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“Zeus looks cold.”
    “It is getting colder out there,” Kit remarked. “Johnny can take him to the barn, if you’d like.”
    “He’s a pretty big horse. I doubt your son could handle him,” Jake warned.
    A faint smile brushed her generous lips. “Johnny can handle horses better than most grown men.”
    Jake thought for a moment, debating whether to allow the youngster near Zeus. The boy’s expectant face balanced the scales in his favor. “All right, Johnny. I suspect you and him will get along just fine.”
    “Thanks, Mr. Cordell.” Johnny ran for the door.
    “Don’t forget your gloves,” Kit called after him.
    “I won’t.” Johnny pulled on his outer clothing, then disappeared out the door.
    Jake stood and crossed the floor to the window. The hound ran over to greet the boy, startling Zeus. Johnny spoke to the mutt and the animal moved away to lie on the ground, but his soulful brown eyes followed the boy’s movements. Slowly approaching Zeus with an outstretched hand, Johnny talked to the horse. The youngster reached out and touched the palomino’s nose, then he untied the reins from the post and led him to the barn.
    Jake turned back to Kit. “He does have the touch, doesn’t he?”
    Pride shimmered in her eyes. “Yes, he does.”
    Jake returned to his chair and Kit refilled his coffee cup.
    “Would you be interested in selling?” Jake asked, without preamble.
    She blinked. “The ranch?”
    “Well, I don’t have much need for a kid.” Jake smiled to temper his words. “I’d like to buy back my father’s ranch and do what he planned to do.”
    The color seemed to leach from her face as she shook her head. “This is our home now. I could never sell it.”
    He’d suspected that would be her answer. “I’ll give you twice what you paid for it.”
    Kit set her coffee cup on the end table and clasped her hands together, but not before Jake noticed their trembling. “It’s not for sale at any price.”
    Jake leaned forward in his chair, intending to intimidate her by his actions as well as his tone. “It can’t be easy for you, raising a son all by yourself. Think how nice it would be to live in town and have Johnny walk to school. You’d have neighbors to help you out. And you’d make enough from selling the place that you wouldn’t have to find a job.”
    Fire sparked in her eyes, and she sat up straighter. “I’ve built this ranch up from nothing. I bought the bloodlines to breed the best saddle horses possible, and I’ve done it without any man telling me what to do. I think I’ve done a damn fine job of it, too.”
    Startled by her outburst, Jake leaned back. He had underestimated her. “I apologize if I insulted you. It’s just that I’ve never before met a woman who preferred ranching to an easier life in town.”
    “You’ve met one now.” Quiet steel ran through her words.
    Admiration for her independence rose unexpectedly in Jake, but he tamped down the emotion. If he couldn’t buy the place, he’d have to find some other way to get it. Legally. It appeared his law degree would come in handy, after all. Changing his tactics, he relaxed and smiled. “Can I ask how you ended up out here?”
    Kit glanced down and her shoulders untensed. “My father left me the newspaper office when he died. I sold it and used the money for a down payment on this place.”
    Jake stared at Kit, thinking back and remembering. “Your father owned the
Courier
?”
    She nodded.
    Amazed disbelief rocked Jake. “You’re little Kit Thornton?”
    “That’s right, although I don’t think I was ever little.” Defensiveness crept into her voice.
    Jake studied her, trying to reconcile the memory of the chubby girl with the crooked spectacles that kept slipping down her nose and the slender composed woman sitting in front of him. “You’ve changed.”
    Kit laughed, the sound like wind chimes in a gentle breeze. “Thank you.”
    Jake felt his face redden, a reaction he hadn’t