazed his. Keeping her gaze averted, she inched away. “Sure, let’s— I’ll set out the food.”

      He caught her wrist, just to get her attention, then released her. “I got carried away there,” he said. “I’m sorry I frightened you.”

      “You didn’t.” She shook her head. “I was concerned.” She rubbed her arms and saw the skepticism in his faint smile. “Okay, and maybe a teensy bit nervous.”

      His mouth lifted in earnest, and just like that, there was the man who’d changed the bus tire. “Are you always this forthright?”

      “I try to be.”

      “No matter what the consequences?”

      “I’d like to think so,” she said, mesmerized by his bold stare. The demons were gone, if that was what had drawn him briefly into darkness. Now he just looked curious. “You sound so serious. Please tell me you aren’t setting me up to play Truth or Dare.”

      He laughed at that. “I’ve never played and don’t want to know how.”

      She relaxed and smiled, surprised that for a second she’d been afraid he’d admit something she didn’t want to know. Something that might change her opinion of him. Which was crazy. She barely knew him. “It’s just a dumb college pastime also known as study avoidance.”

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