“Yes,” Riona says evenly. “I do.”

The way my chest swells up, you’d think I just won the Kentucky Derby.

“Thank you,” I say. For some reason, my throat feels tight. “You know that I think the world of you, Riona.”

“I do know that,” Riona says, her green eyes looking up at me, clear and wide. “You’re better than me at showing what you feel.”

“I think I’ve got a pretty good guess with you,” I say. Then I grin. “Most of the time, at least.”

“What am I thinking right now?” Riona asks quietly.

I know what I wish she were thinking. But I don’t know if I have the courage to ask her.

I gently touch her cheek, our faces only inches apart. Her expression is more vulnerable than I’ve ever seen before. I don’t know how I ever called this woman an Ice Queen. Riona isn’t only one thing. Once you chip past the frost, she has a whole universe inside of her.

I open my mouth to speak, but before I can say a word, Bo comes jogging up to us, red-faced and irritated.

“Shelby’s having the baby! Mom’s going over to their house to watch the boys, and I’m gonna drive them to the hospital. I’ll probably stay there in case they need anything—so Grady doesn’t have to leave.”

“What do you need me to do?” I say.

“Handle the horses. Get ‘em all fed and put away for the night.”

“Sure thing.” I nod.

“Why’d you two walk so damn far?” Bo complains, turning around to jog back to the house.

I look back at Riona, wanting to pursue our conversation. But the moment has passed.

She says, “We better hurry back, sounds like.”

“Yeah,” I say. “You’re right.”

* * *

21

Riona

Raylan and I head back to the ranch house.

We linger outside the kitchen door, both of us feeling there was more to say to one another. When Bo interrupted us, I think Raylan was about to tell me something else. After he’d already told me his family’s story.

I don’t take that lightly. That’s a secret they’ve kept for thirty years.

He told me because he trusts me. I wish there were a way to show him that I trust him, too.

But all I can say is, “Good luck with the horses.”

Raylan grins. “Thank you. When I get back, let’s have a drink together. It’s a full moon tonight. We can sit out on the deck.”

“That sounds beautiful,” I say.

I was intending to go inside and do a little more work. But I feel strangely flat, after what I discovered about Josh. It makes me feel as if the project is tainted in some way. I know that’s stupid, but it bothers me how the truth was hiding right under the data, without me seeing it. It’s like realizing there’s a crocodile floating right under the water. Even if you manage to pull it out, you don’t look at the lake in quite the same way.