Prologue
December, a Year Ago
Willow didn’t wantto open her eyes.Somewhere in her brain, an army of tiny men were hammering away.Maybe she’d just dreamed the whole thing, maybe she was in her own bed, maybe she hadn’t gone to Grey’s Saloon last night, flirted with the bartender and drank way too many glasses of tequila because she’d missed her brother something fierce.
Walker.Her brother with the big laugh and big heart was gone.Nearly four years ago she’d been the one who had persuaded her four brothers to go into town, because a cowboy from a neighboring ranch she’d just met that afternoon had said he’d be in Grey’s Saloon that evening.
Now she only had three brothers left.On their way back to the ranch, Walker had been killed when their truck hit an elk crossing the road.The cowboy she’d wanted to see so badly hadn’t even showed up and had since moved away.
What had she been thinking anyway?She could never get entangled with anyone, something she’d realized way back while she was still at school.
“It’s a blessing,” child, her grandma used to say when Willow complained about her ability to know things, to experience other people’s feelings.“Accept it and manage it,” she would say in her no-nonsense Irish way.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” a deep voice rumbled close to her.
Her eyes flew open to find Hunter Grant leaning over her, his deep-blue eyes filled with mirth.
“Where am I?”she croaked through parched lips.
He dropped a shirt on the bed.“At the Circle C.In my house.In my bed.Put this on.”
Sick to her stomach, she peered beneath the blanket and promptly lost her breath.“I’m naked!Why am I naked?What happened?”Pulling the blanket up to her chin, she glared at him.
“You couldn’t get the door of the car open in time and well, you puked all over your clothes.I’ve washed them and they’re still in the dryer.Should be done soon.”He motioned toward nightstand next to the bed.“The tablets will help the headache.The shower is through that door.I’m making coffee.”He turned to leave but not before she saw the grin on his face.
“It’s not funny,” she fumed.
Chuckling, he closed the door behind him.
Clutching her head, she sat up, but every movement was anguish, the hammering behind her eyes wouldn’t let up.With unsteady hands she took the tablets on the nightstand, while snatches of last night flashed before her eyes.
She couldn’t believe what had happened.Puking on her clothes in front of Hunter Grant of all people.Groaning, she gingerly touched her eyes where the throbbing seemed to have increased.Humiliated didn’t begin to describe the deep-gutted anguish at thinking she’d puked in front of the devastatingly attractive cowboy.
More scenes from the previous night raced through her mind.She’d been sitting at the bar, feeling sad and heartbroken, tossing back tequilas while trying to get rid of a really creepy guy who wouldn’t leave her alone.And then out of nowhere, Hunter Grant had appeared.
The cowboy had been the talk of the town ever since he’d started working at the Circle C.Every woman in town, married or not, swooned about the tall, muscled cowboy whenever he came into town.
So had she.Yes, she wasn’t interested in hooking up with any man, but that didn’t mean she was dead.She could appreciate a drop-dead gorgeous man when she saw one.And Hunter was the quintessential sexy cowboy—tall and muscled with a killer smile, unfairly thick lashes for a man, and incredible indigo blue eyes.
Rubbing her temple, she tried to string together the sequence of events of the previous night.She’d been on her way home, that much she remembered, when Hunter had taken her arm.The rest was foggy, though.Except for the puking part.In front of Hunter.In his car.
And here she was, sitting on his bed, naked.
Frantically, she looked around her.Where was her bag?Her phone was in it, if she remembered correctly.She had to phone Cooper.He was the only brother who would understand.
She looked everywhere in the room, but her bag was nowhere to be found.Either she’d lost it at the bar, or it was somewhere else in the house with Hunter.Before she could face to him again, she seriously needed a shower.
Grabbing the shirt, she found her way to the bathroom.The hammering behind her eyes hadn’t eased up, even for a moment.
In the bathroom, she stared at herself in the mirror.Oh, no!She looked like something straight out of a horror movie.Makeup smeared, hair standing on end—and in front of Hunter of all people.
Well, it was official.After today she could never see him again.
Frantically, she tried to comb her hair with her fingers but all she succeeded in doing was to increase the hammering.No wonder Hunter was grinning.
Turning away, she opened the shower door and stepped inside.As she opened the tap, she lifted her face.The hammering behind her eyes subsided.Slightly.Squinting, she looked around.Soap.Surely, the cowboy would at least have soap?
Turning her head, she found different bottles on the small glass shelf, including several bottles of different shampoos for women.
