Page 28 of Undone

I headed down the hallway, past my office that was piled high with paperwork, and stopped when I heard Shannon and Zoe talking. I paused just outside the door. I wasn’t above collecting intel on the sly.

“It was weird; he was all smiley and happy down at the barn this morning,” Shannon said.

Something clanged in the sink.

“You think so?” Zoe’s voice sounded surprised.

“Definitely. He said it was because of the new trail riding program, but he just seemed…I don’t know,different. Not that I’m complaining. I like this side of him. He’s been in a funk for way too long.”

“Really?” Zoe asked.

“Uh-huh,” Shannon said, her voice muffled by whatever she was eating. “Ever since the plane crash. Obviously, losing both our parents at the same time leveled all of us, but it hit Josh in a different way. I guess he decided that he had to step up and be the man of the family. It’s like something broke in him when we lost them, and my smiling-and-sometimes-serious big brother became serious all the time.”

My shoulders slumped as I leaned against the wall outside the kitchen.Broken? Is that the way she saw me? And did Zoe agree? I’d done everything I could to be a rock for my sisters since the plane crash. The idea that Shannon thought I was failing at it was an arrow to my heart.

“JoshisLost Valley,” Shannon continued. “Since he started running everything, it’s like nothing else matters to him but this damn ranch.” She paused. “Well, and us—me and Fi. He’s a great big brother, even if he goes a little overboard sometimes. But that’s it. The guy doesn’t have a social life to speak of. He doesn’t date. I know he’s had a few one-night stands over the years, but the truth is, I don’t think he has it in him to be in a real relationship.”

The room went quiet except for the sounds of food prep.

“Oh, wow,” Zoe said so softly that I had to strain to hear her. “I didn’t know any of that.”

My hackles went up. Zoe sounded defeated. There was no way I could let her believe that was the truth about me. Shannon was right about some of what she’d said, but I wasn’t a broken man and I wasn’t afraid of being in a relationship. There simply hadn’t been anyone in town worth being in a relationship with, until now.

The way I saw it, I had two choices on how I could handle what was unfolding in the kitchen. One, I could pretend I hadn’t heard everything, or two, I could do something dramatic to show that I was as whole as ever. I’d always been a man of action, so I took a deep breath and barged into the kitchen.

“Hey there,” I said, breezing past Shannon and locked on to Zoe. Her eyes went wide as I got closer, like she could tell what was about to go down between us and didn’t know if it was a good idea or not.

There was no way in hell I was going to keep whatever was happening with Zoe quiet after what I’d just heard. I got closer to her. She took a half-step backward, but she was trapped against the counter. I didn’t even pause as I circled my arm around her waist and pulled her up into a deep kiss.

Sweet relief pulsed through me as she responded to it like she was as thirsty for me as I was for her, or as if it had been years since our last kiss not just hours. We kissed like we forgot that we were standing in the kitchen with Shannon watching from a few feet away. Zoe’s arms circled around my shoulders, and I tipped her backward for dramatic effect.

Broken? Ha!

When I finally pulled away, Zoe stared up at me with flushed cheeks and flashing eyes, her mouth open in shock at the intensity of the kiss. I’d awakened something in her, I could tell by the look. I grinned at her and continued over to the refrigerator. No one moved and theroom was silent as I grabbed a leftover piece of grilled chicken and a carrot.

“Ladies,” I said with a nod, then bit off the end of the carrot as I walked out of the room.

I was only a few steps out of the room when I heard Shannon explode.

“What the hell wasthat?” she demanded of Zoe, who burst into laughter.

I chuckled to myself and headed back to the barn.

EIGHTEEN

ZOE

“Are you ready?”

“For what?” I looked up as Josh walked into the kitchen, hat in hand.

He rolled his eyes at me. “Horse exposure therapy? Come on. Time to meet another horse.”

I groaned, dragging my feet. Meeting Agatha was adorable. Then there was the Shetland pony named Lollipop. She’d been a rescue from a bad situation and the poor thing had been in terrible shape. According to Josh, it took months of working with her to get her to trust humans and she was very shy and more timid around people than I was around horses.

My heart wept for what she must have gone through as I held my hand out with her favorite apple chunks sitting in my palm. I’d held my breath as she moved slowly toward me and then, with a slight snuffle, took the proffered treat even as my hand trembled. Her lips were so soft, and she was so careful. She backed away looking at meas if to ask if that was okay and I had to swipe away the tears that were falling.

Then Josh had asked if it was okay if Agatha joined us and I’d nodded my head, still too choked up to speak. What ensued was several minutes of pure joy as Agatha leaped and danced around Lollipop, who eventually joined her in some spirited play.

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