She’d gone over to the ranch to tell him that she’d found out she was pregnant. She knew her parents would be angry. They’d know about all the lies she’d told to secretly see Hunter. And they’d forbid her from seeing him again.
And then she saw him when he thought no one was looking. Her heart shattered. How could she have a baby with a man who was addicted to drugs? She’d suspected something was up. But she hadn’t known for sure until that moment.
So she’d left. She hadn’t even bothered to say goodbye.
“So all this time I’ve been gone, you’ve been clean?”
“Not all. But close. I don’t count the first year since it was pretty rough going. There was the trial for Doug’s death. Brody had it pretty bad. He’d been trying to protect Marie from Doug because he knew Doug was supplying Marie.”
“That’s awful. So Doug’s death woke you up and made you realize you needed help?”
His whole body became rigid as he walked.
“You don’t like talking about it, do you?”
“No,” he said.
Julie couldn’t exactly blame him. She wasn’t ready for her own truths, and she knew how hard it was to come to terms with them.
“Then let’s not talk about it.”
“Good. Because this is the first night I’ve actually been able to enjoy a walk in a long time. Now that I’m side by side with a pretty girl, I don’t want to ruin it with anything bad.”
“Yeah? Why is that?”
“I’ve been busy. Now that competition is in full force, I get even more calls. Sometimes I get emergency calls to shoe horses.”
She glanced at him as he spoke. He felt comfortable talking about what he did as if it were nothing.
“When did you learn to be a farrier?” she asked.
“I was clean for about a year. I worked on the Lone Creek Ranch for a while and showed an interest when the regular farrier would come by. He was getting ready to retire in a few years and I’d watch him. Trip noticed and suggested I do some apprentice work so I could do some shoeing at the ranch after the other farrier retired. I never had schooling. I’d finally accepted my bull riding days were over. So I fell into it. Arthur was the old man’s name. Nice guy. He’s since passed away.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“He had a good life.”
She thought of Margaret. She’d had a good life too. But it still made Julie sad to think about her.
“You like working with horses.”
He nodded. “After a while, word got out that I’d apprenticed with Arthur, and I started getting calls. I had to start turning people down because I was still working as a ranch hand at the Lone Creek. One day Trip sat me down and told me he thought it was time to spread my wings so to speak.”
“He did? He didn’t mind your leaving?”
Hunter shrugged. “Oh, he minded. But he knew I’d be back. I go back to the Lone Creek a lot. But he knew I’d be holding myself back if I stayed. At first, I didn’t see it that way. I felt pretty raw about it for a while, especially since I wasn’t sure I’d get the work I needed to have my own place. I was nervous about the change of routine and how that would affect me. But Trip invited me along to events when he was going and he introduced me to some people. I don’t have to travel far to get work and I’m pretty busy most of the time. Sometimes too busy.”
“You like the work. I can tell by the way you’re talking.”
“I do. I thought my shoulder would give me trouble. But it’s doing okay since the surgery. I feel for them.”
“What?”
“The horses. I see a lame horse come back after an injury and it makes the long hours and backaches I get worth it.”
She walked in silence for a few seconds as the sub shop lights came into view. “I envy you.”
“Why is that?”
“You know what makes you happy.”
He glanced at her and then ahead as he sighed. “That may be so, but a man can’t always have what makes him happy.”
His gaze bore into her and made her whole body shiver with anticipation. She wanted him to kiss her. She could almost feel his lips against hers as the memory of it crashed down around her. She wanted him to reach for her and hold her in his arms, make her feel small and safe as he used to.
But he didn’t. He turned and started walking toward the sub shop. She reeled in her disappointment and followed him.
They ate their sandwiches there and then walked back to Hunter’s apartment. Talking about anything and nothing became easier. He gave her an update on what had been happening in Sweet since she’d been gone.
After they walked back to the apartment, she was surprised that he’d invited her in again. She could have easily gotten in the car and gone back to Caleb’s apartment as she’d initially intended. But she didn’t want the easiness between them to end.
“So, you hate my curtains,” he said, surprising her when they’d gone inside.
“I don’t believe I said the word hate.”
“You don’t like them.”
She chuckled and looked around. “Katie is really the designer. But, don’t you think you need some color in your life?”
“Color.”
“Yeah. Maybe red curtains or teal,” she said walking over to the living room window and touching the curtains. “Maybe a brocade curtain with a design to gives some life to the room.”
He frowned. “I don’t even know what that is.”
She chuckled. “Never mind. It’s not important.”
She started to turn, but something in the corner caught her eye and made her think of the little box she had at Caleb’s. She stared at the stack of canvases turned toward the wall.
“What are these?” she asked.
“Nothing. They’re nothing.”
She turned and smiled softly at the way he
