AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Prologue
Mitch
August 1995
“Fancy meeting you here.”
She didn’t come right into the barn at my greeting, so I set the grooming brush on the ledge near the stall door and strode across the worn wood floors.
“Hey.”
Her soft voice never got old. I gathered her in my arms, pausing just before I kissed her.
“Hey, Jules.” Lightning shot down my spine the second my lips met hers. Her delicate hands trembled as she clutched my shirt. I broke the kiss and rested my forehead against hers. “Thought you were going to be here an hour ago.”
“I—I got held up.” She released my shirt and tried to step away. I wasn’t quite ready to let her go, but did anyway. Something wasn’t right.
“Everything okay?” I studied her face, noting the slight downturn of her pouty lips.
She slipped her hand into mine. “How’s Blue?”
Was she avoiding my question?
Juliana led me over to my pregnant mare.
“Still seems to be doing good so far.”
“Hi, mama.” She touched the side of the horse’s neck. Bluebonnet blew out a breath in greeting, and Juliana stroked her coat. “I bet you’re ready to meet your baby.”
Something softened in me at the sight of her gentleness. Jules and me had been together since high school, but we’d known each other our whole lives. I was going to spend the rest of mine with her. This very tenderness she showed toward the horse was a preview of how she’d be with our children.
“Got a long way to go. At least five months.”
Blue seemed to understand what I said. She nudged me in the shoulder like she didn’t appreciate the reminder her pregnancy was far from over.
Juliana kissed her nose. “You’re a good mama.”
We fell into our usual routine sweeping the barn, laying out fresh hay, grooming the horses. What person in their right mind would spend one of the last weekends of summer break cleaning up somebody else’s barn? Yet my girlfriend had done this since we were kids, always helping out like this ranch was her home.
She was quiet today. Wasn’t giving me the out-of-tune concert I was used to hearing on days like this; just stilted movements as we worked through my chores.
“What did the three-legged dog say when he walked into the bar?” This joke never failed to make her smile, even though she thought it was lame. She hardly looked up, so I went for the punch line. “I’m looking for the man who shot my paw.”
I grinned, but her mouth barely hinted at a smile. A warning bell went off in my head. I propped the shovel against the wall and moved into the empty stall she was sweeping.
“You sure nothing’s wrong?” I cupped her face, looking for any sign of what had her so down.
Big green eyes gazed up at me.
“I’m going to Paris.”
“You are?” Didn’t see that coming. Guess her parents surprised her. Would’ve been nice if they’d let me in on it.
“Mmm hmm.”
For somebody who was finally going to take the trip of a lifetime she’d been talking about since she was ten, she was acting awfully down.
“That’s great, honey.” A knot formed at the base of my throat. I swallowed around it and forced a smile. I’d always imagined she’d see Paris for the first time with me. “When’s the big vacation?”
