She was holding proof of that heart. "Dammit." She snuggled the kitten and ran after him.

He had the truck running when she caught him. "Go inside," he said wearily, looking straight ahead, even when she leaned in his opened window.

"I want to talk."

"You want to be real sure about that, Zoe." He turned then and searched her gaze with his tortured one. "Because when we talk it's going to go both ways, and there won't be any holding back."

Involuntarily she stepped away and he let out a laugh completely void of amusement. Anguish settled in his eyes. "Go away, Zoe."

And he drove off.


* * *

The truth was hard to deny when it was staring her in the face. Zoe pushed back the set of books she'd been working on, bent her weary head on her arms and sighed.

"Mew."

"Hey, Socks." Not exactly an original name for a red kitten with white paws, but it worked for them. Socks butted his head gently against Zoe's hand until she relented and petted him.

He dropped to her papers, sprawled spread-eagled on his back and started to purr, making her smile. Her sisters loved him. And seeing their happy, laughing faces had been a great reward. Their happiness meant everything to her.

But what about yours?

She was happy, wasn't she? Even if they were still drowning in financial woes. They had fixed up the bare minimum on the house. They'd put the barn in shape, ignoring for now the series of cottages on the edge of the property. They continued to lease part of the land to Ty, which, at the moment, was the only solvent part of the ranch.

The problem was the price of stock was high this year, higher than anticipated. They couldn't afford both livestock and crew. One or the other, yet they needed both.

Bottom line-they were still short money.

It was so frustrating, she wanted to scream. Grim and bleak, with energy pulsing through her, Zoe got up. She scooped up Socks and gently set him in Maddie's dark, silent bedroom, where she knew the kitten would find a warm, welcome bed.

The night was complete, the moon just a sliver against the black sky. Long silver clouds streaked across, blanketing the stars from view.

Zoe passed her truck-too much blood pumping through her veins for a sedentary ride. Instead, she started running, letting the cool night take her.

Ten minutes later, breath puffing, she stopped at the end of Ty's drive, uncertain.

Why had she come here?

Telling herself it was to see Danny, not his owner, she walked toward Ty's barn.

A shadow emerged in front of her, shifting into the shape of a man. Ty. He wore black jeans, a black shirt and a black expression to match, and as he stood there watching her, his face impassive and stoic, something passed between them, belying that very distance.

He felt it to his toes, then cursed himself for it.

"I wanted to see Danny," she said defiantly.

"Zoe," he said wearily, slipping his hands in his pockets to keep them off her. "Truth."

"Okay, truth." Her jaw tightened. "I don't have what it takes to get the ranch going."

The admission startled him, and her misery tore at something deep inside. Despite his resolve to stay the hell away, he took a step toward her. "Of course you do."

"No." Impatient, she shook her head. "I mean, we don't have enough money. Something has to give, only there's nothing left. I've checked the numbers a hundred times."

Her frustration felt like his own. "I tried to make your loan bigger."

"You gave us enough."

"Your pride doesn't belong here." He got angry because her grim eyes were too hard to take. The last time he'd seen eyes so despairing, he'd been looking into Ben's dying face. And into that dying face he'd made a promise that haunted him to this very day. "You could let me buy-"

"No." She whirled around in a circle, staring into the dark at his small spread. "I want to make it work. I want…" Her shoulders sagged and her voice broke. "I want it all. Dammit, is that so wrong?"

She covered her face and her suffering was too much for him to bear. "It's okay," he whispered, coming close and setting his hands on her shoulders. Gently he drew her close, cursing himself as he did. "It's going to be okay."

"How can I be so close and fail?"

Same reason he could be so close to her, could see her for what she was-a woman determined to never need another soul-and still so desperately want her for himself. "You won't fail, Zoe. It's not in you."

Determination filled her fierce expression, but she hugged him back, her body willing to trust him for comfort even if her mind wasn't.


* * *

"It seems obvious to me." Cade took another bite, moaned with pleasure, winked at Maddie and spoke again. "A guest ranch."

Zoe sputtered, nearly choking on her iced tea. "A what?"

"You know… bring in rich vacationing people to do all the work for you. They used to call them dude ranches."

Maddie, Delia and Zoe just stared at him.

"On top of that," he said around another bite, "they pay for the privilege of doing all your chores. It's great."

Delia looked speculative. "Rich people? Such as… rich men?"

Cade was disgusted. "Hey, baby, I'm rich. Why don't you fall over me?"

"I'm looking for personality, Slick."

Maddie gave Delia an admonishing look, then turned back to Cade. "A guest ranch would be like an inn, right?"

"Sort of."

Her eyes lit with speculation. "It would need a really great kitchen, wouldn't it? With fabulous meals for lots of hungry guests."

"Hungry, rich guests," Delia said with growing interest.

Zoe could see her sisters caving. "You're all crazy."

"Zoe, think of it." Maddie's eyes were shining. "These people pay."

"Yeah, as in cash money," Delia added. "Can't believe we didn't think of it before. We're in the best spot in the world. People love Idaho."

"Capital," Zoe reminded her sister. "We'd need capital. And someone with the know-how."

"We already have a manager who'd be willing to help," Maddie said quietly.

The man who'd held her last night, the man who'd helped her believe in herself. Ty.

Zoe pushed away her dinner plate, suddenly no longer hungry. She was feeling a lot of things, too many things, most of it owing to the private conversation she'd just had with Cade where she'd learned there was no news on the inheritance front.

Her mother had disappeared off the face of the planet twenty years ago and not a word from her had been heard since.

Fine. She could deal with that. With being deserted. She could deal with anything, and had. "We can do better than this," she declared. "I mean, come on… a guest ranch? Triple M Guest Ranch?"


* * *

But as she walked along the river that night, after an exhausting run, contemplating her failures, Zoe kept coming back to the thought… a guest ranch.

How bad could it be?

She smiled, thinking her sisters were going to enjoy being right.

"Well, isn't that something? A smile." Ty dismounted his horse, let it loose to graze in the wild grass and leaned negligently against a tree. "Can't say I've seen that too often." He waited a beat. "Did it hurt?"

"Very funny. Why are you following me?"

"I came to the house for dessert. Maddie told me where you were. You shouldn't be out here alone."

"Ty, you climb rock monoliths sixty stories high for fun. I think I can handle a little tame walk along the river."

"I meant because you're lonely."

Her heart stopped, then started a heavy pumping that was louder than the roar of the river.

Ty stepped closer. "Being alone makes loneliness worse, Zoe."

"Well, I'm not alone now, am I?" She speculated, then gave him a sideways glance. He certainly looked the part of the cowboy tonight, dressed in jeans so faded the stress points were white, and oh boy, did he have stress points. She dragged her eyes upward to his plain T-shirt, partially covered by an unbuttoned blue chambray shirt.

She'd missed him, but he'd been so busy they'd hardly spoken. Not that she would have known what to say. He wanted something from her she wasn't ready to give.

And where did that leave him? He still wanted her land. What would he think of this latest idea? Only one way to find out. "What do you think of guest ranches?" she asked suddenly.

Ty laughed, then sobered when she glared at him. "You're serious?"

She spread her hands. "What choice do we have at this point? The big house could be a lodge, the cottages individual cabins for families to stay. We're smack-dab in the middle of thousands of acres of wild, unexplored federal park land, all of it ready to play in. Day hikes. Rides. Big-game hunting. It's a four-season playground. Just think… it could be a hot, exclusive place to go."

"You've really thought about this."

"Better than selling out."

He went grim. "Yeah. You'll still need more money." He bent, picked up a stone and tossed it into the river.

"Yes." She bit her lip. Considered. "But a guest ranch has potential for earning money back much faster than a working ranch if done correctly."

"It will also take much more capital than a working ranch."

"I know. I was thinking we could take on a partner for the venture… one who knew what he was doing."

His head whipped toward hers, eyes narrowed. The moon peeked out from beneath a cloud, lighting up the small clearing where they stood, casting everything in a dreamy glow.

"Know anyone who'd be interested?" she wondered.

"You know damn straight I'm interested, but it involves trust, Zoe." He shifted closer until she could feel the heat of him. "Ready for that?"