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them from here. Unfair. He was dressed in a tight khaki T-shirt and low-slung faded jeans, with a tool belt hanging off his hips. And that was unfair, too. Because he was beautiful and he affected her like no one else ever had. It had always been that way for her, and it wasn’t fair that despite everything that had happened between them, she still couldn’t drag her eyes away.
    She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him since he’d stepped out of that shed the other day. Which was also unfair, since she’d devoted years of effort to forgetting him. Obviously it hadn’t worked. Maybe her old desire for him had been lingering this entire time like some kind of cancer, deep in her cells. Now that he was back, it was spreading through her system, and there didn’t seem to be much she could do to stop it. But she couldn’t let it get the better of her. She had to be strong today.
    If Wade was surprised to see her, he didn’t let on, just glanced up as her truck bumped down his driveway and shoved a pair of safety glasses up onto his head.
    Maybe she was a coward, afraid of the emotions Wade drew out of her, but she was glad she’d brought Jim along. Her ranch foreman had known her since she was a kid. She was far more likely to behave well with him looking on.
    â€œHe needs to grade this road,” Jim complained. “My old bones can’t take this kind of jostle.”
    Lori forced herself to stop noticing the way Wade’s chest muscles moved when he reached up to wipe sweat from his forehead. “That might have more to do with the state of the shocks on this old truck.”
    â€œOr the state of my shocks,” Jim said with a grin. “I’m telling you, I may just heed your father’s example and get myself a little beach shack down in Florida somewhere.”
    Lori glanced his way, wondering if he was serious. “I hope you don’t. Or at least, see me through this first year. Please? It’s a rough one so far.”
    Jim’s face creased into a reassuring smile. “You’re doing just fine.”
    â€œI don’t think so. The guys hate me. I swear they roll their eyes every time I ask them to do something.”
    â€œThey don’t hate you. But they are testing you.” Jim gripped his door handle with white knuckles when Lori navigated around a pothole so big it might have been a crater. “You’ve always been a spitfire, Lori. Don’t hold back on those guys just because you’re in charge now. If they give you grief, be a smartass and dish it straight back at ’em. When they see you giving as good as you get, they’ll settle down.”
    â€œThat’s not the management advice they gave me in college.”
    â€œWell, maybe those college folks don’t know everything.”
    â€œMaybe not. I’ll work on my smartassness.” She shot him a wink and he chuckled.
    â€œI’ll look forward to it. Now park this damn truck before we hit another one of these bumps.”
    They were at the end of the drive, where the dusty road widened into the dusty front yard. Lori put the truck into Park and stopped the engine. “You ready for this?”
    â€œLet’s get it over with.” Jim shook his head. “Never did think I’d see the day when I came begging a Hoffman for water.”
    As they stepped down from the truck and slammed the doors, Wade came toward them. “Hey, Lori” was all he said. She couldn’t read his expression. She’d never really been able to. Even when they were kids, he’d masked his feelings behind a wall of defiance and attitude—a magnet for her adolescent heart. And right now it was all back. Shielding him. Awakening all of that same ridiculous longing.
    â€œDo you remember Jim Duncan?”
    â€œOf course. Nice to see you again, Jim.”
    Lori marveled at Wade’s polite tone, his calm, cordial voice. The military had