Abby cocked her head to one side. “Did youdothis?”
“Guilty as charged,” hejoked.
“Thank you. I must have lost track of time. I didn’t realize it was gettingsolate.”
“It happens, especially when you’re doing something you lovetodo.”
“I never get that feeling,” sheadmitted.
“I do. Whenever I’m out working with the horses, hours can pass before I realize how late it’s getting. Good thing the sun goes down or I’d be out allnighttoo.”
“I’m pretty sure lawyers don’t have that feeling—ever. I think we have the opposite experience. Sometimes time grinds to a halt. In the second before a jury renders their verdict, you can review and question everything you said during atrial.”
“Did that happen in your last case?” he askedgently.
“Yeah. Before. During. After. Five minutes seemed to last five hours. It’s amazing how much you can register in a moment. I have these images burned into my mind… I’ll neverforgetthem.”
She shivered and wrapped her arms across her chest. Until now, she hadn’t noticed the drop in temperature. The wind kicked up, tossing her hair behind her like afrayedcape.
“Maybe we should move this inside,” Codysuggested.
“I was hoping to finish the painting today.” She couldn’t keep the disappointment out of hervoice.
“Let’s go sit in Logan’s new barn,” Cody said as he packed up the food. “The wind might die down whileweeat.”
“We’re not breaking it in, are we?” sheasked.
“No… unless you’re offering.” Hegrinned.
“In your dreams,cowboy.”
She couldn’t stop the flirtatious comment from spilling out. Just because she’d decided to stay away from him emotionally didn’t mean she had to stay away from him physically. Not that she was going to jump into bed with him or anything. But knowing that nothing would come of it made it fun. And right now, sheneededfun.
After trekking through the snow, they approached a huge red barn. The sides gleamed with fresh paint and the grassy scent of hay filled the air. Inside, the floor was half wood, half dirt. Cody walked toward the back of the barn. He set the basket down on the floor nearthewall.
“I’m sorry we don’t have any tables in here yet,” he said as he sat on the wood floor. “We just finished it about a week ago. My brother Brady and his fiancée Rachel are going to have their wedding here in a few weeks. Logan and Kate are housing their horses in the main barn until after theparty.”
“It must be nice to have people looking out for you all the time.” She sat close to him, but not tooclose.
“In some ways, it’s great. But it can get too crowded around here sometimes. Carol and Hank are looking into buying up the property between the ranch and the highway, but they’re having some trouble with a local developer. The guy has it outforus.”
“Why?” sheasked.
“He’s a greedybastard.”
“Greed has no place in this world,” she said. “Too many people are obsessed with money and power at the cost of their ownfamilies.”
“You sound like you’re speaking from experience,”hesaid.
“Yeah. My father’s a politician. He’s so fixated on prestige that he’s lost his soul. He never stopped to ask me what I wanted to do with my life. For as long as I can remember, I’ve known that I was going to be a lawyer. There wasn’t an alternative. Striving for something else was unthinkable in hisworld.”
“Whatdidyou want to be?” heasked.
“I don’t know. I never really stopped to think about it. I just went through the motions of what my parents wantedforme.”
“Have you ever sat and listened to that little voice inside your heart?” he asked. “I think we already know everything we need to know about our desires. We just don’t stop long enough to pay attentiontothem.”
“Years ago, I might have been able to figure out what I really wanted for my life, but it’s toolatenow.”
