A clash of questions roared around like a NASCAR rally inside Grady’s head, all battling to be heard—a lot of them too big and too scary. So he chose something easier. “Where would you stay?”

A harsh half laugh slipped from her mouth. “Don’t worry, Grady, I won’t set up a tent in your front field. I think I’ll buy land out by the lake, near Winona.”

Grady frowned. The lake was a forty-minute ride from the ranch. But still way too close for his liking. Hell, New York wasn’t far enough. Who was he kidding? Australia would be too close.

“You don’t approve?”

Taking a breath, reining in his pulse and the desperation that was riding him, Grady chose his words carefully. Time to be smart. Strategic. Be military. If he stomped around in his boots demanding she leave Colorado and never come back, it could backfire. He hadn’t forgotten how riled up Suzy could get. But if he was cool and reasoned, if he appealed to her intellectually rather than emotionally, maybe she’d see sense.

“Look…I know it’s none of my business, and I can see it’s probably a good move for your painting. For your…muse. And it’s a free country. I can’t stop you from living here.”

Her lips twisted. “But you don’t want me here.”

Grady swallowed. He did want her here. But what he wanted didn’t matter. Having Suzy in Credence wasn’t what was best for him, and that’s what mattered. Clearing his voice and expression of any emotion, he said, “No. I don’t.”

“Why?”

Her earnest demand was like a knife to Grady’s heart as she wrapped her arms around her middle and searched his face.

“If you don’t care about me, why do you care where I live?”

“Because I think that I might be part of the reason you want to move here, even if you’re not prepared to admit it yet and, if that’s the case, I’m trying to save you a whole lot of time and effort. I’m a lost cause, Suzy.”

That there was the truth. It didn’t matter if he loved her or not. He was paralyzed by the grief of his past. Powerless to move forward by the long reach of its pain. He may have healed from the intensity of loss, but he could never forget how devastating it was to lose someone.

Too devastating to risk it again.

“God, Grady…” She took a step toward him. “It doesn’t have to be that way.”