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about her past. She knew it needed to be soon. She’d never want him to feel like she held something back because she didn’t trust him. Maybe she would ask him over tomorrow night for the sole purpose of telling him so she’d stop worrying about it.
     
    * * * *
    Early September
    Teresa smiled when she looked at the caller ID and pressed “talk.” “I was just thinking about a devilishly handsome man.”
    “I’ve missed you, beautiful.”
    Angel’s voice made her quiver with longing. She heard his soft sigh and wished she were right there with him. Work had kept them both hopping lately.
    “I’ve missed you, too,” she murmured as she sat back down on the couch in the empty break room at Stigall’s. “How are things with work? Are you still shorthanded?”
    “I hired on two new hands today, both of whom have experience. One of them, a guy by the name of Ash Peterson, is qualified to take on the foreman duties. Jack got to meet him while he was here and agreed. If it works out, I could take on the breeding operation full time. It would make life less complicated. He seems like a real nice guy. We’ll have to see if it pans out. How are you doing?”
    “The same. I like having the extra hours since Margie got put on bed rest, but it means I won’t have much spare time for a while,” Teresa said, unable to hide the wistfulness in her tone.
    “Is Michael adjusting to your extra hours all right?”
    “I think so. He’s learned to be flexible at an early age. I miss him most when I’m at work when I’d normally be at home with him,” she replied honestly. The extra money would help so much, and the hours were temporary.
    “Maybe I’m overstepping my boundaries a bit, but I could help you with him. I could pick him up after I’m done with work, and he could hang out with me, you know? Eat a corndog and watch a movie?” Angel offered carefully.
    Teresa paused for a second, closing her eyes, and smiled as she envisioned the two of them hanging out at the foreman’s house, playing, talking, and looking at the horses. Angel would have him up in a saddle in no time, she imagined. But Angel’s hours had been brutal lately, and he needed his rest as much as she did in order to deal with it all. She’d meant to have a talk with him on Monday night, but he hadn’t been able to get away, and she didn’t want to have that conversation over the phone. The following morning, Juliana had called her in to see if she’d like to fill in for Margie, who had been put on bed rest by her obstetrician.
    “I think that you are the sweetest man I have ever known. I know Michael would enjoy that, but you need your rest in the evenings, and I wouldn’t want to put you out. He can be a real handful.”
    “I’d have the benefit of getting to see you, so you know it’s not all one sided. But I understand that’s a big step. I want you to remember I’m available for you if you get in a pinch.” She felt a little guilty at the disappointment in his voice, but she knew what it was like to deal with the little dynamo on a daily basis.
    “Thank you, Angel. I’ll remember that. I hope I can see you sometime soon. I need to talk to you about something.”
    “Do you need to me to come over tonight? Do you want to talk about it now?”
    “Well, I wanted to talk in person. I’m on a break right now. I’ll be at work until at least six o’clock. Maybe call me after then, and let me know if you have the time tonight.”
    “I’ll do that. Is everything all right?”
    “Oh, yes. Everything is fine. I just want to talk to you about some things I think you have a right to know about. You deserve to have answers to the questions you were asking on our first date. Nothing is wrong, though.”
    “All right. Remember, if you need help—Teresa, can you hang on for a minute? That’s Grace calling in on the other line. Hold on, sweetheart.”
    “Sure.”
    He was only on the other call for a few moments.
    “Honey?” The tone