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“What?” She’d put the flashlight down and was palpating the mare’s belly to determine the foal’s position. It was a guess at best, but so far, everything felt all right.
“I asked Tori if you were happy. She said I should ask you. So I’m asking.”
“You mean am I happy with Slade?” She fumbled for the flashlight where she’d dropped it in the straw. “Not that it’s any of your business, but yes, of course I am. He’s a good man, and he loves me.”
“But no children.”
“That’s not your business either,” she said. “I’ve moved on, Beau. I have a career and a marriage—a life you’re not part of.” Easing away from the horse, she gulped back the ache in her throat. “So just take it for what it’s worth. Leave me alone.”
She couldn’t help it. Always emotional, she felt the sc
alding surge of tears. They spilled over as she rose, stripped off her gloves, and walked out of the stall.
“Natalie, are you all right?” Beau came out behind her. Latching the stall gate, he turned her shoulders to face him and saw her tears. “Oh, dammit, I’m sorry.” His arms pulled her close, a gesture of comfort. “I shouldn’t have grilled you like that. You’re right—we’ve both moved on. Your life is none of my business.”
She stood rigid in the circle of his arms. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have come here today.”
“No—I’m the one who doesn’t belong here.” His clasp tightened around her. “Tomorrow I’ll be leaving.”
Natalie closed her eyes, drawing him into her senses—the warm tensile strength of his arms, the fresh sage smell of his skin, the steady drumming of his heart against her ear. After all these years, the connection between them was still there. But Beau was right. They’d both moved on.
His breath ruffled the hair on her forehead. Memories surged—the sweet and the bitter. Summer nights on a blanket under the stars, their urgent young bodies giving each other love the only way they knew how. And that last, parting moment, holding him with every ounce of strength, as if to mold his imprint to her and carry it away. Even then she’d known that things would never be the same between them. But until he stopped writing, she’d refused to believe it.
The urge to feel his lips on hers one last time touched an ache inside her—an ache too deep and powerful to be denied. Natalie’s booted feet pushed her to her tiptoes. She tilted her face upward, feeling the catch of his breath as he bent toward her.
A clatter from one of the stalls startled them both. They sprang apart as if a gunshot had been fired between them. “Who’s there?” Beau called. “Come on out. Now.”
A slight male figure, dressed in jeans and a ragged T-shirt, stepped out of the empty stall next to the wheelbarrow. His stringy black hair hung to his shoulders.
“Who the devil—” Beau began.
Natalie touched his arm. “It’s all right. He’s one of Sky’s cousins from Oklahoma. He works here.”
Beau hesitated, clearly suspicious. “Then why was he hiding?”
“Maybe he was scared—or just shy. He’s only a boy.” Natalie gave the young man a friendly wave. “Hello, Lute. We were just checking the mare. Keep an eye on her, will you? Tell Sky if you see any change.”
“Sure.” Without raising his eyes, Lute picked up the shovel from beside the wheelbarrow and ambled back into the stall. The sound of scraping came from the shadows.
“We should go.” Beau pressed a hand to the small of her back.
“Yes, we should.” Natalie needed no urging. Their embrace had been innocent enough, but neither of them relished the idea that they’d been observed.
The door where they’d entered earlier had swung shut. Reaching past her, Beau shoved it open. Bright afternoon sunlight spilled into the barn, dazzling her eyes. Only as her vision cleared did she see the looming shape of a man in front of her.
“I’ve been looking all over hell for you, Natalie,” Slade growled. “Care to tell me what you two were doing in there?”
CHAPTER 2
Beau curbed the impulse to push forward and confront the man. But he damn well didn’t like the way Slade Haskell was talking to his wife; still, any interference on his part would only make things worse for Natalie.
“I figured you’d be here when I got home early and didn’t find you.” Slade’s eyes were glittering slits. Blond, with close-clipped hair; blunt, handsome features; and a thickening belly, he was dressed in jeans and a grease-stained work shirt with HASKELL TRUCKING stamped on the chest pocket. “Spotted your SUV out front, but when I went in the house, none of those folks had seen you. How the hell do you think that made me look—a man who can’t keep track of his own wife?”
“That’s enough, Slade.” Natalie’s voice was low and taut. “I planned on going into the house, but first I needed to check on a mare.”
“And this hotshot government man just happened to wander in? Checking on a mare, my aunt Nelly’s ass!” Reaching out, he plucked a piece of straw from Natalie’s hair. His gaze burned into Beau like a red-hot poker. “She’s my wife now, Tyler. You’ve got no business fooling around with her! I ought to knock you down and kick your damned teeth in!”
“You’ve got the wrong idea, friend.” Beau spoke with great restraint. “Give your wife some credit. She’s a good woman. I simply wanted to say hello to her and good-bye, since I’ll be leaving tomorrow.”
