she gazed at Jewel snoring lightly on the bed, Audrey wished she could be as oblivious to the world around her as her feline buddy. The bed looked inviting, and she wasn’t supposed to officially start her job until tomorrow. But it was the middle of the day and she wasn’t much of a napper.
She walked into the bathroom to splash water on her face and then gasped when she looked in the mirror. She gave the image staring back at her a frown. She looked like hell. Her eyes were rimmed with red from lack of sleep last night and her hair, which was badly in need of a trim, was sticking out in three places from under the hat. “Goodness, Audrey, you look a sight.”
She worked on her appearance in haste.
Right now, Audrey longed to meet the horses. As she’d driven up, she’d seen the ranch corrals and the dozen or so horses, standing under giant oaks that provided shade from the other side of the fences.
Sunset Lodge had its own stable of horses, Luke had explained, that were primarily used for the lodge’s guests. They were sweet, gentle-natured animals that would provide trail rides and hayrides to entertain visitors. But the barns on the real working ranch housed some of the finest stallions, mares and geldings in the western half of the United States.
Casey had always bragged about the Slades’s horses until Audrey’s ears had burned. Her brother hadn’t a clue that hearing about anything regarding Luke gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Memories of him, and the fact that Luke had never married, had her daydreaming of him more times than she’d like to admit. It had sabotaged her feelings for most other men. At least until her recent boyfriend. She’d taken a chance with Toby and had really begun to like him, despite his flaws, until the day she’d learned he’d been a cheat with more than one woman.
That had been a hard pill to swallow.
And what upset her most wasn’t so much that she was out a boyfriend, but that she hadn’t really cared that much. Sure, she’d been hurt by his betrayal and humiliated that she’d been made a fool, but losing Toby wasn’t so great a loss. What shattered her was an impending fear that she’d never settle for any man but Luke.
And clearly, he was an impossible dream.
So when the opportunity had presented itself, Audrey grabbed the brass ring. Then fool that she was, she’d lost her nerve and had run out on Luke.
“Idiot,” she said, plopping her ball cap on her hopeless hair and striding out the door.
A few minutes later, she stood by the ranch’s corral fence close to the trunk of a tree where three horses huddled under the umbrella of shade. One of the horses looked over. He was a beauty, a bay gelding that stood fifteen hands high, his legs marked with white socks.
She softened her tone, “Come here, boy.”
The horse wandered over and Audrey put her hand over the corral fence, letting the horse sniff her scent and look into her eyes. “You’re a pretty one.”
The horse snorted quietly and when she was sure he felt comfortable with her, she laid her hand on his coat and stroked his withers.
“You and I are going to be friends. Yes, we are.”
Another horse wandered over and before long, all three horses were nudging each other to get some attention.
She smiled, realizing she hadn’t felt this good in days.
Horses had always been her salvation.
A dog scurried by, barking at the horses for no apparent reason as he ran the perimeter of the corral. Audrey could tell it was a game between the animals. The horses paid little mind to the black-and-white Border collie.
Soon, a small boy appeared, running at full speed after the dog, his little legs making long strides. He came to a screeching stop when he saw her by the tree.
“Hello,” she said.
“Hi.” He looked at the ground.
“My name is Audrey Thomas. I’m a friend of Luke’s. I’m going to be taking care of the horses. What’s your dog’s name?”
The dog stood twenty feet up ahead, having taken a break from his run to catch his breath.
“Oh, h-he’s not my d-dog exactly. I w-watch him for Mr. S-Slade. H-his name is B-Blackie.”
Audrey nodded. “Good name. I bet you have a good name, too.”
The boy’s mouth curled up. “It’s E-Edward. No one c-calls me Eddie.”
“I won’t call you Eddie, either, Edward.”
“Thanks.” He glanced at the dog, patiently waiting to resume the game of chase. “I havta g-go. My g-grandma’s waiting f-for me.”
“Okay, nice to meet you, Edward.”
The boy nodded and took off again.
Luke found her grinning when he walked up a minute later. “I see you met Edward and Blackie.”
The sound of his voice hummed through her body. She couldn’t look at him. She stared at the horses, who were still vying for her attention. “Yes. Seems like a sweet boy.”
“Yeah, he’s a good kid. Ten years old. His grandmother runs the kitchen at Sunset Lodge. It’s a long story, but he loves living at the lodge. My brother Logan and I give him chores to do around here. Blackie’s one of his chores with bonuses.”
“I’m getting the picture.” She finally turned to him. His blue eyes devastated her. It was hard looking at his handsome face.
Get a grip, Audrey. You have to see him every day now.
His stomach growled and he laughed. “Sorry. The housekeeper’s on vacation and I’m hopeless in the kitchen. I was going over to the lodge to scrounge a meal. You wanna come?”
“I, uh... No, thanks. Look at me. I’m not exactly lodge-worthy right now.”
He pulled the bill of her cap down with an affectionate tug, just like he used to do way back when. “Sure you are.”
“I’m not, really,” she said, her eyes flashing. She looked like hell. She could hardly believe she’d walked up to Luke’s door looking like this. “I need a shower and a fresh change of clothes. Besides, I don’t want to leave Jewel alone too long. She needs to adjust to her new environment.”
Lucky cat was probably sleeping the afternoon away.
Luke studied her face a second. “You still got cooking skills?”
“I can stir a pot when needed.”
“I remember. You’re a pretty darn good cook. Why don’t you shower and change and meet me in the kitchen. Between the two of us, we can probably whip up something edible for lunch. I really don’t want to beg a meal over at the lodge. Much rather spend my time sharing a meal with you.”
It would hardly be begging, since Luke and his family owned the place. And she couldn’t take to heart what he said about spending time
