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So why was he longing for skyscrapers and trolleys and a certain condo with a pink faux leather couch? Why did he wish he woke up with a fat cat with a smashed face on his chest?
He raised his coffee mug to his lips and sipped the strong, hot brew. When the office door opened behind him, he turned.
Corrine backed through the door. Seeing that her hands were full, he set his mug down and hurried to help her. Sure enough, she was balancing two boxes, a purse and the big metal container she brought to work filled with her preferred brew of coffee every day.
He divested her of the boxes.
“Thanks,” she breathed out. “I always have too much to carry.”
“You do.” He wasn’t going to argue with her when her purse looked like it contained a bowling ball and probably weighed as much as one. That made him think of Bronte’s purse with the cute little frog charm she’d smacked him with…and how a threatening note had shown up in her handbag at the trade show.
All the events seemed so long ago. Though only a few days had passed, he missed the woman with a deep ache in his soul.
Not for the first time, he thought about picking up and moving to California. Wouldn’t his brothers laugh at him then?
Corrine eyed him. “You good today, Jace?”
He grunted and returned to the window and his coffee.
“The auction starts at eight. We’ll leave in twenty minutes.”
He nodded. “I’ll just finish my coffee and then I’m ready to go.”
Corrine cocked her head. “Are you sure you still really want this horse? I mean, things change.”
He set the mug down on the nearby desk. “I want it. It’s what I’ve been working toward.”
She nodded. “You’ve got the plot of land to put it on.”
A piece of land he’d leased not far away from the Wynton Ranch.
“The barn’s all fixed up and ready.”
“But there’s no house on that land.” Why did her tone have a note of wheedling to it, as if she was trying to say more?
“Don’t need a house. Got the rental with my brothers.”
“I guess so. But my offer still stands to keep the horse here on the ranch. It’s no trouble for you to stop by and take care of her… If you win her at auction, that is.”
He gave her a nod. Neither said more on the topic she was trying to skirt. When it was time to head to the auction, his nerves kicked into gear.
What if he was outbid? What would he set his sights on then? Was he even doing the right thing in tethering himself to Montana?
The auction was taking place in the big agricultural building outside of town. When they entered the building and he heard the auctioneer calling and smelled hay and livestock, a flutter of excitement ripped through him.
He really did want this.
As he and Corrine found seats, a shrill whistle made him look up. When he spotted two men wearing white Stetsons a few rows away, he groaned. What were his jackass brothers doing here?
“You told them,” he accused Corrine.
“Nothing’s a secret in our office, Jace. They’re here to support you.”
They soon became engrossed in the buying and selling of prize pigs, Angus cows and finally, the horse auction began.
The auctioneer called so fast that Jace had a difficult time understanding when to raise his hand to bid. Thankfully, Corrine elbowed him every time.
“The price is going too high. It’s just about out of my range,” he told her.
