* * *

“THE MOST IMPORTANT THING is keeping everything clean and sanitized,” Heidi said, leading the way into the goat house. “And we’re talking about a goat here, so it’s not like you can count on her to cooperate.”

Annabelle held a pad of paper in her hands, prepared to take notes. The offer to milk Heidi’s goats while she was on her honeymoon had been impulsive. It wasn’t that she was regretting it, exactly, but she was a little nervous about all the responsibility.

“Do we really have to sell the milk while you’re gone?” she asked.

Heidi laughed. “You’ll do fine. It’s not that hard. Trust me.”

“It’s not so much an issue of trust,” Annabelle told her. “I don’t want to get it wrong.”

“We’ll practice until you’re comfortable. Besides, Shane knows what to do.”

“Are you sure? He’s more a horse guy than a goat guy.”

“He knows and don’t let him tell you otherwise.”

Heidi showed her where everything was kept. In a couple of days, Annabelle would arrive bright and early to practice on an actual goat. Charlie would do the same. At least they would take turns milking.

“You’re not going to have to worry about the cheese,” Heidi told her as they headed back for the main house. “There are a couple of batches that need work, but May is taking care of that for me.”

“Good. Because goats are about my limit.”

They paused on the porch. Annabelle turned to look at the ranch. Up on the slight rise was Priscilla’s home. The elephant, Reno and Wilbur shared a big fenced-in area. Since May had put a notice in the Fool’s Gold Daily Republic, locals had been dropping off freshly pruned leafy branches for Priscilla. She enjoyed poplar, willow, maple and ash, along with several varieties of fruit trees. An elephant could go through a lot of branches in a day.

Khatar was in his usual corral. He had shade, sun and plenty of water, along with a view of what was going on. She’d greeted him when she’d first arrived and, for once, he’d stayed in place.

The riding horses clustered together in another corral, while Shane’s pricey pregnant mares were in a third. Heidi’s goats were out on loan, taking care of lawns and brush for anyone who signed up.

Annabelle liked everything about the ranch. There was a sense of connection with the land, a feeling of belonging. She was happiest when she was here, although a part of that was probably because she was usually with Shane. She could spend her days scrubbing grout with him and still have a good time.

“I picked up my dress,” Heidi said, her face bright with excitement. “Want to see?”

“I’d love to.”

They went upstairs to one of the spare rooms. Off the bedroom was a small alcove that had obviously once been used for a nursery. A beautiful white wedding gown hung from a big, brass coatrack. The dress faced the rack, with the train spread out on the sheets spread over the floor.

“I’m so paranoid about it,” Heidi said. “I couldn’t even steam it after I picked it up. I was shaking too much. May did it for me. Now I come in here every day and look at it. I know. I’m such an idiot.”

“You’re not. You’re excited about getting married. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be? Honestly, I’d be worried if you weren’t looking at your dress every day.”

Heidi hugged her. “Thank you.”

Annabelle hugged her back, then tugged on one of Heidi’s blond braids. “You’re welcome. Now show me this fancy wedding gown.”

Heidi slipped off her boots and walked to the dress. She carefully lifted the hanger, then expertly turned the dress so the train was still protected by the sheets.

A heart-shaped neckline had been done in pure white silk. The bodice was pleated and fitted. At the waist was delicate beading. The skirt was full with only a few scattered beads. Simple. Cap sleeves added to the air of innocence, while the fabric and pleating were more elegant. The train was long and had the most beading.

“It’s perfect,” Annabelle breathed. The gown was all things Heidi. Sweet and pretty, with unexpected touches. “How are you wearing your hair?”

“Up, I think. Of all things, May has a diamond tiara that belonged to her grandmother. It’s silly, but I actually love it.”

“Why not? Every bride should be a princess on her wedding day. Rafe isn’t going to know what hit him.”

Heidi put the dress back on the coatrack, then carefully smoothed the train into place.

“I hope so,” she said as she faced Annabelle again, then led the way out of the room. “I want him to be happy.”

Annabelle waited until they were in the hall to touch her friend’s arm. “The man is crazy about you. Seriously. If you’re in the room, he can’t stop looking at you. When he talks about you, he grins like a teenager on his first date. Do you really have any doubts?”

“No.” Heidi drew in a breath. “But sometimes I can’t believe I got so lucky. Six months ago I would have told you I didn’t believe in love and if someone convinced me it was real, I would never trust it. But then he was here and I couldn’t help myself.”

“The irresistible man?”

Heidi laughed. “Something like that. I never thought I could be this happy. First buying the ranch, then almost losing it, then having Rafe fall in love with me.”

Annabelle enjoyed her friend’s happiness, even as she felt a little knot of worry in her tummy. She wanted what Heidi had. Wanted to feel those feelings, wanted to be secure in knowing she was loved. She’d never had that with Lewis. Deep inside she’d always sensed she wasn’t a partner in their relationship.

For a while she’d assumed she was simply one of those women who wasn’t destined to find love. That she would make her life fulfilling in other ways. But now, with Shane, she found herself wanting her happy ending. Wanting him to be the one.

She just wasn’t sure it was possible.

* * *

“IT’S A FAUCET,” Shane said. “For a kitchen. Don’t I only need one?”

“Yes,” Annabelle said patiently. “One is great. So which do you like?”

He stared around in obvious bewilderment. Normally she would have taken advantage of the situation and mocked him, but right now she sort of understood his confusion.

On the advice of his contractor, they were in Sacramento at a bathroom and kitchen fixture specialty store. They were going to be able to make all the decisions regarding plumbing at once. There was only one problem. The store was the size of a grandstand and there were hundreds of choices for each option.

Shiny, brushed, stainless, copper-colored, brass, black, white. There were tall faucets and stubby faucets. Faucets that bent or sprayed or filtered water. She was half expecting to see one that talked.

There were even more choices for the bathrooms, along with sinks and tubs and shower fixtures. Oh, and there were rows and rows of toilets.

They were being assisted by a well-dressed thirty-something man named Marcus who had received the contractor’s email with the list of what Shane should be buying.

“We’ll start easy and work up to what’s difficult,” Marcus said, attaching their list to a clipboard and then handing it to Annabelle. He pulled out a touch-pad device and started entering information.

“What’s easy?” Shane asked warily.

“The kitchen. A faucet and a sink.”

Annabelle knew that wasn’t exactly true. There would be appliances and lighting, not to mention countertops, backsplashes and flooring. But none of that was Marcus’s problem.

“Farm sinks are very popular,” Marcus told them, leading them over to the kitchen area. Several displays showed the sinks and faucets in an actual kitchenlike setting.

“They’re large, which gives you a nice working space. Deep enough for pasta pots. Some people don’t want their sink split into two parts.”

Shane stared. “It’s a sink.”

Marcus gave a little sigh and pushed up his rimless glasses. “Yes. I hear that a lot.”

“This is important,” Annabelle told him.

“Why?” Shane looked genuinely confused.

“Are you going to be washing any small livestock in the sink?” she asked.

“No.”

“Then let’s get a traditional two sink configuration. With the one side deeper.”

Marcus nodded and led them to that part of the display. They debated stainless versus the other materials. Marcus asked about a faucet over the stove. As Shane laughed, Annabelle told him, no, that hadn’t been ordered.

She quickly narrowed the faucet selection down to three and he picked the one he liked best.

“Why that one?” she asked as Marcus led them to the bathroom fixtures.

“It was the biggest.”

“I figured,” she said, linking arms with him. “You’re such a guy.”

“It’s one of my best qualities.”

They reached the showers. Before Marcus could explain much, his cell phone buzzed.

“It’s one of my suppliers. Would you excuse me please while I take this call?”

“Go ahead,” Shane said.

“Thank you. There’s coffee over there, if you’d like.”

He quickly walked away.

Shane stared at the displays of showers.

“Don’t,” Annabelle told him, looking down at the inventory list. She couldn’t remember if the house had two or three full bathrooms.

“Don’t what?”

“Say ‘it’s just a shower.’ You were going to.”

“I wasn’t,” he said, but he sounded a little defensive.

She glanced at him and grinned. “You so were.”

“Maybe on the inside.”

She found the right part of the list. “There are three full baths, including the master, a half bath and a sink in the mudroom.”

“I need coffee.”

She followed him over to a coffee station complete with a sofa, a small table and chairs and several plates of cookies. Shane poured her a cup, then a second for himself.

“It’s too much,” he said. “We should have gone somewhere with a smaller selection.”

“Most people appreciate all the choices.”

“Most people are idiots.”

“You’d rather be back doing horse stuff,” she said.

He raised his eyebrows. “You did not just say horse stuff.”

She held in a smile. “I did.”

“You’re in big trouble now.”

“Are you going to punish me?”

Instantly his features sharpened as his gaze centered on her mouth. “Have you been bad?”

“Very.”

“I like your honesty.”

He continued to look at her. She felt the temperature in the room rise about ten degrees and her skin got the pre-kiss, tingly tightness. It sure didn’t take much for Shane to get her distracted.

She cleared her throat and searched for a safer topic. “So, um, how’s Wilbur settling in?”

“You really want to talk about the pig?”

“It seems safer.”

He glanced around, then returned his attention to her. “Good point. They probably don’t want us taking one of the tubs for a test drive.”

“It could be awkward. I’m not sure Marcus would approve.”

“Wilbur’s fine. Reno likes him more than Priscilla does, I think. It’s not like they share their innermost feelings with me. But he’s settled in and now the odd duet has become an even stranger trio.”

“I’m glad Priscilla isn’t alone. She must have been lonely by herself. Elephants are social animals.”

“Someone’s been doing research on the internet.”

“A little,” she admitted.

“Study any horse stuff?”

She laughed. “Some. Khatar is my one true love. I need to understand him.”

“He’s a pretty simple guy.”

“As are you.” She linked her arm with his and enjoyed the socially polite feel of his body next to hers. “Come on. Be a brave little toaster. We’re going to look at showers. This is going to be fun because some of them come with gadgets.”

“What do you mean?”

“You can get a steam shower if you want. Or one that you can program the temperature. You punch in what you want it to be and it tells you when it’s there.”

“I like technology.”

“I thought you might. There are also showers with heads coming out the side, so every part of you gets clean.”

He glanced at her. “I don’t need that. I have a woman come in every morning to wash me.”

“Really? I haven’t met this woman. What’s she like?”

“Beautiful. Naked. It’s how I start my day.”

She drew back. “Interesting. I think I liked you better when you were frightened of the sink choices.”

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. “Don’t be jealous. She’s a professional. It’s a business arrangement.”

“The strange woman who bathes you every morning?”

“Uh-huh. But you could try out for the job. I’m a very easy grader.”

They’d arrived back at the bathrooms. She pointed to the electronic display. “See if they have a setting for icy cold. Because that’s all you’re getting from me.”

“I’m wounded.” He faced her and put his free hand on her waist. “If it really bothers you, I’ll get rid of her.”