“You have a face, Shannon, that plants itself right in the front of a man’s mind, and blooms there.”

It was the voice, she thought, the Irish in it that made even such a foolish statement sound like poetry. In defense against it, she looked away, back toward the safety of grazing cows.

“You think in farming analogies.”

“That’s true enough. There’s something I’d like to show you. Will you walk with me?”

“I should get back.”

But he was already rising and taking her hand as though it were already a habit. “ ’Tisn’t far.” He bent, plucked a starry blue flower that had been growing in a crack in the wall. Rather than hand it to her, as she’d expected, he tucked it behind her ear.

It was ridiculously charming. She fell into step beside him before she could stop herself. “Don’t you have work? I thought farmers were always working.”

“Oh, I’ve a moment or two to spare. There’s Con.” Murphy lifted a hand as they walked. “Rabbitting.”

The sight of the sleek gray dog racing across the field in pursuit of a blur that was a rabbit had her laughing. Then her fingers tightened on Murphy’s in distress. “He’ll kill it.”

“Aye, if he could catch it, likely he would. But chances of that are slim.”

Hunter and hunted streaked over the rise and vanished into a thin line of trees where the faintest gleam of water caught the sun.

“He’ll lose him now, as he always does. He can’t help chasing any more than the rabbit can help fleeing.”

“He’ll come back if you call him,” Shannon said urgently. “He’ll come back and leave it alone.”

Willing to indulge her, Murphy sent out a whistle. Moments later Con bounded back over the field, tongue lolling happily.

“Thank you.”

Murphy started walking again. There was no use telling her Con would be off again at the next rabbit he scented. “Have you always lived in the city?”

“In or near. We moved around a lot, but we always settled near a major hub.” She glanced up. He seemed taller when they were walking side by side. Or perhaps it was just the way he had of moving over the land. “And have you always lived around here?”

“Always. Some of this land was the Concannons’, and ours ran beside it. Tom’s heart was never in farming, and over the years he sold off pieces to my father, then to me. Now what’s mine splits between what’s left of the Concannons’, leaving a piece of theirs on either side.”

Her brow furrowed as she looked over the hills. She couldn’t begin to estimate the acreage or figure the boundaries. “It seems like a lot of land.”

“It’s enough.” He came to a wall, stepped easily over it, then, to Shannon’s surprise, he simply put his hands at her waist and lifted her over as if she’d weighed nothing. “Here’s what I wanted to show you.”

She was still dealing with the shock of how strong he was when she looked over and saw the stone circle. Her first reaction wasn’t surprise or awe or pleasure. It was simple acceptance.