“I’ve answered your questions. You either believe what my uncle did, or you don’t. No one else did, so I don’t expect any better from you.”

He wished she did, because he didn’t want her to see him as another person against her. “I do believe you.”

“I don’t care.”

“Yes, you do, or you wouldn’t have told me something you never even told your husband.” That had to mean something.

It meant something to him.

She gave nothing away. “You and Sean used to be friends, so I guess that’s why you felt you needed to dig up those records.”

“I knew Sean from grade school to high school. After that, life had us going our separate ways. College and the family business for me. Sean went to college, met and married you, and started a family and his own business.”

“And you think he did that on his own?”

“You tell me.”

She sighed. “That’s just another long story.”

He’d let it go for now. “Do you miss him?” He really wanted to know if she still loved Sean.

“I wish the boys had the father they deserve.” She dropped that loaded statement and left it hanging. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to make breakfast for my boys and I have a full schedule today.” She started backing away. “Thanks for letting me ride Ace.”

“I didn’t. You took him. Again.”

That got him a reluctant smile.

“You have some really nice horses, but . . . Why haven’t you found a mare that compares to Ace?”

“I tried to, but the owner refused to sell to me because I didn’t meet their experience requirements.”

“You should contact Blaze Ranch. It’s not far from here, and they have outstanding horses.”

“That’s who I tried to buy from. How do you know about Blaze Ranch?”

“I know the owner. She just wants to make sure the horses go to a good home where they’ll be treated well. If she doesn’t know the ranch, she doesn’t sell.”

“I can’t fault her for being careful about her horses. There are some pretty disreputable places, and people aren’t always nice to their animals.”

“We agree on that.” She took another couple steps away, though he felt like he’d gained some ground in getting her to open up and like him after his bad behavior.

“You can stop digging in my past. There’s nothing else to find. But I suppose you wouldn’t take my word for it.”

He already knew there was nothing else to find. His investigator would have uncovered it. “I’d rather just spend more time with you and get to know you better the normal way.” He wanted her to open up to him.

“You should have just talked to me instead of investigating me.”

He knew that, but because Margaret had asked him, he’d decided to help a friend instead of going with his gut and believing that if he asked Sarah she’d give him a straight answer.