Only the horse’s soft footfalls over the rocky terrain filled the air as they picked their way from the flat pasture up a steep trail.

For the longest time we rode single file through a thick forest of evergreen trees. The sun beat down on their branches, releasing the heavy fragrance of spruce and pine. After we crested a small rocky peak and headed back down toward the ranch through the aspens, the trail widened and allowed us to ride side-by-side.

Whenever our eyes met, I had the oddest sensation that I was right next to Shay, curled against him, his summer-sky eyes looking into mine. The breeze could’ve been his fingertips trailing across my cheek, through my hair.

But it wasn’t until we were heading back through the flat pasture toward Mr. Miller’s barn that I found my voice.

“So, how do you like it here, anyway?”

“Hmm?”

“At Mr. Miller’s.” I bobbled as Stargazer kicked at a fly. “I mean—you aren’t from around here, right?”

His expression was unreadable. “Well, it’s better than the alternative.”

“With your parents, you mean? You aren’t close to them?”

“Of course I am—they’re my parents,” he said way too quick to be true. “Aren’t you close to yours?”

“My mother and I used to be. Not so much now. Kinda sucks now.”

I could sense him looking at me, but I avoided the contact by staring off at the mountain peaks that stretched north. I wanted to get information out of him, not the other way around. I braced for additional prodding, but it didn’t come. Maybe he knew I’d just given him as much as I possibly could.

“So, what’s living with Mr. Miller like? Does he have a lot of”—I turned back, catching his stare—“rules? Is he strict?”

“What do you mean strict?”

“You’re living under his roof. Isn’t that how the saying goes?”

“Actually, I’m living under the roof of the barn. There’s an apartment in the loft, so I’m on my own.”

“Oh? That’s good.” An image of how his apartment might look, his bed, flashed into my mind. When he caught my blush, I covered with: “I mean … that you don’t have to answer to anyone.”

“I’m eighteen,” he bit off.

I flinched at the defensiveness in his tone. But damn it, I’d gotten lengthier and more reliable answers out of a Magic 8 Ball.

I tried a more subtle route. “I bet he’s glad to have family.”

“Miller’s cool.”

“Yeah? Except for sugar cubes, of course.”

“Yeah, well, he’s strict about the animals and all, but I think he likes having someone around.” Shay’s lip cocked. “You could say he was shocked to see me. But I guess having a long-lost nephew show up just when you need it isn’t such a bad thing.”