Damn it, she loved the man! When had she become so scared of taking a chance?

She took one of those deep breaths that presaged an announcement. Or in her case, a decision. An answer.

And it was YES!

She’d tell Cord this evening, and there was one obvious way to do that.

She turned off her laptop, shooed out the dogs and left the suite, stopping in the kitchen for a refill—then headed up to his room.

CORD WAS ECSTATIC. No other word would do.

Shallie wanted to be with him, share his room. His life?

Surely this was another beginning! In so many ways… These last months were the best he’d ever spent. Shallie, Carly, reconnecting with his mother, the addition of therapy to his business. And his friends were as important as ever.

So, what didn’t he have? What was he lacking? Anything?

Certainty, he supposed, but he trusted that would come.

They spent what he could only describe as a passionate night together. They made love three times, each better than the one before.

They hadn’t repeated their proclamations of love, not yet, but he was confident that wasn’t far away. And he felt it, was sure she did, too.

Despite Reba, despite Jenna, who were part of his past. Cord’s love for Shallie, and hers for him, were about the present and the future. As she herself had said, the past was past.

SHALLIE WAS THRILLED by Cord’s reaction—and her own. It all told her she’d made the right decision.

They informed Carly the next morning. Then he, Tina and Mitch worked out the logistics, which were easy enough. They’d move Shallie’s stuff to his room that morning, help Carly move hers into the suite, and Susan would return to the trailer tomorrow. Tina and Mitch were delighted, and Shallie figured that had to do with more than just the arrangements regarding Susan.

She’d noticed Tina’s subtle encouragement of her relationship with Cord, and knew her approval was assured. Mitch’s, too.

Shallie and Cord met Russell for lunch at the center of the universe—or their universe, anyway, as the Lewises had described it. They discussed Cord’s suggestion of refurbishing the remaining rooms and making the motel the official Hollister Horse destination. Russ had a cleaner now; it turned out that in a conversation with Susan a couple of weeks earlier, he’d mentioned his need for someone to help out. She’d recommended Elaine, a part-time assistant at the library who was looking for more work. He’d interviewed her and hired her on the spot.