Bad enough when people cut through their land at a slow and even pace, but this was reckless and stupid. The spring freshness around him was forgotten as his temper flared harder when the truck got close enough to be recognized as one of Rafe’s teenage friends. Gabe leaned forward and held on, guiding Hurricane on a safe path as rapidly as possible. Ironically, the three of them were all headed nearly straight for his log home.

He was no more than a hundred metres from the road when the rider must have spotted him. To his shock, they pulled their horse up hard and slipped off, dropping the reins. The rider basically dove under the barbed wire. Their cowboy hat fell off as they scrambled upright to run straight in his direction, long dark hair tumbling around the woman’s shoulders as she moved.

And all his assumptions changed. Maybe he’d been wrong in presuming the kids were on a reckless joyride. Maybe they were looking for him to tell him something was amiss with his family. Gabe rushed forward, heart pounding in his throat.

The truck slowed to a stop beside the abandoned horse. Everything became a rush of images and faces. Someone opened the truck door, shouts rang out, the runner drew near. Gabe reined Hurricane in but didn’t bother to wait until the horse stopped, instead swinging his leg over the saddle and hitting the ground at a run. He landed on his feet a split second before his mind registered the face of the woman who threw herself into his arms and latched on like a burr.

“Allison?”

There was an argument happening down on the road and one of his high school classmates trembling in his arms. Just when he thought the situation couldn’t get much crazier, she buried her face in the vee of his neck, hiding against him. Her warm breath fanned his skin, tickling and heating him up.

Which wasn’t altogether unpleasant, but getting distracted when potential trouble waited at the fence line wouldn’t be the smartest move ever. Gabe held on tight, but made sure he could see the road clearly.

The fact she smelt like wild cherries shouldn’t be the foremost thought in his brain.

He should be concentrating on why someone he hadn’t seen in over a year was holding him like a lover. Why the kids at the roadside were taking off like a bat out of hell, the horse dancing away skittishly from the kicked-up gravel. Why Allison was clinging so tight that even through his long-sleeved shirt he felt the cut of her fingernails digging into his upper arms.

All those would be logical to focus on instead of her delicate perfume and the sudden longing for her to use those nails on his back. Damn if he wasn’t getting turned on like some sick bastard just from having her in his arms.

He held her gently but forced her farther away, needing answers to the weird scene he’d interrupted. “Allison? What the hell?”

She met his gaze, her torso shaking. “Oh God, Gabe. Sorry—”

He caught her before she crumbled to the ground.


Something soft cushioned her head, and the smell of coffee lingered in the air. Allison rolled slowly until the memories rushed in.

“Shit.” She jerked upright to find her cowboy boots were missing, but otherwise she was lying fully clothed on a bed in a log cabin. That she was alone helped her take a slow breath and relax a tiny bit.

What a totally mucked-up day. By any standard.

She assumed this was Gabe’s new place, but until she knew for sure she wasn’t about to do anything stupid like call out. She made it to her feet and approached the open doorway warily. One quick peek revealed a tidy if plain living room with a river-stone fireplace, and basic kitchen along another wall, a solid log table with four chairs dividing the two areas.

A thermos right smack in the middle of the table held down the edge of a piece of paper. Allison stepped forward to examine it closer, grabbing for support as blackness threatened to make her knees crumble. She leaned a shoulder on the wall and hoped the head rush would pass quickly.

The door opened and Gabe stepped in. One glance, and he was across the room, his arm slipping behind her back as he guided her to a chair. “You have trouble walking these days, Allison?”

She blew out a long breath. “Hello to you too.”

“Thought we’d decided to skip the usual ‘hello and nice to see you’ bit after that wild greeting you gave me out in the field.” Gabe dragged out the chair kitty-corner to her and leaned back, stretching his long legs under the table. “Hello, Allison. I’d say it was good to see you, but you fainted and scared me half to death. What the hell is up?”

She laughed softly at his dry tone. At least part of that was easy to answer. “I can’t believe I fainted. I’m sorry. I haven’t eaten in a while—that must be why.”

Gabe stared at her for a moment, his green eyes examining her. It was a thorough, one-piece-at-a-time inspection, but she refused to drop her head and avoid his gaze. His intense scrutiny gave her an opportunity to look him over as well. He seemed more rugged than the last time they’d visited. The strong flex of his biceps stretched the fabric of his T-shirt, his chest broader than she remembered. His hair was longer, slight curls showing along his neck and his temples where the blondish-brown locks escaped the brim of his cowboy hat.

He rose and placed his hat on a peg beside the door before heading to the fridge. He pulled out items, working silently.

She stood to help him, and he glared. “Sit. I don’t need you taking another nosedive.”

He plopped a glass of orange juice on the table in front of her and turned back to the stove.

The ringing in her ears made her reach for the juice without hesitation and drink deeply. She needed a clearer head than she currently had to present her case. Her plan had been for an organized meeting under reasonable circumstances, not him having to rescue her from total panic when her horse—

She shot to her feet, glass in hand. “Oh Lord, Patches. Where is she?”

Gabe held out a hand and pointed firmly to the chair. “Sit down and drink your juice. Patches and Hurricane are shooting the breeze like old friends. I’ve got a small lean-to and a corral outside for them. I took off her saddle and brushed her down. That’s where I was a minute ago—you were riding her damn hard.”

Anger flashed along with guilt. “Stupid kids spooked her. And then I couldn’t get them to stop chasing me, and I’ll admit it—I lost it. Sorry for making more work for you.”

He made a sound that was nearly a growl, pausing in the middle of cracking an egg into the pan on the stove. “You certainly don’t need to apologize for a bunch of out-of-control brats. I’ll talk to them, and their parents. They won’t be driving again for a while.”

The nervous anxiety that had set in on top of everything else eased a little. “Is it bad to hope they get grounded until they’re like twenty-five? Idiots.”

“Doubt that long, but yeah, I’ll deal with it. Driver especially should know better. Shit for brains. What the hell was he thinking?”

“You say that a lot.” Allison wasn’t sure why the repeated phrase had registered, but it was so like what she remembered of Gabe, she had to smile.

Gabe frowned. “Shit for brains?”

“What the hell.”

He nabbed toast and popped it on a plate. “Used that phrase a lot with you this morning. If it fits…”

“What the hell fits too well, I’m afraid.” She took a moment to calm herself before smiling hesitantly. “I should start over. Gabe, it’s good to see you again.”

He slipped a plate in front of her, the smell of warm buttery toast making her mouth water. “Good to see you too. Now eat. You can explain the ‘what the hell’ business when you’re done.”

God, it tasted incredible. She shoveled the food in, barely taking time to breath. When she realized what a pig she must look like and glanced up in concern, it was to discover he was back at the stove making more.

Screw looking ladylike, she was hungry.

When he offered her a second helping, though, Allison shook her head with regret. “If I eat more I’ll explode. Only, do you have any coffee left? My caffeine levels are dangerously low—that might be why I have a headache.”

He grabbed a couple cups and a sugar pot, pushing them and the thermos her direction. “Pour me one as well. Black.”

Then he tucked into his own food and ignored her. Allison fixed him a cup and eased back in her chair to sip the dark liquid and figure out what she was going to tell him. Her past forty-eight panicked hours had come to a head, and now, with food in her stomach and safety at hand, exhaustion overtook her.

When he pushed aside his plate a few minutes later and looked up at her with interest, she still hadn’t managed to do more than mentally rumble through the same thoughts again and again. She was tired enough to be stupid. Tired enough to throw all caution to the wind and simply blurt out the words.

“I need you to be my fiancé.”

Chapter Two

Gabe was thankful he’d already swallowed his mouthful of coffee or he would have spewed it all over.

“What the hell…?”

Allison leaned her elbows on the table and covered her face with her hands. “Oh Lord, don’t make me laugh or I’m going to get hysterical.”

“Trust me. That wasn’t an attempt to make you laugh. It was an honest-to-God question.” Still, Gabe smiled. “You feeling okay?”

She dragged her hands over her head and straightened her tangled hair, pulling it back into a ponytail and securing it in place. “Seriously? I’m exhausted, but I need to talk to you. This wasn’t how I planned it. That’s why I was riding Patches. I was going to leave you a note to contact me, and then—”