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“Did you expect to find me in a crumpled heap—falling apart at the seams?”
Dustin shook his head but didn’t smile at her attempt to lighten the mood. “I guess not. But it happened once before,” he reminded her.
“That was different. Ellery was killed.” She watched the smooth skin over Dustin’s even features but saw no trace of any emotion that would betray his inner thoughts. Dustin acted as if he believed his brother dead.
“Right,” he agreed.
“As well as Devil’s Gambit.”
Dustin looked up sharply, and in that split second Tiffany knew that he was lying to her. For the past four years, Dustin had been lying through his even white teeth. Without considering the consequences of her actions, she turned toward the stall and forced herself to appear calm, though her heart was pounding irregularly in her chest. It was time to find out how much of Zane’s story was fact and how much was fiction, and she had to do it now, before Dustin left.
“I was thinking,” she remarked, sliding a furtive glance in Dustin’s direction.
“About?”
“Well, I still don’t want to use Moon Shadow as a stud. Not until I understand what happened to those four foals, and I hear from the other owners.”
Dustin nodded. Tiffany saw the movement from the corner of her eye. She propped her elbows on the rail and continued to watch the filly.
“So I was hoping to send some of our mares to other stallions, if it’s not too late to nominate them.”
“Sounds good to me.” Dustin checked his watch and shifted from one foot to the other.
“You have any ideas on whom I should call?” she asked, her throat dry with dread.
“What?”
She shrugged. “Well, you’re always high on one horse or the other. You know, a few years ago you thought we should breed Felicity to King’s Ransom.”
Dustin stiffened. The movement was slight, nearly imperceptible, but Tiffany caught it. “He’s a good sire. Proof enough of that on the European tracks recently.”
“Do you still think it’s a good idea to send Felicity to him?”
“An impossible one, I’d say. King’s Ransom’s got to be booked solid.”
Tiffany lifted one shoulder. “I just thought that maybe you knew the owner—could pull a few strings.”
Dustin’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. He came over to the stall and stood next to her. “You want favors? That’s not like you, Tiff. You’re the one who always plays by the rules.”
“This is an unusual case—”
Dustin’s arms reached for her, drew her close. “What is it with you?” he whispered against her hair. “What’s going on here?” His finger traced the line of her jaw before lingering on the pout of her lips.
Her mind racing fast, Tiffany slid out of the circle of his arms and clasped her arms behind her back. She cocked her head upward to meet his gaze. “I just feel pushed against a wall sometimes,” she said, knowing she was treading on thin ice with the turn in the conversation. She forced her hands into the pockets of her jeans and hoped to God that she wasn’t betraying her inner feelings.
“And how would breeding one of our horses to King’s Ransom change that?”
“It wouldn’t, I suppose. There are plenty of good studs, here in the States.” Lord, she hoped that she was a better actress than she had ever given herself credit for. “But we need a winner—a real winner.”
“We’ve got Journey’s End,” he volunteered, intrigued with the change in her. His brother’s widow was a mystifying creature; wild one minute, sedate the next. Intelligent, proud and sexy as hell. Dustin decided then and there that he would gladly give half his fortune for the chance to tame her fiery spirit.
“I know,” Tiffany replied. “But what we really need is another horse like Devil’s Gambit.”
Dustin paled slightly, his hands dropped to his sides, but for the most part, he managed to keep his composure intact. “He’s gone, Tiff. So is Ellery. You’ve got to face it. You’re never going to have another horse just like Devil’s Gambit, and you’ve got to forget this unreasonable loyalty to a dead man.”
He captured her arm with his fingers and tugged her gently to him. “You need to live again, Tiffany. Without the ghosts of the past surrounding you. Ellery is gone.... Think about letting another man into your life.” He paused dramatically, and his gilded eyes darkened with passion.
Tiffany wanted to recoil from him and shout that another man was already in her life, that she had committed her heart to a man she barely knew, and she was dying inside without him. Instead, she pulled away before the embrace became more heated.
