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“I’ll be twenty-one next month.”
    Colt chuckled. “Yeah, I do believe you mentioned that. So are you in college?”
    “I just graduated from Iowa State University. I pushed myself so I could finish early and I am starting on my Master’s degree in August.” Colt made some joke about her being one of those girls who went off to dude ranches for vacations. Graysen wasn’t in the joking mood, at least not about the vacation.
    “I was invited to go to Italy with some friends this summer, but my mom insisted I come here with them instead.”
    “Italy?” He chuckled. “You made the right choice. The White Pine Ranch is greater than anything you could see in Italy.”
    “Greater than seeing Botticelli’s illustrations?”
    “You betcha.” He smiled.
    “What about Piazza della Signoria or Giotto’s Tower?”
    “ Sì, signorina .” His attempt at Italian with a southern accent was bordering the absurd.
    Graysen’s frustration at the direction of their conversation spilled over. “I just don’t see how a bunch of dust and heat and cows live up to all of those things.”
    “Tread lightly, Iowa, that’s my ranch you’re putting down,” he pretended to be insulted. “I happen to like dust and heat and cows.”
    Graysen relaxed a bit and laughed along with him. “I thought the Edmistons owned the ranch?”
    “Well, they do, but they made me a partner after I graduated college. Ever since the Edmiston’s took me in, I’ve grown comfortable with ranch life. This place has been my home for a long time. I don’t ever see myself anywhere else.”
    “You went to college?” Graysen immediately regretted the shocked tone accompanying her question.
    He smiled. “Texas A&M. Heck insisted I go. He said I couldn’t allow all of my potential to go to waste. I did well, had a 4.0, and graduated with a degree in Agribusiness. My heart was here the whole time. This is home. I can’t imagine not ever being part of this ranch.”
    Graysen nodded, trying to wrap her head around the concept of a person actually preferring to live out here, so completely removed from civilization. “I love school; I finished my undergraduate degree in Architecture last month and began working towards earning my Master of Architecture in August.”
    “Architecture?” He turned and looked at her as they walked. “I can’t picture you sitting behind a desk drawing buildings all day, Iowa.”
    “I happen to like designing buildings, and I’ve always been good at the math needed for the precise nature of the work.”
    “Nope. Can’t see it,” Colt teased her relentlessly.
    “What is it that you can see me doing?” she asked, trying to sound playfully annoyed.
    “Not riding a horse, that’s for damned certain.” Colt grinned crookedly, looking so insufferably pleased with himself. “How someone almost gets thrown off one of those trail ponies, I have no idea.”
    Graysen giggled, remembering the embarrassing early morning scene. “I was just sitting still. It was Mouse’s fault! She was jumpy from the start.“
    “Well, Iowa, I wouldn’t want you to miss out on the complete White Pine experience, so I am going to make it my life’s mission to see you know how to ride.”
    Graysen took a deep breath, her mind taking her all sorts of places and none of them involved riding a horse. Heat curled through her belly, and she swore Colt could read her thoughts.
    “I bet I could teach you a thing or two ...” his voice became more intense, “… about horses, that is.” Colt winked at her slyly and blatantly stared as warmth spread over her cheeks blooming from a pink flush into a soft red as it spread across the surface of Graysen’s luminous, pale skin.
    His longing stare promised all sorts of things, or maybe it was her mind’s wishful thinking trying to spin her fantasies into reality.
    Graysen’s heart was beating rapidly as they approached the cabin, and she glanced up at his face, which was partially shadowed by the