She hesitated and then handed it over, adding the saddle blanket to his load. “You know whereitgoes.”

When he got back, she was brushing Bikini with long strokes. Bikini shivered and he followed. This woman was intoxicating. The one thing he knew for sure was that he wasn’t done withheryet.

Stepping up to her back, he put his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck. “I like how yousmell.”

Dropping her head back on his shoulder, she laughed. “Like sweatyhorses?”

“No, like Marti.” He pressed his lips to the spot behind her ear. He remembered that she likedthat. “Yum.”

She turned her head and kissed him. “Thank you for trusting metoday.”

“You’re easy to trust.” He kissed her, only this time, she turned in his arms to take the deep to a deeper, hotter level. A low moan came from deep inside her. His guttugged.

“If you actually want food when you get to my house, you betterstopthat.”

She laughed. “You got peanutbutter?”

“Yes.”

“Jelly?”

He nodded. “Andbread.”

“ThenI’mfine.”

He chuckled and pulled her tightly against him. “Maybe I want to impress you with my cookingskills.”

She leaned back until their gazes met. “Seriously? I figured you would call and get take-outsomewhere.”

“Ha. No way, baby. It’s going to be all metonight.”

“Umm. Sounds like something I could getinto.”

“And you are definitely something I cangetinto.”

She laughed softly and pushed him away. “Go. I’ve got worktodo.”

“Anything youdon’teat?”

She looked at his face, then let her gaze deliberately drop to his groin and then slowly worked her way back up his body. His cock stiffened and pushed his zipper intoabend.

“No,” she said and licked her lips. “Can’t say thatthereis.”

Chapter11

Dinner that eveningwas the start of weeks of every Friday, Saturday and Sunday together. Marti had explained that given the time of the year, the cattle and horses could pretty much take care of themselves, so that gave her more free time than otherseasons.

Thank goodness forspring.

Their lovemaking, which had been hot at the beginning, took on an erotic, desperate need as Eli’s time in Whispering Springs would be ending in less than three weeks. The only dark shadow in his life was that he’d never heard from Midtown Orthopedics. A position there, especially a partner position, would set him up in New York and put back with his circle of influential acquaintances. He’d be like the old days, before Gina’s death. He kept in touch with doctors in NYC and last he’d heard, they’d hired no one, but interviews had abruptly stoppedinJune.

When he’d taken this position, he’d assumed the job would be his. He’d made sure that Hank had understood that Eli would need to leave Texas before the end of July so he could be ready to start a new job in August. Given that his contract for Texas ended on July twentieth, he’d started putting out feelers for other potential positions about aweekago.

It was a Sunday in early July when everything came tumbling down around him. Like a lot of weekend mornings, the first thing he did was roll over and look at the incredible woman lying beside him. He’d gotten so used to Marti being a part of his life. Sometimes it seemed like she’d always beenthere.

The riding lessons, after that first disaster, had continued. Not only could he actually stay on a horse, he enjoyed theiroutings.

He thought back to yesterday. Joe had come out to the Flying Pig. He’d climbed from the car on two prosthetic legs. The progress he’d made in the last couple of months was nothing short of amazing. He was now talking about learning to run again. Of course Joe was still a teenager and had those days when everyone around him wanted to lock him away, but Eli wrote all that off astypicalteen.