Tiparillo’s soft whinny alerted Ali to a presence approaching the barn. She hadn’t heard a car pull in, but Tip’s ears swiveled in the direction of footsteps on the gravel. The steady crunching was followed by a calm male voice, and the back of her neck prickled as she realized her visitor was Alejandro. I’m not ready to see him yet, she panicked. I was supposed to track him down, not the other way around.

 

She poked her head from the barn in time to see man and horse greet one another over the fence. Tip rubbed his nose along the length of Alejandro’s forearm, nudging toward his pocket. An almost boyish smile flitted across Alejandro’s face as he pulled out the hidden apple. With a delighted nicker, Tip plucked it neatly from his fingers.

 

“He remembers you.”

 

Alejandro stroked Tip’s dark forelock and rubbed his fingers down the white blaze on the horse’s nose. “It seems like it, yeah. I didn’t know if he would, but I brought him a treat just in case.” He turned his velvet gaze on her then, still stroking Tip. “How are you, Ali?”

 

His deep, measured voice was the same, but everything else was different. Studying him up close she realized how much he’d changed. Ali watched him stroke Tip, his powerful forearms flexing. The wiry body of his youth had been engulfed by the broad, muscular frame and he’d grown a few inches since their senior year. They once embraced cheek to cheek, but she realized that this Alejandro could easily tuck her under his chin. He was harder somehow, too. The formerly sweet, boyish face was angular now, almost fierce in its masculine beauty. A dark beard coated his jaw and wound around sensual lips, and the long eyelashes that had once seemed too beautiful to waste on a boy fringed smoldering velvet eyes. Her gaze met his, but it was a moment before she could speak.

 

Finally she gathered her wits. “I’m good, thanks.”

 

“Did you enjoy your wine?”

 

She was momentarily puzzled. The Valero. “It hit the spot that afternoon, let me tell you.”

 

“We were both pretty taken by surprise, I guess.”

 

“Yeah, I’ll say.”

 

“I planned to come and see you.”

 

She was silent.

 

“Listen, you don’t owe me anything, but I’d like to talk to you. It’s your call. If you don’t want to hear what I have to say, then I’ll leave right now and never bother you again.”

 

You’re pretty good at that, said the bitter voice in her head, but she shoved it down and took a deep breath. She shrugged. “Go ahead. Talk. Better yet, walk and talk. I’m going in for some lunch. You want some?”

 

He rubbed his stomach and shook his head. “No, thanks. I just came from Cristina’s. She feeds me well enough.”

 

“Some tea, then?”

 

“That'd be nice.”

 

***

 

On the back porch, Ali filled two glasses and tried to calm her nerves. It didn’t help that she was soaked with sweat and smelled like the barn. She’d wanted to be primped and perfect for their next encounter, really show him what he’d missed out on. It was stupid, but she wanted him to want her, even just a little bit. Especially after last night’s dream.

 

But he wasn’t even flirting. So far they’d discussed the weather, his parents, and his cousin’s new baby, all while taking very polite sips of tea. Maybe she’d misread the look in his eyes when he’d seen at her at the gas station, all blazing heat and animal need.

 

“Cristina tells me the riding program is doing really well.”

 

“Yeah, it’s been pretty successful. The big thing was getting the right people to back it, because transportation is a pretty expensive issue. And insurance. But it’s coming along. I’m still teaching a few private students here, but I’m not sure for how much longer.”

 

“Why’s that?”

 

“I’m going to sell the ranch.”

 

“But you love this place.” He seemed genuinely surprised, his eyebrows knitting together with concern. “You told me you’d never leave it.”

 

Her throat tightened. “Yeah, well, things change. People say things they mean at the time, and then…” Shit! She hadn’t meant to say that. The last thing she wanted was his pity.

 

“Ali.”

 

She looked away and willed herself to silence.

 

“Ali, I never meant to hurt you.”

 

“Well, you did hurt me. I waited… and then I came home to find you gone…” Her breath caught as the memory of that pain swept through her.

 

“Cristina told me. And she gave me hell for it, too. She’s still giving me hell for it.”

 

“Good,” she flared.

 

“But you’re happy now, right? I saw the announcement. Cristina says he’s a good guy.”

 

She paused for a minute. Do I tell him? She decided against it. “He is a good guy.”

 

“And you’re happy?” he pressed. “You must be excited, planning your wedding and all that. Your mom must be thrilled.”

 

She detected the trace of bitterness in his last words. Her mother’s opinion of Alejandro had been no secret, especially not to him. She’d barely acknowledged his presence, preferring to pretend that Alejandro didn’t really exist in Ali’s life. Ali had fought tooth and nail with her mama that summer. They’d damn near killed each other.

 

“Mama’s is over the moon, of course.”

 

“You still haven’t told me if you’re happy, Ali.”

 

“Does it matter?”

 

“Of course it matters.”

 

“Why?” She couldn’t help challenging him.

 

“I want you to be happy.”

 

She took a deep breath. “Bobby’s great, but his job is going to be the death of him. I’m supposed to get married in two and a half months and I feel like a steer going to the slaughter since half of Texas will be there. I’m supposed to sell this ranch… Take Tip away from everything he’s ever known… Maybe abandon the program…” She shook her head. “Am I happy? Not really, not at the moment. But, you know…” She waved her hand and ignored the clench in her gut that she got every time she contemplated her future. “It’s all going to be fine, really.”

 

“You don’t sound very convinced.”

 

“What about you?” she countered quickly. “Are you happy? Is the outlaw life all you though it would be?”

 

“It’s exactly like I thought it would be. The club is great and the work is what it is…” He shrugged. “I do well for myself. Better than I would have with a useless literature degree.”

 

Her throat tightened. “You could have been anything you wanted to be. You could still do anything. Don’t sell yourself short, Alejandro.”

 

A forced smile wiped the shadow of pain from his face. “Things worked out just as they were supposed to. I’m good.”

 

“And is there someone… you know… special?” She hated how sour the word tasted in her mouth. She should be happy for him if he did have a girlfriend. He was going to be an amazing husband and father. But jealousy gnawed at her from the inside like a trapped animal.

 

He smiled wryly and shook his head. “Nope, no one special.”

 

“But there must've been plenty of women…” She blushed and cursed herself. Of course there have been plenty of women. Did you really need to ask him that? Do you really want to know?

 

He shrugged. “I guess. I was with my last girlfriend for a while, thought it might turn into something more, but…” He shrugged. “It didn’t.”

 

“Oh.” A vision of Alejandro passionately kissing some leggy Latina beauty flashed through her mind and she pushed it back out as quickly as it had entered her head. “That’s a shame.”

 

“She wasn't the one I wanted.” His eyes fixed on hers again and her insides somersaulted. She found him looking at her like he had in last night’s dream. His eyes had gone from sympathetic to hungry in an instant.

 

And who is the one you wanted? She wanted to ask but his eyes told her the answer before the words could ever come. Dark serious eyes that she could never—would never—forget. “Take me for a ride?” Her brain screamed at her to turn back, that it'd be just another mistake she'll regret ten years later, that he'll leave her again. But somehow, she was walking towards him. Her fingers found his. "I'll need to wash up first."

 

Those dark serious eyes stared back at her and a slow fire was slowly smoldering in her stomach. He nodded. “Take your time. I can wait.”