“Oh. Okay.” Amanda chuckled quietly, then leaned forward and cupped Clementine’s sweet face. She’d never seen such a shiny coat on a dog, but she didn’t want to tell Sam. She had a feeling it might go to his head. She settled on something he could take credit for. “Your dog daddy is full of crap, did you know that?”

“She’s not mine. Clem belongs to my brother Jesse. That pretty girl over there is mine.” Amanda looked on the other side of the pasture and saw some mixture of cattle dog and mini horse basking in the sun. She watched Sam as he leaned over and snapped his fingers twice. The dog’s head perked up and as soon as she saw Sam she came trotting over. She stopped at Amanda’s side and nudged Clementine out of the way. Amanda smiled to herself and did her best not to cry tears of joy. This was her happy place. Wide-open spaces and surrounded by adorable dogs.

“Oh, it’s your turn for pets, is it. Hello, beautiful,” she cooed softly. “Yeah, that’s right. Ignore your dog dad. You’ll get the loving you need right here. What’s her name?”

“Euca. She lives here full-time with my grandmother, but she’s still my sweet baby girl.” He reached over and scratched Euca behind the ear. Amanda ignored the way his fingers brushed hers in the process. She turned and looked back toward the mountains again. “This whole place is beautiful. The views, the cabins, the dogs. You grew up here?”

“I did, but I can’t take credit for the beauty of it. My grandfather really turned this place into what it is, and my brothers have spent the last seven years putting their own shine on it. We’re just borrowing the land the Earth has provided and the splendor all around you, you can give that up to God.”

“Do you always lay it on this thick? You’re not making me regret my decision to ditch your ass right now.”

“I’m just messing with you. I’m surprised to see you here actually.”

“Likewise.”

“Are you having any regrets, Cha-Cha?”

“Cha-Cha?”

“That’s what I’ve been calling you, in my mind.”

Amanda wouldn’t have been surprised if her body picked that exact moment to start ovulating. She swallowed, then schooled her features though and focused on the easy task of petting two dogs at once. “You’ve been thinking about me, have you?”

“I have.”

Amanda froze as Sam tipped up the brim of his hat, then leaned over. His breath lightly brushed the shell of her ear as he spoke. “But next time we’re together, I’d like to call you by your real name. Amanda, is it?”