Thrill Me

The two-story house had seemed impossibly huge. There had been acres of grass and trees, horses and cattle, along with cashmere goats.

Her mother had hit the jackpot when she’d met Rick Nicholson. They’d dated for two weeks, then had married in a drive-through church. Less than a month later, Maya and her mother were leaving everything behind and moving to California. Maya hadn’t known what to expect, but every hope and dream had been fulfilled when she’d first seen the ranch.

It didn’t matter that Rick wasn’t especially friendly. Being ignored by her mother’s new husband was far preferable to the attention from some of the woman’s previous boyfriends. She’d had her own room, with a bathroom! Three meals a day and two stepbrothers. While the older brother, Zane, had glared at her with contempt, little Chase had been adorable.

Even more incredible, had been the town. Fool’s Gold had been clean, friendly and welcoming. She’d made friends, she’d had teachers who not only knew her name but cared about how she was doing. For the first time in her life, Maya had allowed herself to hope she could have a future. She’d dared to whisper the possibility of going to college.

Now she drove onto the ranch property and headed for the main house. After her mother and Rick had divorced, Maya had stayed in touch with both Zane and Chase. While her relationship with Zane had been more adversarial than familial, she hadn’t given up on him. The previous month, they’d reconciled, helped by Zane falling totally and completely in love with Maya’s best friend, Phoebe.

Maya parked and grabbed her oversize bag before heading toward the house. She knocked once on the front door, then stepped inside.

“It’s me,” she called.

Phoebe, a petite, curvy brunette, stepped out of the kitchen and smiled. “Yay. I love it being you.”

They hugged, then walked into the kitchen, where Phoebe poured them glasses of iced tea.

Maya sat at the old, battered table and watched her friend collect a salad from the refrigerator, along with tiny sandwiches.

“You didn’t have to feed me,” Maya said, knowing Phoebe couldn’t help herself. She was born to take care of the world.

“I thought you might be hungry.”

Phoebe set the food on the table, then collected napkins and flatware.

She moved easily—as if she’d always lived in the old house. Even better, Phoebe looked content. Happiness radiated out of her brown eyes. She was relaxed. Every now and then, she glanced at the diamond ring sparkling on her left ring finger. The beautiful solitaire would soon be joined by a wedding band.

Phoebe sat across from her and grinned. “The ranch closed. I got my commission check.”

It took Maya a second to make the transition.

Recently, Phoebe had sold a nearby ranch to action movie superstar Jonny Blaze. It had been Phoebe’s last real estate deal before moving in with Zane and probably the only one where she’d made any money. Until the unexpected deal with Jonny Blaze, Phoebe had specialized in starter homes—a challenge in the expensive LA real estate market.

“You’re rich,” Maya teased gently.

“I am for me.” Phoebe sounded thrilled. “I have no idea what to do with the money. Zane told me to keep it in a separate account. That I earned it before the wedding, so it’s mine rather than ours.”

Because Zane would always take care of her, Maya thought, still amazed at how falling in love had mellowed her usually tight-ass brother.

“Are you going to listen to him?” Maya asked.

Phoebe nibbled on her bottom lip. “I think it should be ours.”

“Zane has the ranch. Keep the money. You’ll feel better having a nest egg.”

“Maybe.”

“You’re going to buy him something, aren’t you?”

Phoebe laughed. “I haven’t decided. So what’s going on with you?”

Maya told her about the videos planned for the town. “I’ll be working with Del.”

Phoebe’s brown eyes widened. “Del, the guy you knew after high school? The one who wanted to marry you?”

Maya shifted on her seat. If only it was that simple. “He’s the one,” she said, hoping her tone sounded light rather than guilty.

“What’s that like?”

“I don’t know. I thought it would be awkward, but he seems fine with us handling the project together.”

“How do you feel?”

“Confused.” Maya pulled the tablet out of her bag. “I told you that Del and I fell crazy in love that summer.”

“Uh-huh. It was after high school, right?”

Phoebe knew enough about her past that Maya didn’t have to explain about her mother or how difficult times had been before the move to Fool’s Gold.

“I loved him,” Maya said, feeling the guilt forming a knot in her stomach. “But I was so scared. Scared of what getting married would mean. Scared of getting stuck.”

“Scared you’d turn into your mom.”

Maya nodded. “I always knew that there wasn’t going to be a white knight on a horse riding in to rescue me. I knew I’d have to rescue myself. But with Del, I started to believe.”

“Loving him wasn’t enough,” Phoebe said quietly.

“It wasn’t. The closer we got to the date when we were going to run off, the more I started to freak. I finally had an opportunity to break free. To make something of myself. Was I really going to give that up for a guy?”