Walking through the door to her bedroom to change into something more acceptable for an evening spent on the couch watching movies, she kept thinking about everything that had happened. She should have trusted in her father’s instincts, but at the same time she was glad she had the chance to meet Claire. Katy heard Sean moving around in his room and decided to put on some figure-hugging jeans and a tee shirt. Slipping on her work boots, she pulled her hair back into a ponytail so it wouldn't be in the way while she fed her horses. Pulling the door shut behind her, she walked out the back door and hopped onto the four-wheeler to drive over the cattle guard, a long row of pipes in the ground, to get to the barn and feed room. She had just crossed over it when she heard a shrill whistle she would have recognized anywhere.

Pausing, she pressed the brake and turned in her seat to see what he wanted. She watched as Sean crossed the yard in lengthy strides. Once he got to her, he gestured for her to scoot back and got in front of her on the seat. Reaching back, he grabbed a hold of her hands, bringing them around and clasping them in the front as he leaned his head back, telling her, "If I were you, I'd hold on." With that, he punched the throttle, and with a lurch, they took off.

As they raced across the rolling pasture, she hid her head against his back to block the wind rushing into her face and stinging her eyes. Resting a cheek between his shoulder blades, she could smell the sensual, spicy scent of his cologne and feel the rise and fall of his steady breathing. She could hear his heart pounding away at an almost alarming speed, and she almost asked if he was OK, but some danger-seeking part of her decided to see if she could affect him at all, not giving a single thought to his wife or the consequences of her actions. She scooted a little closer until their legs were touching, her inner thighs intimately brushing his hips. Ear still to his back, she heard his breath hitch and imagined that his heart pounded just that little bit harder.

Smiling to herself, she let her clasped hands relax and rested them on the inside of his thighs, his muscles clenching as her arms touched them. He sharply veered toward the barn, and as they reached the gate, he killed the engine and jumped from the seat. He immediately began to gather the feed bowls. Katy leaned back holding on to the bars behind her and watched as he carried the bowls into the feed room to fill them. As the horses gathered around the gate, she hopped off to shoo them away and help spread out the feed.

Getting back on the four-wheeler, she made him sit behind her, thinking to make it a bumpy ride as she raced over the hills and splashed through mud. Immediately, Sean started to distract her. At first, she imagined she felt his warm breath hitting the back of her neck, tickling the baby hairs and causing chill bumps to race up her arms, then he wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling her neck and running his hands, palms down, against her stomach. When they met above her belly button, he once again spread them out, but this time running them down her thighs in sensual revenge. At this point she could hardly think straight. Her body was on fire and she was desperately wishing that she hadn’t started this game of cat and mouse. She needed to stop this now before it went any further, so doing the only thing that came to mind, she gunned the engine, jarring them both as they bounced over a small hill, going airborne for a few seconds. As soon as they landed, she pressed the throttle as far as it would go and sped for the safety of the house, having crossed some invisible line she didn’t know existed completely by accident and knowing she wasn’t equipped to handle the aftermath. As they were speeding through the grass, she thought she could hear Sean chuckling devilishly in her ear.

As soon as they parked, she marched straight to the house, looking directly ahead and not deviating from the path until she was safely inside. Kicking off her boots at the back door, she escaped upstairs to change once again after the impromptu joy ride. Once she was in pajamas, she headed back downstairs to the sound of a rodeo broadcaster announcing another bull rider out of the shoot. Sean looked up from where he was sprawled on the couch.

"Do you mind?"

"Not at all. I usually watch when I know you're going to be riding. Do you miss it yet?"

He thoughtfully rubbed his chin where the scruff she loved was starting to grow in again. "No, I really don't. To tell you the truth, I had been planning to hang it up for a while. I'd been talking to your parents off and on this year about coming back. Guess you didn't know that, huh?"

Stunned, she stared at him.

"I didn’t have a clue. They never said anything, but I have not exactly been here that often. Between college and working, you know."

"I know, probably more than you realize. Your parents kept me very well informed. I wanted to come to your graduation, but I had to take care of some other things first. Besides, I know I’m not your favorite person anymore. You have every reason to hate me."

For a moment she said nothing; instead, as she made her way to the couch to sit beside him, she carefully considered her next words.

"Sean, I couldn't hate you if I tried. You are amazing, a great friend, and so many other things to me. We have differences in opinion, but all people do. Look at you; if you had stayed here, you wouldn't be where you are now. You were absolutely right; this is what you needed. Your dreams were not about small town life; mine were. I selfishly expected you to place my wants ahead of your needs. I really wasn't a great girlfriend or even just friend at all.” She drew in a breath and prayed for strength. “I haven’t even asked you about Courtney since you’ve been here."

She rested her head on his shoulder, thinking about how much his leaving had hurt and how, until she had spoken those words, she had never considered that she might have been to blame also. Yet, once the words were out, she absolutely saw the truth in them.

She had never considered his wants or needs and could not understand why what she wanted was not good enough for them both. She had blamed him, cursed him for being so inconsiderate, and conveniently overlooked how insanely selfish she was being.

She, who loved him, had not even been there for him when he might have needed that love and support. It had been such an amazingly brave and scary thing he'd done; leaving his life, family, and friends behind to branch out into new and dangerous territory, with not a single person who claimed to love him there for him when he needed it.

"Hey, Peach, you are the best friend, and you were the perfect girlfriend. We had been together our whole entire lives; it was a terrifying and disturbing thought that we would be away from each other, not seeing one another for more than a day or two. I knew you would be sad and hurt. Hell, I knew I would be sad and hurt, but honest to God, I could not find another way. It was the only thing I could possibly think of to do. College just was not for me, and I knew I was never gonna be happy doing what Dad wanted and following in his footsteps with the ranch. I never thought I would be gone so long. I toyed with the idea of going into the military, but by that time I was so close to the top, that that became my goal. I wanted to win that buckle, and I did. Shortly after that, I just forgot any other plans and kept doing what I was good at.”

“I never considered that what we'd always done wasn't what you had always wanted to do, and I feel like such a jerk. You needed someone in your corner, someone to tell you they would love you unconditionally. That’s the kind of support you give to someone you love."

"Peach,” he sighed, “I sprung it on you. You had no idea I was considering leaving. I know why you reacted the way you did, and it was not your fault. I did have support; my mom, though she preferred I be here, was always there for me. She loved you, too, you know?"

Katy smiled. Head still resting on his shoulder, she turned her head toward him. "I loved her, too, very much. When you left, I spent so much time with her. I felt closer to you when I was amongst your things and around people who were missing you like I did. I missed you like crazy. You took part of me with you when you left."

Wrapping his fingers around hers, he said, "I left part of me here, with you, when I left."

Caught up in the moment, she looked at him, their eyes meeting. The intensity in his brown eyes was almost alarming. She felt her heart speed up, catching up with the emotions she thought she could read in his eyes.

It was compelling, so hard to resist. Of its own volition, her body leaned closer to his, stopping two inches, two intense, breathtaking inches from him. Her eyes took in his face, etching it into memory, the arrogantly shaped nose and soft, bitable lips. As his lips parted, her breath hitched, her eyes darting back to his. The questions in her eyes were answered with an arched eyebrow.

"Peach," he whispered, his warm breath touching her lips.

He wrapped a hand around her head, tangled it in her hair, and his lips crashed into hers. Her hands wove themselves into his hair as he pulled her fiercely into his lap. As the seconds ticked away, his sweet assault on her lips gradually softened, teeth came out to playfully nibble at her lips, her neck, her ear. Coming back to her lips, he ended the tender experience by brushing his lips softly back and forth against hers, and he met her eyes with a tender smile.

Seconds, maybe less, that was how long it took her to realize where she was and what had just happened. Her mortification knew no bounds as she saw how she had once again thrown herself shamelessly at him. Would she never learn? Afraid to meet his eyes, she muttered, "I’m sorry."

Covering her mouth, she jumped up from the couch and rushed from the room. As she climbed the stairs in a mad dash to her room, she heard Sean rushing after her, calling her name.

"Katy!"

"Damn it, Peach, wait!"

Finally reaching her room, she slammed the door and ran straight for her bed, throwing herself across it. She felt tears of humiliation burning down her cheeks, shoulders shaking violently in silent sobs.

Sean knocked on the door. "Katherine, honey, please open the door so we can talk?"

She stayed silent praying he would go away soon.

"Peach, it’s OK. Let’s talk this out."

More silence.

"You know what, Katherine? Maybe if you opened your damn eyes once in a while, you would see things aren't the same way they were when I left. Things have changed. I may have changed, but so have you. My Katy, my Peach, she would not be hiding in her room. She'd be tearing into my tail."

Wiping her eyes, she ran her fingers through her hair, attempting to look presentable, before she got up from the bed as he said, "Never mind, I should have known better."

She heard his boot steps ring out against the hardwood floor and the front door open then slam shut, followed by his truck firing up and him peeling out on the black top road.

His anger, of course, brought on more waves of self-pity, so she gave in and cried a while longer, trying to get it all out of her system once and for all.