“Sure it is. There’s been sex, I’d bet my house on that. Plus this crazy chemistry. Hell, even your cousins have noticed, which is saying something as they’re pretty much oblivious most of the time.”

“He’s going soon, Maggs, so even if there was something, it’s got no future.”

Everywhere Piper looked she saw color. Fall turned the trees from green hues to a colorful landscape of muted earthy colors. The slide into winter should have brought a harshness; instead it was Piper’s favorite time in Ryker. The beauty around her was breathtaking. Leaves blanketed the ground, and the air had a bite but was not yet so cold that you couldn’t be outside without protection.

“But the fact you want a future is new. I mean, to the best of my knowledge you’ve never even thought about that with another man.”

“He was there for me when I needed him to be. It makes a girl think. But that’s all it will be, Maggs, because I have Grace now, and he’s going back to New York. End of story.”

“Shame.”

“Hell of a shame,” Piper said honestly. “He’s hot and sexy, and I have to say ticks all the boxes. Plus, he loves Grace.”

“What’s not to love?”

Piper smiled; she loved her little girl too.

“He’s stayed in Ryker longer than we all thought, so there has to be a reason, right?”

“Sure, but I’d be fooling both of us if I thought it was me. There’s a whole load of stuff going on with his family about now.”

Maggs wrinkled her nose. “What stuff? I mean, I know about the dad and Mary ‘Pain in my Ass’ Howard, and then there’s Ava.”

“You don’t think they constitute enough bad stuff happening?” Piper was not elaborating. The things Dylan had told her about Ava and Charlie were for her ears alone, and she wasn’t sharing, even with her best friend.

“I guess so.”

“I put an offer in on the house today, Maggs.”

Her friend screamed so loud the horses got fidgety.

“One day you’ll nearly be my neighbor, so I can borrow sugar from you and steal cookies that you make for Grace.”

“Always a plus, but that house is a while away from me living in it, Maggs.”

“Sure, but it’s exciting.”

They ambled along the trails, not really caring where they rode, just happy to be out there and enjoying the peace and solitude.

“How’s your love life, Maggs?”

“I’m taking a break.”

“From?”

“Men.”

Maggs wore a soft blue sweater, jeans, and ankle boots. Her riot of red hair was pulled back in a bandana. Style was what her friend had, in many forms.

“Maybe you’re trying too hard?”

“Maybe, but time’s on the move, Piper.”