Back to Buckhorn

Shohn scoffed at the idea. “No offense, but you saw her. He’ll find a way out of it.”

But how? Garrett didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

When the singing suddenly stopped, he froze. They all listened. Hell, Garrett even held his breath. But she made not a single sound on the stairs.

And then suddenly she was there, striding barefoot down the short hall to the kitchen.

The air left his lungs in a low exhalation.

Without even realizing it, he pushed back his chair and stood.

Shohn and Adam did the same.

They all gawked at her.

Zoey held her dirty clothes wrapped in the gray T-shirt. Freshly washed long brown hair hung in soft waves, pulled over one shoulder to cover her left breast.

Supershort, white-cuffed shorts left her entire long, shapely legs bare, and the peach-colored halter emphasized the shape and swell of modest B-sized breasts.

Her bare shoulders were lightly kissed by the sun, her green eyes bright with amusement, her mouth—God, that mouth—curved as she appreciated his reaction.

With a small curtsy, she said, “Better, right?”

They all nodded.

Adam got it together first, at least enough to say, “Incredible.”

Zoey laughed.

“Hard to believe,” Shohn murmured, “that you’re the same woman.”

Her small nose wrinkled. “Throw-up has a way of making everything pretty icky.” She turned those big green eyes on Garrett. Her teeth sank into that plump bottom lip as she searched his face, then her smile widened. “What do you think?”

He thought he wanted that mouth, in about a dozen different ways. He cleared his throat. “Dinner sounds great. I’m off next Saturday.”

Chapter Two (#ulink_958019ec-2ae4-5274-b226-41db580b2ffc)

Tonight she’d get to take Garrett to dinner.

Zoey smiled, thinking about how nicely her first week back had gone, especially given how she’d dreaded it. She’d expected unfriendly reunions, awkward greetings and ugly stares of condemnation.

Instead, for one reason or another, she’d seen Garrett almost every day. The town was small, so every time she turned around she ran in to him.

Each and every time he stopped to talk with her.

Each and every time her infatuation with him grew.

Never mind that he was a big, sexy hunk with an easy smile and a hero’s personality. He was...well, everything else, too. Friendly, respectable, admired, liked—not just by her, but apparently everyone else, as well.

A few times she’d seen him at his sister’s bookstore when Amber invited her for lunch. Amber didn’t close the shop during her visit, but it was a slower time for her and few people stopped in.

Yet somehow, each time, Garrett showed up.

Amber also took her to dinner—at Nadine’s house, with Shohn and Adam and some of the other cousins there, again, including Garrett. She loved Nadine’s pet hotel, and she really enjoyed seeing Nadine and Shohn interact.

They all had pets, and all swore they’d be giving her plenty of business once she opened her grooming salon.

It seemed to Zoey that Amber’s family went out of their way to make her feel welcome. It was so relaxing being with them, because she didn’t have to worry about running into someone who might still blame her for what had happened so long ago.

She knew those people still existed in the town, just as she knew Amber’s family had never been part of the hate crowd.

Because the invites always included Garrett, Zoey almost felt like Amber was playing matchmaker, but if so, Zoey enjoyed her efforts. It had given her a chance to see Garrett with his family, how he played with the animals, helped out in the kitchen, thanked his sister for a burger, carried Nadine a drink.

So attentive—to everyone.

She’d also run in to Garrett at the hardware store when she bought a grill and needed supplies to fix up the house she’d bought. He’d chatted with her, lingering, making her self-conscious over her paint-stained T-shirt and ragged jeans—not that he’d been anything but pleasant.

The owner of the hardware store had slid many suspicious glances her way, but after Garrett came in, he spent his time bragging about Garrett’s handyman skills, claiming he’d learned from his uncle Gabe. The owner’s wife smiled at him as if he were her own son. They’d talked for maybe twenty minutes, and every minute or so someone new greeted him, including several women. But he hadn’t been drawn away. She figured that was likely why the women gave her dirty looks, and not the incident from her youth.

So far, she’d run in to him at the grocery, at the ice-cream shop, the gas station and Amber’s bookstore. She’d even seen him during one of her many visits to the hospital. Her mother was doing better, but on top of the broken ribs her blood pressure was high and the pneumonia really left her exhausted. Zoey did her best to make her more comfortable, telling her over and over how much fun they’d have once she was well again.

Somehow, she’d make it so.

Garrett was there checking on an older woman who’d almost set her house on fire when she forgot her dinner in the oven. She’d inhaled a lot of smoke, but would be fine.

Such a great guy—and tonight she’d have him all alone, with the opportunity to talk beyond polite pleasantries.

Maybe he’d give her some tips on fixing up her old house, given the amazing job he’d done to his own.

Thanks to a recommendation from Amber, she’d bought the furnished two-story “fixer-upper” sight unseen. And she had no regrets. The second she’d walked across the squeaky wood floors, touched the crystal doorknobs, admired the stained-glass window in the stairwell, she’d fallen madly in love.

The aged, scarred and worn furniture still had charm. Everything—the house and the furnishings—needed a ton of work to spruce it up, and she looked forward to tackling it all. On top of pleasing her aesthetically, it also had a huge sunroom in the back that led to a fenced yard, making it practical for her animal-grooming business.