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to you when Mom died.”
    â€œThat’s true,” Sheldon agreed. “The difference was you and Jeremy were fourteen and ten when Julia passed away. That’s very different from a little boy who has no memories of his mother.”
    Ryan stared out into the night. He was so still he could have been carved out of granite. He knew his father was right, but knew he also was right. From the day he was born Sean had become the most important person in his life, and he made a pledge to never sacrifice the emotional well-being of his son for any woman.
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    Ryan stood at the window in his second-story bedroom early Monday morning, watching Kelly as she made her way to the stables. The last time he saw her had been Saturday night at her house. He had waited in the dining hall on Sunday, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but she did not put in an appearance.
    His eyes narrowed as he watched her knock on the door. It opened, and she disappeared behind it. Three grooms worked on a rotating basis once the stables were opened at sunrise to groom the eighteen horses before they were turned out to graze. The trainer andhis assistants exercised the Thoroughbreds during the morning and early-afternoon hours.
    What was she doing in the stable? Who was she meeting?
    Turning away from the window, Ryan descended the staircase in a few long strides. He hadn’t realized he was practically running until he felt his heart pumping rapidly in his chest. Taking a deep breath, he opened the stable door and walked inside.
    An emotion he could only identify as relief swept over him when he saw Kelly rubbing Jahan’s nose. She hadn’t come to meet a man, but to see the horses. “Beautiful.”
    Kelly jumped, turning to find Ryan standing behind her. It was the second time he had caught her off guard. She hadn’t heard his approach over the sounds of a worker sweeping out a stall.
    Turning back to the horse, she nodded. “That he is.”
    Ryan wanted to tell Kelly that he wasn’t talking about Jahan. She looked scrumptious, casually dressed in a tank top and pair of jeans that showed every dip and curve of her tall, slender body. He stared at her feet.
    â€œYou should be wearing boots in here instead of running shoes.”
    â€œI don’t have boots.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    â€œBecause I haven’t had the time to go buy a pair.”She had spent Sunday restocking her pantry and refrigerator and putting up several loads of wash.
    He moved closer. “Look at me, Kelly.”
    She went completely still. It had been only three days since she’d met Ryan for the first time, but the magnetism was definitely there. Something about him jolted her nervous system each time she met his gaze.
    She wanted him even though she did not want to desire him, because in her head she wasn’t quite ready to let go of the memory of her late husband. She had purposely avoided going to the dining hall, knowing Ryan would be there, so she continued to prepare her own meals at home. “Why, Ryan?”
    Resting his hands on her bare shoulders, he turned her to face him. “Because I want to look at you.” He dropped his hands.
    Her lashes fluttered before sweeping up to reveal what she so valiantly tried to conceal: her loneliness and a longing to be held and loved. Her gaze moved slowly over his face, lingering on his mouth. He wasn’t wearing a hat, and his damp coal-black hair lay against his scalp in layered precision. His coloring, hair and features were a blending of races so evident in people in this region of the country.
    â€œWhat do you see, Ryan?”
    His dark gray eyes widened as they dropped from her steady gaze to her shoulders and chest. “I see anincredibly beautiful woman who in a few hours has worked wonders with my son.” Sean had spent Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday asking when he was going back to school so that he could see Miss Kelly.
    Kelly closed her