The year of independence at the school a little more than an hour away had done wonders for Elise. She was still careful—still cautious about getting stuck or stranded—but she was finallyliving the wheelchair version of a life she’d only dreamed about before.
She didn’t haveeverything, but she had a lot. And what she didn’t have, she didn’t obsess over.
Copper flicked an ear, and she rubbed his neck. “He’s walking easier today. I’m glad that joint supplement I recommended helped.”
“Thank you, Dr. Hale on Wheels. Please tell me that’s going to be the name of your vet practice.”
“It might be,” Elise said, lifting her gaze to scan the sunbathed paddock, checking out the small snowdrifts and…whoa…cowboy.
“Who isthat?”
Nicole angled her head and peered through sunglasses in the direction of Elise’s locked gaze. “Oh, that’s Wade Reynolds.”
“Guest at the lodge?”
“Yes and no,” Nicole said. “He’s Matt Walker’s nephew.”
“Oh, the lottery man courting Aunt MJ,” Elise said, completely up to speed on the latest gossip at Snowberry. “His nephew, huh?” She eyed the tall man who wore a soft down vest over a plaid flannel shirt, and a cowboy hat that screamed country songs about whiskey and women and well-loved trucks.
Sauntering down the road from the cabins to the lodge, he paused at the paddock when he saw Copper. He leaned against the wood, one boot hooked on the bottom rail, his gloved hands resting on the top as he watched.
“Did he come to check out Aunt MJ and make sure she’s not trying to siphon millions from his rich Uncle Matt?” Elise asked.
Nicole chuckled. “Girl, you watch too much Lifetime TV. Also, he calls Matt Graham, which is slightly confusing, but remember, Matt used his middle name to hide his millions.”
“And you sayIwatch too much Lifetime?”
“True. Anyway, apparently Wade has never been to Utah and came along with his uncle. He hasn’t been around much, but I’ve said hello.”
“He’s cute. I mean, if you like sexy cowboys with square jaws and a day’s worth of whiskers and jeans that fit like…like, holy moly, there should be laws against that. I ask you—wholikes that?”
Nicole snorted. “Not me, but I’m about to marry your brother.” She leaned close enough to press her shoulder into Copper’s flank. “You, however, are quite single.”
And paralyzed from the hips down.But Elise didn’t say that because…right now, sitting on this horse and feeling like she owned the world, shewasn’tparalyzed.
At least not to a stranger, not for five minutes. The fantasy of it was too irresistible. “Introduce me, Nic.”
“Of course. You’re in charge of the horse, so head on over.”
She lifted the reins ever so slightly—Copper could read her every move now—and Hot Cowboy must have sensed their attention because he lifted his chin slightly, meeting Elise’s gaze across the paddock.
For a second, she forgot to breathe. Then he smiled—slow, crooked, devastating.
Her pulse tripped. “Oh, boy.”
Nicole laughed. “I’m going with man, not boy. All I know is he’s about thirty and has a toe-curling Southern accent.”
If only her toescouldcurl.
She kicked the thought away with imaginary toes thatdidwork, and rode closer to the cowboy named Wade.
When they stopped a few feet away, he tipped his hat, revealing that it covered dark brown hair that looked like he’d tried to tame it and given up halfway through. His eyes were startling—a green so bright they almost looked lit from within.
“Mornin’, ladies,” he drawled. “Didn’t mean to interrupt. Just admirin’ the view.”
Elise’s lips curved before she could stop them. “I’ll assume you mean the horse.”
He chuckled, the sound low and warm. “Well, ma’am, I don’t limit my admiration.”
