sun-streaked grass, breathing in the clean summer air, and kissing like their lives depended on it. She moved her hands up his chest, then down, savoring the strong, square strength of him. When she swept her hands down his sides to his back, he shuddered and she felt a thrill of triumph.
But this wasn’t talking. And talking was what they needed to do.
He must have felt her stiffen because he stopped and looked in her eyes. “Here? Now? Do we have to?”
“Yes.” She took his hand and led him over to the shady side of the shed, where a few oblong hay bales rested against the wall.
“You’re not going to tell me you’re leaving, are you?” He shot her a mock stern glare. “Don’t tell me I have to hog-tie you in the barn to keep you.”
“No.” She put a hand on his knee. “I’m not leaving.”
“But something’s changing. You’re looking at me like you feel sorry for me.”
“I know we work well together, Lane, and I think the last day or two you’ve just assumed I’m going to work for you.”
“Honey, the last day or two I’ve just assumed you’re going to marry me.”
She widened her eyes, stunned.
“Oops.” He slid off the hay bale and suddenly he was kneeling at her feet like a prince in a fairy tale. He reached for her hands, but she tugged them away. What the hell was he doing? Proposing? Had he said “marry me”?
She wasn’t ready for this.
“Lane…”
“Shh. I need to think. I was going to write a little speech, but now I spilled the beans and I’m going to have to think of it on the fly.”
“Lane, it’s okay. You can work on the speech later.”
“Is that a yes?” His smile was boyish and eager. Hell, she could just say yes, tumble off the hay bale into his arms, and get back to that kiss. She could marry him and stop worrying about everything. She even had a job—a job she could actually do.
Which was what she needed to talk to him about.
“Can we put off the personal decisions for now? I need to talk to you about work.”
“Okay. Let me tell you about the benefits we offer here at the LT Ranch.” He lowered his voice. “The first one is sex on demand.”
He looked so serious she had to laugh. “Lane, I get that anyway.”
“True. But if you work for me, it’ll be permanent. Of course, if you marry me…”
“Lane. I’m serious.”
“I know. We’re going to have to work on that.”
“I got a job.”
The playful light left his face and he rose. Sometimes she forgot how beat up he’d been by that last bull. He was still moving slowly, clearly feeling the aches and pains.
“A job.”
She took a deep breath. “With your brother.”
He smiled, but it was clearly an effort. “He hired you back?”
She took a step back and held out her arms. “Meet the new Executive Director of Community Development for the Carrigan Corporation.”
He groaned. “I didn’t see this coming.”
“Oh, come on.” She smacked his arm. “You’re the reason the job even exists.”
“And you’re taking it.”
“I already did.” She grinned. “It’s exactly what I need.”
***
Lane felt Sarah’s words like a blow to his chest. Sure, he’d planted the idea of a community liaison in Eric’s head. But it had never occurred to him that it could be the first step toward losing Sarah.
Not that he wanted to trap her at home. It was good for her to have options, to step into her new life willingly. But over the past few days, he’d become more and more certain she was happy at the ranch. She belonged here. He could no longer even picture her putting on that straitlaced suit every day, going back to the corporate world. She might come back at the end of the day, but it wouldn’t be the same. In the future he’d pictured, they were both immersed in this world—the world of the ranch, of horses, of building a life on the LT Ranch.
“This isn’t what I had planned,” he said.
“I know. But you can’t always have what you want.” She bit her lower lip. “I’m sorry. It’s what I have to do.”
He nodded, staring into the distance, his mind whirring like a revving engine as he thought of ways to change her mind.
What could Eric give her that he couldn’t? When he’d first met her, he’d thought they would never make a couple. He’d thought she liked the clothes, the boardrooms, the fancy