He was far away, across the pasture, but she felt his startling blue gaze slice across the field and pierce her very soul.
Roman.
She tried to speak his name, but the sinister fire of lightning felt so near. Inches from her head. She could feel its heat, its powerful danger, and she felt sure that it was daring her to move so it could strike.
Terror plunged into her. She felt it slash through her like so many daggers plummeting from the malevolent sky.
The shelter of the shed was behind her, only a few feet away.
Roman was on the other side of the sodden field.
Her mind pulled her toward the safety of the shed.
But her heart tugged her forward.
Defying the lightning, she flew across the pasture.
Roman met her halfway, and as his stallion bore down upon her, he leaned down from the saddle and lifted her into his arms. Holding her securely to his chest, he stopped Secret in the middle of the field.
Theodosia raised her face to the man she loved more with each beat of her pulse. For a long while she could only stare at him, blending the real sight of him with the indelible image she had of him in her mind. The lightning behind him flashed, but the glitter in his eyes flamed far more brightly.
“I believe,” she began softly, watching rain course down his face, “that I have overcome my fear of lightning.”
He slid his hand over her belly, over his child.
His action reminded her of what he wanted from her. Her joy came apart and fell away, like a broken string of pearls. “You came to Templeton,” she murmured, rain splashing her lips, “to tell me again that you want the child.”
He gave a long, slow nod, and continued staring into her eyes. “And to see Senor Madrigal.”
“Senor Madrigal.” She tried to nod, but felt paralyzed. “To buy your ranch. You—you’ll raise the child on your ranch. With all your horses.”
He frowned, then raised his wet brow. “Then you’ve changed your mind about giving my baby to your sister?”
She wanted him to release her so she could run again. Being so close to him while knowing he cared only for their child tormented her.
But if she ran, she would take the child with her. She realized now she could not do such a thing to Roman. She loved him, and no sacrifice she could think of was too great to make for him.
“I am not giving the baby to my sister,” she answered, her chest tight with pain. “I am giving the child to you. And then…” She paused and turned her face into his shoulder. “Then I will sail for Brazil.”
Roman raised her higher, so her eyes were level with his. “And I’ll go with you.”
She stiffened. With shock and confusion. “You’ll go with—”
“I won’t raise my child on a ranch. I’ll raise him or her in Brazil. With monkeys instead of horses.”
Her confusion deepened. “But I just said I would give you—”
“I came to Templeton to tell Senor Madrigal that I no longer want to buy the land. I’ll get all my money back from him.”
She struggled in vain for a shred of understanding. “You’re—you’re giving up your ranch?” she asked incredulously. “But you’ve been working for it for ten years! Why would you give it up?”
He glided his long tanned fingers into her wet gold hair. “Once, not so very long ago, a genius told me something that made no sense to me at the time. Now, though, I understand what she meant. She said that when you love someone, no sacrifice is too great to make.”
Theodosia felt her entire body begin to shake. She couldn’t read the expression in his eyes, didn’t dare guess what he would say next.
Roman smiled into her wide rain-dappled eyes. “How could I be content on a horse ranch when the woman I love is in Brazil?”
Her mind spun crazily. She couldn’t think.
