Why she thought that dancing with Sean was a good idea boggled her mind. What was she thinking? He was standing on the dance floor, practically glaring at her. But she was desperate. She needed him to hear her out. Trapping him between boot-tapping couples seemed like the best way.

His jaw flinched as he raised one arm up and extended the other one. “Let’s get this over with,” he said.

Not the most romantic thing a man had ever said to her, but right now, she’d take it.

So she stepped forward, bringing her hand up to rest on his shoulder as she placed her other one in his hand. He moved forward and she followed. Soon, they were dancing around the other couples.

Sean kept his gaze above her head. Christine desperately wanted to talk to him. To explain to him that what his grandfather did was wrong. That she had no choice but to follow through with her report. She just didn’t know how to start the conversation.

“It’s my job. You know that. Right?” She winced as the words left her lips. Nothing like shooting straight from the hip.

His eyes widened. “Of course I understand that it’s your job.” He shifted and guided her away from a particularly enthusiastic couple that was barreling toward them. “But it’s my home. You can’t fault me for wanting to protect it.”

Christine leaned back to look into his eyes. Protect it? He felt like he needed to protect it from her? Parker—maybe. But her? She had tried to fight Parker about it before he left. She’d asked him if he would consider lowering the amount paid back. If anything, she was standing behind him.

Sean sighed and pulled away. He took a few steps off the dance floor and looked over at her. “I know it’s not your fault. I just. . .” He took a deep breath. “I can’t get involved with you—or anyone right now. I need to focus on the ranch and getting us out of this mess.”

“Sean, I—”

“Who are we kidding? A rancher and an auditor would never work. You’re from the city and I’m. . . well, I’m about as opposite from the city as you can get.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “It’s probably best for you to finish up and go home.” He turned to walk away.

Christine stared at him. Was that really all he was going to say to her? But she had so much she needed to tell him. She reached out for his elbow, but he pulled back, breaking her contact.

“I need to go. Now,” he said from over his shoulder.

She parted her lips to speak, but before she could process what was happening, Sean had stalked off. And she was left alone to stare at his retreating frame.

She swallowed and blinked back the tears. She could do this. She was strong. There was no way she was going to let this cowboy rattle her.

Turning, she glanced through the crowd and located Emma and Austin. She made her way over. Emma pulled back, took one look at Christine, and studied the room.

“Where’s Sean?” she asked.

“Gone. And he’s instructed me to go back to Washington as well.” Her voice wavered from that declaration, but she pushed down her emotions. Sean was a jerk, and she wasn’t going to cry over a jerk.

Emma pulled away from Austin and wrapped her into a big hug. “I’m so sorry. Sean’s an idiot.”

Christine just patted her back, not sure what to say or do. There was no way she was going to let the world know that she had feelings for Sean. That him sending her away was breaking her heart. He didn’t deserve that part of her. “Can you give me a ride?”

Emma glanced over at Austin, who nodded. “Of course I can. Come on, I’ve gotta grab my keys.”

Austin let her go, and she led the way over to the table. She grabbed her purse and waved at Christine to follow. Once they got outside, Emma led her over to a truck and unlocked the doors.

Christine climbed in alongside Emma. They buckled their seatbelts, and Emma started the engine. Two minutes down the road, Emma turned to look at her.

“Wanna talk about it?”

Christine swallowed as she thought back to their conversation, her heart breaking all over again. The way Sean looked at her. The way he accused her of not caring. Or the way he said that he didn’t want her around.

“Sean hates me,” she said, glancing out the window.

“He does not hate you.”

Christine scoffed. It really felt like he did.

“Sean’s worried and protective. He’s not sure what to do. It’s not right, whatever he said, but he’s just confused.” Emma clicked her tongue. “That’s the cowboy curse. They’re as bull-headed as the steers they raise.” She laughed. “Listen to me! You would have never guessed two years ago I was living in New York taking pictures of food.”

Emma’s laugh helped lighten the mood. If anything, Emma was the only one who would understand what she was going through. “But Austin seems so level-headed. I couldn’t imagine him saying the same thing to you.”

Emma snorted. “Oh, man. Austin and I have had some rocky times. Except with him, he thought sending me away would protect me.” She rolled her eyes. “Dork.”

“At least he sent you away because he cared about you. I thought Sean felt something for me. But boy was I wrong.” Emotions rose in her throat, choking her. She swallowed against the lump that had formed there.

“Sean cares about you.” Emma’s soft voice pulled her attention over.

“What?” Why was Emma causing her to hope? She needed to write that frustrating cowboy off forever. He didn’t care about her and he never would.

“He’s just protecting himself. Probably because he cares about you a bit too much.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

“He sure has a funny way of showing it.” Christine turned her attention back outside. They needed to stop talking about Sean right now. “Would you mind us just driving in silence?”

From the corner of her eye, she saw Emma nod. “Of course I wouldn’t mind.”

They drove in silence the rest of the way. Christine spent the entire time trying to figure out what she was going to say to Sean when she saw him. By the time Emma pulled into his driveway, she’d decided on simple pleasantries. She didn’t need to have a deep and meaningful conversation, but she could be civil. After all, that was what she’d been taught.

She swallowed. She only hoped he’d believe the lie.

The truck idled as Emma put it into park. Christine shot her a smile as she unbuckled her seatbelt. “Thanks for the ride.”

Emma nodded. “Anytime.”

Christine opened the door and started to climb out when a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

“Christine?”

She turned around to see Emma peering over at her. “Yeah?”

“Don’t give up on Sean just yet. He’s confused. He’ll figure it out.”

Her stomach twisted from Emma’s words. Not sure what to say, she only nodded. “I’ll try.” She hopped out of the truck.

“I’ll see you later?”

Christine nodded and shut the door. She stood in the dark and watched Emma drive away. Once her taillights had disappeared in the distance, she turned back around. All the windows were dark. Wrapping her arms around her chest, she sighed.

What was she going to do now?

* * *

The next morning, when Christine finally pulled herself out of bed, she found the house completely quiet. She didn’t expect to see Sean, as it was a quarter past ten, but that didn’t stop her from jumping at every sound.

Her one goal today was to finish the audit, so she could get the heck out of Moose Falls forever. Back to her boring life in Washington, DC. Where her friends made her feel wanted and cared about. Or at least, where cowboys didn’t hate her.

After brewing a pot of coffee, she poured a mug and made her way to the study. As she passed the living room, she saw Mr. Petty sitting in his rocking chair just as he had the day before.

His weathered hands were gripping a picture frame. She stopped and studied him. His gaze was downturned as if he were sleeping. Not wanting to bother him, she tiptoed past. Just as she cleared the doorframe, he called out to her.

“Nancy?”

She stopped, pinching her eyes shut. She couldn’t just leave a grieving man sitting along in the living room, thinking that his late wife had passed by and hadn’t taken the time to stop and talk to him. So she let out her breath and turned back around.

“Sorry, Mr. Petty. It’s just me.” She smiled at him as she walked into the room.

Mr. Petty looked so hopeful that when he saw her, she almost wished she’d been Nancy. His wrinkled cheeks elongated as his smile morphed into a frown. “My mistake,” he said, glancing down at the picture one more time before he brought it back to his chest.

“Was Nancy your wife?” She pulled up the ottoman so she could sit next to him.

Mr. Petty glanced over at her. A spark had returned to his gaze. “She was. Wife of fifty years. She passed away a year ago. Cancer.”

Christine’s heart broke as she rested her hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry.”

He just nodded. A small tear slipping from his eye and rolling down his cheek. They sat in silence for a few minutes. The sound of the clock ticking in the other room surrounded them.

Christine thought back to her discovery. She desperately wanted to know if what she’d found was a mistake. Perhaps, he knew why there was no record of calves sold during those years.

“Mr. Petty, can I ask you a question?”

He turned his gaze over to her and nodded. “Sure.”

“I was going through your paperwork and I found something that I thought was odd. A few years back, you showed no income for two years. At least, no income from the sale of calves. Was that a mistake? Or just a really bad year?”

Mr. Petty’s skin paled, telling Christine everything she needed to know. It was true. He’d purposefully omitted that information.

“Why? Why did you do that? You don’t seem like a scammer. You’re honest and hardworking. Why would you jeopardize your ranch like that?”

Mr. Petty cleared his throat as he laid the picture down onto his lap. He ran his fingers over the frame. “Nancy got sick three years ago. Doctors told me that there was this miracle drug that could shrink the cancer cells. Unfortunately, it was still in its testing phase and insurance didn’t cover it.” He dropped his voice. “Not like they cover much anyway.” He mumbled a few more incoherent things. “Anyway, I was desperate. I needed to know I’d tried everything. I couldn’t leave a stone unturned.”

Christine sat back as she let his words wash over her. He’d used the money to pay for the treatment. An ache took up residence in her heart. He’d just wanted to save his wife.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, even though she knew her words wouldn’t mean anything.

Mr. Petty turned to look at her, tears brimming his eyes. “Miss Jordan, I don’t know what to do. I can’t ruin this for Sean. That boy’s worked so hard. And if Nancy had found out what I did, she’d never forgive me either.”

Christine watched him, nodding as he spoke. She could only imagine the pain he was going through. If she could take it all away, she would. For Mr. Petty—and for Sean. Even though he broke her heart last night.

“Mr. Petty, I’m going to do what I can to help,” she said, reaching out and patting his hand.

He smiled. “It’s okay. It was my mistake. I will make it better. I have to.”

Christine wanted to ask how he planned on doing that. The man took four-hour naps during the day. His tired gaze and worn complexion told her, there wasn’t much he could do.

No. This was a problem that she could fix. She had to. And then Sean could send her away—tell her that she wasn’t allowed in his life. The only thing that would keep them apart then was his own stubbornness. That was something she couldn’t change. It was up to him.

So she gave Mr. Petty one more smile and stood, making her way to the study. She shut the door and got started on the paperwork. She needed to finish her audit and head back to Washington, DC to have a conversation with Parker.

If her plan worked, she’d be able to confront the irritating cowboy with a clear conscience. She’d tell just what she thought about him and then would he have to decide if he felt the same.

And if her plan didn’t work, she’d leave and never look back. And no matter how much the thought broke her heart, she’d do it. Because one thing was for sure, he hated her. And she wasn’t sure she could change anything about that.