the upstairs hallway to his room. Once inside, he closed the door and stood there shaking all over. Seeing Gwen and Dean together tonight had brought back memories he thought he’d overcome. But when he least expected it, they resurfaced and kicked him in the gut.
He staggered across the room, sat down on the side of his bed and buried his face in his hands as the images he’d tried to repress came flooding back over him like a tidal wave.
No one could have asked for a more perfect day when he arrived at the church that afternoon ready to say the words that would make the woman he loved his wife. The pristine blue of the sky and the white clouds floating along only served to enhance the happiness he felt. Soon he and Lana would be married and ready to start their life on the ranch his father had left him.
As the time grew nearer for the ceremony, he waited in a small room behind the church’s choir loft. The first inkling he had that something wasn’t right was when the appointed time arrived for the bridal march and nothing happened. A few minutes later the best man, who’d been his friend since childhood, walked into the room with a letter that had been delivered for him.
He opened it with shaking fingers, and the words on the page blurred as he began to read. She was sorry, she said, but she couldn’t go through with the wedding. It would be unfair to him when she’d realized that she didn’t love him. She apologized for the embarrassment and ended by saying that her parents would take care of letting the guests know and that she had left for New York.
At first he thought there was some mistake, but there wasn’t. She was gone, and he’d lost the woman he loved. A few months later she returned to Texas to quietly marry his friend, the best man who’d delivered her letter. It seemed they’d been in love all along and had fought their attraction because of their respect for him. In the end, though, they couldn’t overcome it. Soon after, he’d sold the ranch and applied to the FBI.
So here he was five years later, an agent with the FBI who lived out of an apartment in Memphis that he rarely saw. Lana and his former best friend had two children. Sometimes it didn’t seem fair how his life had worked out. He hadn’t done anything wrong, hadn’t betrayed anyone’s trust, and yet they were happy, while he was just going through the motions each day.
He didn’t want to ever place himself in the position of being hurt like that again. He doubted if he would survive it a second time. Now he put all his energy into his job. There was nothing and no one else in his life, and he liked that just fine.
The only sad thing was that he would never have a woman look at him like Gwen Harwell looked at her husband tonight. The thought made his heart ache, but he shoved the feeling aside, refocusing on his assignment—taking care of Elizabeth Madison Kennedy, or Liz Madison, as she was calling herself. He would do everything to protect her, and in a few months he would take her safely back to Memphis to deliver testimony that would bring down a drug operation. Then he’d move on to the next assignment.
That was the only thing he needed to think about at the moment.
The morning sunshine felt warm on Liz’s skin as she pushed the wheelbarrow out of the stable and headed toward the compost pile. She’d gone only a few feet when a voice behind her startled her.
“Good morning. I see you’re already hard at work.”
Her body stiffened in shock as she halted and jerked her head around to stare at Gabriel Decker, who was walking toward her. The big smile on his face turned to a frown when he saw her reaction. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Liz took a deep breath to try to calm her racing heart and attempted a smile. “It’s okay,” she said. “I was preoccupied and didn’t hear you walk up.”
His frown deepened, and he took a step closer. “Are you sure you’re all right? You looked terrified when you turned around.”
She nodded. “I’m fine.”
His gaze moved over her face, and she had the feeling that he was uncertain whether she had been honest with him or not. There was no way she was going to tell him that she was used to being terrified. She’d lived that way in a safe house under protective custody for months until the FBI told her they were sending her to stay with a former police officer and his family at the other end of the state. After all she’d been through, she wasn’t sure life would ever return to normal for her.
As she stared at Gabriel, she was once again struck by how handsome the man was, and this morning he looked especially so. Today he wore faded jeans and a chocolate-colored T-shirt that brought out the rich color of his eyes. He still had that bit of stubble on his face that made him blend in easily with the mountain men she’d met since arriving at Little Pigeon. She reminded herself that no matter how good-looking he was and how friendly he seemed, she had to be careful. She knew nothing about him, and she couldn’t risk getting to know him.
She turned back to the wheelbarrow and gripped the handles. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m mucking out the stalls, and I still have a lot of work to do.”
“I’ll help if you’d like,” he said as she started to go.
She stopped again and turned back to him, her eyebrows lifted. “You’re a paying guest, Mr. Decker. I don’t think Dean would want you to be cleaning out stalls. It’s hard work, and you’re on vacation.”
He grinned and speared her with his dark gaze. “I’m used to hard work, Liz, and I’ve cleaned out my share of stalls in the past. I’d be glad to help.”
She hesitated for a moment and studied him. He seemed like a nice man, and although she didn’t want to admit it, she had been lonely since she arrived. Dean and Gwen had been wonderful, but they had their own lives. She had tried not to interfere with that, which meant she’d kept to herself as much as possible. And really, what was the harm in letting him help? They were on the ranch property, with Dean and his employees all around. Even if Gabriel wasn’t someone she could trust, surely he wouldn’t be so blatant as to try to hurt her here.
After a moment, she smiled. “All right, Mr. Decker, I’d be happy to have the help.”
His grin widened, and his eyes twinkled. “Gabriel, please. I thought we were on a first-name basis after I came to your aid yesterday.”
She swallowed at the memory of the gun pressed to her head. “I appreciate what you did, more than I can ever tell you. But I’m trying to put that behind me, so I’d rather not talk about it anymore.”
His eyes grew soft, and he tilted his head to one side. “I understand that. I won’t bring it up again. Even though it wasn’t an ideal meeting, I hope it will only be the beginning of our friendship.”
Liz’s face grew warm, and she looked down at her feet. “That sounds nice. I could use a friend. I haven’t made any outside Gwen and Dean since I’ve been here.”
“Then consider me the first.”
She bit down on her lip and turned to put her hands back on the wheelbarrow. “Just let me dump this load at the compost pile, and I’ll show you what needs to be done in the barn.”
Before she could move, he was edging her out of the way so he could wrap his fingers around the wheelbarrow handles. “I’ll dump it. This looks like a heavy
