How could he ask her anything without explaining why he’d never responded to the messages she sent him? None of it belonged in a text, but it would’ve been harder to call. So he didn’t do anything, except spend the whole day thinking about her.
He walked to the barn, in the middle of the afternoon, and asked Wyatt if he would mind if he rode one of the horses out on the trail. Rather than exploring anything new, Jace took the same trail they’d been on the night before, over to Pettit Lake.
Last night he’d seen what he thought was a pathway that wound its way all around the lake. He was three-quarters of the way there when he saw a truck pull up and stop near the dirt road that led back to the ranch.
When it didn’t look as though the people in it were getting out, he stopped paying attention and continued making his way around the lake.
4
Bree rolled down the window and looked out over the lake. It was beautiful and she said so. It was hard to tell which was real—the mountains and trees, or their reflection in the lake. Both were so clear.
“I grew up on this lake,” Red told her as he opened her door and helped her out. He pointed toward the north bank. “See that cabin? I spent every summer there for most of my life.”
“It’s idyllic,” she said wistfully. “Almost surreal in its perfection. Who owns it now?”
“I do.”
“Oh. Is this where you live? Convenient that it’s right across the road from the ranch.”
He didn’t answer, but it didn’t matter. Bree didn’t feel like talking any more than it seemed he did. The breeze from the lake was colder than it had been on the stream, and when she shivered, Red went back to the truck to get her jacket, just like Jace would’ve.
Bree closed her eyes and let her thoughts drift back to him. She knew she shouldn’t be thinking about Jace. She should be thinking about Zack. Why did she have to remind herself of that over and over again?
When she opened her eyes, she saw movement across the lake. Off in the distance and through the trees, Bree could see a man on horseback. From where she stood with Red, she could swear it was Jace. She blinked her eyes and looked again.
Jace saw the passenger door open and a woman climb out of the truck that had parked near the lake’s shore. She wore a baseball cap, and she was a sprite of a thing, just like Bree. Her t-shirt hugged her small body the same way too. Rather than taking the turn to go back to the ranch, he turned the horse in her direction.
The woman walked slowly toward him, so Jace stopped and climbed off the horse. He lifted his hat, removed his sunglasses, and wiped the sweat from his brow. By then she was much closer to him.
“Jace?” he heard her say.
Was this real or was he dreaming? It wouldn’t be unusual; he dreamed about her all the time. He’d know soon enough, because in a matter of seconds, she’d be close enough to touch.
“Bree?”
“Jace, what are you doing here?”
He had no idea what to say. He couldn’t remember why he was there. Why had he come to Idaho in the first place?
Bree was a couple of feet away from him when he came out of his stupor. “A bull.”
“What?”
“Uh, I’m here about a bull.”
He dropped the horse’s reins and reached out to her. He was so afraid she would hesitate, or back away, but she didn’t. She walked the rest of the distance between them, and let herself fall into his arms. He could feel every inch of her as she pressed herself into him.
“I missed you,” he thought he heard her say.
“I missed you, too,” he answered.
“I can’t believe you’re here.” She pulled away and looked up at him. “Tell me again why you are.”
“I’m supposed to see a man named Red about a bull. He’s been off fishing with a woman…”
Bree waited for him to finish his sentence, and when he didn’t, she pointed in the direction of the truck. “Red’s right over there,” she told him. When she turned back, Jace’s look of confusion turned into a smile.
His ash blond hair was longer, closer to the way his brother, Tucker, kept it. He looked as fit as the last time she saw him, maybe more so. She knew he’d been competing as a saddle bronc rider and working the ranch in Montana. His skin looked weathered, with a few more wrinkles surrounding his deep green eyes.