Avery turned onto Collier Avenue. He was almost there. But his enthusiasm for returning home had waned in the last several months. His brother was now in the military, hoping to one day be a pilot. And his sister was away at college. Other than Marshmallow, the house would be empty—
What in the world? There was something in the road. Avery tramped on the brakes. He squinted. Between the falling snow and the long shadows of evening, he was pretty certain it was a person.
The pickup hit a patch of black ice. Though he hadn’t been going very fast, the vehicle refused to stop.
Avery’s heart slammed into his ribs. “Move!”
It wasn’t like the person could hear him, but he felt as though he had to do something to gain their attention. The distance between them was shrinking with every beat of his heart.
Five feet.
Four…Three…Two…
And then the truck slid to a stop.
The breath that had been trapped in Avery’s straining lungs rushed out. The surprise, worry, and fright all ganged up on him. In turn, anger pumped in his veins. What had this person been thinking to run out in front of a moving vehicle?
He threw the pickup into Park. Ignoring the pain from his injured leg, he alighted from the truck. “What do you think you’re doing? I almost hit you—”
“You almost hit my cat.”
He immediately recognized the female voice. It was Jillian. What in the world was she doing in
the middle of the road in the dark?
With his heart still pounding, Avery stepped around the front of the idling vehicle. A cold breeze rushed past him, but it wasn’t enough to cool his temper. “Do you know how close you came to getting hit?”
“I had to save Romeo.”
Avery shifted his weight to his good leg. “Who? I thought we were talking about a cat.”
“Romeo is a cat.” Jillian stepped in front of the pickup’s headlights and then she lowered her hood.
His next words stuck in his throat. He hadn’t seen Jillian since his brother and sister graduated high school eight or so months ago. Since then he’d been in Marietta infrequently, spending all of his time going from one rodeo to the next.
How was it possible that Jillian had grown even more beautiful? Her long hair was like spun gold and her ivory complexion was flawless. One of the things he admired about her was how she didn’t hide her beauty behind a bunch of makeup. Sure, she wore a little, but not too much.
And this was the first time he’d been alone with her since she’d worked for him. Normally, he had no problem speaking to her, but suddenly things felt awkward. What was up with that?
He swallowed hard. “Are you okay?”
“Considering you almost hit me, yes. I’m fine.”
“Hey, that’s not fair. It’s icy out here if you hadn’t noticed.”
“Trust me. I noticed.”
Her long blond ponytail swung over her shoulder. “Where did he go?”
Avery thought she was alone. “Where did who go?”
“Romeo.”
“I didn’t see a cat. I haven’t seen anyone but you out here on this snowy evening.”
She glanced behind her and then scanned the perimeter. “Romeo. Romeo.” Worry laced her voice. “Here, boy!”
“I’m sorry.” Avery meant it. He would never intentionally do anything to upset Jillian. “You know I would never hurt an animal.”