Kiss Me (Fool's Gold 17)

Maya moved over to the railing and glanced down. “That’s not something you see every day. I wonder what happened.”

“Zane forgave Chase. That’s all they each needed. To forgive and be forgiven. Of course Zane still needs to be forgiven from before, but I don’t know how to make that happen. His father is dead.”

Maya frowned at her. “You’re not making much sense.”

Phoebe rested her head against the railing. “I wonder if he’ll miss me.”

“Are you going somewhere?”

“Sure. Back to my regular life.”

She tried to stand and couldn’t seem to manage it. Maya stepped behind her and helped her to her feet, then escorted her into the bathroom.

The tub was nearly full, and steam fogged the mirror.

“Take your clothes off,” Maya said, “and get in the water. It’s probably going to hurt at first, but it will warm you up. Do you mind if I borrow your laptop to check in with work?”

“Go for it.”

Maya left her alone in the bathroom.

Phoebe fumbled with her layers of damp clothing. As the steam heated her a little, she started to shake. Feeling came back into her hands and feet, and she wished it hadn’t. The first sensations were a tingling, but that quickly changed to a needlelike burning.

When she was naked, she stared at the water and sucked in a breath, then stepped into the tub.

The instant pain nearly made her cry out. She settled for a few whimpers and tried to regulate her breathing.

“It will get better,” she told herself.

After about five minutes, she found she could stand to keep her hands and feet in the tub. Ten minutes after that, she felt pleasantly toasty all over, and her brain had cleared. Unfortunately clarity brought with it hard, difficult truths.

She loved Zane. She’d probably loved him from the first time she’d met him. He was an irresistible combination of loner and lonely. She didn’t just want to take care of him, she wanted to crawl inside and heal him.

She liked how he was capable and strong, smart and at times even funny. He was quietly nurturing, taking care of others without them even realizing what he was doing. She wanted desperately to be the woman who took care of him. He was an honorable man, and how many of those had she met in her life?

But was there a future for her here? Oh, sure, she loved the outdoors and the cattle. She was pretty sure she could even bond with the goats. The thought of long winter nights spent with Zane thrilled her. But she doubted he would see the potential. Instead he would remember that she was the one who lost her belongings to raccoons and pitched her tent in a river. He would see her as frivolous and incompetent. He might enjoy her in his bed, but she doubted he wanted her in his life. He might say he loved her while he slept, but what about while he was awake?

She was going to find out, she told herself. She was going to talk to Zane and tell him how she felt and then hear what he had to say. He was too important for her to simply accept whatever might happen.

“Phoebe, are you about done in there?” Maya called through the door. “You need to come out right now. But put some clothes on first. Reilly’s here, and I don’t want you to give him a heart attack.”

“I think I could stand the shock,” the old man said with a chuckle.

“What’s wrong?” Phoebe asked, her mind instantly going to Zane.

“When I logged on to your computer, you got a couple of emails. You need to read them.”

Phoebe wrapped herself in a fluffy towel, then tugged on a thick, terry-cloth robe that had been hanging on the back of the door. She stepped into the bedroom.

“Who’s sending me emails?” she asked.

Maya sat on one of the beds with the laptop beside her, while Reilly leaned against the door frame.

“Read this one first,” her friend said as she turned the laptop to face Phoebe.

Phoebe scanned the contents. Jonny Blaze had sent a signed offer for the property. The dollar amount nearly made her eyes bug out. After she saw that he had cc’d Reilly, she glanced at the old man.

“Are you going to accept?”

“I was thinking I might. I see you held out a certain piece of land. I’m guessing it’s for that young man of yours.”

She sighed. “Zane isn’t my young man, but, yes, I want him to have it. Are you going to fuss with me about that?”

Reilly smiled. “I never fuss.”

“Good.”

While she couldn’t make up for Zane’s past, she could do a little something to ease the hurt. At least he would have closure. After all he’d been through he deserved that.

She read the rest of the email. “Jonny’s giving you forty-eight hours to consider his offer. You don’t have to respond right away.” She wrinkled her nose. “I’m really his agent on this property. You’ll want to talk to someone else. Maybe a real estate lawyer.”

“I trust you, Phoebe.”

His words made her feel good. “Thanks.”

Maya groaned. “I really hate to spoil the feel-good moment, but you need to read the next one, too.”

“What?”

Phoebe clicked the next button. The first sentence made her heart stop. The second had her collapsing on the bed.

The hearing to revoke her license had been moved up to tomorrow at noon.

Tears filled her eyes. “I’ll never make it.” And if she wasn’t there, the board would rule against her in absentia.