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Walker cleared his throat and faced forward again.
“Ah,” she said. “See? I was right.”
No, she hadn’t been right. He hadn’t wanted a note, though. He’d wanted her. Snug against him, hot and naked and soft with sleep. That’s what he’d wanted. To wake up to her just like that.
“Here it is,” he said, relieved to change the subject.
“Oh!” She pointed at the sign ahead, iron and old wood spelling out Ability Ranch in simple letters.
Right away, he spotted a huge indoor riding arena and a large stable next to it, bigger than any he’d ever worked in. “Wow.”
“It’s big,” Charlie breathed. He shot her a look and she met it, and suddenly the worst of the tension between them dissolved.
“That sounds familiar,” he drawled.
“Shut up, naughty!” she shrieked, smacking him on the arm. He loved hearing her laugh. If everything had been fine, he would have stopped the truck and pulled her in for a kiss until her laughter turned to sighs. For him.
Instead he drove on, all the way to the larg
e parking area next to a building with glass doors and a bulletin board posted next to them.
“I’m going to run into the office,” Charlie said. “Are you good with looking around?”
“Absolutely.” There were plenty of vehicles in the lot, and he could see horses being led from the stable to the yard, so he helped Charlie out of the truck and set off toward the stables.
They were damn impressive. The aisles were wide and clean. Doors were thrown open on every wall to let in sunlight. There was a faint scent of manure, of course, but it was far outweighed by hay and the comforting smells of leather and horseflesh. The horses hardly reacted at all as people moved past the stalls. Only one seemed skittish, but the gelding was hardly alarmed; he was just obviously ready to get out of his stall.
Hell, Walker would’ve been ready to give the place a thumbs-up based on the stalls alone. Looking over the stables was like checking out the bathroom at a restaurant. If the barn was meticulously clean and maintained, you didn’t have to bother looking any further. Management ran a tight ship.
He continued out through the far door to the gate of the outdoor riding area. There were four horses in the yard and a dozen kids. All the kids were in wheelchairs. All of them wore helmets and held grooming brushes.
Walker shot a look over his shoulder to be sure Charlie wasn’t standing there, waiting to see his reaction to the scenario she’d set up. But no. Charlie was still off somewhere, setting up a charity donation or possibly stealing money from these kids.
Cursing under his breath, he started to turn back to the arena.
“Walker Pearce? Oh, my God, is that you?”
Startled, he searched the area for the voice, then finally spotted a woman crouched down by one of the kids, a horse’s hoof cupped in her hand. He didn’t place her for a moment, but then he smiled. Her black hair was in long braids beneath her cowboy hat, and her full lips were painted as red as ever. “Marlene?”
“Hey!” She stood and gestured another adult over before walking toward him. “Get on in here, Walker.”
Marlene had taught riding at the Fletcher Ranch for a few months when Walker had first started. They’d had a couple of friendly nights together and then she’d moved on. He hadn’t seen her since then, which would’ve been odd in another town this size, but not in Jackson. Not only was it spread out, but it was packed with strangers for a good eight months of the year.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she asked, going up on her tiptoes for a hug.
“Just checking the place out for a friend. How’ve you been? Holy shit!” He grabbed her left hand and looked down at the giant rock on her finger. The pale metal band stood out against her dark skin.
“Ha!” Her grin was clearly self-satisfied. “I got hitched a year ago. He’s pretty good to me.”
“I guess so. Congratulations. You living in a big house up on the mountain now?”
“Maybe,” she answered with a smile that screamed Yes! “What about you? Have you settled down?”
Before he had to answer, she turned back to the kids. “Hold that thought. We’ll catch up later. Come on.”
“What are you doing here?” he asked, following her back to her group.
“They’re learning how to groom. You want to help?”
