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pieces he didn't want to discard.
    He had been driving by the Raintree house daily and watching the transformation. The outside painting was completed, a new fence was up and there were signs of landscaping. He'd run into Josie a few times while she was on duty. She smiled and was friendly, but was not making any advances toward him. He had not put any moves on her, either. She seemed preoccupied. She did have a lot going on—house renovations, raising a kid, not to mention her job. He'd heard a rumor that she'd gotten the boy's social worker put on suspension, but he hadn't heard the details of why. Rawlings was too small to support a local newspaper, and news traveled faster on the phone gossip lines. Nothing about that had changed in nineteen years, except the upgrade from telephone lines to cell towers.
    Jack was not sure of his next move. His father and grandfather had given him two choices when he left for college. He was to study agriculture, to take over the ranch or attend seminary. Neither choice suited him, so he'd gone his way studying architecture until he'd been given the ultimatum to buckle down to one of those courses of study or have his funding cutoff. Jack didn't take well to ultimatums. He'd joined the Navy.
    He had completed his degree class by class as his assignments took him to various bases and countries. On-line courses were often his only option when deployments took him into foreign countries. Nevertheless, he had completed his degree. For years, he had drawn designs and kept them in a portfolio, but eventually that went by the wayside as his military duties, responsibilities and assignments became his primary vocation in life. Being a Lieutenant Commander, Officer in Charge of a SEAL unit was light-years apart from a boy's dream of designing buildings and houses. Except for a portfolio of forgotten dreams, he had never formally designed anything bigger than a deck or a small addition to a friend's house.
    Knowing the busy schedule Josie was keeping, Jack had offered to take over the care of her horse, Ozzie. He enjoyed grooming and occasionally taking him out for a ride. Apparently, Josie was busy because she had only been out to the place one time in the past week. She had called to remind him each day, and although he was annoyed that she thought he needed reminding, Jack found himself looking forward to those phone calls. That was why he was surprised when he saw Josie's truck drive down his lane. She and Alex got out and headed straight for the barn.
    Josie was saddling up Ozzie when Jack entered the barn. Alex was watching her intently as she patiently explained the process of saddling a horse, demonstrated it, and then removed the saddle to allow the boy to do it.
    "Hi," Jack called, announcing his arrival.
    Josie's face lit up with a smile. "Hi. You'll be glad to know that at the end of the week I'll be moving Ozzie and boarding him down the road. I'm loaning him out to the training school in return for board until I get the permits to build a small barn. My friend trains young riders, mostly little girls, so Ozzie will get a ton of attention, which is something I haven't had time to give him lately. When I get Alex trained up, he can take over exercising Ozzie when I get busy, and I may or may not get him a horse, depending on how he continues to take to riding."
    Jack gave Ozzie a scratch on his ears. "Take your time. He's the only company I've had in days. When you're finished with your lessons, come in for a minute. I've got something to ask you."
    "Sure," Josie said. "After we get Ozzie saddled up, I'm taking Alex out so he can get a feel of riding."
    Alex moved between Jack and Josie, and glared up at him. Staking out his territory, Jack thought, giving the boy a nod. He didn't blame him.
    A few minutes later, Josie knocked on the back door and pushed open the screen.
    She looked around, surprised at the empty house. "Been housecleaning?"
    "More or less," Jack said, offering them