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personality?
    “Do you ever sell the cattle for something other than food?”
    Zane shifted in his seat. Had he been anyone else, she would have assumed the question made him uncomfortable. But he was too in-charge—too self-assured. Besides, what about it was embarrassing?
    “Sometimes I’ll sell off a few cows if we have too many.”
    “That makes sense. What about the bulls? Ever have too many of those?”
    “Most of them become steers.”
    She didn’t want to think about that. “So steers are boy cows?”
    “That’s right.”
    “What makes you decide who gets to have a really good life and who gets to be a burger?”
    “Various factors. I’ve been working on genetically improving the herd.”
    “So a new bull with favorable characteristics would get to stay a bull.”
    He nodded.
    “Sounds interesting,” she said, because it really was. Who knew that ranchers worried about genetics?
    “You’re probably not going for things like eye color,” she said without thinking.
    Zane didn’t even roll
his
eyes. “Not really.”
    “I didn’t think so.”
    “I work with several universities. We have breeding experiments. I also sell to other ranchers.”
    “Your bulls?”
    There was that seat squirm again. “No.”
    Not bulls? “Cows?”
    “Sperm.”
    Phoebe blinked. “From the bulls?”
    He nodded.
    “You sell bull sperm?”
    He nodded again.
    Wow. There really were infinite ways to make a living. So how exactly did one get the sperm from the bull? She shook her head. Not something she wanted to know, she decided. Although she was intrigued by the question of what sort of marketing campaign would be most effective. Still, some subjects were better left unexplored, and this was definitely one of them.
    She tried to think of something else to say. Anything, really. But how did one top bull sperm as a conversational gambit?
    Maybe it was better if one didn’t try.
    * * *
     
    T HEY TURNED OFF the main highway, and Phoebe sat up straighter in her seat, eager for a glimpse of Fool’s Gold. Zane had rolled down his window a few miles back, and fresh-scented mountain air filled the truck. A few years ago, a reality show had been filmed in the town. She and Maya had had a standing date to watch it together. Phoebe couldn’t believe the place was as quaint as it had seemed on TV, but Maya had insisted it was more so.
    Welcome to Fool’s Gold, proclaimed a sign surrounded by lush red-and-yellow flowers in the shape of a heart.
    Zane turned right onto Lakeview Drive.
    Phoebe caught her breath. “It’s so pretty!”
    To their left, Lake Ciara sparkled in the mid-morning sun. To their right, children played in a large park under the watchful gazes of their mothers and of the mountains beyond. A huge, old oak tree provided shade for a couple stretched out on a pink blanket with their baby.
    Just past the park, downtown Fool’s Gold rose up, though it didn’t rise up very high. She didn’t see a building that was more than three or four stories tall, and only a few of those. The shops were neat and tidy. An American flag flew at every corner, and baskets of flowers hung from the other lampposts along the block. A banner spanned the width of the street, advertising the Summer Festival in two weeks.
    Zane pulled into a parking spot in front of a two-story blue brick building with a yellow awning. “Mitchell Tours” was painted in bold, white letters on the shop’s window.
    “I’ve got some business in here for a few minutes, to arrange for pickup of the other guests later this week,” he said. “Do you want to wait in the truck or walk around?”
    “I’d love to see the town.”
    By the time she got her seat belt undone, he was holding open her door. She felt a small flush of warmth as he helped her from the tall truck. Being short had its advantages, she thought. Although he might not be happy she was here, gentlemanly manners were ingrained in him. She had to admit she liked it.
    “We’ll meet back