“I see that. And running, apparently.” He smiled at Rhae—a real smile.
“Neigh-neigh!”
Gabe let out a bark of a laugh. “That’s new too. She’s talking a lot more.”
“Don’t we know it.”
Navy squirmed until he set her down, and she took off again in short, determined steps toward the nearest stall, where a chestnut mare poked her head over the gate. The horse lowered her nose until it brushed Navy’s hand, and the little girl let out a delighted giggle.
“She’s got no fear.” Rhae watched her daughter closely. “And she’s obsessed with the horses, just like her Auntie Willow. Wehave to bring her to the barn every morning or she won’t stop asking to see the neigh-neighs.”
Gabe watched Navy but felt Rhae’s focus shift to him. Questions hovered between them. Why was he here and was he okay?
Navy toddled back to him, and Gabe crouched to take her tiny fingers. “You like the horses, Navy?”
She jabbed a finger toward the mare and let out a high whinny that was such a good mimicry of the horse’s that he and Rhae burst out laughing.
Navy took off again, her little boots thumping the floorboards.
Rhae’s voice came out soft beside him. “She missed you.”
“Missed her too.” He straightened, brushing his palms against his jeans. “Guess I’ll be sticking around a while to help out while the guys are gone.”
She smiled. “Good. We could use you. The ranch feels so empty without Denver and his brothers. Decker, too.”
He perked up at the name. “Decker? You mean Dutch?” He used the nickname his friend went by.
She nodded. “He’s with the security team now.”
Gabe wagged his head at the surprising news of his fellow veteran in the program, who must have healed enough to move on.
He narrowed his eyes at Rhae. “Tell me he’s with Willow.”
She beamed like he’d flipped on the sun. “He finally admitted he loves her, and they couldn’t be happier.”
The world had moved forward while he was gone. Gabe was so pleased for them all, but he couldn’t help but feel a pang that, for him, time had stood still.
He shuffled his feet, his boots grating on the wood floor. “I’d best grab some breakfast. It’s good to see you, Miss Rhae.”
“Mrs. Rhae Malone now.”
Another thing he’d missed—Rhae and Denver had made it official, creating a family with the daughter they shared.
“I’m glad to hear it. See you later, Navy,” he called out to the child, who was tottering from stall to stall, babbling to the horses.
As he left the barn, he sucked in another breath of cold air. Behind him, the little girl’s laugh echoed from the barn.
Things had changed, the world continued to spin. He might not know how to keep up with it, but it didn’t matter. Because he was here, and he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.
* * * * *
Felicity left her house a little earlier than most mornings, hoping it would loosen the knot in her chest. Two things in her life brought her peace—books and the quaint town she lived in.
Willowbrook spread out before her in the soft, washed-out colors of late spring. The pale blue sky promised a warmer afternoon, and the watery sunlight turned the frost along the rooftops into icing on gingerbread houses.
Spring in the mountain town always came late, with cold mornings that turned into afternoons where people shed their coats and strolled the streets to take advantage of the weather. Nowadays, those streets were pretty empty, with only the occasional straggler walking their dog or headed to the post office.
The stoplight on Main Street blinked yellow at this time of day, patient as a metronome. The windows of her small SUV were fogged at the corners, blurring the edges of the world as she rolled through the traffic light.
