Page 31 of Back in the Saddle

‘Anna, I mean, my aunt, told me you took over running the ranch after your father got sick.’

‘Dr Anna Kennedy is your aunt?’

She nodded.

‘Small world.’

Indeed, Caroline thought, trying to ignore the odd rush of breathlessness. Her lungs twisted into a tight knot. She was certain she could hear her heartbeat.

Hunter looked up. Even when he didn’t say anything, his eyes did.

And the temperature inside the barn had risen.

Caroline took a small step forward, her legs deciding they were teaming up with the butterflies in her gut instead of her brain. The knot in her lungs grew smaller with every step.

‘So.’

He bit his bottom lip, his eyes crinkling with amusement. ‘So.’

She took a deep breath, feeling the weight of his eyes on her profile. ‘Anna was my mother’s younger sister,’ she blurted.

Hunter’s smile fell. ‘Was?’

‘My mum passed away when I was nineteen.’

‘I’m very sorry for your loss.’

She took a deep breath, feeling the weight of his eyes on her profile. ‘Thank you.’

It wasn’t a topic she brought up in a casual conversation. Why did she even say it? From the first time they had set eyes on each other, easy conversation and flirting had been the common denominator to their interactions. That should be the track she kept to. Because whatever happened next, however many messages they would exchange and however many times they went out, it wouldn’t change the inevitable outcome.

This time next year, the exchange programme would be finished and she would be back in Glasgow.

And anything that passed between them would be just a memory. There was no future here, the main criteria Caroline used when thinking about relationships. Or dating. So, this could never be either for her.

She inhaled sharply, realising this was probably something she should tell him – that and other things buzzing around her like a swarm of annoying flies.

‘Look, Hunter, before anything else happens between us—’

‘I won’t lie, I like that you’re already thinking of things happening between us.’

Caroline stared at him. ‘Ifanything was to happen between us.’

He didn’t seem rattled by her stony expression. ‘Right. Go on, then.’

Standing so close to him was messing with her thoughts, tangling them into loops and hoops, making it harder to string a straight sentence together.

She took in a deep breath, taking a step back. ‘I’m only in Oklahoma for one year. On the first of July next year, I’ll be on a plane heading back to Scotland.’

Hunter’s brows knitted together. ‘I don’t understand. I thought you worked at the cancer centre.’

‘I’m on a clinical research exchange programme, working on clinical trials as a research assistant. It’s something that several UK and US cancer research centres take part in annually. A doctor from somewhere in Georgia, I think, is in Glasgow while I’m here.’ She shrugged. ‘It’s very popular and a great thing to add to your résumé.’

‘So, you’re a doctor. Not a scientist.’

She winced. ‘Yeah.’

Either Hunter didn’t sense she didn’t want to elaborate further, or he decided to ignore it. ‘But you aren’t working as a doctor just now? While you’re in Oklahoma, I mean.’