April 2009 Harlequin Blaze by Julie Miller

Author:Julie Miller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2009-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

14

THREE DAYS PASSED. Then four. No sign of Jake.

She knew he’d left town. There was nothing for it. He’d gone and she would simply have to decide now what to do. Go or stay. Stay or go.

Ellie grabbed the lead rope on a gray gelding at Sam’s paddock and led him into the shade to wait his turn with the farrier. The sharp smell of the smith’s fire stung her nostrils every now and then as the breeze carried it to her. The blacksmith and Sam were working on shoes for another horse, and Ellie was ostensibly helping. In reality, Sam had taken pity on her and given her a job.

She picked up a brush and curried the gray horse, swiping off trail dust and speckles of mud from his legs. It was simply a task to occupy her mind. Unfortunately, her mind was racing with thoughts.

Thoughts of what faced her if she went back: Dane, and unfinished business. Her parents—who by now had no doubt given up hope of seeing either of their daughters again. Not that they ever saw much of them when they’d lived in their world. The press, explaining where she’d been.

Her friends. Her camera. Convenience.

Money.

If she left, the real cost would be this: she’d never see her sister again. Her only real family. But already she could see Reese worrying about her. Since Jake had left, she’d thought of ways to keep her occupied.

Ellie had gone on rounds with her, even helped deliver a baby late one night—the most wonderful thing she’d ever witnessed. She’d held the child wrapped in a soft cotton sheet as the mother slept. It lay small and warm in her arms, cooing the first sounds of life. She wished she had a camera then, to photograph that child. And the moment. Jake had been right about one thing at least. She had to find her passion again. A passion apart from him.

Sometimes, like now, she’d walk down to the livery to help Sam with the horses. There was something calming about the soft nuzzle of a horse’s velvety nose and the alfalfa-scented breath whuffling in one’s ear that was distracting. Anything, really, to keep her from thinking about Jake.

She’d rewritten her exit line a thousand times, each one seeming less what she should have said than the last. And really, what was there to say?

Forgetting Jake was equally impossible. Because he was everywhere: in the earthy scent in the white-ruffled waters of Rapid Creek; at night when she looked up at the stars; in her dreams—always in her dreams.

Maybe she should go back. Press the button and go. At least then Reese would not have to worry about her. This place and its memories would be replaced by the bustling world of the twenty-first century. Maybe she’d even begin to forget him.

“You’ll spoil them,” Sam said with an indulgent smile, interrupting her thoughts. “Petting them that way. Feeding them apples and sugar cubes.”

Ellie let go of the gelding’s muzzle guiltily. “I’m sorry.

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