Chapter 1 Friendship Pact

The door to Nash Carson's hospital room was ajar. Noelle's crutches made muted thumps on the white tile floor as she hitched her way closer at a snail's pace. Walking with crutches was a chore, especially for a klutz like her. She paused in the hallway outside his room to catch her breath.

Carefully averting her head, she called, "Are you awake, Nash?" She kept her voice down, not wanting to disturb him if he'd dozed off. A near-fatal accident during a snowstorm six days earlier had cost the world champion bronc rider his right arm an inch or so above the elbow. The nurses had been keeping him on a steady diet of painkillers all week to make the recovery phase of the amputation more bearable.

His disgusted snort met her ears, assuring her that he was very much awake. "I'm a rancher, Noelle. We don't sleep in."

The growl in his voice told her he was in an even crabbier mood than when she'd left him the evening before.

She pushed the door wider and found him standing by the window on the far side of the room. Not in bed resting, as she'd hoped. His back was to her.

Despite being born with a gift for gab, she was at a loss for words as she studied the slump to his broad shoulders. She couldn't imagine what was going through his mind right now. She didn't understand what it felt like to lose a limb, and she hoped she never would. Being stuck on crutches with a broken leg for the past few weeks was bad enough. It was entirely her fault, of course. She'd let her guard down around a half-wild horse she'd been training. She was fortunate to have gotten off with a simple fracture.

Nash abruptly swung around in her direction. "If you've come to ride my case again about getting back on a bronc, you're out of luck. I've accepted the fact that I'm retired. I'm at peace with it."

He was lying. She could tell by the pale cast to his angular features and the smudges beneath his eyes that he wasn't at peace with squat at the moment.

His resentful tirade, however, gave her the courage to bring up something she'd been tossing around inside her head for a couple of days. Something that might actually stand a chance of cheering him up.

"Guilty." She almost smiled at the fact that his slightly bowed legs were in jeans and boots this morning. He'd finally followed through on his threat to ditch his hospital gown. "I did come to ride your case about something. Not about that, though." She considered it a healthy sign that he was going through the motions of getting back to his normal daily routine. It looked like he'd run into a few challenges along the way. His blond hair was damp from his shower —more than damp. It was still dripping. His plaid shirt was unbuttoned over an untucked white t-shirt. No belt. The right side of his shirt was simply draped around his shoulder. The shirtsleeve hung loose and empty at his side. Being down to one hand was going to take some getting used to.

His blond eyebrows stretched upward as he waited for her to continue. "I'm listening." He sounded cautiously amused, a little more like the upbeat cowboy she'd first met a few months ago.

Leaning forward on her crutches, she moved into the room. "I think we should form a friendship pact before we head to Dallas."

Nash and his two younger brothers would be returning to their home, Canyon Creek Ranch, in a few days. They'd invited Noelle to accompany them. Upon her arrival, she'd join their staff as their newest horse trainer.

After I get rid of this thing.

She glanced ruefully down at the white plaster cast that was still wrapped around her leg. It used to be white, but the wind in Phoenix was fast turning it to a dull shade of dust.

"You want to do what?" A thread of amusement curled through the voice of the broad-shouldered bronc rider.

"A friendship pact," she repeated loftily, moving across the room to stand directly in front of him. "Since we're both nursing broken hearts, I think we should take steps to protect each other from the pitfalls of rebound relationships."

"Steps, huh?" His upper lip curled in speculation. "Sounds like you swallowed a psychology book."

"It was an online article, actually." She chose not to share the fact that the article had been posted to a sensational blog called Celebrity Dating Tips. "It suggested we find an accountability partner to hold us to a few ground rules."

Nash gave a bark of laughter. "This I've gotta hear." He motioned for her to take a seat on his neatly made-up hospital bed. From the looks of it, he hadn't been in it since the nurse changed the sheets for him this morning.

"I don't mind using the chair." She backed toward the vinyl seat that was scooted up next to his bed.

"Or you could follow doctor's orders and prop your leg up for a while." He pointed at the bed with his uninjured arm and cocked his head challengingly at her.

She made a face at him and lowered herself carefully to the mattress. "We haven't even hashed out the details of our friendship pact yet," she grumbled, "and you're already taking this accountability partner stuff as serious as a heart attack."

She was grateful to take a load off, though. Leaning on crutches was one of the most uncomfortable things she'd ever experienced. Despite the rubber cushions on the tops of them, her armpits felt bruised all the way to the bone. She whooshed out a breath of gratitude and reclined back against the mound of pillows.

Unlike Nash, she wasn't able to get back into jeans yet. They wouldn't fit over her thick plaster cast. Instead, she had on a snug white hoodie over a pair of baggy navy running pants. Not that she planned on running anywhere anytime soon.

He leaned back against the window sill, watching her with interest. "Okay, let's hear those ground rules. I'm gonna need full disclosure before I agree to anything."

She hid a smirk of triumph. Her plan of distracting him from his pain and grief was working better than she'd expected. "Rule number one..." She rested her crutches against the side of the bed and folded her hands in her lap. "If you need a plus one at a get-together, invite me. If I'm the one who needs a plus one, I'll invite you."

He cocked his head in consideration. "I can do that. Next rule."

"If you start feeling bored or lonely, call me. Or text. I'll do the same if I fall into the mulligrubs." She was actually more worried about his melancholy stemming from his injury, but it was easier to offer comfort in the form of dating advice. More subtle, she hoped.

He nodded slowly. "Looks like we have a second ground rule we can both live with. Anything else?"

She shrugged since she honestly hadn't expected him to agree so quickly to her proposal. "I don't think we need a rule for everything. You get the idea where I'm going with this, right?"

"I think so." Amusement glinted in his gaze.

She lifted her chin. "Rebound relationships aren't healthy, Nash. And since we're going to be working together at Canyon Creek Ranch, we're in the perfect position to help each other avoid them."

"Is there an expiration date to this stuff?"

"Of course!" She infused as much confidence into her voice as she could muster, not willing to admit she was making up most of what she was saying on the spot. "The article didn't go into specifics. I think we just need to pick a date that works for us." Quite frankly, she wasn't sure how much truth there was to anything she'd read on the Celebrity Dating Tips blog. She'd only brought up the topic to give Nash something positive to focus on in the midst of so much discouragement.

"Fair enough." His expression changed into something that was harder to read. "How long do you think it'll be before you're ready to date again?"

"Technically, Brady McGrath and I never dated." She'd wanted so badly to become the guy's next girlfriend. But despite the fact that they'd both been single when they'd met, and despite the incredible rapport they'd developed between them, the manager of Bear Mountain Ranch in Pinetop, Arizona had insisted on keeping things strictly professional between them. And now she knew why. Her feelings for him had been heartbreakingly one-sided. The entire time she'd been dreaming about the possibility of happily-ever-after with him, he'd still been secretly in love with his last girlfriend. He and Adeline were married now, rendering him completely and permanently unavailable. Sadly, Noelle's heart was still processing that memo.

"That's not a straight answer," Nash pointed out.

Okay. Fine. When will I be ready to date again?It was a fair question.

"I don't know." She waved a hand restlessly, almost regretting bringing it up. She had no interest in rehashing the reasons behind her failed attempt at winning Brady's heart. "Six months, maybe? No, it'll probably be closer to a year," she amended glumly. Part of her feared she might never truly be over him. He was seriously the nicest guy she'd ever met. Decent, honorable, and hardworking. Not to mention a man of faith. He checked every box on her wishlist of things she was looking for in a relationship. Unfortunately, he hadn't wanted a relationship with her in return.

"A year it is." Nash mockingly raised his left hand instead of his right hand, which was missing. "I, Nash Carson, do solemnly swear to serve as your friendly accountability partner for the duration of one year, starting today. So help me, God." He lowered his hand.

"Wow!" Her eyes widened. "You made it sound so official."

He cocked his head encouragingly at her. "Now say it back to me."

"If you insist." Rolling her eyes, she raised her right hand. "Yes to everything you said."

"Are you sure you're ready for me to hold you accountable?" His voice grew taunting.

"To the ground rules we just agreed on? Yes." She wasn't sure why he looked so gleeful.

"Good." He sounded so triumphant that she felt the first stirring of wariness. "Because you still need to call Brady and give him a proper two-week notice before starting work at my ranch. Regardless of your personal feelings on the topic, it's the right thing to do."

She folded her arms, irritated about being called out on such a sore subject. "How do you know I haven't already?" Nash had been in and out of consciousness for the past several days, for crying out loud!

He ignored her question. "You also need to call your parents and let them know where you are. I know you're not close with them, but they're probably still worried about you."

"Nash!" She nibbled her lower lip, unable to bear the thought of another browbeating from Beatrice Ward, her social-climbing, image-conscious mother. Triss, as she preferred to be called by her friends, was convinced that the manager of Bear Mountain Ranch would've made the perfect son-in-law. Her last words to Noelle were that she was holding her personally responsible for failing to reel him in the same way she'd failed to reel in her ex-boyfriend.

As if all men were stinking catfish or something!

For one thing, Noelle had broken up with her ex, not the other way around. Secondly, she was convinced her mother was more disappointed about the missed opportunity to turn Brady McGrath into a client of Ward Accounting Solutions, her father's accounting firm. Both of her parents were mercenary like that. Nearly every one of their so-called friendships doubled as a networking opportunity. They couldn't attend a simple birthday party without an agenda.

"Want me to dial Brady to get the ball rolling?" Nash produced his cell phone and waved it at her.

"Oh, my goodness!" She flicked her attention back to him. "You're serious about this?"

For an answer, he started dialing. His expression told her just how well she'd succeeded in distracting him from his melancholy. He was downright enjoying the power she'd handed him over her.

I've created a monster.

With a squeal of dismay, she twisted her long, strawberry blonde braid around one finger and silently prayed her former boss wouldn't pick up the phone.

While it rang, Nash hit the speaker phone button.

She winced. Please be too busy!

The blasted man answered on the third ring. "Hey, Nash!" Brady sounded genuinely glad to hear from Nash. "How's it going down there in Phoenix?"

Nash's mouth flat-lined at the reference to his injury. "I've had better days."

"I bet," Brady sounded sympathetic. "If there's anything Adeline or I can do to help?—"

"Thanks," Nash interrupted tersely, "but I'm good. That's not why I'm calling." He caught Noelle's gaze, and his gaze softened a fraction. "I have someone in the room with me who has something she needs to say to you."

Brady was silent for a moment. Then he started speaking again in a rush. "Please tell me we're talking about Noelle Ward."

"I am."

"Is she okay?" Brady sounded so concerned that Noelle smiled. It was one of those sad smiles that stretched a person's lips without reaching their heart. Though he'd made it clear he didn't have romantic feelings for her, it was still nice to hear him ask about her.

"I'll let her answer that question for herself." Without any further ado, Nash brazenly held the phone out to Noelle as he stepped closer to the bed.

Way to put me on the spot!

Her hand felt unsteady as she accepted the phone. "I'm doing great, Brady." That was stretching the truth a little. Like Nash, she'd seen better days. "How's everybody at the ranch?"

"We seem to be down a horse trainer." He huffed out a breath. "Any chance you'll be returning to town soon?"

"About that." She gulped. "I was actually calling to give you my two-week notice."

He was silent for a moment. "I was worried you might say something like that." He sounded so resigned that it twisted her heartstrings. "Is there anything I can do to change your mind?"

"No. I'm sorry." She didn't want to discuss pay raises, future promotions, or any other job benefits. She just wanted to be as far from him as possible. "I've decided to pursue another opportunity."

"Still training horses, I hope?" He shot the question at her as quick as a bullet.

"Definitely." It was the only thing she was qualified to do.

"Okay." He drew a heavy breath. "Well, I wish you the best in your new position." He hesitated before adding, "Wherever it is."

"Dallas," she supplied, meeting Nash's gaze. She could practically feel his eyes probing hers, silently urging her to tell the truth — all of it. "At Canyon Creek Ranch with the Carson brothers."

"I see." There was no inflection in Brady's voice this time.

Nash frowned and made an ushering movement with his hand, as if encouraging her to keep talking.

"Thank you," she blurted, not quite sure what to say next. However, the whole point of the call was to leave things on a good note at her last place of employment. "For everything. For allowing me to train your horses. For giving me my first real start in the business. I'm truly grateful." After a bad breakup with her father's junior partner, she'd been forced to job hunt out of state for an opportunity at a ranch that her father's firm wasn't associated with. Her parents had refused to believe her ex was a pathological lying creep who wouldn't take no for an answer. It had all but destroyed her relationship with them.

"You're welcome," Brady returned in a voice infused with more kindness than she'd been expecting. "We're going to miss you around here, you know. Shelly especially."

Though it was nice of him to say that, it served as a painful reminder that he had Adeline in his life now, a top-notch horse trainer. A far more skilled horse trainer than Noelle would ever be, especially when it came to working with difficult horses.

Like the one that broke my leg.

Adeline was more skilled at other things, too, like loving him. Noelle's lips twisted bitterly. Sure, his sister, Shelly, would miss her. They'd become really good friends. Brady probably wouldn't, though. Not really. To include himself in that statement felt…off. Almost like he was putting on a show for Nash's benefit.

Despite how polite he was being about everything over the phone, resentment fizzled through her. After everything that had happened between them —or failed to happen, in their case — had he truly expected her to keep working for him? He had to have figured out that she was crushing on him. Talk about taking her services as a horse trainer for granted!

She was only dimly aware of Nash taking the phone from her and stepping toward the window with it. His words wafted back in her direction. "Your loss is our tremendous gain, bro."

Brady was silent for another beat. "Did you plan this?" Suspicion sharpened his voice.

"Hardly." Nash gave a bark of dry laughter. "I was still unconscious when the job offer was made by my brothers in a hospital hallway. And before you ask, she wasn't exactly begging for a job from us. In her own words, she was simply hitching a ride out of town on my medical chopper."

Brady snorted. "I'm sure there was more to it than that."

"If you count the fact that she felt sorry for me? Yes," Nash agreed matter-of-factly. "She didn't like the idea of me being airlifted to Phoenix alone, without any friends or family at my side. For that, I will always be grateful."

"Me, too," Brady sighed. "So much was happening so quickly on our end. Under normal circumstances, I would've accompanied you to Phoenix myself."

But circumstances hadn't been normal. Adeline's father had been fighting for his life that same afternoon. Birch Carver had ultimately pulled through, but nobody had been sure at the time that he would. Brady had ultimately chosen to remain in Pinetop to support the family of the woman he was now married to.

"Thank you for saying that, and thank you again for everything you did for me that day." Nash caught Noelle's gaze as he leaned back against the window sill again. "I don't think I would've made it without your help." Brady, his dad, and one of the ranch hands from Bear Mountain Ranch had pulled him from his truck before it finished tumbling over the side of a cliff.

Brady made a scoffing sound. "Adeline would've never forgiven me if we'd lost you."

The flash of pain in Nash's eyes made Noelle catch her breath. Though he'd never officially dated her, Brady's wife was the woman who'd captured Nash's heart. All he did, though, was grip the phone more tightly. "No hard feelings between us?"

There was another pause before Brady answered. "No hard feelings."

Nash ended the call and pocketed the phone.

"That was as tough on you as it was on me," Noelle accused brokenly. His features blurred. She had to blink rapidly to bring them back into focus.

Nash angled his head at the silver roller cart pushed up to his hospital bed. "There's a box of tissues on your left."

"Thanks," she muttered, pulling two of them from the box to dab the edges of her eyes. "It felt like yanking off an enormous scab." And now she was bleeding again on the inside.

"I know the feeling." He sounded rueful.

It dawned on her that he'd insisted on making that phone call for both their sakes. "Thanks for not letting me do it alone." Having him in the room had made the entire ordeal more bearable. Just barely, though.

He crooked a smile at her, one that looked a little bruised. "That's what accountability partners are for."

She nodded, feeling shy. "May I ask you a dumb question?"

"I doubt it's dumb, but fire away."

"Was I ever truly in love with him?" It wasn't a question she expected an answer to. She mostly just needed to vent.

Nash gave her an answer, anyway. "Probably. Why?"

"I don't know." She wasn't sure how to put her feelings into words. "What if I was just in love with the idea of being in love?" She spread her hands helplessly. "With someone like him?" She wasn't sure if she was making any sense.

He nodded slowly, looking like he was considering her words, though he didn't immediately answer.

"Since he didn't love me back, he obviously wasn't the right guy for me." It was a painful admission, but it made sense. "Maybe he was just someone who checked more of the right boxes than my ex did. I guess that's why I'm so paranoid now about rebound relationships."

"Okay." Nash gave her a quick up-down nod. "Let's explore your theory for a sec. What was it about Brady that you liked so much?"

She dabbed at the corners of her eyes again. "He's just a really nice person. Decent. Honest. Fair." She'd been so raw from her breakup when she'd started working for him. He'd been good medicine — kind, friendly, and a great listener to boot.

"Uh, you're going to have to give me more than that," Nash informed her flatly.

She blew her nose before answering. "Don't you think you're taking this accountability partner stuff a little too far?"

"Nope. You fibbed your way onto a helicopter to have my back. Feels like I owe you one in return." He winked at her. "So keep talking."

The playful gesture was so unexpected that it drew a nervous chuckle out of her. "Okay. He, uh…took a chance on me, I guess. I didn't have all the job experience he was looking for, but he hired me anyway." After a lifetime of dodging her parents' thousand and one hidden agendas, it had served as a breath of fresh air to work alongside someone whose intentions could be taken at face value.

Nash waved derisively. "Brady lives in a small town. He was lucky to add anyone near your experience level to his staff, and he knows it."

"Maybe." She hadn't thought about it that way. "Afterward, he took the time to get to know me. It felt like…" She shook her head, trying to come up with the right words. "Like we were more than an employer and employee. I always got the impression that he might've asked me out if he wasn't my boss. Guess he was too honorable to cross that line. I know for a fact that his sister wanted him to." There. She'd finally said it out loud. Back then, she'd had herself convinced there was something percolating between them. But that was before Adeline had arrived back in town. After Adeline's return, Noelle had ultimately decided she'd imagined the whole thing.

Nash held her gaze soberly. "It's possible Brady was attempting to move on after his big breakup. Have you considered that?"

Noelle shook her head, frowning. "From what I understand, he and Adeline never officially broke up." After he'd fallen in love with her, she'd simply left town. No explanation. Nothing. Or so he'd assumed until he'd found some letter she'd written him years earlier — the one telling him she loved him, too, and that she'd return to Pinetop as soon as she'd finished college. Discovering the letter had changed everything between them.

Nash's jaw tightened. "How about we not split hairs here? The fact is, you went to work for Brady before he and Adeline got things ironed out between them. And I can think of only one reason why a woman as smart as you would think there was something more going on between you and your boss."

She blinked in surprise at the unexpected compliment. "Are you trying to say he led me on?"

His gaze narrowed contemplatively on hers. "I think he might've explored the possibility of getting something started with you, at least inside his head, which would explain the vibes you thought you were getting from him." He shrugged. "That's my theory, anyway."

Noelle stared at him in utter amazement. Then she burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" He looked mildly offended. "I'm trying to help here."

"You did help," she assured between giggles that all too quickly hitched with emotion again. "Thank you for helping me work through that."

"You're welcome." A wrinkle of concern remained in the center of his forehead.

She wondered if it was because he was thinking the same thing she was. "Did Adeline give you similar vibes?"

"Nope." His voice was grim. "The only vibes she ever gave off were that of a wounded puppy. Brady's failure to respond to the love letter she wrote him before leaving town nearly broke her. I spent the whole time she was employed at my ranch trying to help her pick up the pieces and put herself back together."

"And you fell for her along the way," Noelle mused in a low voice.

"Something like that." He glanced away from her, giving her the impression he was done talking about it. There was no way she was letting him off the hook that easily, though.

Before she could start peeling back the layers of his side of the story, her cell phone rang, shattering the temporary lull in their conversation.

She jolted in surprise. "Oops! Sorry." She pulled her phone from her back pocket. "Looks like I forgot to turn off the ringer." She quickly did so. As she scanned the caller ID, her heart sank. It was her mother. She'd been avoiding their calls all week. It continued to vibrate in her hand even though the ringer was turned off.

"Who is it?"

"My mother." Nash's presence in the room bolstered her courage. It wasn't as if she could avoid her parents forever.

"Ah."

There was a world of understanding in his voice that helped her finish making up her mind. Dragging in a quick, fortifying breath, she answered the call before she lost her nerve. "Hi, Mom." She immediately mashed the speakerphone button. Maybe it meant she was a coward, unable to face her mother's next tongue lashing alone. Triss Ward could open her own travel agency from the number of guilt trips she'd tried to send her daughter on.

"Noelle Angelica Ward!" There was no mistaking the reprimand in her mother's tone. "You've been gone nearly a week. On crutches, no less! And totally blew off your last doctor's appointment."

Noelle wasn't sure how her mother had found that out. Weren't there privacy laws about stuff like that? "Listen, um… It might be awhile before I return to Pinetop." In for a penny. She dragged in another bracing breath. "I've accepted a new job in Dallas."

"Dallas!" Her mother's gasp filled the hospital room. "That's a long way from Pinetop, and since you're the only reason we moved here…" She left the accusation dangling unfinished between them.

A move I never asked you to make. Noelle bit her lower lip to silence her retort. Triss Ward was still furious over Noelle's refusal to continue dating her husband's junior partner, and Noelle wasn't sure how they were supposed to move on from that. Her mother's sudden interest in helicopter parenting certainly wasn't the solution.

"What could you possibly find in Dallas that you couldn't find at Bear Mountain Ranch?" Her mother's voice grew shrill. "I thought you said it was your dream job!"

It was. Past tense. Try to keep up, Mom.

She caught a blur of movement from the corner of her eye as Nash moved in her direction.

He bent his tall frame closer to the cell phone in her hand. "Hey, Mrs. Ward. This is Nash Carson, Noelle's new employer. I don't believe we had the pleasure of meeting during my short stay in Pinetop."

Shocked silence met his words. When Triss Ward started speaking again, her voice was hushed with awe. "Nash Carson, as in the world champion bronc rider?" There was a girlish quality to her voice that made Noelle's face heat with embarrassment. Apparently, her mother had entirely missed the report about his near-tragic accident.

"I'm retired now, ma'am." Though Nash's voice remained polite, his expression grew so miserable that something inside of Noelle snapped.

"He's on a hiatus from the competitive circuit at the moment," she interjected in a tight voice. "He was in a serious accident, the kind you don't snap back from overnight. It's going to take some serious physical therapy to get him back in the saddle."

She could picture her mother taking a sharp breath. Then her voice filled the room again. "I'm sorry to hear about your accident, Mr. Carson. But my daughter is right. You're a little young to retire."

Nash glared at Noelle, probably regretting the fact that his brothers had offered her a job.

Knowing she was at risk of being fired on the spot for her audacity, she glared back. She felt too strongly about his odds of recovering to back down now. "Way too young," she affirmed flatly. "He'll be out of retirement soon. Mark my words." Months of physical therapy after a riding accident in her teens had taught her a thing or two about miraculous comebacks. A little faith and a whole lot of can-do spirit could go a long way.

Triss Ward gave a tinkling laugh. "If my daughter says you'll be riding broncs again, then you'll be riding broncs again. She was once told she would never ride again either, and look at her now."

"Yeah, look at me now." Noelle glanced ruefully at the leg propped in front of her on the hospital bed. She wasn't sure why her mother was tossing compliments around like candy in front of Nash. Behind closed doors, she rarely had anything kind to say.

Her mother ignored Noelle's comment and went on to inform them that she and Mr. Ward would be hard to reach for the next month, since they were embarking on a tropical cruise. "Maybe we'll drop by Dallas on our way home," she cooed. She ended the call before Noelle could formulate a protest.

She stared darkly at the phone after it went silent. "That's it. I'm moving to Antarctica next."

"And leave me stranded again? Pretty sure that's a violation of our new friendship pact." Nash sounded so vehement that Noelle's eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks.

It was a few seconds before she could work up the courage to meet his gaze again. "I take it I still have a job at Canyon Creek Ranch?" She hated how uncertain she sounded. Her confidence in general had been shot to the floor in recent weeks.

"I'm not letting you off that easy, if that's what you're really asking." His jaw hardened as he took a seat on the other side of the mattress. "What makes you so sure I'll be riding broncs again?"

"Because it's what you really want to do." Sometimes things were as simple as that.

His glare eased a little. "It takes a lot of elbow grease to do what I do for a living. And in case you've forgotten, I'm down an elbow."

She lifted her chin. "I haven't forgotten."

He flicked his fingers irritably against the bed linens. "Why do you even care?"

"Because that's what friends are for." She didn't have a better answer than that at the moment.

He gave a huff of disbelief. "As much as I'd like to believe that, something tells me you would've kept running if my brothers hadn't offered you a job."

She dropped her gaze. "Not without saying goodbye."

"Again, why?"

"Because you were kind to me from the beginning." She raised her head again. "You made small talk, held open doors, and grabbed a coffee with me before you even knew who I was." As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized her mistake.

Nash's handsome features twisted into a wary expression. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing. Sometimes I say dumb things when I'm this tired." She started to slide her leg off the bed, no longer able to meet his gaze.

He reached out to plop his left hand down on the mattress, hemming her in. "I thought we agreed to be accountable to each other." His voice was harsh. "To me, that implies some level of honesty."

There you go, pulling the friendship card again!

"Fine." She briefly closed her eyes. "Have you ever heard of Ward Accounting Solutions?"

"I think you know the answer to that." He straightened. "Does that mean you're related to the owner?"

She nodded wryly. "Denver Ward is my father."

His expression grew shuttered. "Any particular reason the daughter of a multi-millionaire has been serving as a lowly horse trainer out in the boonies?"

"I could ask you the same thing." She gave him a sad smile, knowing he was far from a pauper himself. "I think it's safe to say you loco Carson brothers don't keep climbing on bucking broncos for the money."

He was silent for a long moment. "Nope," he finally admitted. "I reckon it's because it's in our blood."

"Bingo." She pointed knowingly at him. "That's exactly why you'll be back in the saddle soon."