Chapter Thirty

Hannah…

An hour later, I’m dressed, and with what products and items I can scavenge in Roarke’s bathroom, I dry my hair and apply the makeup from my purse. As far as a place to work, I think I might just use that big brown chair in Roarke’s bedroom. I want to be in this room. It feels like him. It feels like home. It doesn’t matter that my parents’ place is gone. The truth is that Roarke, and the animals, and this place, just feel like home.

First things first, I make coffee, and then head to the stables to check on the horses. Once I’m through the double wooden doors, I find Allison standing with a tall, good-looking, dark-haired man and a horse.

“Hannah!” Allison greets. “Bella and Snowflake are on their feet and doing well this morning.”

I light up. “Marvelous. Wow. That is such great news.”

“You must be the infamous Hannah,” the man says, crossing to offer me his hand.

I accept his hand. “And you must be the infamous Javier,” I reply to the man I guess to be about thirty-five. He’s also tall, fit, with thick, wavy dark hair and friendly brown eyes.

He laughs, a low masculine laugh that is as friendly as his eyes. “Indeed I am. Roarke told me to expect you around the stables.”

“And Roarke told me how magnificent you are at saving animals. I’m honored to be around the stables with you.” I look between Javier and Allison. “I made coffee if either of you wants some. Just walk on into the house. I left the door open. I’m going to say good morning to the horses.”

If either thinks it’s strange that I’m in Roarke’s house, they don’t react as if they do. I head toward Bella’s “bedroom,” as I like to think of their stalls, and Javier calls out, “There are two horses joining the retirement farm today. Roarke thought you might want to greet them on arrival.”

I stop walking and smile with both the opportunity and the fact that Roarke told Javier I’d want to be involved. I turn to look at him. “What time?”

“Late. About six o’clock. I can call you when they arrive.”

“I’ll be here,” I say. “And thank you. I want to go visit the retirees anyway. How many are there now?”

“Twenty here. He bought a property sixty miles south that has fifty horses.”

This warms me. Roarke saves animals. It’s so damn sexy. “That’s a lot of horses that need attention. I’m looking forward to helping give it to them.”

He smiles, a very nice smile, and I don’t miss the way Allison is watching him with intense eyes. She didn’t look at Roarke like this. She likes Javier. I might just have a little matchmaker in me, because I like them together. With that thought, I turn and head toward Bella, and I decide right then that I need to go to my room and get my camera. I’m itching to do what I once did: photograph the animals, capture the special moments that show how perfect they are when we as humans are so damn imperfect. Those shots will be my prize-winning, career-making shots, because they’re my passion shots. That’s what my life has been missing. Passion. No. A love for life.

It’s midmorning when I walk into the bed and breakfast and become a victim of the Sue Avalanche. Her comments and questions include:

“I noticed you weren’t here last night.”

“I told Debbie over at the country store how cute you two are together.”

“What was the emergency that got flown in the other night?”

“Where’s Roarke?”

“Are you two planning a wedding again?”

That last one punches me in the belly. “I don’t know about a wedding, but we’re planning a Christmas festival with Martha’s new gingerbread cookie being launched during the event.”

Of course, I know this reply will have her calling Martha, but that’s fine by me. As long as I don’t have to answer any questions. When I leave with my suitcase, she’s all smiles. Of course, I haven’t been officially invited to stay at Roarke’s place more than last night, but my gut says I need to be clear on where I stand, and I’m pretty sure my suitcase and me in his bedroom makes my point.

I stop by the store, shocked and pleased to meet no one I know there, and it’s not because I don’t want to get reacquainted with people. It’s about what I said to Roarke. I need to figure this out just him and me, and that’s the one negative to Sweetwater: everyone is always watching. There is no privacy. For now, though, I get my privacy, and with popcorn, fruit, and veggies, I’m stocked for a healthy few days of work. With the holidays coming, it’s eat well now, and eat junk later with no guilt. By noon, I’ve made myself what my mom used to make me: biscuits and tomatoes with salt and pepper. It’s a whole lot of heaven in my mouth.

I’m done eating, and I haven’t heard from Roarke, but I don’t read into that at all. He’s got his hands full. He needs to stay focused on those sick horses. Instead of fretting about his silence, I hunker down with coffee in the big chair in Roarke’s room and start working. Priority number one: I need hotel partnerships. I figure that out quickly. Priority number two: I need a website to host the auctions. Finding someone to do this takes me a few hours, but soon, the work is in progress.

It’s about four o’ clock, and I’m starting to get anxious about that text to Roarke. Have I misread him? Am I taking this to a place he didn’t want to go? I mean, I did dive right into sex. Maybe that’s all that’s comfortable to him with our history. My mother’s many warnings about not being too available to men and keeping my legs shut claw at me. I head down to the kitchen and make another pot of coffee when my cellphone that, yes, is attached to my palm, rings, and this time, it’s Roarke.

“Hi,” I say. “How are—”

“I never stopped thinking about you. I can’t talk. I just wanted to say that on the phone.”

I smile and tear up. “I’m glad you did. Go. Take care of the horses.”

“I’ll call you tonight. I can’t promise when.”

“Don’t worry about me.”

“Where are you?”

“Your kitchen. Is that a problem?”

“No. No, that is not a problem. Bye, Han.”

“Bye, Roarke.”

We disconnect, and I set the phone down. I’m terrified. I still love him so damn much. He could hurt me. I turn and glance out the window, and I’m in disbelief. There’s another deer. It feels like a sign, it feels like more of that hope. There is hope in the air. There is hope for me and Roarke.