“He’s big—bigger than me, with a gray coat. Not dappled, like a lot of gray horses, but a solid dark gray.”
“Of course he is.”
He looked over and saw she was laughing. “What’s so funny?”
“It’s not funny, it’s just amazing. The way you’re still the same person, even when you’re shifted. I never realized it was like that.”
“You thought shifters were just animals?”
“No!” Hope protested. “I didn’t mean it like that!”
He tried to hide his smile from her, but she caught him almost immediately and swatted at his arm with her free hand.
“You and your teasing are going to drive me crazy.”
He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it. “Well, you sure drive me crazy, so it only seems fair.”
Her chuckle was cut short as she stumbled away from him. She fought for balance for a moment, casting her arms out, but recovered to stand upright.
“Are you okay?” he asked in concern.
“Fine. I just tripped over something.”
They both turned to examine the ground, and the problem was soon obvious. Hope’s foot had caught the edge of a hole in the ground.
Not just a hole that happened to be there, Josh saw. And not just one hole. The ground was dotted with them, spread through the grass everywhere he looked. If he had to guess, he’d bet that someone had taken a post hole digger and gone through the field at random.
“These can’t be natural,” Hope said, frowning down at one and prodding the edges with the toe of her shoe.
“No,” Josh said grimly. If a cow stepped in one of these, they could break a leg. More importantly, so could he or any of the other shifters on the ranch. It wouldn’t be fatal, as it almost always was for horses, but it would still hurt like hell. “We’ve got some neighbors who think it’s funny to pull stupid stuff like this. Don’t worry about it. I’ll get Connor out here to clean it up.”
They reached the house at mid-afternoon, almost time for the kids to return from school. Other people were out across the ranch, working on various chores. Without them, the house was a little more peaceful. The scent of baking bread wafted from the kitchen, and the open windows let in a light breeze and the sounds of the birds outside.
“Is there something I can do to help around here?” Hope said.
“You’re a guest,” Rick tossed over his shoulder as he walked by with a load of laundry still warm from the dryer. “Guests don’t work.”
“I have to do something. I can’t just sit around and twiddle my thumbs,” she insisted, immediately ruining the effect by letting out a huge yawn she covered with her hand. Sheepishly, she added, “I guess I didn’t sleep very well last night.”
“Why don’t you go take a nap?” Josh suggested. “It’s quiet right now, but it won’t be for long.” He could see that she wanted to protest, but all that came out was another yawn.
She gave in to the inevitable. “Okay, okay. I’ll lie down for an hour. But after that, I’m going to find out a way to help.”
As Hope walked off, Rick returned, having deposited the laundry basket on Ian’s bed for him to fold when he got home. “How’s it going?”
“It’s going well,” Josh said, unable to stop the broad grin from spreading across his face. “Really well.”
Rick frowned at him suspiciously but didn’t ask any further questions. Josh was grateful for his forbearance. “How long is she staying?”
“It’s open-ended,” he replied. “I didn’t want to pressure her.” He didn’t dare make the same mistake he had before, after he’d scared her by bringing up marriage. Hope loved him—he knew deep in his bones that it was true. But love wasn’t the same thing as a lifetime commitment, and he wanted nothing less. To wake up every morning next to her, to face life’s challenges with her by his side, an equal partner in everything he did.
“Bread’s gonna burn,” Rick said. Josh followed him into the kitchen. He pulled a pitcher of iced tea from the refrigerator and poured two glasses.
“Is this what it’s like for us? Every time?”
Rick set the loaves on the stove to cool, then reached for the glass Josh held out. “Like what?”
“I just knew, as soon as I saw her. It was like...like being struck by lightning.” Josh knew he sounded foolish and lovesick, but he didn’t care. Rick wouldn’t use it against him.