And while she wasn’t hiding anything else in her past, he wondered about her cryptic statements about Sean.

“Goodbye, sweet boy.” She wasn’t talking to him and gave Ace a pat goodbye. She walked down the aisle toward the barn doors. Barefoot, wearing her pajamas, and limping. He shook his head at her boldness, and in this case, overconfidence.

“How do you plan to get back to Margaret’s?”

“Same way I got here. Walk,” she said over her shoulder.

He shook his head again and pulled his keys from his pocket. “Get in the truck, Sarah.”

“I don’t want to put you out,” she called back to him.

“Get in the damn truck.” Amusement mixed with his exasperation made her stop and turn back.

She huffed out her own frustration, but with a hint of her elusive smile tugging at her lips. “Fine.”

They climbed into the front seat. He was wholly aware of how small the space felt and how close she was to him. He drove her back to Margaret’s in silence, trying to reconcile her past, her marriage to Sean, with the woman she was today. Sarah had certainly gotten herself far away from growing up a poor foster child. She really did rise from poverty and abuse to become an MIT graduate and a business owner.

Not to mention the mother of two great boys. Ah, those boys. He’d had such a great time teaching them to ride. So full of life, they brought back so many memories of him and his brother and summers on the ranch.

“Bring the boys back to the ranch. I’d love to hang out and take them riding again.”

She eyed him uncertainly, and he didn’t blame her after the way he’d acted.

“I’d like to prove to you that I’m not the ass I’ve acted like since we met.”

“Are you sure you can manage that?” she teased.

“Yes. And I promised the boys I’d show them around the ranch. I hate breaking a promise.”

That seemed to soften her a bit.

He tried to tempt her more. “Jack wants to pick corn out of the garden. You could bring them by this afternoon.”

She gave him one of those crooked smiles he was getting used to seeing hesitantly tilt her tempting lips. “You make me laugh, Luke. Some woman must have really done a number on you. You don’t even realize that you just invited my boys over and as an afterthought remembered I come with them.” She held up her hand to stop him from saying anything. “I’ll bring the boys, because they spent all day yesterday begging me to go back and see the horses. I’ll even try to stay out of your way while you play with them. I have several meetings scheduled this morning, but once I’m done, I’ll bring them over.”

She reached for the door handle to exit the truck, but he touched her shoulder to stop her. She turned back, he leaned in, and he found himself inches from her beautiful face.