“I knew you’d say that.” She replaced her hat and sighed. “I like this. We’re all in love. Except for Patience. We need to fix her up with someone. Know any single guys?”

Charlie considered who was in town. “There’s the new guy.”

Annabelle removed her hat again. “What new guy?”

“Gideon. Gabriel. Something like that.”

“What? Why don’t I know about this? Who is he?”

“He bought the local radio station. Mayor Marsha told me a few weeks ago. It’s all very mysterious.”

“Have you seen him? Is he good-looking?”

“I haven’t seen him and I don’t care what he looks like. I only have eyes for Clay.”

“As you should.” Annabelle paused and re-covered her face. “I was going to ask more questions about the radio guy, but you’ve distracted me. About Clay... Should I worry?”

“Like I said, I’m not in love with him.”

The hat moved again and Charlie saw one green eye staring at her. She shook her head. “No. I’m not.”

“Are you sure?” Annabelle asked. “Love is sneaky.”

“Clay says it’s an at-first-sight kind of thing.”

“Maybe it was for him, but it wasn’t for me. Of course I had a sucky childhood. His was better.”

Charlie had never been in love. She’d felt loved by her father, but that had been different. She believed Dominique felt a form of love, although they were still working their way through that.

“How is loving Shane different from the relationship you had with your first husband?” Charlie asked.

Annabelle pushed off her hat again. “I’m different,” she admitted. “Stronger and more sure. With Lewis, I was so desperate for someone to care about me, I didn’t look past what he said to judge his actions. With Shane, I see love in both his words and deeds.” She wrinkled her nose. “I know that sounds old-fashioned but both are important. I need to hear the words, but what he does makes me feel special.”

“Like the fact that he doesn’t want to wait to get married? That he built his house to suit you?”

“Something like that.” Annabelle grinned. “He gives with his whole heart. I’ve never had that before. Loving him makes me a better person. Being loved by him makes me feel safe. We each want to be the one who gives more.”

That, Charlie could relate to. Clay didn’t take her for granted, or dislike the parts of her she liked best. She felt the same about him. She knew his flaws and was okay with them.

“Clay’s a good guy, too,” she said.

“He is.”

Charlie waited, but Annabelle didn’t seem to have any more to say. “Are you going to warn me to be careful?” she asked.

Annabelle sat up and faced her. “I don’t think so.”

“But I haven’t been with a man in a decade. Clay’s basically my first adult relationship. It would be easy for me to fall for him. He’s been married. He’s loved and lost and he’s not looking for anything else. That puts me at a disadvantage. I could get hurt.”

Annabelle leaned forward and patted her arm. “My little girl is growing up so fast. I’m just so proud.”

Charlie swatted away her arm. “Shut up.”

Annabelle’s smile faded. “You don’t need me to tell you the potential pitfalls. You already know. Besides, I think Clay’s at just as much risk as you are.”

“I am pretty great,” Charlie said, stretching out on her lounge chair.

“Exactly.”

Charlie wondered if Annabelle knew the words were just cheap talk. When it came to Clay, she found herself both hopeful and terrified. Being around him was amazing. From what she could tell, he was everything she wanted. But he was also a man who had already had one great love and wasn’t looking for another. Clay had said love was a lightning bolt and so far there hadn’t been a single flash in the sky.

She planned to enjoy everything about her experience with him, all the while protecting her heart as best she could. If she got hurt, she would recover. She would move on. Whatever the cost, it was worth it. He’d made her whole and no matter what happened, she was better for having known him.

* * *

CLAY LED KHATAR out of the corral. The white Arabian stallion playfully nuzzled Clay’s neck.

“I’m not Annabelle,” Clay grumbled, pushing him away. “She’ll be by later. In the meantime, behave.”

The majestic animal snorted, as if amused. Despite his massive size and the strength that went with it, he was one of the gentlest horses Shane owned. Good news for his brother, Clay thought. Shane had gotten the million-dollar horse for a discount due to his difficult and potentially killer nature. Which had turned out to be the result of bad training and some abuse.

Since arriving in Fool’s Gold, the once-mean-tempered horse had turned into an equine kitten. Last week Khatar had escaped from the corral to join one of Shane’s riding classes. He’d decided that next to Annabelle, he adored a little girl named Kalinda best. She had suffered life-threatening burns the previous summer and was still going through various surgeries as she healed. She’d started riding a small pony but Khatar had made it clear that when she was ready for a horse, he planned to be the guy.

While the class circled the ring, Khatar had kept pace with Kalinda and her pony. He’d stayed close when she’d dismounted, stepping between her and the other horses.

“You’re kind of a sap, you know that?” Clay patted the horse. “Ready for a good long ride?”

Khatar’s ears perked up at the mention of riding. When Shane had mentioned he’d had to spend the afternoon signing the final paperwork on his house, Clay had offered to exercise the horses. With his alfalfa crop in the ground and no firefighter training scheduled, he had the time.

He’d just finished saddling Khatar when an unfamiliar Taurus pulled in next to the house. Clay watched a guy climb out. He was in his mid-to-late thirties and had on a shirt that said “Gil” and the name of the local hardware store.

Clay made sure Khatar was secure and went to greet the man.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“I’m looking for Nate.”

Gil was an average kind of guy. Not too tall, with more paunch than muscles. But there was rage in his light brown eyes. Seconds later a teenage girl climbed out of the passenger seat. Her eyes were red and her mouth trembled.

“Daddy, no,” she cried.

It didn’t take Clay long to figure out what this was about. His stomach tightened as he realized his farm manager had continued to play the game Clay had warned him against.

“Your daughter?” he asked, motioning to the sobbing girl.

Gil jerked his head in agreement. “Do you know where he is?”

Clay reached for his phone and pushed a button. “Nate, would you come out by the house, please?”

“Sure, boss.”

Gil’s gaze settled on Clay. “You brought him here?”

“Yes. I’m sorry.”

“Like that’s gonna help.”

Nate appeared at the doorway to the barn and surveyed the situation. Clay watched the indecision cloud his gaze.

“Don’t make it worse by running,” Clay told him. “Come face what you’ve done.”

Nate nodded slowly and approached.

Clay was willing to let this play out. If Gil wanted a piece of Nate, Clay didn’t have a problem with that. If the girl was under eighteen, Clay would be the first one to call the police. He hadn’t decided if he was going to beat the shit out of Nate or not. He supposed that was up to Gil.

Nate closed about half the distance and then raised both hands, palms out.

“It’s not what you think,” he began, his weasel eyes darting left and right. “She’s over eighteen.”

“She’s seventeen,” Gil said with a growl. “And she’s my baby girl. What the hell were you thinking?”

Clay felt the other man’s rage and knew he couldn’t begin to imagine what this father must be feeling. He thought of Charlie and what had happened to her, then knew he couldn’t touch Nate. Once he started, he wouldn’t stop.

“Daddy, no!” The girl grabbed her father’s arm, tears pouring down her cheeks. “Nothing happened. I’ve told you and told you.”

“Get in the car,” Gil told her, starting toward Nate.

“Daddy, stop! Daddy, we didn’t—” She sucked in a breath. “Daddy, I’m still a virgin. We never did that.”

Gil stopped. He glanced back at his daughter who was bright red and still crying. “You swear?”

“We can go see Dr. Galloway if you want. I wouldn’t do that. Not with him.”

Gil glanced between them. “All right, then.”

Clay stepped toward him and lowered his voice. “I’m still sorry, sir. Nate worked for me and that makes what happened my responsibility.”

“Worked?” Gil’s gaze was steady.

Clay nodded.

“I’ll leave you to it, then.”

He motioned for his daughter to get in the car. He got in, as well, and they drove away. Clay watched Khatar work his way free and stroll over. The big horse ignored Nate and walked to Clay, as if showing where his loyalties lay.

Nate shuffled his feet then stuck his hands in his back pockets. “I didn’t do anything to her.”

“You took her out.”

“That’s my business.”

“It is. But I’ve got no use for you here. This is a small town. You don’t respect that or me. I’m going to write you a check for the pay I owe you, plus two weeks. If I see you around here again, I’ll escort you out of town myself. Am I clear?”

Nate nodded and took a step toward the barn. “I’ll go get my things.”

“You do that.”

Getting rid of Nate only solved one problem, Clay realized. It wasn’t that he had chosen the wrong man that bothered him so much. It was the fact that he hadn’t listened to his gut when he should have. He knew better. Now he had to figure out what other mistakes he’d made and how he was going to fix them.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHARLIE TUCKED HER feet under her as she sat on her sofa. “You’re taking this too much to heart.”

Clay, normally easygoing and optimistic, stared past her. His mouth was tight, his expression troubled. “I screwed up. I’m the one who hired Nate. I know about two girls. Who knows how many others there were.”

Charlie wanted to point out the young women in question had at least been over sixteen, but didn’t think that information would help. Nate had been a dog when it came to dating habits. The girls might have been plenty willing, but they were far too young.

“I talked to the police chief,” he said. “She assured me Nate is gone. Last she saw, he was heading over the mountains.”

“Good riddance.”

“It’s not enough. Dammit, Charlie, why did I choose him?”

“Because you thought you were doing the right thing. Because he had experience and when you ran a background check, he was clean.”

“He’s still clean,” Clay muttered. “He didn’t break the law and it’s not illegal to be a jerk.”

“Too bad.” She reached out and put her hand on his. “You made a mistake. Now you learn from it.”

“That’s it? I’d feel better if you’d at least yell at me.”

“Sorry. I’m not in the mood to yell. Everyone screws up. You found out the truth about Nate and fired him. That’s the right thing. You’ll do better next time.”

“I should have listened to my gut. But I went with experience because I didn’t trust myself. Which means there were two mistakes.”

“We can come up with a whole list of them, if you want. Does that help?”

He managed a faint smile. “Using logic against me? That’s kind of low.”

“I get in my hits where I can.”

He laced his fingers between hers. “Thanks for listening. And kicking me when I’m down. It keeps things in perspective.” He drew in a breath. “Maybe I can’t do this.”

“You can.”

She leaned in and kissed him. Despite everything going on, his mouth was willing. Warm and ready to claim hers. A quality she found she liked in a man. She raised her arms and put them on his shoulders.

“I can think of a few things that will make you feel better,” she said, resting her forehead against his.

“Yeah? Like what?”

“I could take all your clothes off and—”

Someone knocked on her front door.

Charlie glanced up and swore. “If that’s my mother, I’m sending her back to New York. Seriously, I’ll pay for overnight delivery.”

Clay chuckled.

Charlie stood and walked to the door. But when she pulled it open she found an unfamiliar man standing there. He was dressed in a work shirt and jeans, but carried a briefcase.

“I’m Miles Tessler,” he said. “I’m looking for Clay Stryker. His brother said I could find him here.”

Clay appeared at her side. “I’m Clay.”

Miles held out a business card for a seed company. “If I could have a few minutes of your time, Mr. Stryker.”

Charlie led the way in to the living room. Miles glanced around, then looked at them. If she had to pick an emotion, she would say he was both nervous and scared. Neither boded well for his news.

“I understand you’ve already planted your fall alfalfa crop,” he began.