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keep Jed away from you from here on out.”
    A surge of warm gratitude filled her even while she wondered why he and Samuel were being so kind to her. What was it about this town? Everyone seemed that way. It was almost too good to be true. But too good to be true was her medicine right now.
    “I can’t tell you what that means to me,” she said. “I’m so happy to have found a place to live like this. It’s…it’s just…what home should be.”
    Beside her, Ford eyed her askance and then turned his silent watchfulness back to Bo. The negative undercurrents couldn’t be missed, leaving Gemma wondering where they came from.
    * * *
    Late afternoon the next day, Gemma watched Ford close the front door after the handyman had finished replacing the window in her back patio door. Before she’d even thought to fix the window, Ford had arranged everything. Now he turned and looked at her. She’d been watching him all day, and he’d caught her many of those times. Starting with breakfast, through his many patrols of her house and yard. All afternoon while he oversaw the handyman and took calls for work. She’d tried to occupy herself with chores. Laundry. The kitchen. Reading. Always he was near, and she was drawn to him.
    Staring at him from across the living room grew awkward. She turned away and headed for her back patio, loving her new window and the way it erased Jed’s presence. Outside, birds chirped and the sun lit up a clear blue sky. No wind rustled the leaves of her plum tree. Bees visited her wildflower garden. She moved over to the new fountain she’d purchased after the handyman left. It was big, elaborate and expensive, and water trickled over three tiers of beautifully carved stone. She could almost enjoy the pleasure of a simple, warm summer day.
    She sat down on her one-of-a-kind, intricately and colorfully tiled patio table and put her feet up on the adjacent chair. Toying with the bracelet on her wrist, she looked down at the dangling sapphires and diamonds. Jed had bought the expensive piece for her. He’d even engraved her name in it. With love. She didn’t wear it because of that. She wore it for the constant reminder of what marrying a monster had done to her, a reminder of a mistake never to make again. She hadn’t kept anything else he’d given her, not that there was much. Falling for Ford as fast as she was couldn’t be a step in the right direction. She had to be careful. Take her time. Be decisive. Ford might seem like a good and honest man, a cop, but she needed time to heal from being with someone totally opposite. She couldn’t afford to be impulsive with men anymore.
    A sound made her look over her shoulder toward the door.
    Ford leaned against the doorjamb, eyes partially squinted against the sun in a western sky. He had his hands in the front pockets of his faded jeans and his ankles were crossed. The soft denim fitted him well, resting comfortably at his waist just beneath a flat stomach. And had any man looked sexier in an impeccably pressed, white long-sleeved shirt? The badge clipped over the left side of his muscular chest had to help with that.
    Realizing she was really checking him out, she was about to turn away when she noticed him doing the same with her. Their eyes met. She averted hers first, too in danger of giving in to impulse.
    “Fountain looks good.”
    “Thanks.”
    “Punishing your ex?”
    She smiled, hearing his affectionate tone. “Yes.”
    He chuckled. “Fourth of July is the day after tomorrow.”
    Was all this small talk masking their brewing attraction? “Yeah. Town’s got a big celebration planned.” Elaborate. The streets would be lined with flowers and vendors selling food and souvenirs. A band was hired and a huge fireworks display would go off over the park. She’d heard about it all week. It would be the grandest fireworks display in the entire state of Wyoming.
    Standing, she moved to the edge of the patio.
    “I need you to stay close to