Her lungs went tight, and she couldn’t catch her breath.
“And it’s over,” he finished, and her heart sank like a stone.
She shouldn’t have come. She’d completely misjudged the situation. How she wished she’d stayed away. He’d wanted her to leave.
She swallowed hard, a sick feeling bubbling up from the pit of her stomach. Oh, no. Had he been
She took a shaky step backward, a chill coming over her body, while humiliation washed through her. The fling had run its course, and she’d embarrassed them both by showing up like this.
She struggled to speak, her voice going small. “I came back to get Ozzy.”
Something flashed through Zach’s eyes. “Ozzy’s fine.”
She gathered her pride. “I’m sure you took good care of him, and I thank you for that.”
“He can stay.”
A fresh flash of pain seared Abigail’s chest.
“I don’t think he likes the ranch,” said Zach.
“He’ll get used to the ranch.” The puppy was hers, not Zach’s.
“Why should he have to do that?”
“Because it’s his home. He’s my dog, not yours.” If she couldn’t have Zach, she could at least have Ozzy. She knew her emotions were off kilter, but giving up the puppy suddenly seemed like a final defeat.
“Leave him here, Abby.”
Her voice rose. “I want my dog.”
“He’s more my dog than yours.”
“That’s not true.”
Zach braced his hand on the desktop. “He’s happy here. Let him be happy. Why don’t you want him to be happy?”
“I do want him to be happy. I want him to be happy with me.”
“You Jacobses are all alike,” Zach snapped.
“What is that supposed to mean?” He’d barely met any other Jacobses.
“It means…” Zach paused, and for a split second she saw raw pain in his dark eyes. He backed away from her. “It means…”
“Zach?”
His back came flush against the office wall. “You need to leave. Right now.”
Her anger immediately vanished, replaced by a hollow loneliness that shattered the last vestiges of her pride. “What did I miss? What happened?”
“Life happened. Your life. My life.” He crossed his arms over his chest, and his stare went cold again. “Time started up again, Abby.”
Her heart ached, and her stomach clenched. “So you’re ending it between us.”
“Yes.”
“It was a fling, and you’re ending it.”
“How many ways do I have to say it?”
She tried to laugh, but it didn’t quite come off. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m a bit slow on the uptake. I’ve never done anything like this before.”
She’d never had a one-night stand, never had a fling, never fallen in love and had her heart broken.
“I’m sorry,” she said again, voice breaking.
“It’s all right,” Zach returned, without a trace of emotion.
“You can keep Ozzy.” Everything Zach had said was true. Ozzy was happier at Craig Mountain. He and Zach should stay together.
“You can take him,” Zach unexpectedly offered.
But Abigail shook her head, backing toward the door. She might as well make a clean break of it. She didn’t know what she’d expected by coming out here. But she hadn’t come after Ozzy. She’d come after Zach.
Zach didn’t want her. It had only ever been about sex for him. Well, sex and the water license. And maybe it had only been about the water license. The sex was a bonus. He really was lucky. He got everything he wanted and then some.
She groped for the doorknob, twisting it with a slick palm, letting herself out and rushing back down the hallway, desperate to end this sorry episode of her life.
Ten
Zach was going through his days on autopilot. Though he was far from being an expert, he strongly suspected he’d fallen in love with Abigail. Worse than missing her was the knowledge that he’d hurt her, and he was now powerless to do anything about it. He had to fight with himself every single day to keep from calling to see how she was feeling.
One day he spotted her on Main Street. He nearly called out, but then he saw Travis coming out of the hardware store behind her. He was under no illusion that Travis felt any differently than his brother, Seth. Zach gripped the door handle of his Jaguar, watching her move alongside the ranch pickup truck, wondering if she’d recognize him from this distance, honestly not sure what he would do if she saw him. He didn’t think he could bring himself to ignore her.
She was carrying a cardboard box. It was impossible to tell if it was heavy, but the urge to stride down the block and lift it from her arms was overpowering. And then he saw she was limping. He swore from between clenched teeth.
What had happened this time? Had a cow stepped on her foot? Or maybe she’d tripped and twisted an ankle, or come off a horse again, or maybe she’d fallen off a roof. Angry at her, angry at her family, and furious with himself at having abandoned her, he yanked open the driver’s door. He slammed his way into the car and peeled out of town.
He brooded in the depths of the castle until Alex caught up with him in his suite that night.
“Missed you at the meeting this afternoon,” Alex said easily, but his expression was watchful as he crossed the room, taking a spot on the sofa.
“Got busy,” Zach responded vaguely, not wanting to talk about his abrupt departure from Lyndon. He rose and made his way to the makeshift bar to pour them each a scotch.
“No big deal,” said Alex, letting it go. “Accounting wants a new software package. Ariel-something. They say it’ll pay for itself in staff savings within the next couple of years.”
Zach collected the drinks and turned back. “Did you okay it?”
“Wanted to run it by you first.”
Zach walked over to Alex and handed him his drink. “Whatever you think.”
“I think yes.”
“Good enough.” Zach sat himself down.
Ozzy immediately waddled over, dropped onto his rear end and whimpered at Zach’s feet. Zach automatically scooped the puppy up into his lap.
“Laziest dog in the world,” Alex mused.
“He’s not lazy.”
“He can’t even be bothered to jump into your lap.”
“He’s not lazy. Give the little guy a break.”
Alex chuckled.
Annoyed, Zach stared levelly at his friend. “They were going to put him down. Because he’s imperfect, and nobody wanted him. You know what that’s like.”
Alex took a sip of his scotch. “I do know what that’s like. But I don’t think he should use it as a crutch for the rest of his life.”
“One of his legs is shorter than the other,” Zach felt compelled to explain. “And he’s blind in one eye. It’s hard
