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  “That’s it, then,” she said. “You’re selling and this is my heads-up.”

  He didn’t answer. She sighed and hitched her bag up on her shoulder.

  “Fine,” she said. “Thanks for the warning.”

  Since when had Curtis been stable, anyway? This had always been the problem—Curtis was always on the move. Leasing from his uncle had seemed safe enough, but when he died of a heart attack last year and left the building to Curtis, she’d had a sinking suspicion that her comfortably predictable days were limited. She paid her monthly lease to a management company, and she’d hoped that arrangement could continue for a while.

  “You don’t know that Palmer will kick you out,” Curtis said.

  “Really?” she snapped. “Because I know Palmer pretty well. I worked under him for three years after I got my doctorate degree. He was furious when I started my own practice. He hates competition. I’m still under water on my student loans, I owe a good amount for supplies and renovating my clinic... I’ve only been running my own practice for four years! If you need help with that math, I’m nowhere near financially stable enough to ride this out.”

  Plus, there was the baby, which complicated everything further. She’d been wondering how she’d run a veterinary practice with a newborn. If her mom were still with them, she’d have a solution, but Mom was gone, and Barrie would have to sort this out on her own. Vets were on call 24/7. That was the way things worked in this field, and she wouldn’t be able to afford to take a decent maternity leave. She ran a hand over her belly and the baby squirmed in response. Emotion rose in her chest, and she swallowed against it.

  “What am I supposed to do?” Curtis’s tone softened. “I own the building, but I can’t do a thing unless I sell it. I’m sorry, Barrie. I mean it when I say selling the building isn’t personal. I’ve put off the sale for a year, and there isn’t any other way. I can’t do the circuit anymore, and I have a chance for a fresh start. I either sell and invest in a business, or I’m washed up. It’s as simple as that.”

  “It’s you or me,” she said wryly. “Nothing’s changed, has it?”

  Curtis took off his cowboy hat and scrubbed a hand through his hair. “We always did want different things.”

  “Yeah.” The baby poked out a foot—maybe a hand? She put her own hand over the spot. Would she be forced to give up her dream of running her own practice and work under Palmer Berton again? The very thought put a sour taste in her mouth.

  “Barrie, I’m sorry.”

  “You keep saying that.” She shot him a chilly smile. “But let’s keep things professional. I’m here as your vet, not as your ex-wife. If you notice any more cattle with hanging heads, lethargy or nasal discharge, call me and we’ll treat them right away. We can get this under control if we’re careful.”

  Curtis blinked, then nodded. Had he expected her not to be professional? He’d been gone a long time, and life hadn’t just stopped in his absence. He might have wasted his time on the circuit, but she’d made good use of hers. Ironically, he could still pulverize her plans—that had been Curtis’s greatest talent.

  “Okay,” he said. “I’ll keep an eye out and give you a call. Unless you’d rather we call Palmer so you don’t have to deal with me.”

  And give Palmer the job? No, she didn’t want that in the least. She still had a practice to run, and she’d need all the money she could squirrel away.

  “Curtis, I’m a professional,” she replied. “And I’m good at what I do. Call me.”

  He nodded. “Will do.”

  Curtis—or at least, her feelings for him—had been at the center of all of Barrie’s biggest mistakes in life, starting with marrying him and ending with a very unplanned pregnancy. This baby wasn’t his, obviously, but he’d been unwittingly connected.

  As she headed back to her truck, Barrie let out a wavering sigh.

  Professional. In and out. She’d managed it, hadn’t she?

  One thing was certain—she wasn’t going to let Curtis close enough to mess with her heart again. He’d already done enough damage for a lifetime.

  Chapter Two

  That evening, Curtis sank into a kitchen chair while Aunt Betty dished up a big plate of shepherd’s pie and placed it in front of him. She wore a walking cast—cumbersome and awkward, but she still got from place to place. Heaven help her if she tried to get onto a horse, though.

  It was only dinnertime, but outside the kitchen window the sky was black. Curtis had more work to finish up before he was done for the day; this was just a food break. He’d forgotten how much work a ranch was. Bull riding came with training and practice, but running a ranch was the kind of work that never ended—there was no night off.

  “Barrie says the virus is containable,” Betty said, flipping her gray braid back over her shoulder. “That’s a relief. I should have kept a closer eye on those calves myself.”

  “Now we know,” Curtis replied. “I’ve got the other ranch hands keeping an eye out, too, so we should be able to keep it from spreading.”

  Betty dished herself up a plate of shepherd’s pie, as well, then deposited it on the table with a clunk. His aunt’s shepherd’s pie was amazing—spicy meat, creamy potatoes and a perfectly cooked layer of green peas.

  “You didn’t tell me Barrie was pregnant,” Curtis added. He’d been thinking about Barrie all day after seeing her in the barn. He’d known he’d run into her eventually, but he’d halfway hoped he’d have some control over that. Might have made it easier, too, if his aunt had given him more than a minute’s warning.

  Betty pulled her chair out with a scrape and sat down. “Any chance the baby is yours?”

  Curtis shot her an incredulous look. “Of course not.”

  “Then it was hardly your concern,” Betty retorted.

  That sounded real familiar, and he shot his aunt a wry smile. “Fine. Point made.”

  They both started to eat, and for a few moments, Curtis thought the conversation might be over, but then his aunt said, “This town has been gossiping something fierce, and I wasn’t about to be part of that. Everyone has a theory on who the father is, and Barrie isn’t saying.”

  “I noticed that. I asked her about it, and she pretty much told me to mind my own business.” He reached for the pitcher of milk and poured them each a glass.

  Betty’s expression softened. “She’s not yours to worry over anymore, Curtis.”

  “I know that.” He took another bite and glanced out the window again. Snow swirled against the glass.

  “Do you?” Betty asked.

  He sighed. “I’m not here for Barrie, Aunty. I’m here to take care of my business, help you out and be on my way.”

  Betty didn’t answer, but she got that look on her face that said she thought she knew better.

  “I told her that I’m selling the building,” he added.

  “And how did that go down?” Betty asked.

  “Not well, I have to admit.” Curtis sighed. “She says that Palmer will push her out of business.”

  “And he will.”

  Curtis put down his fork. What made everyone so certain? “Palmer isn’t the devil. Maybe he just wants a real estate investment. That isn’t unheard of.”

  Betty shrugged. “She’s a better vet.”

  “Is she?” Curtis had never seen Barrie in her professional capacity until today, and while he’d been impressed by her competence, he couldn’t judge much. Back when they’d been married, she’d wanted to go to school, but that hadn’t happened yet. Her life—everything she’d built for herself—had come together after he’d left town. It was slightly intimidating. She’d become a talented vet, and he’d become...too old to bull ride.

  “Palmer has more experience, obviously,” Betty said, “but she’s got better instincts. Working together, they
were a great team. On her own, Barrie has more potential. Palmer has already peaked in his career. She’s still climbing.”

  “So you think he’s threatened,” Curtis concluded.

  “If he’s smart, he is.”

  An unbidden wave of pride rose up inside him. Barrie had always wanted to be a vet, and she’d not only achieved her dream, she was better than the established vet here in town, too. He’d always felt proud of Barrie when they were together. She was smarter than he was, in the book sense, at least. That had been frustrating when they’d argued, though. When she got mad, she got articulate. When he got mad, it all just balled up and he went out to ride until it untangled. Even their fighting hadn’t been compatible.

  “So she’s doing well, then,” he said.

  “Besides her mother passing away last winter,” his aunt said. “I told you about the funeral, right?”

  “Yeah.” He sobered. Gwyneth Jones had never been his biggest fan, but she’d been a good woman, and he’d been sad to hear about her passing. This was a hard year for Barrie, and he hated to contribute to her difficulties, but he didn’t have a whole lot of choice.

  “She’s done really well in her practice,” Betty went on. “She’s still single, though.”

  “So are you,” he quipped. “We aren’t still judging people’s worth by their marital status, are we?”

  “Of course not,” Betty said. “It’s not like I’m one to talk. But I’m more of the saintly single type,” she replied with a small smile. “It suits me.”

  Curtis chuckled. “And Barrie isn’t?”

  “She’s more like you,” Betty said, reaching past Curtis for a dinner roll. “Damaged.”

  “Ouch.” Was that really how Betty saw him?

  “You don’t count on me for flattery,” she replied, taking a bite. “You count on me for honesty.”

  “Fine.” That was true. Betty had always been a rock in that sense. “So, we both know why I’m a wreck. Why is she?”

  “In my humble opinion? It’s because of you.”

  Curtis’s humor evaporated as his aunt’s words landed. “What do you mean?”

  “She never did bounce back, dear.”

  Barrie had always been tough, beautiful and definitely desired by the other guys in town. He’d tormented himself for years thinking about the cowboys who would have gladly moved in to fill the void he left behind. Over the last decade, he hadn’t called his aunt terribly often. When he did, and when he’d asked about Barrie, there was normally a boyfriend in the mix somewhere.

  “I know she dated,” he countered. “You told me that much.”

  “Oh, she dated,” Betty said with a nod. “She’s always been a beautiful girl. But she never did get anywhere near marriage again.”

  Neither had he, for that matter. As a bull rider, women had come to him, and he hadn’t had to put a whole lot of effort into it. But he hadn’t gotten serious. He told himself it was because he’d been married before, and he wasn’t the romantic type anymore. Marriage was a whole lot harder than he’d anticipated. He’d done everything he could think of to make Barrie happy, and he still hadn’t been enough for her. He wasn’t a glutton for punishment, but he’d never imagined that she had ended up just as jaded as he had.

  “I have to tell you, Curtis,” his aunt went on, “the gossip has been vicious about Barrie.”

  “She isn’t the first person to have a child outside wedlock in this town,” he pointed out.

  “No, she isn’t,” Betty confirmed. “But she won’t say who the father is, and people’s imaginations can come up with a whole lot more scandal than is probably the case.”

  “Like what?” he asked.

  “Some suggest she’s had an affair with a married guy around town. I know one woman who has an itemized list on why she’s confident that the mayor is the father. Others say she’s given up on finding love and went to a sperm clinic—” Betty paused. “Does it even matter? My point is that this isn’t an easy time for Barrie. And maybe you could...consider all of that.”

  “When selling the building, you mean,” he clarified.

  “Yes.”

  “Aunty,” he said slowly. “If I’m going to buy that stud farm, then I’m on a timeline. I need to liquidate and come up with my half of the down payment by Christmas Eve, or the deal is off. I feel for Barrie—losing her mom, all of it—but we’ve been researching this business venture for two years now, and this sale is not only an excellent price, but it would be a future away from bull riding. This is no whim—it’s a plan.”

  “I know that,” his aunt replied.

  “So you can see that I don’t have a lot of options here,” he said. “Barrie has her practice. She’s built a life for herself. It’s been tough—I can see that—but she’s got a life put together. I have to do the same thing.”

  Betty sighed. “I know. I just... Be as kind as possible, okay?”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  But what his aunt expected of him, he had no idea. None of this was his fault. If he didn’t invest in something soon, he wouldn’t be able to provide for anyone, let alone himself. If he didn’t sort out his own life, no one else was going to do it for him.

  Except providing for someone else hadn’t even entered his mind until this moment...and along with the thought was an image of pregnant Barrie. He pushed it back—Barrie wasn’t his to worry about anymore. Besides, while she’d lost her mom, she had the whole town of Hope to back her up. The locals might enjoy some salacious gossip, but when it came right down to it, they took care of their own. He ate his last bite and rose to his feet.

  “I’ve got more cattle to check on,” he said. “Thanks for dinner. Delicious as always.”

  “Thanks for helping out,” Betty replied. “I mean that, Curtis. From the bottom of my heart.”

  Curtis wiped his mouth with a napkin and deposited the plate in the kitchen sink. Shooting his aunt a grin, he headed for the door.

  Barrie was independent. She’d fought him every day of their marriage and then proceeded to get her education and build a veterinary practice on her own. She was a force to be reckoned with, and while he understood his aunt’s concern about Barrie right now, he’d be smart to follow his carefully laid plans and start a life away from the circuit. That’s what Barrie had always wanted him to do, wasn’t it? And she’d been right. Better late than never.

  He stepped into his boots and looked out at the ranch truck, snow accumulating over the hood in a smooth sheet. Snow was floating down in big fluffy flakes, and his mind was skipping ahead to the cattle. Curtis pushed his hat onto his head and trudged out into the cold.

  Short days and long nights. This time of year brought the solstice, the shortest, coldest days before daylight started pushing back once more...

  He glanced over his shoulder at the cheery glow of indoor lights shining through the windows. He was back in Hope for Christmas, and it wasn’t going to be a cheery homecoming. But he’d get through it and hold out for spring and new beginnings.

  * * *

  THE NEXT MORNING, Barrie awoke three minutes before her alarm went off...and her feet were already sore. Her Great Dane, Miley, stood at her bedside, soulful eyes fixed on her. She’d never had trouble with her feet before, but pregnancy seemed to be changing the rules on her, and she hated that. When she’d first found out that she was pregnant, she’d promised herself nothing needed to change until the baby actually arrived. Some women nested when they were pregnant, but Barrie was going to control that instinct. These last few months would allow her to build up her practice enough that after the baby came she could scale back to clinic hours only, cut out the after-hours emergency calls and still keep her business afloat. But her body seemed to have other ideas.

  “Morning, Miley,” she said, reaching from under her cozy comforter to gi
ve the massive dog an affectionate ear scratch. He’d started out as a regular-sized puppy with paws like dinner plates, and he’d grown past even ordinary Great Dane proportions. He was a huge, jowly, slate-gray lap dog—at least, that’s how he saw himself. He was a big baby, and absolutely worthless as a guard dog, but she loved him.

  Barrie rolled out of bed and ran her hand over her belly. The baby stretched inside her. She didn’t know if she was having a boy or a girl yet. She’d tried to find out at her last ultrasound, but the baby’s legs were firmly crossed. She’d try to find out again—planning was key, and she didn’t have the luxury of sweet surprises.

  She pulled her bathrobe around her body and cinched it above her belly. She was ever growing, and as she passed her full-length mirror before she padded out into the hallway, she caught a glimpse of a rounded, bed-headed stranger with a colt-sized dog trailing after her. There was no getting used to this, but she did enjoy it. She’d always wanted kids—the nonfurry kind—and while the timing wasn’t great, she was finally going to be a mother. It wasn’t quite how she’d imagined it happening... At least she’d get a chance at motherhood, and still being single at the age of thirty-seven, she’d started to give up hope.

  Barrie lived in a single-level ranch house on the north end of Hope. She looked out her kitchen window at the pristine snow from last night’s storm. The neighbor kid she paid to shovel her driveway was already at it, metal scraping against asphalt. This morning, she had plans to organize her presentation for Hope’s 4-H club. She’d been invited to speak about a woman’s contribution to agriculture, and that was a subject Barrie was passionate about. Girls needed encouragement to step out and become leaders in ranching and animal care. If there was one thing Barrie knew, it was that a woman couldn’t wait for a man to define her future.