---

~ Excerpt ~

Eli paced, as he had ever since he'd detoured by her house when he should have been resting.  Instead, he'd lain awake, imaging Gaby with Chad.

It shouldn't matter.  He had no business being here.  She had no place in his quest.  She needed to return to New York, where she'd be safe from the coil of scandal and murder he was attempting to unwind without the benefit of help from the experts.  He was alone in this journey to clear himself.

If she'd simply go, he'd never need to talk to her again.  There was nothing to discuss, anyway.  He'd been hurt, but he was over her.  They'd been kids, and he'd gotten too involved.  Believed they'd shared more than they had. 

Yet despite all that, he wanted to see her again.

But only to ask her why she'd walked away so easily.  Left him behind like a summer fling.

Fool.  Idiot.  

Paco shied from the ferocity of his brush strokes.  Dirt rose in puffs from the horse's coat.

"Sorry, buddy.  The woman's got me all worked up."  He forced himself to slow the pace.  To relax tense muscles.  It was nothing to him what Gaby did with her time.  If she wanted to spend every day and night with that slick sonofa—

Eli whirled and threw the brush as hard as he could into the pen outside the barn.  It sailed over the fence and clear out of sight.

Paco shifted, and Eli knew he had to get a grip on himself.  To be here in daylight was foolish.  He couldn't chance revealing the location of his hideout.  He had nowhere else to stay that wouldn't expose others to the risk of attracting Chad Anderson's attention.

He released a long, frustrated sigh and let his head fall back against the side of the stall.  To contemplate waiting hours in the confines of his cave with only mental images of Chad's hands on her, his—

The sound of an engine roused him.  Quickly, he crossed to the door.

Gaby.  Time for him to slip away.  He watched for his chance as she carried groceries inside.

But she reemerged too quickly.  Started toward the barn.

The dog darted toward her like a bullet.

She smiled, and it was like basking in sunshine.  "Hey, Buddy!"  She knelt and indulged in a good rub.  After a couple of minutes of petting, she sank her face into the dog's neck and simply held on.  "Thanks, fella.  Just what the doctor ordered."

Eli observed from the shadows.

And envied the dog.

But when Gaby rose and approached the barn, he was forced into quick action.  The structure was simple and small, with few places to hide.  If he'd had a little more time, he could have caught a rafter and swung into position over her head.

If he hadn't spent precious seconds looking at her.

But too late for that.  He ducked into the shadowy recesses of the stall across and one down from Paco's.  If he angled his body just right, he could still see the horse.

Still view the girl who had haunted his dreams.  How beautiful she was.  Definitely a woman now, and ripe for a man's hands.

Damn it.  She's not for you.  She never was.

And she'd abandoned him when he'd needed her most.

"Hey, boy," she crooned as she approached Paco.  The horse eagerly stuck his head over the bars.  "I don't have a treat for you.  I'm sorry." 

Here, where she thought herself unobserved except by animals, she sounded more like the eager girl who'd shared herself so freely with him, her unfettered thoughts, her most ambitious hopes...her fears and her dreams.

Oh, those had been the days.  Man, they'd been young—or she had, at least.  He wasn't sure he'd ever been a kid.  Nonetheless, for the precious hours they were able to steal, he'd been less wary than usual, more willing to venture into trust.

Big mistake.

She extended one slender hand over Paco's muzzle, giggling faintly as the horse sucked her fingers into his mouth.  "Oh, you sweet baby...what am I going to do with you when I go?"  She laid the side of her head against his and stroked over his jaw.

When I go.  She would, of course.  

She shook her hair back and straightened.  He saw the glimmer of tears on her cheeks and hardened his heart to remember what was at stake.

"Surely Papa has some kind of treat out here."  She stopped.  Bit her lip.  "Had, I mean."  For a second, her expression was devastated, then once again she gathered herself.

Grudgingly, Eli admired her control.  The soft, vulnerable girl he'd loved had fulfilled the promise of strength he'd predicted.

Then she turned in his direction.

Eli pressed himself into the darkest corner, suddenly and surprisingly not ready.  For years, he'd longed to have it out with her, to demand to know why she'd let him down.  Make her admit she'd lied.  That she'd never really loved him, after all.

Now he wasn't sure what he wanted. 

Gaby drew nearly even with his position, and he absorbed every detail: the tiny mole just below her right ear, the sleek sable of her hair, the lovely curve of her lips.

Her step faltered, almost as if she sensed his presence.  Her head swiveled in his direction.

Eli held himself motionless.

Then the dog trotted right through the opening of the stall.

Headed directly for him.