Forever A Hero

Mace grinned. “Well,” he said, “there is that.”

Kelly laughed and gave him a playful shove in the chest. “Anyway, I need my rest. I plan to get up early, get some work done.”

“Such as?”

“Such as proving to a certain winemaker that my company can triple his business,” Kelly said on a light note. “That’s what a partnership with us can do.”

Mace’s frown was nearly imperceptible, but it still worried her a little. In fact, she might have panicked if it hadn’t been for the gleam in his eyes. “Suppose this winemaker is happy with his business the way it is?”

Kelly couldn’t allow herself to think how much was riding on this one deal, and she regretted tipping her hand a moment before. “If he’s willing to hear me out,” she said carefully, “I believe I can convince him.”

Mace tilted his head back, studied the stars, and his gaze was steady when he looked at her face again. “Fair enough,” he said. “He’ll listen. No promises beyond that, though.”

“No promises,” Kelly agreed.

A silence fell, brief and oddly comfortable, given the directness of Mace’s statement. But then, would she want him to be anything but direct? He clearly didn’t play games, and that was refreshing.

Mace spoke first. “I don’t think you’ve mentioned how long you’ll be in Mustang Creek,” he said cautiously.

Kelly didn’t hesitate. “As long as it takes,” she said. “I can always change my flight back to LA, and the rental car deal is open-ended.”

That made him smile, a bit wickedly. “Well, now,” he answered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “That might inspire some foot-dragging. On the winemaker’s part, I mean.”

Kelly laughed, filled with a strange, vibrant joy that she was standing under that canopy of gleaming stars, facing this man, within touching distance. “Good night, Mr. Carson,” she told him.

He opened the rental car’s door for her, bowed ever so slightly. “Good night,” he replied.

She didn’t want the moment to end, but prudence won out. If she stayed too long, she knew, the charge of anticipation between them might spark a blaze she couldn’t extinguish.

Wouldn’t even want to extinguish.

“Can you fit in a meeting tomorrow?” she asked.

“I can work it into my schedule,” Mace responded. “As long as it’s on horseback.”

Kelly swallowed. “Horseback?”

“That winemaker you were talking about convincing?” Mace said. “He’s three parts cowboy.”

A sweet, scary thrill raced through Kelly’s bloodstream at those words, and she bent her head, rummaging through her purse for the car keys—and a minute to collect herself, let the pink in her cheeks subside a little. “Then it’s settled,” she said when she managed to look at him again. He was still holding the car door, and starlight sparkled in his hair. “What time?”

“Whatever works for you.” It was an easy drawl, a gentle challenge.

“Afternoon,” Kelly decided. “I have some things to do in the morning.” Like buying a pair of boots and doing some stretches, so she wouldn’t have sore thighs when the ride was over.

“One o’clock?” Mace asked.

“One o’clock,” Kelly agreed.

He closed the door, then stepped back, lifting a hand in farewell as she started the engine and shifted into Drive. She made a three-point turn and headed down the long driveway.

She drove carefully through the deep and quiet country night, alert but oddly jumbled inside, too, full of contradictory emotions and wild thoughts.

She was crazy, thinking the things she was thinking.

She’d never felt so sane as she did right now.

She was falling in love.

She was determined not to fall in love.

She’d worked hard to build a life in LA, and she cherished her independence.

She was, as hard as it was to admit, lonely.

No matter what, she needed to make some changes; she knew that much, anyway.

What changes?

That was the question.

* * *

DINA CALLED THE next morning, while Kelly was finishing a light breakfast in the resort’s bistro, her laptop on the table beside her—usually a no-no, like watching TV during a meal. She answered with a cheerful, “Hello, Boss Lady.”

Dina cleared her throat. There was something tentative, even reluctant, in the sound. “So,” she began, after a deep and audible breath. “How’s everything? Any more near-disasters?”

Kelly might have been alarmed by what she heard—or sensed—in Dina’s voice, but that morning, with the glorious panorama of the Wyoming countryside beckoning from just beyond the restaurant windows, she was simply happy.

She smiled as Grace Carson waved, passing by the doorway. Waved back. “No more disasters, near or otherwise,” she replied. “As for the business aspect, Mace and I will be getting together again this afternoon.” No need to mention that the meeting room would be the wide-open spaces, and the chairs would be saddles. For some reason, she wanted that tidbit of information to belong to her and no one else. “I think we’re making progress.”

“Okay,” Dina said, drawing the word out.

Kelly tapped a few keys on the laptop, then closed it with a snap. “Dina, what’s going on?” she asked. “I can tell something’s up. What is it?”

Dina heaved a sigh. If Kelly’s job was high-pressure, Dina’s was doubly so. She had a board of directors to report to, dozens of employees to oversee, numbers to crunch.

Strangely, Kelly was briefly transported back to the peaceful vineyard where she’d walked with Mace and once again found herself wanting to be a part of the vines and the earth that nurtured them.

Dina’s reply brought her back with a mild jolt. “I’ve been offered a new job, Kelly,” she said. “In London.”

“Oh,” Kelly said, absorbing the news, struggling to grasp the implications. Obviously, from Dina’s tone and mood, there were some. “Are you taking it?”