“I’m actually fine with it. In fact, I’m happy because I do love her. And Len and Mary Jean are great.” She paused for a moment, seeking the right words. “I think it was meant to be.”

MONDAY NIGHT, CORD was exhausted. First there’d been the stall cleaning, then the training session with the Lewises (although Shallie was handling a lot of that), a conference call with his PR group—and most tiring of all—a second patrol of local ranchland with Mitch. They’d run into Russ and another rancher en route. Russ had binoculars, a magnifying glass, a camera and who knew what else. Cord was pleased to see he was taking this seriously, and Shallie was just as pleased when he told her.

He went to bed earlier than usual, thinking about the coming news regarding Julie. He was looking forward to it in one way, not at all in another. He had no idea what to expect. Compared to Shallie, he knew a lot about his past. But there were still unanswered questions. Like…had his mother ever loved him?

Up in his room, one dog underfoot, since Bandit had apparently taken to sleeping in Shallie’s room, he felt oddly powerless. His past was in Eddie’s hands, his future in Shallie’s.

Cord fell into bed, determined not to think about her—or Julie.

He dreamed that night, and although he rarely remembered his dreams, this one remained with him, still vivid when he woke up. In it, he was surrounded by animals—dogs, cats, horses, even a coyote and a deer—and they were all talking to him. Bandit, Smoky and Holly the beagle were telling him he had to say yes to Shallie, to whatever she asked. The cats said he should adopt one of them. According to the horses, the local criminal would be caught, and soon. They also told him he needed to become friends with the Lewises.

In the light of day, it actually all made sense. Except maybe the idea of taking on a cat; the dogs might not go for that. He got up to perform his first chore of the morning—making coffee, the good kind.

SHALLIE HAD BEEN dreaming about him. Dreaming that they’d made love, powerful love. The first time in her bed, the second under a tree at the edge of a meadow.

Her images of these encounters were vivid and sensual. So was her memory of how she’d felt. That this was unsurpassed—and that she wanted to make it real.

What would Cord think if she suggested starting their day by reliving her dream?

CORD WAS POURING his second coffee when Shallie came down, Bandit yawning beside her. She seemed a bit shy, certainly not typical of her. He fed and put the dogs out, but at their loud insistence, let them back in.