Sean kept his focus on the road and not on Christine, who sat quietly next to him. She seemed preoccupied, keeping her gaze outside of the truck.

When he’d pulled the four-wheeler up to Austin’s house and seen Christine in the plaid shirt and jeans standing next to Emma, his heart had about stopped. She looked so at ease. Like she belonged there. And for a moment, he’d wondered what it would feel like if she was there for him. And not for the audit.

But then reality raced back, sending his thoughts to a screeching halt.

Feeling stupid, he gripped the steering wheel and narrowed his eyes. How could he let this woman distract him like this? She was the last person in the world that he should be having those thoughts about. It must be exhaustion that was clouding his mind. That was all.

“Have fun with Emma?” he asked. He needed to do something to keep his mind busy. Especially since it kept slipping back to how amazing she had looked when her gaze had fallen on him. How her nose had crinkled and a small dimple appeared next to her pink lips as she smiled at him from the porch. And how much his head hurt, as he tried to figure out what that all meant.

She sighed next to him. The sound was soft and feminine but was enough to bring him back to reality. “It was amazing. Emma is awesome.” She paused, and from the corner of his eye, he could see her turn and look at him. “Thanks for introducing me to her. I’m starting to see. . .” Her voice trailed off as she turned her attention back out the window.

Why hadn’t she finished her sentence? He leaned closer to her. Had he missed the rest of it? “Starting to see what?” He glanced over at her to see that her gaze had dropped to her hands in her lap.

“Why this is such an amazing place.”

His heart swelled as he clenched his jaw. She thought Moose Falls was amazing? “Really?”

Christine peered over at him. “The people are nice. It’s small and homey. I can see why you like it.”

He cleared his throat, hoping to dispel the emotions that seemed as if they were choking him. For as much backlash as he got from his family about staying, it felt strange to hear someone understand why. Especially from an outsider. She was a city girl, but she had witnessed what Moose Falls had to offer.

“Yeah. And can you see why I don’t want to leave?” He studied her, hoping she’d understand his meaning.

Christine met his gaze and nodded. “Yeah. I can see that.”

He swallowed again as he drew his attention back to the road. Fifteen minutes later, Christine’s rental car came into view. Thomas, the town’s tow-truck driver, was walking around the car and hooking it up. Sean pulled in behind it, grateful for the opportunity to get out of the truck. He needed some space from Christine right now. She was confusing him, and it made him feel uncomfortable.

When Christine moved to unbuckle her seatbelt, Sean put up his hand. “I’ll grab it.”

She hesitated but then settled back into her chair. “It’s in the trunk.”

Sean nodded and pulled on the door handle.

Thomas glanced behind him as Sean walked up. “Hey Sean,” he said as he pressed on the lever next to him. The front part of her car began to rise.

“Thanks for grabbing this, man,” he said, extending his hand. They shook.

Thomas nodded. “No problem. Sorry it took me so long to get out here.”

Sean waved his comment away. “Do you mind me grabbing something from the trunk?”

“Nope.”

Sean walked over to the driver side door and pulled it open. Once he’d popped the trunk, he walked around and grabbed her suitcase. Just as he pulled it out, the top flopped open and all the contents dumped onto the ground. Lacy underwear and pressed shirts spilled all over the dirt road.

Sean’s face burned as he stooped down to pick them up. He heard the door of his truck open and could only assume it was Christine rushing over to help.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, grabbing the clothes and stuffing them back into her luggage.

“My fault,” he said. His voice came out raspy. Clearing his throat, he decided not to focus on what holding her underwear was doing to his body parts.

Once all the clothes were safely in the suitcase, Christine zipped it up and grabbed the handle. She lifted it and started to make her way over to the truck. Sean quickened his pace to catch up with her. He reached out and curled his fingers around the handle.

“Here, let me help,” he said, trying to ignore how soft her skin felt when he brushed his fingers against it.

Christine stopped and turned to meet his gaze. She dropped the suitcase as if their brief encounter surprised her. Did that mean she felt something too? Was it just him?

“Okay,” she said as she turned and made her way over to the truck and climbed into it. She slammed the door just as he dropped her suitcase inside of the bed of his truck and opened the driver’s door.

He started his truck, trying to ignore what had happened. How could he be such an idiot? Why was he letting himself get close to this IRS auditor? He needed to remind himself of what she was here to do. She was here to take away his ranch. He shouldn’t be getting feelings for her.

They drove in silence all the way back to the ranch. He pulled up to the back of the house and turned off the truck. Christine reached out her hand and fingered the door handle.

“Thanks for getting my luggage for me. It’ll be nice to wear some of my clothes.”

He looked over at her, cursing himself for thinking about how good she looked in Emma’s shirt and jeans. For a moment, it felt like she belonged here. But then he stifled a scoff and pushed those thoughts from his mind. She would never stay in Moose Falls. She was going to come and go faster than the rain during a drought.

“Come on, let’s go. There’s papers for you to sort. And knowing my Pops, it’s not going to be easy. He was never a bookkeeper kind of guy.” Sean pulled open his door and hopped out. He went over to the bed and pulled at her suitcase. By the time he’d rounded the truck, Christine was standing next to it, watching him.

There was something in her gaze, a look that made him uncomfortable. He forced a relaxed smile as he passed by her.

He could hear the gravel crunch under her feet as she followed after him. The silence that surrounded them felt deafening. He decided to focus on something else. Getting her into the house and started on the audit seemed like the best idea.

He jogged up the porch steps and opened the screen door. Once inside the foyer, he set the suitcase down onto the floor and slipped off his shoes.

“We’re home, Pop,” he called out. He shifted his gaze toward the back of the house. Where was he? With his health issues, Pop wasn’t able to go out to work on the ranch alone. Panic arose in Sean’s chest as he started to make his way over to the stairs.

But the sight of his grandfather sitting in the rocking chair in the living room stopped him in his tracks. He made his way into the room, and his heart squeezed in his chest when he saw what his grandfather was holding. A picture of Sean’s grandmother, who’d died a year ago.

“Hey Pops,” he said as he approached and knelt down next to him. He reached out and rested his hand on his grandfather’s weather-worn one. “You okay?”

His grandfather looked over at him. There was pain in his expression and a downturn to his lips. Sean swallowed as he patted his grandfather’s hand.

“I know,” he said, emotion choking his throat. Even though his Pops hadn’t said anything, Sean knew what the problem was. His grandfather would have done anything to keep the cancer from taking her life. Anything.

“I miss her,” Pops said, his voice breaking.

Sean nodded. “Me too.”

Movement next to him drew his attention over to the entrance of the room. Christine had removed her boots and was leaning against the doorframe. She was watching them, her eyebrows drawn together.

Sean stood and walked over toward her. He was conflicted. Part of him wanted to share this portion of his life with her. For her to know just how broken his family had become once his grandmother had passed away. The other part told him to protect himself. To keep her at a distance. There was no reason she should learn all of this about him. She was here for a job and then would leave to go back to Washington, DC.

So, he let his hand graze her elbow as he led her away from his grandfather’s reverie.

“Come on, let me get you the boxes so you can get started,” he said as he extended his hand toward the study at the end of the hall.

Christine allowed him to guide her. “Is your grandpa okay?” she asked as her gaze made its way back to the living room.

“Yeah. He’ll be okay. Just. . . memories.” Sean swallowed against the emotional lump that had formed in his throat.

“Memories.” Her voice came out soft—as if she understood without him saying the words.

“Yeah. Not really something I like to talk about.” He pulled open the door to the study and nodded toward the desk that sat in the center of the room. “You can set up shop here.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. The walls felt as if they were closing in on him. He needed to get outside to the sunshine and fresh air. Where everything made sense.

Christine walked into the study and glanced around. The walls were adorned with pictures. As he watched her make her way over to them and study the photographs, all he wanted to do was shoo her from the room.

She was rapidly learning too many things about him. Secret things. Memories that he wanted to share with only people who cared about him. Who weren’t here to take away the very thing that he loved. So many conflicting emotions raced through his mind and body. He needed to get out of there.

“I’ll go grab the boxes,” he said, backing up toward the hallway.

Christine nodded.

Once he was out of her line of sight, he sighed. He really needed to get his head on straight. There was no reason for him to be acting like this. He just needed some distance from her, that was all. Thankfully, once he got the boxes down from the attic, he’d get that time. There was so much work to do around the ranch that he wasn’t going to have any time to think about anything. Much less an aggravating auditor that had his head spinning.

After digging around in the attic, he found all the receipts and documents packed away in boxes. When he opened the lid, he shuffled a few around. The dates ranged from last year to five years ago. He winced at how disorganized his grandfather had been. Their bookkeeping was definitely going to give Christine a run for her money.

But, that’s why she was here.

Grabbing all the boxes he could locate, he brought them down one at a time. He then made his way to the study, where he dropped off the first box.

Christine was sitting in the desk chair, staring out the window. When he came in, she glanced over at him and stood. “This all?” she asked, lifting the lid to the box. “It doesn’t look too bad.”

Sean snorted. “This is just the first box. I have five more coming.”

Christine’s eyes widened. “Five?”

“They’re all intermingled with each other,” he said as he waved his hand toward the box and made his way back down the hall. If she protested, he didn’t hear.

When the sixth box was finally unloaded, Sean clapped his hands. “Well, I’m going to head out to do some work. You go ahead and get started.” He gestured toward the kitchen. “Feel free to help yourself to whatever’s in there. There’s not much, but you should be able to scrape something together.”

She followed his gesture toward the kitchen. “Are you not coming back for lunch?”

He shook his head. “Don’t have time. Got lots to do. I probably won’t be back until tonight.” He turned to make his way out of the room but then stopped. “Are you going to be okay?” He was nervous about leaving this woman alone in his grandfather’s house. What was she going to do? Could he really trust her?

Christine pinched her lips together and nodded. “I think I’ll be fine. Besides, I’ve got a ton of work here.” She moved her hand around in the air above the boxes.

Sean looked at her once more and then nodded. “Okay. I might stop up in a few hours just to make sure everything’s okay.”

She waved him away. “Not necessary. I probably won’t leave this room. Once I’m in the zone, I’m in the zone.” She held up a stack of papers and began riffling through them.

Before he went ahead and said something stupid, Sean turned and left the room. He grabbed his keys from the table in the hallway. Pops was fast asleep in his rocking chair when Sean peeked into the room. Before he could talk himself out of leaving, Sean pulled open the front door and bounded down the stairs.

It was time he started working. He was so behind. He needed to stop letting Christine distract him as much as she was. He needed to focus—not lose sight of what was really important. Keeping his ranch, that was all that mattered. And he’d make sure that it stayed that way.