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“You were fast,” I said.

“Glad I made it. Couldn’t even see what was right in front of me.”

That’s right, he couldn’t shield his face, since he was carrying the heavy pallet. As soon as he sat it on the wooden table next to the door, I became acutely aware of the fact that we were completely alone. He lowered his hood too.

“They have a feeding dock for all of them. I noticed it earlier.”

“I did too.”

“I’m going to feed Starlight separately,” I said, reaching for the hay, intending to take a few handfuls, but Zachary caught my wrists with both hands.

I sucked in a breath.

“Grace.”

God, he sounded exactly like he did when we kissed.

“Hmm?” I asked noncommittally.

“Let’s talk first.”

My ears started to ring a bit. I realized it was because my pulse had quickened.

“About what?”

“The ranch, the kiss—your pick, but we need to talk.”

Chapter Ten

Grace

“Let’s feed the horses first.”

I didn’t need to look at him to know he was smiling. Why was my discomfort making him laugh?

“Fine.”

I filled a bucket for Starlight while Zachary took care of the main feeding area. I lingered in Starlight’s stall. It wasn’t fair to the others, but he was my favorite. I was rooting for the new kid. I started combing his mane, which was very soothing for me, too, and he seemed to like it. I didn’t realize that I’d lingered too long until Zachary appeared in the doorway of his stall.

“You really took a liking to him, huh?”

I nodded. “Yeah. He’s very sweet, though a bit shy. But that’s just because you’re new, isn’t it, Starlight?”

“Have you ever owned horses?”

“No, but my parents took me riding when I was a kid. They refused to buy horses, though. Dad was actually against me riding too. He thought it wasn’t very safe.”

“Bad accidents can happen,” Zachary said in a stern voice, then softened it. “Grace, I didn’t want to put you on the spot earlier.”

I whipped my head toward him. He was standing with his feet wide apart, arms crossed over his chest. How could he look sexy even in that god-awful raincoat?

“Really? Because you did seem to enjoy yourself a bit.”

The corners of his mouth twitched. “Sorry.”

“That I caught wind of it or that you did it?”

“Both,” he said, and now he was full-on smiling. “But I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. We don’t have to talk aboutany of that. I just wanted to clear the air because everything was...”