“No, please come with one of your brothers, I don’t want to worry about you driving back alone in the dark and cold.Janice is picking me up, we’ll meet you at the courthouse?”
“Mom, maybe I’ll miss the activities this year, I…”
“No, you’re not missing another event.People are beginning to ask all kind of questions.You can work today and tomorrow morning, the stroll only starts late afternoon.Saturday’s skating on Miracle Lake won’t take up the whole day, either.Next weekend there is the stroll through the Garden of Lights and Saturday is the Christmas dance at the Graff Hotel.I so love this time of year!”
Rolling her eyes, Willow groaned out loud.“Next weekend is too close to my exhibition, Mom, I’ll be too nervous…”
“You, nervous?Don’t be silly, dear.The gallery has probably sold most of your paintings already.”
They had, but her mom didn’t have to know that.“I have to leave next Sunday by the latest, otherwise poor Greg will have a fit.I’ll try to come tonight, but…”
“Great, I’ll see you later!”
They’d reached the stables and Dancer stopped.Scowling, Willow got off the horse.He mother was busy with another scheme to find her a husband, she was sure of it.Damn it, how many times did she have to tell her she wasn’t interested?
Dark, blue eyes filled with a strange light she’d never seen before flashed in front of her.
Dancer snickered.
Damn it.
*
From a safedistance, Hunter watched as Willow and Dancer reached the stables.Only when he was sure she’d returned safely did he turn his horse around.He had no idea how he’d managed to walk away from her earlier.
When Dancer, fully saddled, had found him, he’d immediately worried.Where was Willow?As Dancer had turned around and trotted away, he’d followed the horse instinctively.The very last thing he’d expected however, was coming face-to-face with a very naked, very sexy, Willow Weston.
His body was still humming, his blood still roaring in his ears, his desire clearly not quite squelched yet.Damn it, he had no business lusting after his boss’s sister.Nobody needed to tell him the tall, sexy brunette was way out of his league.He’d spent the last year trying his best to forget about the night he’d had to undress her and wash her clothes.It didn’t work.Those slender, toned limbs were forever etched in his mind and dreams.
Why the hell couldn’t he just move on, date again?Not only was she still grieving for her brother, but since working and living on the Weston ranch, he’d also discovered what the people in town meant when they called the Westonsweird.
Willow, like her brother Cooper and nephew Luke were different, had a sixth sense or whatever you wanted to call it.To be honest, it kinda freaked him out.
Willow, he’d gathered over the last few months he’d been living on the ranch, knew things without anyone telling her about it.Cooper had long conversations with animals, and Luke, Hayden’s little boy, seemed to have inherited both his uncle’s and aunt’s oddities.
Hunter had dated other women in Marietta, Bozeman, and other surrounding towns.They were beautiful and sweet and would make someone very happy, but he wasn’t that man, he’d quickly realized.For the past year, he hadn’t even tried to date anyone.
The connection he was looking for, like the one his own parents had, he’d never found.Maybe not everyone was so fortunate to discover someone to share a life with.
So why did his eyes always seem to find Willow Weston in any crowd?Why was her face the one on his mind when he fell asleep and there when he opened his eyes every day?And why had he been looking at the property market around Marietta lately?
His family had a ranch in Colorado, he should’ve been back there already.Besides, Willow Weston was so obviously not the type of woman he was looking for.She came with baggage and honestly, he wasn’t comfortable with the weird stuff either.
His body though, wasn’t listening to any messages from his logic.
When he’d resigned his job at the Circle C, it had been to go back to Colorado, to his family’s ranch.His dad was getting older and he knew it was time to return.As he had been packing his things, though, Hayden Weston had called and asked if he could help on the ranch for a few months.It was about the same time his dad had said he’d decided he wasn’t quite ready yet to stop working.
So, when Hayden’s offer came, Hunter hadn’t hesitated.Not even for a second.Not even when he’d met Willow’s open hostility toward him.She’d made no secret of the fact that she wasn’t happy about the new arrangement.
Everyone had been talking about Hayden Weston’s holistic approach to managing grazing and he wanted to learn as much as he could about his methods that attempted to mimic the patterns of wild migrating herds before returning to the family ranch in Colorado.His dad had also been excited about the idea.
He would stay out of Willow’s way, he’d decided from the beginning.It was what she wanted, and what he needed to do anyway.It would be way too easy to fall for the tall brunette, and he was only here temporarily.
Only things hadn’t quite worked out that way.She was everywhere, and even when she wasn’t, her scent seemed to follow him all over on the ranch.For some strange reason, she taken over his thoughts and dreams.
Over the last few weeks, she hadn’t joined the family for meals, in fact, she’d rarely go anywhere because she was painting, everyone told him.Only he was certain it was mostly to avoid him.
He’d been at the point where he was going to resign his job and returned to Colorado when today happened.
