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Liam leaned against another porch post and listened. Sterling had been good to him his whole life. Even when he was furious with him, Liam never forgot how much he owed the man. The least he could do on his last day here was let him say his piece. “I’m listening.”
Sterling grinned. “You don’t want to, but you will,” he said. “That hard head of yours. Blessing and a curse. You’re a lot like your father, you know. He learned early this lesson I’m about to share with you.
“Plans and schemes and money and success don’t mean dick, son, if you’re alone.” Sterling stared into the distance again and kept talking. “You find a woman who fills all the holes in your soul, then you be smart enough to grab hold of her and never let go.” He paused to turn his head and stare into Liam’s eyes. “Because once you’ve lost her, a part of yourself is gone and it won’t ever come back.”
A long moment of silence ticked past. Liam didn’t know what the hell to say to that because every word had rung true for him. He had been walking around with a soul like a sieve, and he hadn’t even noticed until Chloe started filling in those gaps.
And now that she was gone, it was as if he’d sprung a damn leak and the goodness and light inside him was draining out.
“Just something for you to think about,” Sterling said, then stepped closer and clapped one hand onto Liam’s shoulder. “I know you’ll make that ranch of yours a big success, boy. You come around and see me sometimes, though. All right?”
He started down the steps and only stopped when Liam called his name. “What is it?”
Liam’s brain was racing. He scrubbed one hand across his jaw, looked out at the stables, then back to Sterling. “The new foal. Will you sell him to me?”
Sterling looked at him for a long second or two, then a smile curved his mouth. “You take him with you. Call him a ranch-warming present.” He started walking, then stopped again and looked back over his shoulder. “You can pay me for his mother though, because you’ll need her, too. At least until he’s weaned.”
Liam grinned, then asked with affection, “You’re still a cagey old bastard, aren’t you?”
Sterling winked at him. “And don’t you forget it.”
* * *
The street outside Chloe’s office was busy. Regular traffic was closed off since the recovery and cleanup efforts were still in effect. Chloe sat at her new desk, on her new computer, and went over the final details for the Farrels’ anniversary party she had scheduled for the following week. Everything was in place, so there was really nothing for her to check, but she kept at it, because this was going to be not only her next job, but her last one.
She’d already arranged for another event planner to take over for her with the two other small parties she’d agreed to do. As soon as she’d given the Farrels the best anniversary party ever, she was going to devote herself to her cowgirl camp.
Whether Liam liked it or not, she was going to be at his ranch every damn day until she got the camp up and running. And then she’d be there every day running it.
“So he’s just going to have to get used to ignoring me.” She laughed to herself, as she opened her email. “He’ll be great at it, probably. I’m the one who’s going to have trouble with this.”
She answered an email from the band she’d booked for the party, assuring them of the time and place. Then she tucked it into a Save folder and moved onto the next one.
“You could have the camp at Sterling’s,” she told herself. “That’s still an option.” But it really wasn’t. “No, the spot at Liam’s is perfect. The oaks, the stables. I’ll just have to deal. After a while, it won’t be hard to see him. Just...sad.”
“What’s sad?”
She jolted, and looked up to see Liam standing in her doorway. Nope. She’d never get used to seeing him. Never get over the instant flash of heat and love that filled her with one glance. And that was way beyond sad.
“You really enjoy sneaking up on me, don’t you?”
He gave her a half smile and everything in her melted. Honestly, this was not fair, to have her body react to him like this even when her mind was screaming at her that there was no point.
