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wanted to study journalism.” I glanced at his strong, manly hands as he maneuvered the truck around potholes.
    “That was just one of my passions, Haley Bradley.”
    I liked that he continued to call me by my maiden name. Hearing him call me that released a tingle that cascaded down my spine, leaving me breathless. In the split second that my name slipped off his tongue, I was able to detach myself from Jude. In that moment, I returned to the girl Dustin had fallen in love with, way before Jude crept into my life.
    I met his gaze as he glanced at me from the corner of his eye. “One of my passions used to be you.” There was an obvious strain to his voice. He turned away again, his jaw tense. Before I could answer, he blew the horn. I looked to the right and saw three men in blue overalls. Dustin waved at them and they all waved back. The truck rumbled on.
    “My other passion was nature. My father always told us to follow our passions, and I was always drawn to farm life. My best time as a child was spent on my grandparents’ farm in Montana.” He laughed. “Although I couldn’t imagine myself being a farmer—not full-time, at least—I decided I didn’t want to give it up completely. So I bought the ranch.”
    Knowing he was comfortable and successful both in an office and on the farm made him even more attractive in my eyes.
    “What else did you study?” I asked, looking at out at a herd of cattle grazing in the distance.
    “Agricultural science, and I did some courses in animal husbandry.”
    I nodded. I was really impressed. “So when you come here you actually get your hands dirty?” I studied his profile—his strong neck, his carved jaw. I wanted to reach out and touch his stubble.
    “Even though I don’t come to the ranch often, I make sure to be here for harvesting season.” He veered down another road. We drove past a large house, which he said was Grace and Travis’s cottage, a number of grazing animals, and more waving ranch hands. “I enjoy doing everything my people do. When I’m here I’m as much an employee as they are.”
    He turned another corner and the barn I saw yesterday came into view, sunlight spilling over it. He drove toward it and as we approached, men started emerging, both young and old. There were at least six of them.
    “I hope you don’t mind,” Dustin said, slowing down, “but I need to talk to these guys and then we can continue.”
    “Sure, no problem.” Dustin was so different from Jude. He cared about people and animals. In the first weeks after I married Jude I told him I wanted to have a dog, and he said point blank that he hated animals. That night we had our first marital row.
    Dustin hopped out of the truck and walked over to the men. He hugged them, clapping them on the back.
    Catching snippets of words carried on the fresh country air, I listened as he exchanged jokes with them and asked about their families.
    Then I held my breath when he suddenly pointed to the truck, to me. The men followed him.
    “Haley, come and meet my friends.” I gripped his hand as he helped me out, wrapping my fingers tightly around his.
    He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close. “Boys, meet the one who got away. This is Haley.” He chuckled. Somewhere in the sound of his laughter, I heard the bitterness left behind by my rejection.
    “Hi,” I said in a choked voice, and they all shook my hand. Their hands were calloused, but warm.
    “Nice to meet you, Haley. We’ve heard a lot about you,” said a man missing the two front teeth from his otherwise bright smile. He introduced himself as Johnathan.
    A warm blush crept up my neck. What did Dustin tell them about me?
    “It’s nice to finally meet you,” added another man with a snow-white beard and hair that made him look like Santa Claus.
    Dustin made a bit more small talk with the men, and then they filled him in on what had been happening on the ranch—stolen chickens, a pregnant cow, broken fences, machine