Tempted by the Soldier. Patricia Potter

stood. “Okay,” she said with resignation. “I’ll need a couple of apples.”

      Nick picked up several empty plates and disappeared into the kitchen. He returned with two apples and a knife that he handed to Clint. “We only have two apples. You’ll have to split them. Beauty is my horse,” he said.

      “Should I give her extra, then?”

      “Naw, it would hurt the others’ feelings.”

      “I wouldn’t want to do that.” He followed Stephanie out the door. “Nice kid.”

      “He’s a great kid.”

      “We agree on something.”

      “I don’t know about that. You said ‘nice.’ I said ‘great.’” But a shadow of a smile crossed her face.

      She walked with him to the fence and whistled. Three horses ambled to them, the gray going straight for Stephanie, the other two eyeing the apples in Clint’s hand.

      “Mine is Shadow, the gray horse,” Stephanie said, rubbing the animal’s neck. “The pintos are Beauty and Beast. Beast is spirited. Beauty is the gentlest horse alive. Thus their names. Russ, Eve’s late husband, bought them at a rodeo horse auction just before he died.”

      “When was that?

      “Nearly five years now. Healthiest man in town, or so we thought. He was a football coach. Was in great physical shape, then he just dropped dead while running around the track with his team. A heart defect no one knew about.”

      “You knew him, then?”

      She nodded. “I liked him. Everyone liked him.”

      She was talking more to him than she had. Maybe it was the excellent meal, or the wine, or the evening that was now cool. Maybe it was a sky that looked on fire.

      He didn’t ask any more questions. He wanted to, but he sensed her wariness.

      He divided the apples. Her horse nuzzled her. He fed the other two horses more apple, keeping enough for her horse. “Should I feed Shadow, too, or do you want to?”

      “You have the apple.”

      He cut several pieces from the second apple and fed them to Shadow, enjoying the feel of the soft muzzle and mouth. The horse nickered softly and nudged him for more.

      When he glanced up, he was close to Stephanie. Too close. He could feel the heat from her body, or maybe it was from his own. Or maybe the combination of both. Mutual combustion.

      Her eyes widened and her body stiffened. Her tongue ran over her lips, and it was such a sensual yet unconscious gesture that the heat inside him spread like wildfire through his body. He wanted to touch her. Hold her. Most of all, he wanted her wariness to fade away.

      He shouldn’t feel any of that. He was the temporary beneficiary of someone else’s largesse. As long as he still had the symptoms from the brain trauma, he had little future. Besides, she didn’t seem to like him much. And yet he was drawn to her in a deeper way than he’d ever been drawn to a woman before.

      “Stephanie?” He didn’t know what he was asking. He put a finger on her face and lightly traced a path from the thick eyelashes down the high cheekbones. She stood absolutely still, her blue eyes fathomless as she looked at him.

      Currents. They flowed between them. Strong and hot and compelling. He experienced a deep yearning he’d never known before, a connection that had always eluded him. He’d known attraction. Infatuation, certainly. But never anything this strong. It was almost as if they were linked by some invisible chain.

      She shook her head. “No.” It was a whisper, but enough to tell him she felt the link, too, and wasn’t a bit happy about it. Well, he wasn’t, either. He didn’t need more complications in his life. But he still couldn’t move away.

      It didn’t make sense. He didn’t make sense. Confusion filled her eyes, too, and for a second she rested her head against his hand. He leaned down and his lips touched hers. Lightly. Then he stepped back. “I wanted to do that since I met you,” he said.

      “Why?” Her eyes were so blue, so direct.

      “Damned if I know.”

      “We should ignore it.”

      “Yes.” But neither of them moved.

      “We have to get back,” she said. “Eve will wonder...”

      “And Nick wants his pie,” he said.

      “We can’t keep Nick waiting.”

      “Or he’ll be out here in a minute.”

      “This is ridiculous,” she said.

      He nodded. Ridiculous that they were standing here and not making another move toward each other. But the signal had to come from her.

      A door slammed and Nick ran toward them.

      Clint lowered his hand and stepped away from Stephanie, who exhaled a soft breath.

      “Mom’s ready,” Nick said. “She said go around to the back. I’ll show you.”