Second Chance Rancher

“Because I can’t afford the time.” She hated that she’d gotten in this position. “I have loans to pay back.”

“That’s rough.” His gaze met hers and immediately her body shuddered, reacting to this gorgeous man. “I’m sure your dad doesn’t expect you to pay him back.”

Laurel glanced away, embarrassed that she’d been so gullible over Jack. “So you’ve heard the gossip in town about my runaway groom.”

He shook his head. “Dad told me. I wondered why you never married.”

She was surprised by his answer. “It seems I’m better off with horses than men.”

His mouth twitched in amusement. “If that’s how you feel, then you’ve been with the wrong men.”

Her gaze shot to his, her throat suddenly dry. A flash of memories of a younger Kase appeared in her mind. That cocky grin, his tempting mouth and his tender touch... She swiftly shook them away. “Seems I have a habit of choosing wrong. You’d think after all these years, I’d learn my lesson.”

Kase saw the hurt on her face, knowing she’d included him in that group. He’d give anything to take away her pain. He wanted to reach out and touch her, remembering how soft and giving she’d always been with him. He ached to find out if her mouth still tasted as sweet...

He pushed aside the image. Now wasn’t the time to rehash the past.

“Look, Laurel, I know we’ve been thrown together these past few days, but if you want me to stay away, I’ll do it.” He held his breath, hoping that she wouldn’t send him packing. The last thing he needed was to include her in his crazy life.

She placed her hands on her hips. “Now you tell me. Now, after I finally get a new best friend to share my dolls with. And then there’s Gus. Who can give me his expertise on training? And you want to take that away.”

He smiled at her joking, then he grew serious, realizing that his daughter was getting very attached to Laurel. Besides being beautiful and sexy, he’d seen how loving and caring she’d been with Addy.

“Look, Laurel, my life is unsettled to say the least. I have a daughter to raise, and a father facing surgery.” He sighed. That was only the tip of his problems. “As you’ll soon learn, my in-laws are suing for custody of Addy. So everything I do is under a microscope.”

He saw the compassion in her eyes. “Is that because they believe you’re the cause of their daughter’s death?”

“Where did you hear that?”

“A newspaper article on the web.”

“We’d already separated before her overdose.” His gaze met Laurel’s interested look. “I tried to help her, but she wouldn’t go into rehab. Not even for Addy. I even went to my father-in-law, but he refused to help have his daughter committed. Bad for business, he said. So I resigned from the firm and filed for divorce.”

“Was Addy living with her mother then?”

He nodded. “I’ll regret that until my dying day. The only consolation was her nanny, Mary Beth, who’d been with Addy since birth and had gone with her when they’d moved into the cottage on Johanna’s parents’ property. At least Addy and Johanna had supervision.” He stole a look at Laurel. She had every right to judge his parenting skills.

“Two weeks later, I got the call about Johanna’s drug overdose.”

He felt her hand on his arm. “I’m sorry, Kase.”

He shrugged, ashamed that he couldn’t give his wife what she needed. And questioning himself if he even tried enough to make the marriage work. “So am I.”

“So you came back here?”

“Since Addy had already been staying at her grandparents’, I had a tough time getting physical custody. Ben and Judith refused to give her up, but I finally got a lawyer to help me and removed her from her grandparents’ home.”