“You could ask your mom when she gets back.”

“No, thanks.” Not only was she traveling with Glen, Shane didn’t want to live in a house his mother had built. He was sure she had great taste, but that was too strange for him. “It’s a few fixtures. I’ll be fine.”

“I hope so.” Heidi patted his arm. “Want to ride a pony?” she asked with a grin, pointing to the line of small children waiting their turn. “My treat.”

He shuddered. “No.”

“Not a pony fan?”

“They’re mean.”

“Not every single one on the planet.”

He groaned. “Now you sound like my mother.”

He was going to say more, but before he could speak, he felt a heat flare in his body. Were he out in the wild, he would assume he was being stalked by an animal. Here, in this crowd, there was only one danger. And it, or she, was getting closer.

He turned and spotted Annabelle talking to a firefighter. It took him a second to tear his gaze away from the stunning redhead long enough to recognize Charlie Dixon, the woman who owned Mason and boarded him at the ranch.

Annabelle looked up and saw him and Heidi. She waved, said something to Charlie and the two women approached. He braced himself for impact.

Today Annabelle had dressed to cause mayhem wherever she went. The swingy little sundress was pale green, with skinny straps. Her hair was a mass of wavy curls and tumbled down her back. Shane had to hang on to every fiber of self-control to keep from pulling her under the nearest bush and taking advantage of her in every way possible.

“Hi,” Annabelle said as she approached. “Shane, do you know Charlie?”

The firefighter, tall and muscular with big blue eyes and an appealingly sarcastic eye roll, sighed. “I keep my horse on his family’s ranch. Of course I know Shane.”

“Right.” Annabelle grinned. “She’s crabby. Charlie hates the Fourth of July.”

“I don’t hate the holiday,” Charlie muttered. “I hate people being stupid and today is one day they’re experts at it. Do you know how many calls we’re going to get because idiots who can’t read simple instructions will catch somebody’s roof on fire with fireworks? It’s pyrotechnics, people. Know what you’re doing or leave it to the professionals.”

Annabelle patted her arm. “Deep cleansing breaths.”

“I’ll be calm tomorrow.” Charlie drew her eyebrows together. “What about the animals at the Castle Ranch? Can they hear the fireworks?”

Heidi shook her head. “We’re too far out of town. Don’t worry, though. Shane’s heading back early and will be taking care of them.”

“Thanks. I’m concerned about Mason,” Charlie admitted.

“You’re a good horse mom,” Annabelle told her. “And Mason is really nice. He was very calm with me. Although I think he’s mocking me when I flop around on him.”

“He is,” Charlie told her cheerfully. “But he’s a good guy. Imagine what a horse with attitude would be thinking.”

“Like Khatar,” Heidi murmured. “He scares me.”

“Khatar?” Annabelle shook her head. “Why would he scare you? He’s so sweet.”

Shane had used the distraction of the women’s conversation to talk himself off the sexual ledge. Now he managed to clear his throat and actually speak.

“Khatar got out while Annabelle was over a couple of days ago. He seems to like her.”

“For lunch?” Charlie asked.

Annabelle grinned. “Even I know horses are vegetarians.”

“If one was going to make an exception, it would be him. You be careful.”

“I’m fine. He was practically snuggling. He’s not what you think.”

Heidi looked as doubtful as Charlie. “Keep your distance, Annabelle. He’s nothing like Mason or Shane’s other horses.”

“I’ll keep her safe,” Shane said.

One of Charlie’s eyebrows rose, but she didn’t say anything.

“At least Khatar won’t be in the way much longer,” Heidi said.

“Where’s he going?” Annabelle asked Shane. “You didn’t sell him, did you?”

“No. I bought about two hundred acres next to the Castle Ranch. I’m having stables built, along with a house.”

Annabelle grinned. “What? You don’t want to live with your mother and her boyfriend forever?”

He groaned. “Not to mention my brother and his fiancée? No.”

“Speaking of your brother, I’d better go find him,” Heidi said.

“I’ll walk you,” Charlie told her. “I have to get back to the station.”

Shane expected Annabelle to go with them, but she stayed with him and seconds later, despite the hundreds of people milling around them, he found himself alone with her.

“Come on,” she said. “I’ll show you the town. You can tell me how it’s different from when you were a kid here.”

There was no polite way to tell her no and, in truth, he liked the idea of spending time with her. Assuming he could figure out a way to keep his hands to himself and think about something other than the way her mouth would feel against his.

His grand plan fizzled to dust when she linked arms with him and leaned close. “As you know,” she began. “Fool’s Gold is the festival capital of the country. Maybe the world.” She glanced up at him and smiled.

Her mouth was moving, so he knew she was still talking, but he couldn’t hear anything but a buzzing sound. Heat hit him with the subtlety of a bull rider slamming into the group. There was something about her face—the perfect shape, the dark green of her eyes, the thick lashes, the flash of white teeth when she smiled up at him.

Even in the middle of the crowd, with food stands all around, he could breathe in the soft scent of her perfume. Or maybe it was just her. A combination of vanilla and invitation.

“Shane?”

He promised himself when he got back to the ranch he would bang his head against the closest wall until he knocked some sense into himself.

“Sorry,” he murmured.

“It’s okay. Now, what do you remember about being a kid here?”

He focused on the question. It was a whole lot safer than focusing on her. “That I loved the ranch. There was always so much to do. I had my brothers, my friends. When Mom told us we had to move, I threatened to run away. We were all sad to leave—except for Rafe.”

“Heidi mentioned he didn’t want to come back.” She laughed. “He’s stuck now. Falling in love will do that to a guy.” She turned her head and her long hair brushed against his forearm. “Was it always your plan to move back here?”

“No. I knew I wanted my own ranch, and I’ve been planning for that, but I hadn’t settled on a location until Rafe and my mom told me that they’d bought the Castle Ranch. I came out to visit, saw the land next door and bought it.”

“Impressive. And here I am excited that I just paid off my car.” She frowned. “There’s no house, right? You’re having that built.”

He drew in a breath. “Yes, but it’s slow going. The stables are easy. I know what I want and don’t want. But the house is a pain in the ass. Every time I turn around, the contractor has more questions. Lights, sinks, countertops, appliances.”

“Not a big shopper?” she asked, her green eyes bright with amusement.

“No.”

“If only there was a kit, right? Generic house surfaces and finishes. You pick one from column A, two from column B and, voilà, a house.”

“You’re mocking me.”

“A little. But mostly because it’s easy.”

“Thanks,” he grumbled. “Did you build your house?”

“No. I’m renting a charming rambler and it came with things like sinks and appliances. I would love to make some changes, but my landlord doesn’t share my thrill for interior design. He has let me paint the walls a color other than white, which I appreciate.” She grinned. “I confess I love all those decorating shows on TV and I’m the first one to read the home style magazines when they come into the library.”

They paused by a row of food carts. He motioned to the offerings—everything from fresh-squeezed lemonade to cotton candy.

“What would you like?” he asked.

“I’m good.”

He’d been hoping she would get a drink and maybe something to eat. Anything that would cause her to untangle herself from him. Not that he didn’t enjoy her pressed up against him, but that was part of the problem. He enjoyed it too much.

Two boys ran past, nearly bumping into her. Annabelle shifted out of the way, which brought her br**sts in direct contact with his chest. He clenched his jaw and did his best not to groan as the sensual burn seared through him.

“Sorry,” she said, stepping away. “I do love the life in this town, but it can get a little crowded during holidays.”

“How long have you lived here?” he asked, willing himself to think about granite and tile choices. Anything to keep the blood from pushing south and taking up residence.

“I moved here last year. I got lucky. I was looking to start over and found this job right away.” She glanced at him. “I was married. After my divorce, I wanted to settle somewhere far, far away.”

“Where did you move from?”

“North Carolina.”

“That is far. You don’t have a Southern accent.”

“I grew up in Arizona.”

“How do you like this coast?”

“I love it. There are seasons here. We have snow.” She smiled. “I was a little nervous about learning to drive in the white stuff, but it wasn’t too bad. I have great tires and nerves of steel. Or maybe just a really strong plastic. Either way, I survived. I took my first snowboarding lesson.”

“How was it?”

She laughed. “Horrible. I swear my instructor was twelve and he couldn’t stop laughing at me.”

Shane doubted he was laughing at her. “You’ll do better this year.”

“I hope so.” The humor faded. “I was nervous about starting over, but it’s been good.” She glanced at him from under her lashes. “I understand there’s an ex–Mrs. Shane Stryker in your past.”

“There is.”

“Regrets?”

“About it being over? No. Rachel was a mistake from start to finish. I never should have married her.”

Annabelle came to a stop in front of him. “Wow. Still putting energy into what went wrong?”

“No, but I’m grateful every day to be apart from her.”

“What was she like?”

They were standing less than a foot apart. Everything about her tempted him. If he closed his eyes, he would still be able to picture everything about her. Worse, would be able to hear her laugh—a sound that had become as appealing as the rest of her.

“A disaster.”

Annabelle grinned. “You’re not going to answer the question?”

He paused, then spoke the truth. “She was a lot like you.”

* * *

“MOM’S TALKING ABOUT getting you a wading pool,” Shane said.

One of Priscilla’s ears flickered with interest. “At least you’re talking to me. That’s something.”

The elephant turned her large head toward him, her trunk lightly brushing against his arm, as if reminding him he had no one to blame but himself.

“I know,” he muttered. “I’m the bad guy.”

He hadn’t meant to hurt Annabelle’s feelings the previous day. When he’d said she reminded him of Rachel, her eyes had widened, she’d gone pale, then excused herself and walked away.

“Maybe I should have gone after her.”

Priscilla’s wise expression clearly asked, “You think?”

“But that would have meant catching her.” Stopping her, possibly by putting his hand on her shoulder. Then what? He had a bad feeling that a single touch was all it would take.

It was early, barely after dawn. Shane hadn’t slept much the night before so he’d already been awake when it had been time to get up to take care of the animals. His horses and his mother’s misfit collection of elderly llamas, sheep and Priscilla didn’t much care about his state of mind. They wanted breakfast.

The back door slammed. Shane saw his brother stalking toward him and knew that word had spread.

Rafe came to a stop by the fence line and glared at him. “What the hell?”

“Morning to you, too,” Shane grumbled.

“Heidi and Annabelle are friends.”

“I don’t want to hear it.”

“I don’t care. You’re going to hear it. Annabelle’s hurt, Heidi’s pissed and I’m caught in the middle. What did you say to her?”

“We were talking about Rachel.”

“Great first-date material.”

“We’re not dating.”

“Good. Last I heard, even you weren’t that stupid around women.”

Shane let himself out of Priscilla’s enclosure. He reminded himself he didn’t want to fight with his brother, although at the moment, he couldn’t figure out why not.

“She asked what Rachel was like and I said she reminded me of her.”

Rafe stared at him in disbelief. “You ranted about Rachel,” he began.

“I didn’t rant.”