Page 40 of Embracing Desire

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Jed glanced down at Katie and smiled.Her eyes were closed and her breathing deep.Satisfaction at her trust curled around his heart.“She’s asleep,” Jed whispered.

“Yes.She likes to fall asleep on us.”Ry tightened his arm around her.“What do you think about what she said?”

Jed ran his free hand over his face.“Makes sense, but I also feel as if there’s something more.”

“Me too.”Ry brushed a kiss against Katie’s temple.“And it has to do with her father.”

“Yep.Randall was always an asshole.”

“True.But how did he know about us spending the night with Katie and that we’d dated Peggy?”

“I don’t know.”Jed rubbed his chin.

“Katie trusted her father, and he broke that trust.”

Jed sighed.“Do you think she’ll tell us the full story?”

“Eventually.Right now, let her rest.”

Both men closed their eyes.This was the best place to be right now.Katie was in their arms and their lives.

Chapter Ten

Three days later, Katie strode into the barn to find Jed.He’d called earlier and asked her to come over.She gnawed at her lower lip as she sauntered toward the office in back.She stopped to pet several of the horses.

The last couple of days had been trying.The calls from her ex and her father hadn’t let up.The other day, she had told her father—again—she wasn’t going back to the City and to stop calling.She’d considered changing her cell number, but her father would probably find it.

At least things between her, Ry, and Jed had improved.She’d worried they’d be angry at her explanation of why she left, but both reassured her that while they were upset at the time, now they understood.They hadn’t played since her revelations about why she left, but they had cuddled and spent time together.They were slowly building their relationship and their trust in each other.

She sighed and raised her hand to knock on the partially open door.Jed swore and then muttered a few words, causing a grin spread over her face.

“Are you having issues in here?”she asked, pushing the door open and stepping into the office.

“Thank God, you’re here.”Jed stood up and moved out from behind the desk.“Come figure this out for me.”He gestured to the computer, his face tight with tension.

“What are you having problems with?”She shook her head.Jed wasn’t one to get frustrated easily.She maneuvered around him and behind the desk.

“Hell if I know.I’ve been working on this for the past two days, and I’m still stuck.”

Katie sat down and stared at his computer screen.She scrolled up and down and sighed.What a disaster.“What exactly are you trying to do?”

“I’m trying to pay the vet, and find out when I last paid for hay and how much.Figure out who owes me money, who I owe money to, and what’s left over.”

Katie nodded, grabbed a pencil and paper, jotted down some notes, and looked back at the screen.This would take some time.She glanced up at Jed.“Go play with your horses and come back in two hours.”

“Ordering me around, are you?”

Katie grinned at him then made a shooing motion with her hand.Jed laughed and strode out of the office, closing the door behind him.

Katie focused on the computer screen.Maybe she could make some sense out of the mess Jed had made.An accountant he wasn’t.

Several hours later, Katie stood and stretched.Luckily, she had a flash drive in her purse.She copied his files over.She’d done most of it on paper already, but there was still more to do.She sauntered over to the office door and opened it.Jed stood at the end of the barn, quietly talking to one of the horses.His soft voice melted Katie’s heart.He was so good with the animals.Quietly, she walked toward them.She stopped outside the stall as Jed hung up the horse’s halter.The horse’s ears perked up, and he turned his head and faced her.

“I’m almost done,” Jed said.“Why don’t you come in and say hi to Coulter.”He held out his hand to her.

She placed her hand in his and let him draw her closer to the stall.The fresh scent of hay tickled her nose.

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