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“I love it. You remember the place?”

“I do. I bet it’s awesome working there.” It was a job she would’ve liked to have herself if things had worked out differently.

“Where have you been?” Brett’s question was soft, but it was clear he was trying to ask it casually.

“Alabama.”

Brett’s eyes widened. “Really? What made you settle there?”

“Before I left, I found a job posting online asking for help at a barn. The place was in Pell City, and since I’d never heard of it, I figured no one else here had either.”

“A barn? You work with horses?” Brett asked with a gleam in his eye.

“Yep. The owner, Misty, is amazing. She let me stay in the old room at the barn. She taught me how to take care of the horses. They have lots of boarders there. Then she taught me how to train them.”

“You’re training horses? No kidding. That’s what Jess and I do at Wolf Creek.”

Thea laughed. “What are the odds we ended up doing the same thing?”

Brett shook his head. “I don’t have a clue, but it’s awesome. I was ready to get out of the cattle business, and horses were a much better option in my opinion.” He fidgeted in his chair a little and scooted closer to her bed. “I’ve been thinking about something I want to run by you.”

Uh-oh. The warning before the announcement had her ears heating up. If whatever he had to say was no big deal, it didn’t warrant an intro like that. “Um, okay.”

“What are your plans after they discharge you?”

Oh. That sneaky thought she’d been rolling over in her head was demanding attention now. What were her options? “I guess I need to figure out how to get home.”

Brett scooted closer again. “I have an idea. I know you have a life there. You have friends and a job, I know. But what if you stayed here?”

Thea gasped, sending that invisible knife stabbing into her chest. Anything other than a slow, regular breath was torture.

He handed her the drink on her tray, and she took a sip. Once the pain had subsided, she gulped. “I can’t stay here.”

“But you can. Jess and I have been talking to our boss about adding another hand at the barn. It could be you. They offer housing on the ranch. The pay isn’t much, but when you don’t have any living expenses, it adds up. Plus, all meals are free for employees.”

Free meals. Housing. Brett sure knew how to sell it. But it was a crazy idea.

“You could stay there. At least until you heal.”

“No way. I’m not staying with you,” Thea said.

“Gee. Tell me how you really feel.”

“I’m just saying it would cause more trouble.” A lot of trouble. So much trouble.

“I didn’t mean stay withme. I was thinking about my friend, Hadley. She’s staying in one of the newer cabins, and they have two rooms.” He lifted his hands and shrugged.

“I figured you didn’t mean to ask me to live with you. I just mean they’ll find out if we’re…”

“We’re what?” Brett asked, daring her to continue.

And the heat in her face was back. If they were together. That was what she’d been thinking. But he’d offered her a temporary place to stay, not a relationship.

He used to tell her such sweet things, and she’d lived for that kindness. Other than her mom, that kindness had been absent from her life, until Brett came along and promised her the world.

But they’d been so young and unchecked. It hadn’t been real, had it? She could hear his words in her memories and dreams.

You’re the only one for me.He’d told her often enough that she’d wanted to believe it.